Category: Environment

  • MIL-OSI: Q1 2025 as planned, post Financial restructuring: commercial recovery, decline in revenue and limited cash consumption

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Press Release

    Q1 2025 as planned, post financial restructuring:

    commercial recovery, decline in revenue

    and limited cash consumption

    Confirmation of continued commercial recovery, fueled by strategic large deal signatures

    • Q1 2025 order entry at €1.7 billion
    • Q1 2025 book-to-bill at 81%, +17 points vs Q1 2024, benefiting from the signature of multi-year contract renewals and business wins with new material revenue streams

    Q1 2025 revenue: €2,068 million, down -15.9% organically, impacted by lower order entry and contract completions recorded in 2024, before the closing of the financial restructuring of the Company on December 18, 2024

    • Reflecting deliberate reduction of BPO1 activities in the UK, as well as calendar effects
    • Eviden: down -14.0% organically
    • Tech Foundations: down -17.5% organically

    Estimated cash consumption2limited to c. €-40 million in Q1 2025 vs €-415 million in Q1 2024

    • No usage at all of account receivable factoring or specific optimization on trade payables

    Estimated liquidity3of c. €1,958 million as of March 31, 2025 vs €2,179 million as of December 31, 2024:

    • Cash and cash equivalent of c. €1,518 million vs €1,739 million in December 2024 and undrawn revolving credit facility of €440 million as of March 31, 2025
    • Including c. €138 million of cash in advance (vs €319 million as at December 31, 2024), consisting solely of customer invoices paid in advance without any discount and on a pure voluntary basis

    Presentation of Atos updated strategy and organization during the May 14, 2025 Capital Markets Day

    Paris, April 17, 2025 – Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, high-performance computing and information technology infrastructure, today announces its Q1 2025 revenue.

    Philippe Salle, Atos Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, declared:

    “Our first quarter performance confirms the inflexion in our business trajectory following the closing of our financial restructuring at the end of 2024. While top line remained under pressure, our commercial activity continued to recover during the quarter, attesting to the confidence and engagement of our clients and boding well for the future of Atos. We have also limited our cash consumption during the quarter and made significant progress in the implementation of our restructuring program to adapt our cost base. I look forward to sharing my vision for Atos and unveiling our mid-term strategy at our Capital Markets Day on May 14. This is the start of a new chapter for the Group, with relentless focus on serving our customers through innovation and high-quality services.”

    Q1 2025 Revenue by Business

    In € million Q1 2025
    Revenue
    Q1 2024
    Revenue
    Q1 2024
    Revenue*
    Organic variation*
    Eviden 973 1,164 1,132 -14.0%
    Tech Foundations 1,095 1,314 1,326 -17.5%
    Total 2,068 2,479 2,458 -15.9%

    *: at constant scope and March 2025 average exchange rates

    Group revenue was €2,068 million, down -15.9% organically compared with Q1 2024. Overall, Group revenue evolution in Q1 2025 reflects lower order entry and contract completions recorded in 2024, before the closing of the financial restructuring of the Company in December 2024, deliberate reduction of BPO activities in the UK, calendar effects as well as market softness in key geographies.

    Eviden revenue was €973 million, down -14.0% organically.

    • Digital activities decreased double digit. The business was impacted by H2 2024 contract completions and contract scope reductions, as well as by the continued market softness in North America, in the UK & Ireland and in Southern Europe.
    • Big Data & Security (BDS) revenue decreased high single digit. Lower activity in cybersecurity services due to volume decline and contract completions was partially offset by growth in Advanced Computing due to large project deliveries in India and Germany.

    Tech Foundations revenue was €1,095 million, down -17.5% organically.

    • Core revenue (excluding BPO and value-added resale (“VAR”)) decreased double digit mainly due to previously established contract terminations and completions in North America, lower revenue from Major Events following the delivery of the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic games, and by contract scope and volume reduction in the UK.
    • Non-core revenue declined double digit as planned, reflecting deliberate reduction of BPO activities in the UK and reduced value-added resale for hardware and software products.

    Q1 2025 revenue by Regional Business Unit

    In € million Q1 2025
    Revenue
    Q1 2024
    Revenue
    Q1 2024
    Revenue*
    Organic variation*
    Central Europe 501 533 527 -5.0%
    Southern Europe 438 565 527 -16.9%
    North America 382 512 528 -27.6%
    UK / IR 309 423 434 -28.8%
    Growing markets 224 223 219 +2.0%
    Benelux and the Nordics (BTN)                  212 220 220 -3.6%
    Others & Global structures 2 3 3 -10.0%
    Total 2,068 2,479 2,458 -15.9%

    *: at constant scope and March 2025 average exchange rates

    Central Europe revenue was € 501 million, down -5.0% organically.

    • Eviden revenue decreased low single digit. Decline in Digital due to volume reduction from Manufacturing and Public Sector customers was partially offset by the delivery of a large HPC in Germany.
    • Tech Foundations revenue decreased double digit, reflecting volume and scope reductions related to low-margin contracts with Pharmaceutical and Banking customers.

    Southern Europe revenue was €438 million, down -16.9% organically.

    • Eviden revenue decreased double digit. Digital activities declined due to volume reduction with Automotive, Transport & Logistics and Banking customers. The delivery of a supercomputer project in France in 2024 provided a higher prior year comparison basis for BDS.
    • Tech Foundations revenue decreased high single digit due to contract completions with select customers.

    North America revenue was € 382 million, down -27.6% organically, impacted by contract terminations and completions, and general slowdown in market conditions.

    • Eviden revenue decreased double digit, notably from lower activity with Healthcare, Finance, and Transport & Logistics customers. BDS decreased double digit due to contract completion and volume reductions.
    • Tech Foundations revenue decreased double digit notably from lower activity in Media and Insurance.

    UK & Ireland revenue was € 309 million, down -28.8% organically.

    • Eviden revenue decreased double digit. Digital revenue decreased on back of market softness in Public Sector while BDS remained stable.
    • Revenue in Tech Foundations decreased double digit, due primarily to previously announced large contract exit in Public Sector BPO.

    Growing Market revenue was €224 million, up +2.0% organically. Revenue from the delivery of a HPC in India was partly offset by the high prior year comparison basis of Major Events, which included revenue from the 2024 Paris Olympic & Paralympic Games.

    Benelux and the Nordics revenue was € 212 million, down -3.6% organically

    • Eviden revenue decreased low single digit, impacted by project completions and volume reductions in Manufacturing.
    • Revenue in Tech Foundations decreased low single digit as well, due to previously established contract completions and volume decline on low-margin contracts with Healthcare and Utilities customers.

    Order entry and backlog

    Q1 2025 commercial activity

    Order entry reached €1.7 billion in Q1 2025, of which €1.1 billion represent new services sold to new or existing customers.

    Book-to-bill ratio was 81% for the quarter, improving by +17 points compared with the Q1 2024 ratio of 64%, benefiting from renewed client confidence.

    • Eviden book-to-bill ratio was 80% for the first quarter compared to 83% in Q1 2024, when a large HPC order was booked for a Danish innovation center. Main contract signatures in the first quarter included a large six-year new business in digital and cyber contract in Belgium and a contract renewal to manage a public health system for a large American insurance company.
    • Tech Foundations book-to-bill ratio was 81% for the first quarter, a significant improvement compared to the 47% reported in Q1 2024. Main contract signatures in the first quarter included a new four-year contract for IT infrastructure in Public Sector in France, a multi-year contract extension for Mainframe services with a global leader in aerospace as well a contract renewal with a leading automotive manufacturer for Mainframe services. Also, a new five-year Digital Workplace contract was signed with the UK Department of Environments, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

    Backlog & commercial pipeline

    At the end of March 2025, the full backlog reached €12.6 billion representing 1.3 years of
    revenue.

    The full qualified weighted pipeline amounted to €4.5 billion at the end of March 2025, representing 5.7 months of revenue.

    Human resources

    The total headcount was 74,074 at the end of March 2025, decreasing by -5.2% compared with the end of December 2024, notably from 1,682 departures related to the restructuring plan already on track.

    Q1 2025 liquidity position4

    Atos SE also publishes its estimated liquidity position at March 31, 2025. This indicator measures the estimated financial resources available at date to meet Atos SE future obligations. This publication is part of the regular reporting requirements defined and agreed with the Group’s financial creditors.

    As of March 31, 2025, Atos liquidity is estimated at circa €1,958 million, compared to €2,179 million as of December 31, 2024, and was comprised of:

     In € million March 31, 2025
    (estimated)
    December 31, 2024
    (actuals)
    Var.
    Cash & cash equivalents 1,518  1,739 -221 
    of which payments received from customers in advance of invoice payment due dates 138  319 -181 
    Undrawn revolving credit facility 440  440 – 
    Total liquidity 1,958  2,179 -221 

    Capital Markets Day

    Atos will present an update of its strategy and organization during a Capital Markets Day that will be held in Atos’ Bezons headquarters on May 14, 2025.

    Forthcoming events

    May 14, 2025 Capital Markets Day
    June 13, 2025 Annual General Meeting
       
    August 1st, 2025 (Before Market Opening)  First semester 2025 results

    APPENDIX

    Q1 2024 revenue at constant scope and exchange rates reconciliation

    For the analysis of the Group’s performance, revenue for Q1 2025 is compared with 2024 revenue at constant scope and foreign exchange rates.

    Reconciliation between the 2024 reported first quarter revenue and the 2024 first quarter revenue at constant scope and foreign exchange rates is presented below, by Business Lines and Regional Business Units:

    Q1 2024 revenue
    In € million
    Q1 2024 published Internal transfers Scope effects Exchange rates effects Q1 2024*
    Eviden 1,164 2 -44 9 1,132
    Tech Foundations 1,314 -2 0 14 1,326
    Total 2,479 0 -44 23 2,458
               
               
    Q1 2024 revenue
    In € million
    Q1 2024 published Internal transfers Scope effects Exchange rates effects Q1 2024*
    North America 512 0 0 16 528
    Benelux and the Nordics (BTN) 220 0 0 0 220
    UK / IR 423 0 0 10 434
    Central Europe 533 0 -6 0 527
    Southern Europe 565 0 -38 0 527
    Growing Markets 223 0 0 -3 219
    Others & Global structures 3 0 0 0 3
    Total 2,479 0 -44 23 2,458

    *: at constant scope and March 2025 average exchange rates

    Scope effects amounted to €-44 million. They related to the divesture of Worldgrid in Southern Europe and Central Europe.

    Currency effects positively contributed to revenue for €+23 million. They mostly came from the appreciation of the British pound and the US dollar partially compensated by the depreciation of the Brazilian real, the Argentinian peso and the Turkish lira.

    Disclaimer

    This document contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including references, concerning the Group’s expected growth and profitability in the future which may significantly impact the expected performance indicated in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are linked to factors out of the control of the Company and not precisely estimated, such as market conditions or competitors’ behaviors. Any forward-looking statements made in this document are statements about Atos’s beliefs and expectations and should be evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements include statements that may relate to Atos’s plans, objectives, strategies, goals, future events, future revenues or synergies, or performance, and other information that is not historical information. Actual events or results may differ from those described in this document due to a number of risks and uncertainties that are described within the 2024 Universal Registration Document filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) on April 10, 2025 under the registration number D.25-0238. Atos does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation or responsibility to update or amend any of the information above except as otherwise required by law.

    This document does not contain or constitute an offer of Atos’s shares for sale or an invitation or inducement to invest in Atos’s shares in France, the United States of America or any other jurisdiction. This document includes information on specific transactions that shall be considered as projects only. In particular, any decision relating to the information or projects mentioned in this document and their terms and conditions will only be made after the ongoing in-depth analysis considering tax, legal, operational, finance, HR and all other relevant aspects have been completed and will be subject to general market conditions and other customary conditions, including governance bodies and shareholders’ approval as well as appropriate processes with the relevant employee representative bodies in accordance with applicable laws.

    About Atos

    Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with circa 74,000 employees and annual revenue of circa €10 billion. European number one in cybersecurity, cloud and high-performance computing, the Group provides tailored end-to-end solutions for all industries in 68 countries. A pioneer in decarbonization services and products, Atos is committed to a secure and decarbonized digital for its clients. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea) and listed on Euronext Paris.

    The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education and research in a multicultural approach and contribute to the development of scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the Group enables its customers and employees, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably, in a safe and secure information space.

    Contacts

    Investor relations:

    David Pierre-Kahn | investors@atos.net | +33 6 28 51 45 96

    Sofiane El Amri | investors@atos.net | +33 6 29 34 85 67

    Individual shareholders: +33 8 05 65 00 75

    Press contact: globalprteam@atos.net


    1         Business Process Outsourcing

    2         Cash consumption of a period is defined as the variance in cash and cash-equivalent, excluding (i) the variance of the drawn portion of the RCF and (ii) the variance in working capital optimization actions (which include cash in advance received from customers, account receivable factoring and specific optimization of trade payables)

    3         Liquidity is defined as the sum of (i) the consolidated cash and cash-equivalent position of the Group and (ii) the amounts available under any undrawn committed facilities (including committed overdrafts). Consolidated cash and cash-equivalent includes trapped cash and unpooled cash and excludes cash held in escrow accounts in order to provide cash collateral.

    4         Liquidity is defined as the sum of (i) the consolidated cash and cash-equivalent position of the Group and (ii) the amounts available under any undrawn committed facilities (including committed overdrafts). Consolidated cash and cash-equivalent includes trapped cash and unpooled cash and excludes cash held in escrow accounts in order to provide cash collateral.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Aldinga Beach shark warning

    Source: New South Wales – News

    South Australia Police (SAPOL), in collaboration with partner agencies, is urging visitors to Aldinga Beach to be aware of increased local sightings of a great white shark.

    Representatives from SAPOL, the Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA), Department for Environment and Water (DEW), Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT), and Surf Life Saving South Australia (SLSSA) met this week to discuss additional risk mitigation measures.

    Currently, a fixed wing shark patrol is conducting routine flights between 9am and 5.30pm, which will sound a siren when a shark is sighted.

    Coinciding with the Easter long weekend, SAPOL’s Water Operations Unit and all partner agencies will have increased water patrols across inland and coastal locations and will pay particular attention to the Aldinga Beach area.

    “We want the public to enjoy our beautiful beaches, but to do so safely,” Senior Sergeant Andrew Suter from SAPOL’s Water Operations Unit said.

    “While authorities are monitoring the loitering shark in the vicinity of Aldinga Beach, we encourage beachgoers to be vigilant and adhere to all rules and regulations when on the water.”

    Dr Michael Drew, Research Scientist with the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) said white sharks can unpredictably visit the near-shore coastal waters of South Australia at any time of year.

    “The near-shore coastal marine environment is an important habitat for juvenile and sub-adult (<3-4m) white sharks as it provides access to preferred prey species, such as small-bodied sharks and rays, and larger fish species like Australian salmon and snapper,” he said.

    Beachgoers are reminded to be aware of their surroundings and to avoid swimming near food sources like large schools of fish.

    Swimmers should also consider not entering murky waters, deep channels, and areas next to deep water and river mouths.

    SLSSA will continue stationing members at Aldinga Beach, and in addition to routine club patrol coverage, will have one jet rescue boat dedicated to patrolling the southern beaches over the Easter long weekend. A secondary jet rescue boat will be available on northern metropolitan beaches.

    The southern SLSSA jet rescue boat will aim to provide coverage between 10am and 6pm.

    Up-to-date hazard alert information for all South Australian beaches is available to the public via the BeachSafe platform: https://beachsafe.org.au.

    BeachSafe is a nationally recognised tool that provides current information for every beach in Australia, including patrol services, hazards, and available facilities and weather conditions, swell, and tide information.

    The platform is designed to assist the public in selecting the most suitable and safe location for their beach visit. Should SLSSA receive reports of shark sightings over the weekend, it will promptly update the relevant hazard alerts to the affected beaches via BeachSafe.

    Additionally, PIRSA would like to remind the public that using blood, bone, meat, offal or animal skin (other than a fish, worm or insect) for berley is prohibited in SA waters and should be reported to the 24-hour Fishwatch hotline on 1800 065 522.

    Fishers are advised that gear restrictions for metropolitan shark fishing apply from Outer Harbor to Lady Bay Shacks, south of Normanville.  More information can be found at pir.sa.gov.au/fishing-sharks-rays or the Recreational Fishing App.

    More information about reducing the risk of shark interactions is available at pir.sa.gov.au/reducing-shark-risks

    For more information on boating rules and regulations, visit: South Australian boating safety handbook (marinesafety.sa.gov.au)

    Report any suspicious behaviour to SAPOL by calling 131 444.

    MIL OSI News

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Backing community-led biodiversity protection

    Source: New Zealand Government

    A $9.2 million investment into community-led biodiversity protection will benefit the environment and sustainable tourism, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. 

    The Department of Conservation – Te Papa Atawhai has chosen 20 groups who applied to the DOC Community Fund for support in protecting threatened species and ecosystems across Aotearoa New Zealand. A total of 291 groups applied for the 2025 funding round.

    “Our country’s natural beaty and rich biodiversity attracts visitors from around the world. Investing in biodiversity is great for the environment, good for tourism, and helps support economic growth that creates jobs and boosts incomes,” Mr Potaka says. 

    “Projects include supporting The Forest Bridge Trust to do landscape scale predator control, which will protect nationally critical tara iti and matuku-hūrepo up north of Auckland. With a population of fewer than 40, the tara iti is probably our most endangered indigenous breeding bird.

    “At the other end of the country, we are supporting the Hokonui Rūnanga in their goal of helping the nationally vulnerable kanakana/lamprey by identifying waterway issues.

    “Delivering better public services means prioritising high value initiatives that will deliver the greatest outcomes. The department selected projects most likely to have the greatest impact for biodiversity working with local communities, Iwi and Hapū,” Mr Potaka says.

    “In the Lower North Island, we are supporting the Manaaki Ruahine Trust to do predator control over 40,000 ha in Ngā Pae Maunga o Ruahine to support the recovery of nationally vulnerable whio and other threatened species.

    “We are supporting the Chatham Islands Taiko Trust to do predator control mahi over private and public land that will protect breeding habitats for the nationally critical Chatham Island tāiko.”

    The DOC Community Fund is a contestable Crown fund, open to community groups and private landowners to support community-led conservation projects on public and private land. It has invested $57.4 million into 769 community conservation initiatives since 2014.

    This year’s recipients and their related projects are available on the successful applications 2025 webpage.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News

  • MIL-Evening Report: ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for April 17, 2025

    ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 17, 2025.

    Most bees nest in the ground. Offering rocks and gravel is a simple way to help them thrive
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Freya Marie Jackson, PhD Candidate, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University _Lasioglossum dotatum_ kerrysturat/iNaturalist, CC BY-NC-ND Of the more than 20,000 bee species in the world, 70% nest in the ground. And like many of their counterparts that nest above ground, these bees are facing

    Thailand’s fragile democracy takes another hit with arrest of US academic
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Simpson, Senior Lecturer, International Studies, University of South Australia Despite the challenges faced by local democratic activists, Thailand has often been an oasis of relative liberalism compared with neighbouring countries such as Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. Westerners, in particular, have been largely welcomed and provided with

    In the trade war, China has moved to curb supply of critical minerals. Can Australia seize the moment?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Yue Zhang, Associate Professor, Technology and Innovation, University of Technology Sydney China has placed curbs on exports of rare germanium and gallium which are critical in manufacturing. Shutterstock In the escalating trade war between the United States and China, one notable exception stood out: 31 critical

    ‘The pay is not worth the stress’: research finds 10% of lawyers plan to quit within a year
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vivien Holmes, Emerita Professor, Australian National University Momentum studio/Shutterstock No one goes into the legal profession thinking it is going to be easy. Long working hours are fairly standard, work is often completed to tight external deadlines, and 24/7 availability to clients is widely understood to be

    Contemporary television is rarely as good as The Narrow Road to the Deep North
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Prime The Narrow Road to the Deep North stands as some of the most visceral and moving television produced in Australia in recent memory. Marking a new accessibility and confidence to director Justin Kurzel, it reunites him with

    NZ’s over-reliance on roads for freight means natural disasters hit even harder. But there is a fix
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cécile L’Hermitte, Senior Lecturer in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, University of Waikato In the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, the driving time between Napier and Wairoa stretched from 90 minutes to over six hours, causing major supply chain delays. Retail prices rose and shoppers faced empty shelves.

    ‘They are like my children’: research reveals 4 types of indoor plant owners. Which one are you?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brianna Le Busque, Lecturer in Environmental Science, University of South Australia maramorosz/Shutterstock Walk into any home or workplace today, and you’re likely to find an array of indoor plants. The global market for indoor plants is growing fast – projected to reach more than US$28 billion (A$44

    Cracks in social cohesion – the major parties must commit to reinvigorating multiculturalism
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Jakubowicz, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Technology Sydney In the run up to the May 3 election, questions are being raised about the value of multiculturalism as a public policy in Australia. They’ve been prompted by community tensions arising from the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the

    State of the states: six experts on how the campaign is playing out around Australia
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Clune, Honorary Associate, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney The federal election campaign has passed the halfway mark, with politicians zig-zagging across the country to spruik their policies and achievements. Where politicians choose to visit (and not visit) give us some insight into their electoral

    People are ‘microdosing’ weight-loss drugs. A GP explains what to watch out for
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natasha Yates, General Practitioner, PhD Candidate, Bond University MillaF/Shutterstock Injectable medications originally developed for the treatment of diabetes are also effective for weight loss, and have surged in popularity for this purpose around the world. In Australia, Ozempic is approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes,

    With the end of Flybuys NZ, what happens to the personal data of nearly 3 million Kiwis?
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa M. Katerina Asher, Doctoral Candidate, Business School, University of Sydney JuSun/Getty Images After almost three decades in New Zealand, loyalty programme Flybuys announced it would be closing in 2024. The company behind the scheme, Loyalty New Zealand, has since entered liquidation, leaving the future of one

    New Aussie film The Correspondent is an extraordinary retelling of Peter Greste’s story
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Jean Baker, Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Monash University Maslow Entertainment The Correspondent is a film every journalist should see. There are no spoiler alerts. It is based on the globally-publicised jailing in Cairo in 2013 of Australian journalist Peter Greste (played by Richard Roxburgh) and his

    Fiji defence minister draws flak for six-week trip to meet peacekeepers
    RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Minister for Defence and Veteran Affairs is facing a backlash after announcing that he was undertaking a multi-country, six-week “official travel overseas” to visit Fijian peacekeepers in the Middle East. Pio Tikoduadua’s supporters say he should “disregard critics” for his commitment to Fijian peacekeepers, which “highlights a profound dedication to duty and

    Election Diary: there were a couple of ‘moments’ in second Albanese-Dutton encounter
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Two “moments” stuck out in Wednesday’s leaders’ debate, the second head-to-head of the campaign. Peter Dutton cut his losses over his faux pas this week when he wrongly named Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto as having said there had been a

    Second leaders’ debate is a tame affair befitting a ‘deeply uninspiring’ campaign
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andy Marks, Vice-President, Public Affairs and Partnerships, Western Sydney University Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton have had their second showdown of the 2025 federal election campaign. The debate, hosted by the ABC, was moderated by David Speers in the national broadcaster’s studios in

    Poll shows Australians hate Trump policies and have lost trust in US, but still strongly believe in alliance
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Australians strongly disagree with key policies of US President Donald Trump, and have overwhelmingly lost trust in the United States to act responsibly in the world, according to the Lowy Institute’s 2025 poll. Despite this, 80% of people say the

    NZ’s Palestine Forum calls on Luxon to take ‘firm stand’ over Israeli atrocities with temporary ban on visitors
    Asia Pacific Report A Palestinian advocacy group has called on NZ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters to take a firm stand for international law and human rights by following the Maldives with a ban on visiting Israelis. Maher Nazzal, chair of the Palestine Forum of New Zealand, said in an open

    We compared the Labor and Coalition’s income tax proposals to see who benefits most
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Shutterstock We now have the competing bids for our votes by the alternative governments on income tax policy. From Labor, future cuts to the lowest marginal tax rate and new standard deductions for

    Half of Australian landlords sell their investments after 2 years, adding to renters’ insecurity
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ranjodh B. Singh, Senior Economics and Finance Lecturer, Curtin University Marc Bruxelle/Shutterstock Australia’s renters have to battle rising rents and a lack of available properties. They also face ongoing instability. Our new research suggests half of all landlords sell their investment properties after only two years, adding

    Labor and the Greens likely to gain Senate seats at the election
    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne As well as the election for the full House of Representatives, there will be an election on May 3 for 40 of the 76 senators. The 72

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Aotearoa’s biodiversity boost: $9.2 m awarded to protect threatened nature

    Source: Department of Conservation

    Date:  17 April 2025

    The DOC Community Fund (DOCCF) is a contestable Crown fund, open to community groups and private landowners to support community-led conservation projects on public and private land.

    This 2025 funding round criteria focused on protecting and restoring threatened species and ecosystems. Projects are funded for up to three years and cover a range of threatened ecosystems and species across Aotearoa New Zealand, including plants, invertebrates, and birds like tara iti/fairy tern, New Zealand’s rarest bird.

    Director Strategic Partnerships and Investment, David Van Der Zouwe, says the 20 projects and organisations funded are those most likely to have the greatest positive impact for biodiversity.

    “The DOCCF is an investment in our future,” says David. “Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique species and habitats will have a better chance of being enjoyed by future generations thanks to this funding.”

    The DOCCF received 291 applications, totalling requests for more than $141 million – the largest amount of funding ever sought through this fund – compared to $77 million in 2023. With an average grant of $450,000, the funding targets investment into high-value conservation outcomes, and supports collaboration and engagement with local communities and iwi.

    “There is a huge appetite for funds from community groups to support conservation projects,” says David.

    “The passion and dedication of all applicants is admirable, making this a challenging process. Ultimately, the projects awarded funding prioritise our species in genuine danger of disappearing forever.

    “When they’re gone, they won’t come back. So helping our vulnerable species and places recover and thrive, through projects like these, is a great way to make a real difference for nature.”

    The recipients and their related projects are available on the successful applications 2025 webpage.

    Contact

    For media enquiries contact:

    Email: media@doc.govt.nz

    MIL OSI New Zealand News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Gov. Pillen Joins Governors in Asking EPA for Fuel Waiver to Benefit Summer Drivers

    Source: US State of Nebraska

    . Pillen Joins Governors in Asking EPA for Fuel Waiver to Benefit Summer Drivers

    LINCOLN, NE – Today, Governor Jim Pillen signed onto a letter from a bipartisan group of governors to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They are asking Administrator Lee Zeldin to issue an emergency waiver to ensure regulatory consistency for fuel suppliers heading into the summer months.

    Nebraska is one of several Midwest states approved to sell E15 year-round starting April 28. However, establishing a nationwide waiver will help provide a stable supply of fuel and stem shortages and price hikes during the busy summer driving season.

    The letter explains:

    “While our primary goal remains uninterrupted access to E15 for our consumers, we do support the calls for nationwide E15 relief. Given the national energy emergency we are currently experiencing, our consumers need reliable and affordable fuel options, like E15, during the busy summer driving season. The extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine and other geopolitical factors that have left U.S. stocks of crude oil and petroleum products near 20-year lows.”

    The governors stressed having a waiver that covers both E10 and E15 blends will ensure equal regulations, boost supply and thereby reduce prices for drivers.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Tupu Ola Moui: Pacific Health Chart Book 2025 series

    Source: New Zealand Ministry of Health

    These reports are part of the Tupu Ola Moui Pacific Health Chart Book series, which provides comprehensive and up-to-date data on the health of Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand. This is the third edition for Tupu Ola Moui with earlier publications in 2004 and 2012.

    Designed as a clear and accessible resource, this series offers straightforward descriptions of key health data to enable users to further analyse and interpret their implications. The Tupu Ola Moui series serves as a foundational reference point for understanding the current state of Pacific health. The series is made up of the following reports.

    Published reports

     Reports to come

    • Volume 3: Healthier Environments
    • Volume 4: Health System Part One
    • Volume 5: Health System Part Two
    • Tupu Ola Moui: Methodology and Data

    Volumes 3–5 and the Methodology and Data reports will be released by July 2025.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Photo competition a licence to enjoy Taupō fishery

    Source: Department of Conservation

    Date:  17 April 2025

    That’s according to last year’s winner Patrick Clement, whose photo featured three generations of family enjoying Taupō Fishery. He says his family all ended up with a licence featuring the photo to keep as mementos.

    “They love it. The photo was taken in 2017, and the boys are now old enough to fish, and I’m pleased to report they caught fish not just at the Trout Centre, but also in the ‘big river’!”

    As one of the winning entries, Patrick also received a free full season licence for the 2024-2025 season.

    “My mates were out on the river bragging that they were fishing with someone famous,” he says.

    This year, seven Taupō fishing licences are up for grabs to kick off the new trout fishing season beginning 1 July 2025.

    While the overall winning photo makes it onto printed season licences, other winning photos are used for categories on the website and paper licences.

    DOC Senior Community Ranger James Barnett says the judges are looking for photos celebrating the uniqueness of the world-famous Taupō Fishery.

    “It could be a trophy shot, but equally important are those moments with family, with friends, or even landscape shots with a fishing theme.

    “We’re looking for photos for seven licence categories, including family, senior, and junior,” says James.

    “For many of us getting out into nature with a fishing rod is our happy place, and a photo of your fishing experience could be just the thing we’re looking for to celebrate the joy of fishing in Taupō.”

    Entries close midnight, Sunday 18 May 2025.

    Up to five photographs can be submitted per person. To enter, email photographs to fishlicence@doc.govt.nz along with your name, where the photo was taken, and the approximate date it was taken. All photos must have been taken in the Taupō Fishing District.

    Further information, including a list of the licence categories and full terms and conditions for the competition, can be found online.

    Contact

    For media enquiries contact:

    Email: media@doc.govt.nz

    MIL OSI New Zealand News

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Wheel Creek Hut gets a do-up  |

    Source: Department of Conservation

    The hut reno team at the beginning of the renovation | Ben Pigott

    A six-person hut in near Maruia on the South Island’s West Coast has received a major makeover, with a refurbished roof, new piles and a smart paint job. 

    The work was planned and led by ranger Matt Ainge, with team members Ben Pigott, Mike Detlaff, David Deck, Darrell Haworth (all DOC staffers from a range of teams) and John Edwards (volunteer).

    Matt says, “the entire objective of this work was to protect this hut for generations to come, while leaving the hut in the original condition as we had found it.”  

    First things first, Ranger Darrell surveyed a rotten tree for the presence of bats, of which there were none. The tree then needed to come down as the hut was in the fall zone. 

    The hut was built in the 1960’s. Over the years it has received minimal maintenance, so a major spruce up was required. The job required the team to entirely re-pile the hut and replace almost all the bearers as some were completely rotten. The team discussed the work needed, which required digging under the hut to dig out and replace each pile, and repair and replace the bearers.  

    They then got stuck into the large amount of earthworks needed to unearth the hut in order to re-pile it. Getting down and dirty on the job. Lying down while shovelling was hard work.  

    While the re-piling was underway, the paint preparation was also started. 

    After the underneath of the hut was dug out, a subfloor was put in the porch entry for stacking up the firewood, with the original porch step being put back in the same place where it came out. A front step was also added so hut users can easily gain access to the hut.  

    Large rocks were stacked under and around the entire fireplace structure to help future stabilization.  

    The hut roof was taken off, wire brushed, metal primed, and laps painted before going back on the same position it came off.   

     Afterwards, the ridge cap, barge flashings, and lead head nails were all replaced.  

    Roof maintenance | Ben Pigott

    The inside of the hut also received attention, a new fire shroud and insert was put in the open fireplace to protect the outer steel and concrete with rollout protection on the front to minimise the chances of logs rolling out of the fire. A stainless-steel bench was also added inside over the existing painted timber bench. More bunk slats were added to the existing beds, and the entire inside was cleaned and the floor treated with linseed oil.  

    Paint prep complete, the hut was ready for a coat of orange paint.  

    Matt says, “Apart from the fact that this job was a complete labour of love, it was great to have a range of people from different teams all working together, sharing knowledge, learning from each other and working together towards a common goal: protecting and maintaining the back country for all to enjoy.” 

    A fully renovated Wheel Creek Hut | Ben Pigott

    Find out more about Wheel Creek Hut in Victoria Forest Park.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Hossack Wetland restoration for treasured Kakī

    Source: Environment Canterbury Regional Council

    Just 169 of these wild adult birds remained and they could only be found in New Zealand. Kakī are regarded by Māori as a taonga species – a living treasure.

    However, invasive weeds and pest willow spreading through the wetland has been threatening the environment.

    Farm owners, Diane and Martin Cochrane, and their nephew Simon Bloomberg had always intended on restoring the wetland to its former glory but put it off as it was an expensive undertaking.

    With $10,000 of Action Plan funding allocated by the Lower Waitaki South Coastal Water Zone Committee, they were able to begin work earlier this year.

    Getting rid of invasive species

    The first stage of the project was preparing the boundry which involved getting rid of all the invasive tree species, such as willows, that spread easily. Then, it was a matter of spraying the sides and refencing to allow for future expansion of the wetland. In Spring, they will start planting native vegetation.

    After planting, predator trapping will also be an important stage of the project. Growing native vegetation would attract more birds and insects which will lead to more predators trying to kill those birds.

    Martin Cochrane said the biggest challenge would be the maintenance involved in growing the native plants as they could be quite vulnerable for those first three to five years.

    “It will be a family project, anything we can do to improve the environment, and to make it a better home for wading birds is worth it,” Martin Cochrane said.

    However, improving the biodiversity for birdlife is just one benefit to restoring the wetland.

    Improving water quality and biodiversity

    Diane’s family, the Elliots, had farmed the property since the 1899 Waikākahi farm ballot and bought the neighbouring Hossack Wetland in the early 2000s.

    Martin Cochrane said there had been a lot of wetland loss, particularly in Canterbury, and they were pleased it hadn’t been developed into farmland.

    “The fact that this wetland is still here, providing a natural filter for water going into the Waihao River, is definitely worth protecting,” Martin Cochrane said.

    Restoring the wetland meant improving habitat for native fauna, slowing water down during a flood and forming part of a biodiversity corridor along the Waihao River.

    The family also hoped the project would encourage other landowners to show interest in how they could contribute to improving water quality and biodiversity.

    They planned to protect the wetland with a QEII covenant to ensure its survival for future generations. Incorporating public access to the wetland would also be part of the restoration project.

    Vital role of wetlands

    Acting as a natural ‘filter’ for water, wetlands play an important role in water quality, absorbing nutrients and trapping sediment that would otherwise make its way into our freshwater.

    By slowing the water flow from land and releasing it slowly in dry periods, they also play a vital role during periods of high or low rainfall.

    While historically many of the country’s natural wetlands have been drained, some have simply been concealed by weeds, unable to realise their environmental potential.

    Funding for projects

    This project is supported through the Lower Waitaki South Coastal Canterbury Zone Committee’s Action Plan budget allocation for 2024.

    Each of the region’s water zone committees has an action plan which outlines how they will work with the community to help improve the environment and meet Canterbury Water Management Strategy objectives.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Unleashing American Energy: Rep. Pfluger Hosts EPA Regional Administrator and Rep. Fedorchak in Midland

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11)

    Unleashing American Energy: Rep. Pfluger Hosts EPA Regional Administrator and Rep. Fedorchak in Midland

    Midland, April 16, 2025

    MIDLAND, TX—Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) hosted U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Scott Mason, and Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (ND-At-large), a fellow member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, in the Permian Basin for an oil and gas site visit and roundtable with producers, local leaders, stakeholders, and EPA officials.

    Following the site visit and producer roundtable, Rep. Pfluger also hosted a press conference to update the media on the efforts of the Trump Administration, Congress, and the EPA to cut the burdensome red tape the Biden Administration had previously imposed on the Permian Basin.

    Photos from the day are available for broadcast and distribution HERE.

    “Everything we do depends on energy dominance and the ability to produce affordable, reliable energy, and with President Trump back in office, the future of American energy has never been brighter,” said Rep. Pfluger. “It was an honor to bring everyone together today in Midland—the city that anchors the most important region, equipped and ready to solve many of the critical issues facing our nation. American energy dominance must be at the center of our national security strategy. This is why Congress will continue to work alongside the Trump administration and the EPA to ensure an energy future that embraces all forms of domestic production and recognizes the strategic importance of the Permian Basin.”

    “During my visit to the Permian Basin today, I heard over and over from energy companies of all sizes that they want common-sense regulations for emissions and wastewater,” said EPA Regional Administrator Scott Mason. “I look forward to working toward that goal, and appreciate Representative Pfluger’s leadership on these issues.”

    “The Permian Basin is key to America’s energy security, and visiting the region with Rep. Pfluger offered a valuable up-close perspective on the shared challenges our energy producers face. Much like in North Dakota, innovation and growth are being held back by one-size-fits-all federal regulations that lack common sense,” said Rep. Fedorchak. “It was encouraging to hear from EPA Region 6 Administrator Scott Mason, who assured us that the Trump administration’s EPA is committed to providing the certainty and clarity needed to unleash American energy. I appreciated the West Texas hospitality and look forward to showing him North Dakota’s energy leadership soon.”


    Check out these stories highlighting the day:

     

    Congressman August Pfluger brought together Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials and members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to discuss the challenges and opportunities oil and gas producers are facing today.

    Federal energy and environmental policy leaders visited the Permian Basin to see oil and gas operations up close and hear directly from the people shaping the region’s energy future.

    Read the full story and watch coverage of the press conference here.

    Several government officials met with local groups and organizations at the Petroleum Club of Midland on Tuesday to discuss federal oil and gas regulations.

    Headed by U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, the group also consisted of Mayor Lori Blong, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Scott Mason, U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak of North Dakota and key members of several Permian Basin trade organizations.

    Read the full story here.

    Congressman August Pfluger returned to the energy capital of West Texas on Tuesday to lead a roundtable discussion on oil and gas policy.

    Pfluger was joined by EPA Regional Administrator Scott Mason and North Dakota Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak for a site visit and stakeholder meeting in Midland.

    Read the full story and watch coverage of the press conference here.

    Joined by a congresswoman from North Dakota and the regional director of the U.S. Environmental Agency, Congressman August Pfluger said Tuesday that the Permian Basin has reached “a new era” of working with the federal regulatory agencies that beleaguered them during the Biden administration.

    Read the full story here.

    Representative August Pfluger visited the Permian Basin this afternoon alongside U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Scott Mason, Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (ND-At-large), as well as local oil and gas companies, and Midland Mayor Lori Blong.

    During the visit, all parties toured a Diamondback Energy oil rig, where they were shown the latest technology being used in its production. Following the tour, the leaders spoke about options to keep regulations at a minimum while also looking to keep oil operations as safe and clean as possible.

    Read the full story and watch coverage of the press conference here.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: expert reaction to study of nitrogen fertilised grassland and pollen allergies

    Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

    A study published in The Lancet Planetary Health looks at the impact of nitrogen fertiliser on pollen allergies.

    Dr Roy Neilson, Soil Ecologist, The James Hutton Institute, said:

    “Daelemans et al. take a novel approach of pollen assessment in considering the impact of nitrogen fertiliser application on pollen burden. Using a paired design at 25 grassland sites within a region of Belgium, and based on two sampling periods during May, the authors report that nitrogen-enriched grasslands had a 6·2-fold increase in pollen compared with their unfertilised paired grassland.

    “The results of the study arguably support the importance of species-specific grass pollen monitoring given that a subset of grass species may have disproportionate influence on respiratory health responses during peak grass pollen concentrations1. However, it is unclear how nitrogen driven increase in pollen will contribute to the predicted increase in pollen season severity by up to 60% due to a changing climate2.

    “Peaks in abundance of pollen occur at different times during the summer across the UK3 thus, it is unclear whether sampling in a single month as the study of Daelemans et al. would have the same outcome across the entire pollen season. Moreover, unlike tree pollen, a recent study reported that grass (Poaceae) pollen seasons are neither becoming more severe nor longer in the UK4.

    “Adoption of Regenerative Agricultural principles5 such as reducing synthetic inputs (e.g., inorganic nitrogen-based fertiliser) has potential to contribute to the mitigation of the outcomes reported by Daelemans et al.”

    References:

    1 Rowney, et al. (2021). Environmental DNA analysis reveals links between abundance and composition of airborne grass pollen and respiratory health. Current Biology, 31, 1-9.

    2 Kurganskiy, et al. (2021). Predicting the severity of the grass pollen season and the effect of climate change in Northwest Europe. Science Advances, 7, eabd7658.

    3 Brennan, et al. (2019). Grass allergy season defined by spatio-temporal shifts in airborne pollen biodiversity. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 3, 750-754.

    4 Adams-Groom, B., Selby, K., Derrett, S., Frisk, C.A., Pashley, C.H., Satchwell, J., King, D., McKenzie, G., and Neilson, R. (2022). Pollen season trends as markers of climate change impact: Betula, Quercus and Poaceae. Science of the Total Environment, 831, 154882.

    5 British Ecological Society (2025). Regenerative Agriculture in the UK: An Ecological Perspective. London, UK.

    Dr Roberto Picetti, Assistant Professor, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) said:

    “This study highlights the impact of nitrogen pollution on allergies, which is an under-recognised pathway affecting human health.

    “These findings are relevant to the UK, where nitrogen pollution remains a concern both in agricultural areas and in cities, and is already linked to other environmental and health problems, including respiratory illness, biodiversity loss, and air and water quality degradation.

    “It builds on well-established research which continues to find a link between high levels of nitrogen and changes in plant communities and pollen abundance, and to increased immune responses in individuals who are allergic to grass pollen.

    “This is a high-quality study that adds valuable evidence to an important and emerging area of public health. The conclusions are well grounded in the data, do not overstate the implications, and make a compelling case for further research and policy attention. Although observational studies are not able to account for every possible variable, this research uses a range of scientific approaches, such as ecology, molecular analysis and immunological testing, to strengthen its conclusions.

    “This study is a valuable step towards understanding and addressing the growing problem of pollen allergies and supports the case for more comprehensive environmental policies that consider both the health and ecological impacts of nitrogen pollution.

    “By reducing nitrogen pollution, we could help protect biodiversity and lessen the severity of pollen allergies.”

    (from our friends at SMC Spain) Dr José Gómez Rial, Head of the Immunology Department at the Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela (CHUS), Servicio Gallego de Salud (SERGAS) (Spain), said:

    “The study shows that nitrogen-enriched meadows produce up to six times more pollen than their unfertilised equivalents, and that this pollen has a greater capacity to activate immune cells in allergy sufferers, with a 5.1-fold increase in sensitivity in basophil activation tests and a 1.3-fold increase in specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels. Although the exact mechanism is not detailed in the article, it is plausible that excess nitrogen modifies the biochemical composition of pollen, increasing the quantity or proportion of allergenic proteins synthesised by the plant, which would enhance its capacity to activate the immune system.

    “These findings have important implications for both ecology and health. On the one hand, they reveal that nitrogen pollution not only affects plant biodiversity but can also directly aggravate highly prevalent allergic diseases such as rhinitis or seasonal asthma. On the other hand, they emphasise the need to integrate public health into environmental policies: reducing nitrogen emissions and limiting the use of fertilisers would not only contribute to preserving ecosystems but could also reduce the burden of disease associated with respiratory allergies. The concept of One Health applies not only to human and animal health, but also to plant health and the environment”.

    (from our friends at SMC Spain) Prof África González-Fernández, Researcher at CINBIO, Professor of Immunology at the University of Vigo (Spain), said:

    “The experiment is well-reasoned, but they analyse few cases (25 people in rich areas and 25 in areas not enriched with fertilisers). It has not been done in other areas, and the in vitro trials were carried out with 20 subjects. There is a lack of healthy controls.

    “There are studies from years ago on the increase in allergy and nitrogen fertilisers, as well as on NO2 levels and allergy. There is a lot of literature on the subject. Other studies have been carried out measuring IgE levels and they have included a basophil release test, which is currently used routinely in immunology laboratories in hospitals. They conclude that allergic patients recognise more proteins in the pollen of fertilised plants (enriched in nitrogen) than in those that are not fertilised, with more production of specific IgE and more release of mediators by basophils when exposed to fertilised pollen.

    “The same authors wrote a review in 2023: Impact of environmental nitrogen pollution on pollen allergy: A scoping review. In Table 4 they describe the mechanisms by which NO2 would affect pollen and the allergic response.

    “I see several limitations:

    1. The low number of allergic patients.
    2. They do not include control cases.
    3. At high pollen concentrations, there are no in vitro differences in the basophil release study. They do not correlate these data with the actual pollen count that could be in the environment.
    4. They have only taken into account serum levels of IgE antibodies against pollen, basophil release and immunoblot studies [a technique for the identification of proteins]. They have not studied cellular responses (T lymphocytes, NK cells) which they do carry out in other studies. As an example of immunological studies, a study was also carried out in Madrid years ago on the ability of pollen to activate lymphocytes and NK cells, and it has been seen (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1398-9995.2007.01438.x) that pollen-allergic asthmatic patients, when they live in more polluted areas, present more and more severe symptoms.
    5. There is already previous data on pollen: Cuinica et al. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24361564/), Zhao et al. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pce.12601), Chassard et al.(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25463703/)

    The impact of ecosystem nitrogen enrichment on pollen allergy: a cross-sectional paired comparison study’ by Robin Daelemans et al. was published in The Lancet Planetary Health at 23:30 UK time on Wednesday 16th April 2025. 

    Declared interests

    Dr Roberto Picetti: No conflicts of interest to declare.

    For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom

  • MIL-Evening Report: ‘They are like my children’: research reveals 4 types of indoor plant owners. Which one are you?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brianna Le Busque, Lecturer in Environmental Science, University of South Australia

    maramorosz/Shutterstock

    Walk into any home or workplace today, and you’re likely to find an array of indoor plants. The global market for indoor plants is growing fast – projected to reach more than US$28 billion (A$44 billion) by 2031.

    People keep indoor plants inside for a variety of reasons, including as decoration, to clean the air and for stress relief. But my colleagues and I wanted to delve further. What sort of relationships do people have with indoor plants? And what can this tell us about ties between humans and nature?

    We surveyed indoor plant owners in Australia, and found many of us form highly meaningful connections with our leafy companions. Some people even consider their plants as family, get anxious about their health and mourn a plant when it dies.

    Some people worry about the wellbeing of their indoor plants.
    Yurii_Yarema/Shutterstock

    A blooming hobby

    People have grown plants inside for thousands of years.

    Evidence suggests Egyptians brought plants indoors in the 3rd century BC. The remains of the former city of Pompeii reveal indoor plants used there more than 2,000 years ago, and in medieval England, indoor plants were used in medicine and cooking.

    The keeping of indoor plants became widespread across the world in the second half of the 20th century. The practice was particularly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, likely due to a desire to connect with nature when access to outdoor green spaces was limited.

    The benefits of indoor plants go beyond nature connection. Studies show they can increase positive emotions, reduce stress, enhance productivity, and even decrease physical discomfort such as pain.

    However, people have varying levels of connection to their plants, as research by my colleagues and I shows.

    Why we love indoor plants

    We surveyed 115 Australian adults, recruited through social media posts and poster advertisements at the University of South Australia. Participants were roughly 69% female, 30% male and 1% non-binary, and ranged in age from 18 to 69.

    On average, participants owned 15 indoor plants. Some owned a single indoor plant and one person owned a whopping 500!

    Between them, respondents kept 51 different varieties of house plants. The most common were succulents, devil’s ivy and monstera. They most commonly kept the plants in the living room, kitchen or bedroom.

    Across all participants, 11 benefits of having indoor plants were reported.

    Half the respondents described the aesthetic appeal of indoor plants. Comments included that indoor plants were “nice to look at”, “soften rooms” and “add colour”. Participants also reported air quality benefits, and that they found indoor plants calming.

    Other less commonly reported benefits were that the plants helped the respondents set habits, improved their physical health, provided distraction, relieved fatigue and had a pleasant smell.

    4 types of relationships with indoor plants

    Our research identified four types of relationships people have with their indoor plants:

    1. Highly connected (14% of respondents)

    These people typically described a deep personal connection to their plants. Comments included:

    They are like my children. (male, 28)

    I often water them and take care of them as family members. (female, 26)

    Well I cried over my plants leaf getting broken off today, so you could say I’m pretty attached
    to her. (female, 21)

    I feel terrible if one dies, I feel as though I have let it down and generally bury it in the garden. (female, 34)

    2. Engaged (42% of respondents)

    These people enjoyed and tended to their plants, but without deep emotional attachment. For example:

    Watering them and watching them grow is exciting, I feel proud to keep them alive so long (female, 22)

    I get sad when one dies or is looking droopy, I feel happy when they look alive and freshly
    watered. (female, 22)

    One respondent said his plants were ‘like my children’.
    pikselstock/Shutterstock

    3. Limited engagement (23%)

    These respondents enjoyed having indoor plants but spent minimal time caring for them and reported minimal emotional connections to them. One participant said:

    Feel like indoor plants are fine but through our large windows we can see our outdoor plants and that’s more important to us. (female, 45)

    4. No relationship (12%)

    Participants who did not have a relationship with their indoor plants said:

    Hardly watered it as it’s a succulent. (male, 21)

    They are all gifts rather than something I’ve gone out to buy. (male, 21)

    (For the remaining 9% of participants, their responses to the question of their relationship with house plants were invalid and not included.)

    A minority of survey participants said they had no relationship with their indoor plants.
    Sophia Floerchinger/Shutterstock

    Unlocking the potential of indoor plants

    Our research suggests indoor plants can enrich our lives in ways we are only beginning to understand.

    It’s important to note that data for our study were collected in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This context may have influenced our results. For example, some participants may have felt particularly connected to their indoor plants because their access to outdoor green space was curtailed. So, further research is needed in the post-pandemic context.

    Human–nature relationships are an emerging field of research. By understanding the relationship between people and plants, we may help unlock the potential for nature to improve our health and wellbeing.

    Brianna Le Busque 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.

    ref. ‘They are like my children’: research reveals 4 types of indoor plant owners. Which one are you? – https://theconversation.com/they-are-like-my-children-research-reveals-4-types-of-indoor-plant-owners-which-one-are-you-252387

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Putin and Sobyanin visited the new campus of Bauman Moscow State Technical University

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –

    President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin visited the new campus of the Moscow State Technical University (MSTU) named after N.E. Bauman. He familiarized himself with the research and development of teachers, students and postgraduates in the field of space exploration, as well as in other areas. The Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin reported to the head of state on the work of the Moscow Government to develop Russia’s leading engineering university.

    Vladimir Putin also held a meeting at the university on the development of space activities, which was attended by representatives of departments related to this industry.

    “Our focus today is on the development of the domestic space industry for the long term. Addressing this topic is always a special responsibility to the pioneers of space, to those people who set the highest bar for us,” said the Russian President.

    Vladimir Putin congratulated veterans of the industry, cosmonauts and servicemen of the Russian Aerospace Forces on the recent Cosmonautics Day, and also thanked all employees of state enterprises, private space companies, scientific organizations and universities for their work. Particular attention was paid to the merits of the team of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, among whose graduates there is a whole galaxy of famous cosmonauts, outstanding scientists and designers.

    “The best traditions of personnel training are developing and multiplying these days, and, as we have seen, in the new campus. Modern conditions are being created here for obtaining in-demand competencies. Of course, we will implement such projects in other cities of Russia,” Vladimir Putin emphasized.

    Construction of the campus of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University

    The project for the construction of a new educational complex of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University was implemented by the Moscow Government together with the Russian Government on behalf of Vladimir Putin. The new campus became the first facility in the country built under the federal project “Creation of a Network of Modern Campuses”. It became part of the national project “Science and Universities”, the implementation of which has been ongoing since 2025 within the framework of the national project “Youth and Children”This is one of the largest and most complex projects in the field of development of higher professional education.

    “A total of 14 buildings with a total area of about 170 thousand square meters were built and restored in the shortest possible time. This was achieved through coordinated work – the facilities were built and designed in parallel. In almost 90 percent of cases, components and equipment from domestic manufacturers were used,” the Moscow Mayor said.

    in his telegram channel.

    Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @Mos_Sobyanin

    In 2022 – early 2024, six facilities of the MSTU research cluster were opened.

    The Life Sciences Engineering Cluster (formerly the Biomedical Systems and Technologies Center) is designed to implement modern educational programs, conduct research and development in the field of engineering and life sciences. Along with the educational programs of the Biomedical Engineering Faculty, research and development in the field of advanced biomedical engineering is conducted here. The building houses classrooms, including an office with a transformable partition, rooms for teachers, and a meeting room. Much space is allocated to advanced laboratories, including Biophotonics and Visualization of Living Systems, Neuroinfobionics, Rapid Prototyping, Cellular Technologies and Tissue Engineering, and Functional Hydrogels.

    The Engineering Center for Ground Transport and Technological Systems is designed to carry out research and development work, as well as to implement educational programs in the field of creation and operation of ground transport and technological machines and complexes. The building houses laboratories, engineers’ offices, educational and laboratory premises, office premises for employees, a classroom, premises for scientific research and meetings. The KAMAZ-Bauman Scientific and Educational Center and several specialized laboratories operate here. In particular, the Wheeled Machines laboratory has been opened, conducting work in five key areas, such as Traction Electric Drives and Mechatronic Transmissions, Intelligent NTTS Systems, Hydraulic Testing, On-Board Storage Devices, and Acoustic Testing.

    The multifunctional scientific and educational building is a new five-story building with an area of 20 thousand square meters, designed to accommodate research laboratories, scientific, administrative and educational spaces. The building houses seven departments of the university, as well as a complex of laboratories of mechanical engineering technologies, ground-based technological and launch equipment for rocket and space, vacuum and compressor technology. In total, 26 laboratories are open here, including laboratories of additive manufacturing technologies, reverse engineering and prototyping, research and certification of additive materials and additive manufacturing technologies.

    The exhibition and educational media space “Palace of Technologies” is located in the building of an architectural monument – the restored two-story Phanagoria barracks built in the 18th century. The ceremonial halls of the palace are intended for holding ceremonies, international meetings, scientific and educational forums and other thematic events of congress and exhibition activities. The university’s specialized departments are located here – the information policy department and the organizational and protocol work department. In December 2023, the building hosted the first open day of the Faculty of Robotics and Complex Automation, which was attended by more than 200 people. Representatives of the faculty prepared lectures on the digital transformation of industry, robotics and engineering infrastructure of a modern industrial enterprise. Applicants and their parents were told about the admission rules, curricula of educational programs, as well as future employment, career and salary prospects.

    The research center is a new six-story building with an area of 5.1 thousand square meters. The advanced engineering school “System Engineering of Rocket and Space Technology” operates on its basis. In addition, departments developing products for space and aviation have launched their activities here.

    The multifunctional library building is a restored three-story building of the chemical laboratory of the Imperial Moscow Technical School, built in the 19th century according to the design of the architect Lev Kekushev. It trains IT specialists. It houses classrooms and computer labs for lectures, seminars and laboratory work, specialized laboratories for classes with senior students of the university’s industrial partners – IT companies, as well as coworking spaces and premises for teachers and postgraduate students of the departments. Since February 2024, the building has been hosting strategic sessions, scientific and practical conferences and other socially significant events. In addition, it was used as an accreditation center on the day of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University alumni meeting, which was attended by more than two thousand people.

    Vladimir Putin and Sergei Sobyanin opened new buildings of Bauman Moscow State Technical University

    By September 2024, work on several sites was completed.

    The central cluster with a total area of about 51 thousand square meters includes five buildings of different heights – from four to six. The main task of the architects was to visually separate different functional areas without disturbing the overall harmony of the ensemble. To do this, they decided to detail the facades of the buildings with the help of scientific formulas. The facade glass looks different: in some places the formulas and equations are visible as clearly as possible, in others they are reflected, and in buildings with atrium spaces they can disappear depending on the viewing angle. All five buildings are united by a hovering dome roof – a membrane structure with an area of 2.5 thousand square meters, which will protect the ensemble and the inner courtyard from bad weather and make it more comfortable.

    The center of the square is the “tree of knowledge” – an oak tree, around which an amphitheater for students and employees of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University is located. The inner courtyard is open to city residents, which made it possible to create a new center for meetings and communication.

    The central cluster of Bauman Moscow State Technical University houses an innovation hub and a congress center, a cluster of “Environmental Protection Technologies – Green Territory”, a center of excellence and a scientific and educational cluster of digital transformation, a center of excellence and a scientific and educational cluster of “Digital Materials Science”, as well as a federal testing center.

    The multifunctional complex “Quantum Park” with a total area of 13.8 thousand square meters houses research laboratories with advanced equipment, including world-class “clean rooms”, co-working spaces and transformable spaces for presenting scientific developments.

    Today, it is one of the most advanced research complexes in the world. It is designed to solve practical problems at the intersection of quantum, photonic and fluid technologies that will determine the future of science and industry.

    The Quantum Park building is one of the largest and at the same time the most equipped in the new cluster. “House of Light” was the working title of the new building. The architects sought to make it truly airy and luminous.

    The Bauman Moscow State Technical University dormitory complex consists of the Spektr and Strela buildings. It is designed to accommodate about 2.3 thousand students.

    According to Sergei Sobyanin, a small plot of land between the river and the city collector was chosen for its construction. Now the dormitories have everything necessary for a comfortable stay of students.

    In addition to living quarters, the buildings with a total area of 60.5 thousand square meters house a multifunctional educational and leisure center, multimedia spaces and the necessary social infrastructure. An unusual form of faceted crystals was chosen for the student dormitory buildings: the monoform effect was achieved by increasing the size of the glass on the facades.

    The flat facade of the building reflects the surrounding environment during the day: trees, clouds and sun. From the street, spectacular panoramic glass spanning the entire floor is visible. The windows inside the building are not only beautiful, but also fully functional: there are window sills and ventilation sashes.

    The seven-story Spektr building on Gospitalnaya Embankment is designed for 550 students who live in single, double, triple and quadruple rooms. Some of the rooms have been adapted for people with disabilities. The residential units have a kitchen area, an entrance hall, a bathroom with a bathtub, and modern and functional furniture. The building houses the Novoselye information center. It processes documents for moving in and accepts requests for electrical, plumbing and furniture repairs. Public spaces include coworking spaces and rooms with individual work areas, music classrooms and rehearsal rooms. The Spektr building also has a modern canteen with 140 seats.

    Sergei Sobyanin announced the completion of construction of two new buildings of Baumanka

    Metro station and pedestrian bridges

    Simultaneously with the construction of the research cluster, the Moscow Government implemented a set of measures to develop transport infrastructure and improve the territory in the area of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University.

    Opened in 2020 Elektrozavodskaya station Large metro ring line. Thanks to the improvement of the adjacent territory, convenient approaches and access roads to it from residential buildings were provided.

    In April 2022, a pedestrian bridge across the Yauza River was opened near the new station. The 111-meter-long artificial structure connected residential areas on the Semenovskaya and Rubtsovskaya embankments, providing convenient access for teachers and students of Bauman Moscow State Technical University, as well as local residents, to the Elektrozavodskaya metro station of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya and Big Circle Lines and the station of the same name on the third Moscow Central Diameter.

    In September 2024, the construction of a 243-meter-long bicycle and pedestrian bridge across the Yauza River was completed. It provides a connection between the educational buildings of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, as well as unimpeded passage from Rubtsovskaya Embankment to the buildings of the N.N. Burdenko Main Military Clinical Hospital. The artificial structure was made in the form of open caissoned steel structures with lighting from the bottom. This gives a sense of the fluidity of the bridge and the river beneath it. The smooth lines of the structures compositionally continue the lines of the concrete supports.

    The accent points of the bridge are the staircase and elevator units, made in the form of crystals. They harmoniously connect the appearance of the engineering structure with the architecture of the new campus buildings. In addition, the crystals have a symbolic connection with education and scientific activity. Cyclists and pedestrians can move along the bridge. There is a recreation area and a viewing area – a comfortable observation deck with an amphitheater. In addition to bike paths, the bridge is equipped with ramps for cyclists, stairways and elevators for people with limited mobility.

    Moscow Mayor: 25 Tunnels, Overpasses, Bridges and Overpasses Built in 2024

    Metallurg Stadium

    The historic Metallurg stadium on the bank of the Yauza River was donated to Bauman Moscow State Technical University. It became the university’s main home arena.

    According to Sergei Sobyanin, a complete reconstruction of the stadium is currently underway, within the framework of which a modern gym and changing rooms will be built here, and all the necessary infrastructure will be created.

    The comprehensive renovation of the sports facility is planned to be completed in the third quarter of 2025. It will house a football and rugby field, a basketball and volleyball court, beach volleyball, workout and tennis areas. In addition, sports enthusiasts will be provided with a physical education and health complex and an administrative and household complex with volleyball courts that can be transformed for other sports (table tennis, basketball and mini-football), as well as a hall for the volleyball super league, exercise machines, comfortable locker rooms, coaches’ rooms, a room for storing sports equipment and a first aid station. In addition, the stadium will have an event venue, a recreation area, a pavilion-cafe with a summer terrace and a children’s play area.

    The renovated Metallurg stadium will become a modern sports complex — Sobyanin

    Improvement of neighborhoods in the area of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University

    “Along with the construction of the research cluster, much was done to improve the transport infrastructure in the area of the university. The nearby neighborhoods were also improved,” said Sergei Sobyanin

    in his telegram channel.

    Source: Sergei Sobyanin’s Telegram channel @Mos_Sobyanin

    Landscaping works were carried out in the areas located near the Bauman Moscow State Technical University complex of buildings and the Metallurg stadium. In particular, in 2023, landscaping of 14 objects was completed: Baumanskaya, 2-ya Baumanskaya, Malaya Pochtovaya and Ladozhskaya streets, as well as Staro-Kirochny, Denisovsky, Gardnerovsky, Brigadirsky, Maly Gavrikov, Gospitalny and Spartakovsky lanes, Proektiruyemy proezd No. 1106, the inter-yard area from Lefortovskaya Square to Gospitalny Lane, as well as Khomutovsky blind alley.

    Comfortable conditions for pedestrians were created on the landscaped streets: sidewalks were widened where possible, new outdoor lighting supports with energy-saving lamps were installed, and comfortable public spaces with places to rest were arranged.

     

    Four new pavilions with charging slots and information boards were installed at public transport stops. Convenient parking for 278 cars was arranged, and for cyclists – bicycle parking for 63 places.

    During the additional landscaping work, lawns and flower beds with a total area of over 14 thousand square meters were laid out, and large trees and shrubs were planted.

    Under the Clean Sky project, overhead cable lines were moved to underground collectors. In addition, storm drains were put in order, the asphalt pavement of the roadway was replaced, road signs and other infrastructure facilities were updated.

    Sobyanin: A number of areas near universities in Moscow will be improved by 2024

    In September 2024, the reorganization of the space between Lefortovo Embankment and Bauman Moscow State Technical University was completed. A convenient route from the main building of the university to the Faculty of Power Engineering and a new pedestrian path from Lefortovo Square to the embankment were created for students and teachers. The area in front of Lefortovo Palace was also transformed: an additional approach to the main building of the university was organized in place of the dilapidated buildings, the granite paving of the staircase near the building was renewed, benches were installed on the territory, a lawn was laid out and a video surveillance system was installed. The sidewalk along the embankment was widened, protective screens and lanterns with energy-efficient lamps were installed, and the parking area was reorganized.

    Leading space university in Russia

    Bauman Moscow State Technical University is rightfully considered the largest center for training personnel for the space industry. Among the university’s graduates are outstanding designers Sergei Korolev, Vladimir Barmin, Nikolai Pilyugin, many other managers and leading employees of industry enterprises, as well as 15 cosmonauts.

    Today, more than 4.5 thousand students are studying at the university in areas related to space exploration. By the end of 2024, 90 percent of graduates in these specialties were successfully employed.

    For the practice-oriented training of students and the implementation of research and development work on space topics, specialized divisions operate at Bauman Moscow State Technical University:

    — educational and experimental center based at the Dmitrov branch;

    — an educational and scientific youth space center with a flight control center, in which students develop microsatellites, payloads for space experiments, and special software and mathematical support;

    — the design bureau “Breakthrough Space Research and Technology”, which implements the full cycle of spacecraft and their systems development, integration of target equipment from third-party developers and leading domestic scientific organizations. Currently, there are six satellites in orbit, designed for weather monitoring and forecasting. They are also used for marine navigation of ships, including in the Northern Sea Route zone;

    — advanced engineering school “System Engineering of Rocket and Space Technology”. The federal project was created in 2022 on the initiative of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation with the aim of training specialists in the field of system design to solve breakthrough problems in the rocket and space industry, as well as to implement projects in the interests of high-tech companies. Special equipment and machinery have been purchased for specific educational and research purposes, which are already being used by teachers and students.

    Today, 160 students are studying at the engineering school. The training includes practical work at enterprises of the state corporation Roscosmos and private space companies in the laboratories of the advanced engineering school, work with mentors in team projects. Students in interdisciplinary teams participate in the implementation of research and development work commissioned by industry enterprises. The school works in several areas, including the creation of the Russian orbital station and the production of a promising component base to ensure Russia’s technological sovereignty in space.

    Which capital companies offer internship and practical training programs for university and college students

    On cooperation with the Moscow Innovation Cluster

    MSTU named after N.E. Bauman is a member Moscow Innovation Cluster. The university carries out research and development work for government and commercial customers in the field of creating spacecraft, electronic systems, and other strategically important areas. In particular, work is underway on the project of a small-sized descent vehicle “Zaryanka” – a system for delivering samples and materials for research from orbit of space stations.

    On the development of the Moscow aerospace industry

    Moscow is the center of the rocket and space industry of Russia, where over 40 enterprises, scientific and technical centers, laboratories and research institutes work. They employ over 30 thousand people. These are engineers and designers, developers and other specialists in related fields, thanks to whom almost everything is created in the city: from ultra-light cables to launch vehicles and components for spacecraft.

    In 2024, manufacturers of aircraft, including spacecraft, and related equipment increased shipments by 11.7 percent compared to 2023: companies delivered products worth about 214.4 billion rubles. The revenue of enterprises in 2024 amounted to almost 200 billion rubles, and investments in fixed assets exceeded nine billion rubles.

    The Khrunichev State Space Research and Production Center operates in Moscow. It is one of the basic enterprises of the Roscosmos state corporation, a leading domestic developer and manufacturer of space launch vehicles of various payload capacities and their components for federal and commercial programs. For example, it created the third stage, assembly units, payload fairing and other parts of the Angara-A5 heavy rocket, which was launched on April 11, 2024.

    The development of control systems for rocket and space technology is carried out by the Scientific and Production Center for Automation and Instrumentation (NPCAI) named after Academician N.A. Pilyugin. Here they produced the control system for the Angara-A5 rocket, and for the Proton-M launch vehicle – a single hardware and software complex that ensures control of pre-launch preparation and flight mode. In addition, the Fregat upper stage, designed to launch spacecraft into various specified orbits, is equipped with an integrated inertial-satellite control system of JSC NPCAI.

    A unique development of Moscow industrialists was space bread. The capital’s Research Institute of the Baking Industry is responsible for its production. This product, which can be stored for 15 months, is supplied to cosmonauts in the form of mini-loaves. In addition, flour flatbreads with onions, cheese and ketchup are prepared for them, as well as mini-muffins and rolls for tea.

    The capital’s Spetskabel plant produces a cable for onboard computer networks using SpaceWire technology. Information is transmitted at a speed of 400 megabits per second, four times faster than similar products. It is manufactured using lightweight foam insulation technology, which makes the cable thinner and lighter than foreign analogues. Its operating temperature is from minus 198 to plus 200 degrees, which guarantees stable operation in extreme space conditions.

    In the Moscow engineering center “Automated Control Systems” they test the electronic component base for products of the rocket and space industry in the components of ground simulators for training cosmonauts for flight, as well as in many other devices. They are tested, in particular, for resistance to shock loads and for determining the critical frequencies of the product.

    Ventilation systems produced in the capital are used at key facilities in the space industry. Thus, the GalVent ventilation factory ensures a comfortable microclimate in the premises at the Vostochny and Plesetsk cosmodromes, the country’s scientific and production centers, and the center for the operation of ground-based space infrastructure facilities.

    The Russian aerospace company Bureau 1440 is developing a low-orbit satellite constellation that will provide broadband Internet access with data transfer rates of up to one gigabit per second with minimal delays anywhere on Earth. The work is being carried out as part of the national project Data Economy.

    Sobyanin: Moscow remains the center of Russia’s high-tech industry

    A number of other companies also work in the Moscow space industry. For example, the N.A. Dollezhal Research and Design Institute of Power Engineering produces systems for the automation of reactors and nuclear space installations.

    ExpertStroyProekt LLC produces antenna and telemetry systems, ground-based receiving telemetry stations, as well as command radio line equipment, space, rocket and aviation based for stationary monitoring of the Earth’s surface and its atmosphere, measuring, receiving and control radio engineering and optoelectronic testing complexes for rocket and aviation equipment.

    The State Research Institute of Instrument Engineering produces drones and various devices of a wide range, on-board systems for space and aircraft.

    The Kometa Corporation produces computing systems, automated control systems, spacecraft payloads, television systems, automatic equipment, radio measuring equipment, artistic castings and television surveillance systems. The Research Institute of Precision Instruments produces products for radio control of spacecraft.

    The research and production enterprise (RPE) “Impulse” is creating a controlled thermostatic system for liquid fuel of a rocket engine under conditions of variable thermal load, and the RPE “Quantum” is creating autonomous power supply systems.

    OOO Sputniks (Skolkovo) manufactures debugging tools and devices for microsatellites, and the scientific and production concern Barl develops and implements solutions in the field of remote sensing of the Earth and satellite communications.

    The VNIIEM corporation is engaged in space systems for remote sensing of the Earth, and the scientific and production association Nauka creates life support systems.

    The All-Russian Research Institute of Aviation Materials of the National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute” is producing a light-filtering gold coating for the Orlan spacesuit.

    JSC Aeropribor-Voskhod produces aerometric, radio-electronic and navigation equipment, precision and working pressure gauges for aviation and space technology.

    A large number of projects in this industry and the telecommunications sector are being implemented in the special economic zone (SEZ) Technopolis Moscow. At the Pechatniki site, one of the leading Russian developers of high-tech equipment, Neoros LLC, in partnership with Biforcom Tek LLC, produces transceivers used in telecommunications equipment. The Goodwin Concern produces a microcellular communication system used to service subscribers. Labs 1440 JSC (ICS Holding Company) has placed the production of components for a low-orbit satellite system.

    At the Alabushevo site in Zelenograd, the Electroinvest group of companies launched the production of radiation-resistant secondary power sources.

    The construction of the Moscow Photonics Center has been completed. Its production capacity will be 100 thousand photonic integrated circuits (PIC) per year. A PIC is a microchip designed for ultra-fast processing of light (photonic) signals, which increases the data transfer rate by 100 times. It is a basic element for the implementation of modern technologies of artificial intelligence, fifth-generation mobile communications (5G), biomedicine, lidars, radars and much more.

    Another important project at the Alabushevo site is the construction of a photomask center, which is used to create integrated circuits. The enterprise’s capacity will allow it to produce up to 5.5 thousand photomasks per year.

    Over the year, 30 high-tech production facilities have been launched in the Technopolis Moscow SEZ

    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.

    Please Note; This Information is Raw Content Directly from the Information Source. It is access to What the Source Is Stating and Does Not Reflect

    HTTPS: //vv.mos.ru/mayor/tkhemes/12629050/

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Luján Addresses Industry Leaders and Innovators at Energy, Technology & Environmental Business Association’s Forum

    US Senate News:

    Source: US Senator for New Mexico Ben Ray Luján

    Santa Fe, N.M. – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) delivered remarks at the Energy, Technology & Environmental Business Association’s New Mexico Federal Business Opportunities Forum to highlight federal investments in energy, innovation, and sustainability, as well as the success of New Mexico businesses in energy, technology, and environmental issues. Senator Luján specifically highlighted investments he helped secure for the National Labs located in New Mexico through the Inflation Reduction Act and efforts he championed in the CHIPS and Science Act to drive scientific innovation in underserved areas in rural New Mexico.

    “New Mexico’s business owners, engineers, scientists, and advocates are helping drive innovation and economic growth right here at home and across the country,” said Senator Luján. “It was a privilege to join industry leaders today at the Energy, Technology & Environmental Business Association’s New Mexico Federal Business Opportunities Forum and recognize all the work that is happening to build a sustainable, competitive, and secure future. I have long fought to make sure New Mexico is front and center in every conversation about energy, innovation, and sustainability, and will continue to do so. I look forward to working together with these industry leaders, small businesses, and entrepreneurs to shape the future of innovation in New Mexico.”

    The Energy, Technology & Environmental Business Association’s New Mexico Federal Business Forum connects industry leaders, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and federal partners to forge new partnerships, share knowledge, and shape the future of innovation in New Mexico.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Trump Executive Order Targets Multiple Markey Energy and Climate Protections, Calls for Sunsetting of Critical Regulations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey

    Boston (April 16, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and co-Chair of the Senate Climate Change Task Force, released the following statement after President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and more to sunset environmental regulations. Several of these regulations were championed by Senator Markey to make America’s appliances more efficient, save families money at the pump, and curb dangerous climate pollution.

    “Donald Trump doesn’t just want to roll back the environmental and climate gains we’ve made over the past four years, he wants to erase the progress we’ve made over 150 years —all to boost the bottom lines of Big Oil and Big Gas,” said Senator Markey. “We cannot sacrifice public health for industry wealth.

    “I’ve fought for years, even decades, to put laws on the books to keep the people of Massachusetts and the entire country safe, healthy, and prosperous. I will not let Trump and his Big Oil boosters undo these hard-earned gains. I will continue fighting to stop this Administration from putting polluters over people and our planet.”

    The order affects multiple pieces of keystone energy and environment legislation led by Senator Markey, including:

    • the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987, which established mandatory nationwide appliance efficiency standards;
    • the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which created the fuel economy standards that save families money;
    • the Energy Policy Act of 1992, in which Senator Markey successfully included an open-access transmission requirement that created the modern grid; and
    • the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, which regulates the safe and responsible storage of nuclear waste and in which Senator Markey authored the provision that gives states the power to deny the siting of nuclear waste within their borders.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Global: How single-stream recycling works − your choices can make it better

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Alex Jordan, Associate Professor of Plastics Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Stout

    Successful recycling requires some care. Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty Images

    Every week, millions of Americans toss their recyclables into a single bin, trusting that their plastic bottles, aluminum cans and cardboard boxes will be given a new life.

    But what really happens after the truck picks them up?

    Single-stream recycling makes participating in recycling easy, but behind the scenes, complex sorting systems and contamination mean a large percentage of that material never gets a second life. Reports in recent years have found 15% to 25% of all the materials picked up from recycle bins ends up in landfills instead.

    Plastics are among the biggest challenges. Only about 9% of the plastic generated in the U.S. actually gets recycled, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Some plastic is incinerated to produce energy, but most of the rest ends up in landfills instead.

    A breakdown of U.S. recycling by millions of tons shows about two-thirds of all paper and cardboard gets a second life, but only about a third of metal, a quarter of glass and less than 10% of plastics do.
    Alex Jordan/University of Wisconsin-Stout

    So, what makes plastic recycling so difficult? As an engineer whose work focuses on reprocessing plastics, I have been exploring potential solutions.

    How does single-stream recycling work?

    In cities that use single-stream recycling, consumers put all of their recyclable materials − paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and metal − into a single bin. Once collected, the mixed recyclables are taken to a materials recovery facility, where they are sorted.

    First, the mixed recyclables are shredded and crushed into smaller fragments, enabling more effective separation. The mixed fragments pass over rotating screens that remove cardboard and paper, allowing heavier materials, including plastics, metals and glass, to continue along the sorting line.

    The basics of a single-stream recycling system in Pennsylvania. Source: Van Dyk Recycling Solutions.

    Magnets are used to pick out ferrous metals, such as steel. A magnetic field that produces an electrical current with eddies sends nonferrous metals, such as aluminum, into a separate stream, leaving behind plastics and glass.

    The glass fragments are removed from the remaining mix using gravity or vibrating screens.

    That leaves plastics as the primary remaining material.

    While single-stream recycling is convenient, it has downsides. Contamination, such as food residue, plastic bags and items that can’t be recycled, can degrade the quality of the remaining material, making it more difficult to reuse. That lowers its value.

    Having to remove that contamination raises processing costs and can force recovery centers to reject entire batches.

    Plastic bags, food residue and items that can’t be recycled can contaminate a recycling stream.
    City of Greenville, N.C./Flickr

    Which plastics typically can’t be recycled?

    Each recycling program has rules for which items it will and won’t take. You can check which items can and cannot be recycled for your specific program on your municipal page. Often, that means checking the recycling code stamped on the plastic next to the recycling icon.

    These are the toughest plastics to recycle and most likely to be excluded in your local recycling program:

    • Symbol 3 – Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, found in pipes, shower curtains and some food packaging. It may contain harmful additives such as phthalates and heavy metals. PVC also degrades easily, and melting can release toxic fumes during recycling, contaminating other materials and making it unsafe to process in standard recycling facilities.

    • Symbol 4 – Low-density polyethylene, or LDPE, is often used in plastic bags and shrink-wrap. Because it’s flexible and lightweight, it’s prone to getting tangled in sorting machinery at recycling plants.

    • Symbol 6 – Polystyrene, often used in foam cups, takeout containers and packing peanuts. Because it’s lightweight and brittle, it’s difficult to collect and process and easily contaminates recycling streams.

    Which plastics to include

    That leaves three plastics that can be recycled in many facilities:

    However, these aren’t accepted in some facilities for reasons I’ll explain.

    Taking apart plastics, bead by bead

    Some plastics can be chemically recycled or ground up for reprocessing, but not all plastics play well together.

    Simple separation methods, such as placing ground-up plastics in water, can easily remove your soda bottle plastic (PET) from the mixture. The ground-up PET sinks in water due to the plastic’s density. However, HDPE, used in milk jugs, and PP, found in yogurt cups, both float, and they can’t be recycled together. So, more advanced and expensive technology, such as infrared spectroscopy, is often required to separate those two materials.

    Once separated, the plastic from your soda bottle can be chemically recycled through a process called solvolysis.

    It works like this: Plastic materials are formed from polymers. A polymer is a molecule with many repeating units, called monomers. Picture a pearl necklace. The individual pearls are the repeating monomer units. The string that runs through the pearls is the chemical bond that joins the monomer units together. The entire necklace can then be thought of as a single molecule.

    During solvolysis, chemists break down that necklace by cutting the string holding the pearls together until they are individual pearls. Then, they string those pearls together again to create new necklaces.

    Other chemical recycling methods, such as pyrolysis and gasification, have drawn environmental and health concerns because the plastic is heated, which can release toxic fumes. But chemical recycling also holds the potential to reduce both plastic waste and the need for new plastics, while generating energy.

    The problem of yogurt cups and milk jugs

    The other two common types of recycled plastics − items such as yogurt cups (PP) and milk jugs (HDPE) − are like oil and water: Each can be recycled through reprocessing, but they don’t mix.

    If polyethylene and polypropylene aren’t completely separated during recycling, the resulting mix can be brittle and generally unusable for creating new products.

    Chemists are working on solutions that could increase the quality of recycled plastics through mechanical reprocessing, typically done at separate facilities.

    One promising mechanical method for recycling mixed plastics is to incorporate a chemical called a compatibilizer. Compatibilizers contain the chemical structure of multiple different polymers in the same molecule. It’s like how lecithin, commonly found in egg yolks, can help mix oil and water to make mayonnaise − part of the lecithin molecule is in the oil phase and part is in the water phase.

    In the case of yogurt cups and milk jugs, recently developed block copolymers are able to produce recycled plastic materials with the flexibility of polyethylene and the strength of polypropylene.

    Improving recycling

    Research like this can make recycled materials more versatile and valuable and move products closer to a goal of a circular economy without waste.

    However, improving recycling also requires better recycling habits.

    You can help the recycling process by taking a few minutes to wash off food waste, avoiding putting plastic bags in your recycling bin and, importantly, paying attention to what can and cannot be recycled in your area.

    Alex Jordan received funding in in the past from TotalEnergies. He has worked on projects to create PP-PE block copolymers.

    ref. How single-stream recycling works − your choices can make it better – https://theconversation.com/how-single-stream-recycling-works-your-choices-can-make-it-better-250017

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI USA: DLNR News Release – DLNR Clarifies Ocean Commercial Use Permiting Status, April 15, 2025

    Source: US State of Hawaii

    DLNR News Release – DLNR Clarifies Ocean Commercial Use Permiting Status, April 15, 2025

    Posted on Apr 15, 2025 in Latest Department News, Newsroom

     

     

    STATE OF      HAWAIʻI

    KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI

     

    DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES

    KA ‘OIHANA KUMUWAIWAI ‘ĀINA

     

    JOSH GREEN, M.D.
    GOVERNOR

     

    DAWN CHANG
    CHAIRPERSON

    DLNR CLARIFIES OCEAN COMMERCIAL USE PERMITTING STATUS

     

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

    April 15, 2025

     

    HONOLULU – After being made aware of misinformation circulated by commercial boating interests, the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) is clarifying the status of Commercial Use Permits (CUPs) following a series of judicial actions.

    At this time, no new CUPs will be issued, pursuant to the court’s order in Nā Papaʻi Wawae ʻUlaʻula, et al. v. DLNR, Case No. 2CC-17-1-000483. Existing permits in good standing will continue to be renewed and at this time, permittees will only be allowed to maintain current activity and/or passenger capacity levels, or reduce existing levels.  DOBOR will continue to allow vessel substitutions, but will not authorize increases in passenger capacity levels, regardless of vessel size.

    Permittees planning to upgrade their vessels are advised to ensure that Certificates of Inspection show a passenger carrying capacity that is the same as, or lower than, what is permitted as of December 4, 2024, the date that the court issued its order. The department’s stance on maintaining current activity and/or passenger capacity levels is to ensure that the department does not take any actions that can be construed as contrary to the court’s order.

    The lawsuit, originally filed in 2017, and after a series of legal proceedings, culminated in the December ruling by the Second Circuit Court prohibiting DOBOR from issuing or renewing CUPs for activities in Kāʻanapali ocean waters off West Maui until what’s known as a Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 343 environmental review is completed, or until a determination is made that the activities are exempt from environmental review.

    Following the court’s ruling last December, DLNR filed a motion for reconsideration of the decision, informing the court that some commercial operators would be immediately and unfairly impacted if unable to renew their CUPs.

    As a result, the court stayed its prohibition on renewing CUPs until a reconsideration hearing takes place. The court also maintained its prohibition on new CUPs. The reconsideration hearing, initially scheduled for February, has been rescheduled a number of times at the request of the plaintiffs, and DLNR did not object. Most recently, a continuation was approved until September of this year.

    In a March 27 letter from DLNR Chair Dawn Chang to the Chairs of the House Water & Land and Energy & Environmental Protection Committees, she explained, “The initial scope of the litigation targeted six CUPs issued by DOBOR, but the court’s immediate decision also affects the renewal of over 30 active DOBOR CUPs for Kāʻanapali ocean waters. The department believes that the court’s ruling has broad implications beyond commercial activities in Kāʻanapali ocean waters and could have statewide implications to other commercial activities permitted or authorized by the department as a whole.”

    DLNR is aware that some people accused the department of delaying settlement talks. In her letter, Chang wrote, “This is not true.” DLNR received a settlement offer in early March and rejected it before the end of the month because it was determined that the settlement terms were outside of the state’s jurisdiction.

    DLNR intends to fully comply with HRS Chapter 343 requirements and will continue working toward properly managing commercial activities while remaining in compliance with the law. Depending on which environmental review may be required, or which activities may be exempted, an Environmental Assessment, Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), or a programmatic environmental review, could take six months for an exemption, to as long as six years for an EIS.

    Chang added, “We realize the potential impacts of the court’s decision could have significant economic impacts on many permittees and businesses, however the DLNR needs to comply with the law.”

    # # #

     

    Media Contact: 

    Dan Dennison 

    Communications Director

    Hawai‘i Dept. of Land and Natural Resources

    808-587-0396 

    [email protected] 

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Selection criteria for the funding of NGO projects through the LIFE programme – E-000925/2025(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    The EU programme for the environment and climate action (LIFE), under Article 11(6) of the LIFE Regulation[1] provides for ‘operating grants that support the functioning of non-profit making entities which are involved in the development, implementation and enforcement of Union legislation and policy, and which are primarily active in the area of the environment or climate action, including energy transition’. The management of these grants complies with the Financial Regulation[2].

    Operating grants are awarded competitively through calls for proposals[3], based on transparent award criteria published in the Call. Applicants submit proposals that include the description of their work programmes of activities in areas indicated in the LIFE Regulation; their proposals are assessed towards the published award criteria.

    All the members of the evaluation committee, including Commission or Executive Agency staff, sign declarations on absence of conflict of interest before engaging with the assessment of the submitted proposals.

    The grants are awarded to the proposals scoring highest towards the award criteria. The grants do not support political campaigns, as the eligibility criteria specify that the organisations supported must be  independent, in particular from government, other public authorities, and from political or commercial interests[4].

    • [1] Regulation (EU) 2021/783 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 establishing a Programme for the Environment and Climate Action (LIFE), and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1293/2013.
    • [2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:L_202402509
    • [3] https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/life/life-operating-grants_en and https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/life/life-calls-proposals-2024_en#life-calls-for-proposals-2024
    • [4] https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/life/life-operating-grants_en#application-for-operating-grants–eligibility-criteria
    Last updated: 16 April 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Conclave on PM Vishwakarma–National SC-ST Hub organised in Baripada, Mayurbhanj, Odisha

    Source: Government of India

    Conclave on PM Vishwakarma–National SC-ST Hub organised in Baripada, Mayurbhanj, Odisha

    Co-chaired by Shri Jitan Ram Manjhi, Union Minister of MSME, and Shri Mohan Charan Majhi, Chief Minister of Odisha.

    An endeavour to promote and empower MSMEs in the State and create synergys

    Posted On: 16 APR 2025 5:53PM by PIB Delhi

    The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India, organised the ‘PM Vishwakarma – National SC-ST Hub Conclave’ on 16 April, 2025, at the Convention Hall, Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University, Baripada, Mayurbhanj, Odisha.

    The event commenced with the inauguration of an exhibition and brought together stakeholders, beneficiaries, and government officials to highlight key initiatives such as the PM Vishwakarma Scheme and the National SC-ST Hub.

    The Conclave was co-chaired by Shri Jitan Ram Manjhi, Hon’ble Union Minister of MSME, and Shri Mohan Charan Majhi, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha. The dignitaries inaugurated the Conclave with a ribbon-cutting and lamp-lighting ceremony.

     The gathering was also graced by Shri Gokulananda Mallick, Minister of State (Independent Charge), MSME, Fisheries & Animal Resources Development, Govt. of Odisha; Shri Hemant Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary, Industries & MSME Department, Govt. of Odisha; Shri Prakash Soren, Hon’ble MLA, Baripada, Govt. of Odisha; Ms. Mamata Mohanta, Hon’ble MP, Rajya Sabha, Mayurbhanj, Odisha;
    Shri Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia, Minister of State (IC)Forest, Environment & Climate Change, Labour, Labour & Employees State Insurance, Govt.of Odisha; Dr. Krushna Chandra Mahapatra, Hon’ble Minister, Housing and Urban Development, Public Enterprises, Govt. of Odisha; Shri Naba Charan Majhi, Hon’ble MP, Lok Sabha, Mayurbhanj, Odisha, and other senior officials of the Ministry.

    The conclave began with the welcome address by Dr. Ishita Ganguli Tripathy, ADC, DC(MSME), followed by a welcome address and a presentation on role of Ministry’s Schemes and MSMEs growth in Odisha State by Dr. Rajneesh, AS & DC, DC(MSME). The event featured experience-sharing by beneficiaries of the PM Vishwakarma, PMEGP, and SC-ST Hub initiatives. To empower entrepreneurs, e-certificates were distributed to PM Vishwakarma beneficiaries, along with the distribution of credit cheques. Certificates were also awarded to National SC-ST Hub beneficiaries and PMEGP beneficiaries.
    Shri Jitan Ram Manjhi, Hon’ble Minister for MSME, Government of India, spoke about the significant role the MSME sector playing in job creation and improving livelihoods. He highlighted the importance and role of the PM Vishwakarma and National SC-ST Hub schemes, along with the contributions of the Coir Board and Khadi, in empowering individuals and improving livelihoods.

    I express my sincere thanks and gratitude to Hon’ble President Smt. Droupadi Murmu, whose guidance has brought me here to Odisha, her region, with the purpose of promoting MSMEs. Our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi envisions India becoming a developed nation, and by the year 2027-28, it will become the world’s third-largest economy,” the Hon’ble Minister said.

    Shri Manjhi said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave us a Ministry of a vision — and the Ministry of MSME is truly a ministry of vision. I am 200% sure of this. I feel extremely grateful to be working for the MSME sector. This Ministry is the greatest department, and every entrepreneur aspires to grow through it.”
    Odisha is doing very well and the MSME sector in the state is progressing impressively. Because of MSME initiatives, today every enterprise is registered on the Udyam Registration Portal. The MSME sector in Odisha will continue to grow through our Ministry’s efforts, contributing to Prime Minister Modi’s vision of a developed India,” he further added.

    Shri Mohan Charan Majhi, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha, highlighted the achievements of the PM Vishwakarma and National SC-ST Hub schemes, and how the people of the state has benefited from the support of the Ministry and its initiatives.

    “PM Vishwakarma is playing a key role in the life of middle class. The Ministry of MSME has given a special focus to Odisha and organised the PM Vishwakarma- National SC-ST Hub Conclave here,” the Hon’ble Chief Minister said.
    Launched on September 17, 2023, the PM Vishwakarma Scheme supports traditional artisans and craftspeople with skill development, financial aid, and toolkits. Meanwhile, the National SC-ST Hub, launched in October 2016, empowers SC/ST entrepreneurs through capacity building, market linkages, and access to technology and credit.

    The MSME sector, comprising over 6.25 crore enterprises and employing 26.7 crore individuals, plays a crucial role in India’s economic development, contributing nearly 30% to GDP and over 45% to exports.

    ***

    SK

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Second meeting of the Scientific Steering Committee for the National One Health Mission held on 15th April 2025

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 16 APR 2025 6:12PM by PIB Delhi

    The second meeting of the Scientific Steering Committee for the National One Health Mission under the chairmanship of Prof. Ajay K. Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India for the National One Health Mission, was held on April 15, 2025 in Vigyan Bhawan.

    The meeting was attended by Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary DHR and DG ICMR; Dr. Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of PSA; Shri Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, AYUSH; Dr. Rajan Khobragade, Additional Chief Secretary (Health), Kerala; Shri Dhananjay Dwivedi, Principal Secretary (Health), Gujarat; Dr. Ranjan Das, Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC); senior representatives from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR); Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC); PSA’s office, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD); Department of Biotechnology (DBT); Department of Science and Technology (DST); Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR); Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO); National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS); Ministry of Ayush; NCDC; National Institute of One Health (NIOH); Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) and state representatives.

    The committee discussed several important initiatives that contribute towards the implementation of the One Health mission and how these efforts can be recalibrated to maximise impact.

    Gujarat and Kerala, the two states nominated to be the members of the Scientific Steering Committee showcased their programmatic initiatives and the existing governance mechanism. The Chair emphasised on the importance of state participation and mentioned the relevance of exploring different modalities for implementing the One Health approach. The states were encouraged to strategise and design pilot programs aligned to the initiatives of the mission.

    Another important highlight of this meeting was the presentation of the outcomes of the Advisory and Review (A&R) committees constituted for the operationalisation of various work streams. The chairs of the four A&R committees  – Bio-Safety Level (BSL) 3/4 Laboratory Network (Chaired by Lt. Gen.(Retd.) Madhuri Kanitkar), Technology enhanced integrated surveillance and outbreak investigation (Chaired by Dr NK Arora), Research and Development on medical countermeasures (Chaired by Dr Renu Swaroop)and Integration of databases and data sharing (Chaired by Dr Vijay Chandru) – apprised the steering committee of the preliminary roadmaps for achieving their respective mandates  and emphasised on the need for adopting the One Health lens for all the interventions. 

    The meeting also discussed the funding mechanism for the projects under the mission, which were focused on surveillance methodologies, developing R&D countermeasures like vaccines, diagnostics and monoclonals for diseases of One Health importance; Plan for the animal disease mock drill; update on augmenting the state engagements by creating the cross-learning platform.

    The chair emphasised that to take the activities of the mission to scale, continued collaboration, innovation, and adaptability is required from all the stakeholders.  

    During the meeting, a special edition of ‘Vigyan Dhara dedicated to the National One Health Mission which presents the vision of this multi-ministerial collaborative effort was showcased. Further a video encapsulating the vision, diverse stakeholders and overarching goals of the Mission was released in the meeting.

    *****

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Comer, Burlison Investigate Biden-Era Abuses of Endangered Species Act and Impact on Energy Costs

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Eric Burlison (R-Missouri 7th District)

    WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Chairman Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) are examining the Biden Administration’s abuse of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and its impact on energy costs. In a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) Acting Assistant Administrator Emily Menashes, the lawmakers request a briefing on the agency’s compliance with President Trump’s National Energy Emergency declaration as part of the Committee’s larger investigation into the Biden Administration’s detrimental energy policies.

    “The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires NOAA Fisheries to consult the Secretary of Commerce on whether a species should be listed as endangered or otherwise. Environmentalist groups abused the ESA and regulations promulgated under its authority by filing a litany of lawsuits to create regulatory delays on infrastructure projects they oppose and to influence NOAA Fisheries’ decisions,” wrote the lawmakers. “Under the Biden Administration, NOAA Fisheries tailored ESA policies to conform with these groups’ demands.”

    The Biden Administration raised the bar for delisting a species from endangered status and sought to designate more habitats as critical habitats, even when endangered species living in those habitats are no longer found in those locations. By doing so, the Biden Administration prioritized the interests of environmental groups over the needs of local communities. The environmental groups exploited the ESA to stifle development and delay necessary energy infrastructure projects. In some cases, the actions of a few radical environmentalists have resulted in tens of millions of dollars in costs that must be borne by local communities. In other cases, environmental groups have used the ESA to delay oil leases in the Gulf of America, drastically curtail the amount of water available to farmers in Agriculture, and trample on the rights of ranchers across the west. To end this abuse, President Trump is prioritizing American energy independence and demanding reform of the ESA.  

    “President Trump’s National Energy Emergency declaration mandates the ESA Committee convene and identify ‘obstacles to domestic energy infrastructure specifically when deriving from implementation of the ESA’ or other relevant laws. ESA Committee members will propose regulatory reforms, consider species listings, and improve the interagency consultation process,” continued the lawmakers. “Importantly, this process is intended to give impacted states and local communities a voice in deciding whether a federal action is in the interest of the public and its national or regional significance. To help inform the Committee’s understanding of NOAA Fisheries role in addressing energy costs, we request a staff-level briefing regarding efforts to comply with President Trump’s declaration of a National Energy Emergency as soon as possible.”

    Read the letter to NOAA Fisheries here. 

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Global: The gap between wages and housing prices is widening, fuelling the affordability crisis

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Patrick Michael Condon, Professor and UBC James Taylor Chair in Landscape and Livable Environments., University of British Columbia

    Racial disparities played a significant role in shaping unequal COVID-19 mortality rates. What is less widely understood is how overcrowded housing conditions were an even deadlier variable.

    In California’s Bay Area, for instance, residents of overcrowded apartments — many of them recent immigrants — were found to be significantly more likely to die from COVID-19 than residents of demographically similar, but less crowded, apartments.

    ‘Broken City: Land Speculation, Inequality, and Urban Crisis’ by Patrick M. Condon.
    (UBC Press)

    Even less examined is the root cause of this overcrowding. Overcrowding is not just a matter of zoning or population growth, but something more systemic and difficult to confront: the speculative financial forces acting on the land beneath our feet.

    Urban land is now assessed by people not for its consumption value for a home but for its ability to hold and increase in cash value — in other words, its “speculative value.”

    My recent book, Broken City, paints a picture of how the same market logics that defined the Gilded Age of the late 19th century have quietly returned in our own century, with similarly corrosive consequences for urban life.

    Echoes of the Gilded Age

    A growing share of average workers’ incomes is being swallowed up by housing costs, often for homes that fail to meet their basic needs. This is not the result of natural scarcity, but mechanical economic processes that inform the price of urban land.

    We now find ourselves in circumstances uncomfortably close to those of Victorian England or Gilded Age America, when mass migrations to urban centres were driven by the need for jobs.




    Read more:
    What’s behind Canada’s housing crisis? Experts break down the different factors at play


    Back then, as now, a small number of urban landowners were able to extract enormous wealth — what political economist Henry George called the unearned increment — from the labour of others by virtue of owning the right patch of ground.

    A portrait photograph of Henry George, taken after 1885.
    (Wikimedia Commons)

    The demands for the unearned increment, George explained, was only limited by how much a region’s wage-earners and entrepreneurs collectively produced. Almost all of that value eventually went into land price.

    Today, we appear to be experiencing the same phenomenon. The social and epidemiological pressures produced by inflated land prices are no longer confined to historically marginalized racial or ethnic groups.

    As my book explains, millennials and Gen Xers, who are increasingly working service-sector jobs that dominate today’s economy, especially in countries like Canada and the U.S., are facing housing pressures once reserved only for the poor.

    In short, housing precarity has gone mainstream.

    Skyrocketing land prices

    At the heart of the housing crisis lies a deeper problem: runaway urban land prices are not just a crisis of housing affordability, but a problem of equitable urban design. They are eroding our political capacity to solve many urban problems.

    The same inflated land values that burden tenants and aspiring homeowners also restrict what cities can do to address housing and transportation needs, whether through planning, taxation or direct provision.

    Urban land prices are spiralling due to the collision of two long-term trends. First, the global economy has shifted from being primarily driven by wages earned through labour to one dominated by returns on assets. Urban land is now the single largest category of fixed capital asset in the world.

    Second, this asset-driven economy has widened the gap between wages and home prices, and helped drive the explosion in inequality. Housing has become the primary site where that inequality is expressed.

    Public frustration over this yawning gap between stagnant incomes and sky-high housing costs has erupted into political conflict. Many now blame local governments and planning regulations for blocking the supply of new homes. If only we could build more, they argue, prices would fall.

    But the evidence tells a different story. Take Vancouver, a city that has tripled its housing stock since the 1960s, largely through infill development. If the supply theory held true, Vancouver should be the most affordable city in North America. Instead, it is the least affordable.

    A landmark study published in March by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that supply constraints didn’t explain rising housing prices or housing growth across American cities. In other words, building more housing isn’t enough to bring down prices.

    A path out of the housing crisis

    My book offers several solutions and examples for how cities can reclaim land wealth for the common good.

    One promising approach lies in tying new housing approvals to affordability requirements. This policy framework — known as inclusionary zoning — requires developers to include a certain number of permanently affordable units as a condition for increased density.

    Without such requirements, upzoning — meaning increasing the maximum building size the city authorizes for a parcel — can inflate the value of land, rewarding speculation and driving prices further out of reach.

    Examples of effective inclusionary zoning abound. In Cambridge, Mass., an affordable housing overlay mandates 100 per cent affordability in exchange for permission to double density across the city. In Vancouver, new legislation related to inclusive zoning was introduced in 2024 and a development tax on new high-density projects has helped finance non-market housing directly.

    The path forward is not mysterious. But it does require confronting the truth that the housing crisis is not the result of broken systems — but of a speculative financial systems working exactly as designed.

    Patrick Michael Condon 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.

    ref. The gap between wages and housing prices is widening, fuelling the affordability crisis – https://theconversation.com/the-gap-between-wages-and-housing-prices-is-widening-fuelling-the-affordability-crisis-252157

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Giving Alberta industry a competitive edge

    [. Adopting new technologies and upgrades can help, but these often come with expensive up-front costs, long payback periods, or better technologies needed are not yet commercially available.

    Alberta’s government is giving industry a competitive edge by investing up to $72 million to help companies upgrade technologies, lower costs and operate more efficiently. This includes $65 million for a new funding challenge that will help forestry, energy, agriculture, heavy manufacturing and other major industries make technology upgrades. It also includes more than $7 million for new technologies to help oil and gas operators lower costs by reducing methane emissions.

    “Alberta is a global leader in responsible energy development. By supporting made-in-Alberta technology, we’re strengthening our economy, protecting our environment, and keeping our job creators competitive. This funding helps secure Alberta’s energy leadership now and for decades to come.”

    Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas

    Industrial Transformation Challenge

    The $65-million Industrial Transformation Challenge, delivered through Emissions Reduction Alberta using the industry-led TIER fund, will accelerate the development and commercialization of some of the most promising technologies needed in Alberta and around the world. This will fund exciting projects that ultimately help companies reduce costs, improve efficiency, lower environmental impacts and gain a competitive edge in the global market.

    “With investments like these, Alberta is advancing its reputation for excellence in developing and deploying technology solutions that have global export potential – technologies that keep our industries competitive in international markets. Through this funding, the province is once again cementing its leadership with critical technologies needed around the world, from methane management and mitigation to water conservation, soil and groundwater protection, and waste reduction.”

    Justin Riemer, chief executive officer, Emissions Reduction Alberta

    “Funding provided by the Government of Alberta and Emissions Reduction Alberta in such programs as the Industrial Transformation Challenge are critical to supporting Alberta industry on its path towards innovation and sustainability. Previous funding from the province has supported Baymag and ZS2 Technologies in the development of an innovative, low-carbon, made-in-Alberta cement product to support high-performance building solutions.”

    Franz X. Spachtholz, president and CEO, Baymag Inc.

    Reducing methane emissions in the energy sector

    More than $7 million is also being invested through Emissions Reduction Alberta into two new projects that will help Alberta’s energy sector monitor, manage and reduce methane emissions – saving money and keeping them competitive.

    SensorUp Inc. will use $3 million to develop the world’s first open-standard software platform that uses artificial intelligence to produce faster methane reporting, quicker repairs and more effective methane mitigation. Ambyint Inc. will receive $4.1 million to upgrade its existing artificial intelligence platform with advanced machine learning and algorithms. Ambyint Inc.’s project could potentially reduce methane venting by up to 90 per cent.

    “Financial support from the Government of Alberta through Emissions Reduction Alberta enables us to collaborate with some of the world’s largest and most forward-thinking energy producers to build the first multi-sensor, AI-assisted measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification software platform for methane emissions reduction. This initiative will create high-value jobs in Alberta and equip producers to meet reporting and mitigation standards with greater accuracy and efficiency, unlocking access to new premium markets.”

    Steve Liang, founder and chief technology officer, SensorUp

    “Securing Government of Alberta funding through Emissions Reduction Alberta enables Ambyint to accelerate and scale our Alberta-developed AI optimization and emissions-reduction technology. Customers are seeking solutions that impact both their economic and environmental performance. This pivotal support cements Alberta’s leadership in technology innovation, highlighting our province’s role in driving sustainable energy solutions globally.” 

    Benjamin Kemp, chief executive officer, Ambyint Inc.

    Quick facts

    • Applications for the Industrial Transformation Challenge are now open and will be accepted until June 5, at 5 p.m. MT. More information is available on Emissions Reduction Alberta’s website.
    • Eligible technologies include improved water and land management, soil remediation, reducing land use or disturbance and reducing air pollutants, plus new ways of producing fuels, breakthrough industrial process improvements, industrial facility efficiency upgrades, agricultural and forestry innovation, improved processes for bitumen extraction, oil and gas processing and refinement, and industrial fuel switching and electrification.
    • Successful Industrial Transformation Challenge applicants are eligible for up to $10 million per project, while projects deemed exceptionally strong through the competitive review process may be eligible for up to $15 million.
    • While Industrial Transformation Challenge technology solutions can originate from anywhere in the world, they must be piloted, demonstrated, or deployed in Alberta, or show direct economic benefit to the province.
    • Alberta has reduced methane emissions from the conventional oil and gas sector by 52 per cent since 2014, and emissions continue to decline.

    Related information

    • Reducing methane emissions
    • Emissions Reduction Alberta
    • SensorUp
    • Ambyint Inc.

    Multimedia

    • Watch the news conference

    MIL OSI Canada News

  • MIL-OSI Global: Human connections to seagrass meadows date back 180,000 years, study reveals

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Benjamin Jones, Chief Conservation Officer, Project Seagrass & Research Affiliate, Swansea University

    Benjamin Jones/Project Seagrass, CC BY

    For millennia, humans lived as hunter-gatherers. Savannas and forests are often thought of as the cradle of our lineage, but beneath the waves, a habitat exists that has quietly supported humans for over 180,000 years.

    Archaeological evidence suggests that early humans migrated along coasts, avoiding desert and tundra. So, as Homo spread from Africa, they inevitably encountered seagrasses – flowering plants evolved to inhabit shallow coastal environments that form undersea meadows teeming with life.

    Our recently published research pieces together historical evidence from across the globe, revealing that humans and seagrass meadows have been intertwined for millennia – providing food, fishing grounds, building materials, medicine and more throughout our shared history.

    Our earliest known links to seagrass date back around 180,000 years. Tiny seagrass-associated snails were discovered in France at Paleolithic cave sites used by Neanderthals. Too small to be a consequence of food remains, these snails were likely introduced with Posidonia oceanica leaves used for bedding – a type of seagrass found only in the Mediterranean. Neanderthals didn’t just use seagrass to make sleeping comfortable – 120,000 year old evidence suggests they harvested seagrass-associated scallops too.

    A bountiful supply of food

    Seagrass meadows provide shelter and food for marine life, such as fish, invertebrates, reptiles and marine mammals. Because they inhabit shallow waters close to shore, seagrass meadows have been natural fishing grounds and places where generations have speared, cast nets, set traps and hand-gathered food to survive and thrive.

    Long before modern fishing fleets, ancient communities recognised the value of these underwater grasslands. Around 6,000 years ago, the people of eastern Arabia depended on seagrass meadows to hunt rabbitfish – a practice so prevalent here that remnants of their fishing traps are still visible from space.

    Seagrass meadows have even been directly harvested as food. Around 12,000 years ago, some of the first human cultures in North America, settling on Isla Cedros off the coast of Baja California, gathered and consumed seeds from Zostera marina, a species commonly called eelgrass. These seeds were milled into a flour and baked into breads and cakes, a process alike to wheat milling today.

    Further north, the Indigenous Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, as far back as 10,000 years ago, developed a careful and sustainable way of gathering eelgrass for consumption. By twisting a pole into the seagrass, they pulled up the leaves, and broke them off near the rhizome – the underground stem that is rich in sugary carbohydrates. After removing the roots and outer leaves, they wrapped the youngest leaves around the rhizome, dipping it in oil before eating. Remarkably, this method was later found to promote seagrass health, encouraging new growth and resilience.




    Read more:
    Seagrass, protector of shipwrecks and buried treasure


    Today, seagrass meadows remain a lifeline for coastal communities, particularly across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Here, fishing within seagrass habitats is shown to be more reliable than other coastal habitats and women often sustain their families by gleaning – a fishing practice that involves carefully combing seagrass meadows for edible shells and other marine life. For these communities, seagrass fishing is vital during periods when fishing at sea is not possible, for example, during tropical storms.

    When seagrasses returned to the sea around 100 million years ago, they evolved to have specialised leaves to tolerate both saltwater submergence and periods of time exposed to the sun during tidal cycles. This allowed seagrasses to flourish across our coastlines, but also made them useful resources for humans.

    Seagrass leaves, once dry, are relatively moist- and rot-proof – properties likely discovered by ancient civilisations when exploring the uses of plants for different purposes. Bronze age civilizations like the Minoans, used seagrass in building construction, reinforcing mudbricks with seagrass. Analysis of these reveal superior thermal properties of seagrass mudbricks compared to bricks made with other plant fibres – they kept buildings warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

    These unique properties may have been why early humans used seagrass for bedding and by the 16th century, seagrass-stuffed mattresses were prized for pest resistance, requested even by Pope Julius III.

    By the 17th century, Europeans were using seagrass to thatch roofs and insulate their homes. North American colonialists took this knowledge with them, continuing the practice. In the 19th century, commercial harvesting of tens of thousands of tonnes of seagrass began across North America and northern Europe.

    In the US, Boston’s Samuel Cabot Company patented an insulation material called Cabot’s “Quilt”, sandwiching dried seagrass leaves between two layers of paper. These quilts were used to insulate buildings across the US, including New York’s Rockefeller Center and the Capitol in Washington DC.

    A legacy ecosystem – and a living one

    The prevalence of seagrass throughout human civilisation has fostered spiritual and cultural relations with these underwater gardens, manifesting in rituals and historical customs. In Neolithic graves in Denmark, scientists found human remains wrapped in seagrass, representing a close connection with the sea.

    Our new research tells us that seagrass meadows are not just biodiversity hotspots or carbon storage systems. They are ancient human allies. This elevates their value beyond conservation – they’re repositories of cultural heritage and traditional knowledge. They were practical, valuable, and deeply integrated into human cultures.

    We have depended on seagrass for 180,000 years – for food, homes, customs – so investing in their conservation and restoration is not just ecological, it’s deeply human.


    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.


    Nicole Foster receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Training and mobility actions.

    Oscar Serrano receives funding from the Spanish National Research Council

    Benjamin Jones 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.

    ref. Human connections to seagrass meadows date back 180,000 years, study reveals – https://theconversation.com/human-connections-to-seagrass-meadows-date-back-180-000-years-study-reveals-253307

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI Africa: SANParks restocks endangered Knysna seahorse tank

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Wednesday, April 16, 2025

    The educational display tank showcasing the endangered Knysna seahorse (Hippocampus capensis) at the South African National Parks (SANParks) office on Thesen Island, Knysna, has been restocked.

    This initiative forms part of SANParks’ ongoing efforts to raise awareness about this unique species and to strengthen conservation education in the Garden Route National Park.

    “The Thesen Island office is one of the few locations in South Africa permitted to house and display captive Knysna seahorses for educational purposes. This rare species is found naturally only in three estuaries in the world, Swartvlei, Knysna, and Keurbooms and all are located within the Garden Route. 

    “The display tank at Thesen Island offers visitors a unique opportunity to view these iconic marine creatures up close while learning about the threats they face in the wild, including habitat degradation and pollution,” SANParks said on Tuesday.

    While the educational permit allows for the housing of up to 50 adult seahorses, the tank population had declined significantly in recent years, with fewer than three breeding pairs remaining by early 2024. 

    The decline was primarily due to natural ageing, as most of the seahorses had exceeded their typical lifespan of five years.

    As part of a once-off restocking effort, SANParks researchers introduced six young adult seahorses from the Knysna Estuary to boost the tank’s breeding population and enhance genetic diversity. 

    “This is in line with SANParks’ Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS) standing permit from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), read in conjunction with an exemption issued under the Marine Living Resource Act (MLRA) dated August 2016 which states the maximum numbers allowed to be stocked in the display tank and the specified conditions contained in both documents.

    “These new additions are already contributing to improved breeding success, with recent signs of spawning offering hope for a sustainable, self-sustaining population in the display tank.

    “Members of the public are encouraged to visit the SANParks Thesen Island office to view these fascinating creatures and learn more about the vital conservation work being undertaken to protect South Africa’s only endemic seahorse species,” SANParks said. –SAnews.gov.za
     

    MIL OSI Africa

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Government processes 220 assessments for IPPs applications

    Source: South Africa News Agency

    Wednesday, April 16, 2025

    The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has finalised the processing of 220 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) applications for Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in the past nine months.

    “The expedited processing of EIA applications for IPPs showcases our dedication to fostering sustainable development while supporting the growth of renewable energy infrastructure. These efforts align with Priority 3 of the Medium-Term Strategic Framework, ensuring spatial integration and economic transformation through efficient environmental governance,” Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, said on Wednesday.

    These applications were done from June 2024 to March 2025 and include 34 Normal Basic Assessment Reports (BARs), 89 BARs within Renewable Energy Development Zones (REDZ) or Strategic Infrastructure Projects (SIPs), 88 Normal Scoping and EIA processes, and nine Scoping and EIA processes for SIPs.

    “This achievement reflects the department’s commitment to balancing environmental responsibility with the urgent need for energy security and sustainable economic growth.

    “Notably, the department achieved a 99% efficiency rate in processing energy-related applications within the committed 57-day timeframe for REDZ and SIP projects, with only one decision falling outside this period but still within the legislated timeframe,” George said.

    The Minister highlighted that this efficiency builds on the department’s performance in the prior year (March 2023–March 2024), where an 83% efficiency rate was recorded for the 57-day commitment, and a 100% achievement was registered in April and May 2024. 

    “These results demonstrate significant improvements in streamlining regulatory processes, particularly for renewable energy projects, which are critical to South Africa’s transition to a low-carbon economy,” he said.

    The Minister commended the department’s rigorous adherence to legislated timeframes—107 days for normal applications and 57 days for REDZ and SIP projects—while maintaining robust environmental oversight. 

    This milestone reinforces South Africa’s commitment to combating climate change, promoting green job creation, and securing a sustainable energy future for all. – SAnews.gov.za

    MIL OSI Africa

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Patrushev: The working group will continue to make targeted visits to problematic treatment facilities

    Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev held a meeting within the framework of incident No. 55 “Wastewater Treatment Facilities”. It was attended by the leadership of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Construction, Rosprirodnadzor and other federal executive bodies, representatives of the State Duma and heads of regions.

    “In the first quarter of this year, six more facilities were put into operation. Ensuring the correct operation of treatment facilities is, first and foremost, a direct contribution to the health of our citizens. And we cannot fail to fulfill our obligations to build and reconstruct facilities. This work must be completed as soon as possible, so constant attention from federal agencies and regions is important. Based on the results of the on-site inspection of the working group for each unfinished facility, a set of measures was formed to resolve existing issues. Their implementation will be strictly monitored,” said Dmitry Patrushev.

    Following the results of the last meeting, a working group was formed to promptly visit all unfinished facilities in the regions involved in the incident.

    During the work of the group, the “road maps” for completing the construction of treatment facilities were adjusted jointly. Dmitry Patrushev emphasized that the new deadlines proposed by the regions should not be violated. The working group will continue to make targeted visits to problematic sites to record the dynamics of solving problems. The Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia has also developed a procedure for verifying the eliminated violations for a re-inspection of treatment facilities by Rosprirodnadzor to confirm the required level of regulatory treatment.

    At the meeting it was noted that in relation to regions that did not complete construction work by April of this year, work has been organized to return part of the funds to the federal budget.

    The participants of the event also discussed the regulatory legal act being prepared, which will determine the procedure for establishing standards for the maximum permissible concentration of pollutants in water bodies of fishery importance. Thanks to the new mechanism, the subjects of the Russian Federation will be able to set standards themselves, taking into account the background concentration of substances in water bodies and regional characteristics.

    Incident No. 55 “Wastewater Treatment Facilities” was created on June 15, 2024 to coordinate work on the construction and reconstruction of wastewater treatment facilities implemented within the framework of the national project “Ecology”, as well as to ensure the operation of these facilities with the achievement of the parameters of standard wastewater treatment. Currently, work is being considered at 145 facilities in 19 regions.

    When working in the incident format, a special project management system is used, which is deployed on the basis of the Government Coordination Center. It allows for prompt coordination of the actions of participants and monitoring of project implementation in real time.

    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.

    MIL OSI Russia News

  • MIL-OSI USA: Oilfield Company, Its Executive, and a Support Services Company Plead Guilty and Are Sentenced for Worker Safety, Clean Air Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act Violations Resulting in the Death of an Employee and His Spouse

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Aghorn Operating and Kodiak Roustabout to Pay $1.4M in Criminal Fines; Aghorn VP to Serve Five Months in Prison

    Aghorn Operating Inc., an oilfield company, Trent Day, an executive of Aghorn, and Kodiak Roustabout Inc., entered guilty pleas and were sentenced yesterday in relation to criminal worker safety and federal clean air and safe drinking water violations. According to court documents, Aghorn owns and operates oil wells in and near Odessa, Texas. Odessa is in the Permian basin where oil reserves are “sour,” meaning they have high hydrogen sulfide content. Hydrogen sulfide gas can be deadly at high concentrations.

    The case leading to these pleas is the result of an investigation of the Oct. 26, 2019, death of Aghorn employee Jacob Dean and his wife Natalee Dean. Both were overcome by hydrogen sulfide at an Aghorn facility in Odessa.

    Day agreed to plead guilty to a Clean Air Act (CAA) negligent endangerment charge and serve five months in prison. Aghorn pleaded guilty to CAA negligent endangerment and an Occupational Safety and Health Act willful violation count for the death of Jacob Dean. Kodiak pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act for falsifying oil well integrity tests. Aghorn will pay a $1 million criminal fine and Kodiak will pay a $400,000 criminal fine. These pleas were made under agreements the defendants entered into with the United States. Under the agreements, other pending charges will be dismissed. Yesterday, the court accepted the defendants’ guilty pleas and sentenced them in accordance with their plea agreements.

    “Through these guilty pleas, the defendants accept responsibility for allowing hazards that should have been prevented,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “If they had done what the law requires, Jacob and Natalee might still be with us today. The Justice Department can’t stand by when employers put workers at such risk.”

    “Energy production is vital, but it must be done competently and lawfully,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Jeffrey Hall of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Operators who gravely endanger and kill others and those who lie to the government will be held accountable for their criminal conduct. EPA’s criminal investigation of these tragic deaths led to today’s plea deal.”

    According to a factual statement accepted by Day and Aghorn, Jacob Dean responded to a call to check a pump at an Aghorn facility. There, he encountered deadly hydrogen sulfide gas, was overcome, and died. His wife, Natalee Dean, knew where Jacob had gone and started calling him when he did not return in a timely manner. When those calls went unanswered, Natalee drove to the facility. When Natalee arrived at the facility, she was also overcome while looking for Jacob and died.

    Trent Day admitted that he should have controlled hydrogen sulfide emissions as part of his duties and that because he did not, he placed others in imminent danger of death. Aghorn admitted the same criminal negligence and to a separate charge that it willfully violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act regulations requiring companies to implement respiratory protection programs to address hazards like those at the facility. In addition to paying a $1 million fine, the company will maintain a set of improvements it made after the tragedy during its period of probation.

    The investigation also uncovered false statements by Kodiak about injection well testing related to Aghorn’s oil operations. The mechanical integrity of an injection well must be evaluated by conducting pressure tests. These tests are part of programs under the Safe Drinking Water Act to prevent leaks from those wells. Such leaks could, under some circumstances, contaminate groundwater. In its plea agreement, Kodiak admitted that it sent forms and charts to the Texas Railroad Commission, claiming they were tests for specific wells when Kodiak knew they were not actual records of tests of those wells. Kodiak, in addition to its $400,000 fine, will guarantee that at least 33 tests conducted for Aghorn wells during its year of probation are witnessed or conducted by a third party.

    The EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case. The Justice Department and EPA would like to thank the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Railroad Commission, Ector County Environmental, and the Odessa Fire Department for their support of the investigation.

    Senior Trial Attorney Christopher Costantini, Trial Attorney Mark Romley, and Assistant Section Chief Thomas T. Ballantine of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case.  

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Security: Oilfield Company, Its Executive, and a Support Services Company Plead Guilty and Are Sentenced for Worker Safety, Clean Air Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act Violations Resulting in the Death of an Employee and His Spouse

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    Aghorn Operating and Kodiak Roustabout to Pay $1.4M in Criminal Fines; Aghorn VP to Serve Five Months in Prison

    Aghorn Operating Inc., an oilfield company, Trent Day, an executive of Aghorn, and Kodiak Roustabout Inc., entered guilty pleas and were sentenced yesterday in relation to criminal worker safety and federal clean air and safe drinking water violations. According to court documents, Aghorn owns and operates oil wells in and near Odessa, Texas. Odessa is in the Permian basin where oil reserves are “sour,” meaning they have high hydrogen sulfide content. Hydrogen sulfide gas can be deadly at high concentrations.

    The case leading to these pleas is the result of an investigation of the Oct. 26, 2019, death of Aghorn employee Jacob Dean and his wife Natalee Dean. Both were overcome by hydrogen sulfide at an Aghorn facility in Odessa.

    Day agreed to plead guilty to a Clean Air Act (CAA) negligent endangerment charge and serve five months in prison. Aghorn pleaded guilty to CAA negligent endangerment and an Occupational Safety and Health Act willful violation count for the death of Jacob Dean. Kodiak pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act for falsifying oil well integrity tests. Aghorn will pay a $1 million criminal fine and Kodiak will pay a $400,000 criminal fine. These pleas were made under agreements the defendants entered into with the United States. Under the agreements, other pending charges will be dismissed. Yesterday, the court accepted the defendants’ guilty pleas and sentenced them in accordance with their plea agreements.

    “Through these guilty pleas, the defendants accept responsibility for allowing hazards that should have been prevented,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “If they had done what the law requires, Jacob and Natalee might still be with us today. The Justice Department can’t stand by when employers put workers at such risk.”

    “Energy production is vital, but it must be done competently and lawfully,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Jeffrey Hall of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Operators who gravely endanger and kill others and those who lie to the government will be held accountable for their criminal conduct. EPA’s criminal investigation of these tragic deaths led to today’s plea deal.”

    According to a factual statement accepted by Day and Aghorn, Jacob Dean responded to a call to check a pump at an Aghorn facility. There, he encountered deadly hydrogen sulfide gas, was overcome, and died. His wife, Natalee Dean, knew where Jacob had gone and started calling him when he did not return in a timely manner. When those calls went unanswered, Natalee drove to the facility. When Natalee arrived at the facility, she was also overcome while looking for Jacob and died.

    Trent Day admitted that he should have controlled hydrogen sulfide emissions as part of his duties and that because he did not, he placed others in imminent danger of death. Aghorn admitted the same criminal negligence and to a separate charge that it willfully violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act regulations requiring companies to implement respiratory protection programs to address hazards like those at the facility. In addition to paying a $1 million fine, the company will maintain a set of improvements it made after the tragedy during its period of probation.

    The investigation also uncovered false statements by Kodiak about injection well testing related to Aghorn’s oil operations. The mechanical integrity of an injection well must be evaluated by conducting pressure tests. These tests are part of programs under the Safe Drinking Water Act to prevent leaks from those wells. Such leaks could, under some circumstances, contaminate groundwater. In its plea agreement, Kodiak admitted that it sent forms and charts to the Texas Railroad Commission, claiming they were tests for specific wells when Kodiak knew they were not actual records of tests of those wells. Kodiak, in addition to its $400,000 fine, will guarantee that at least 33 tests conducted for Aghorn wells during its year of probation are witnessed or conducted by a third party.

    The EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case. The Justice Department and EPA would like to thank the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Railroad Commission, Ector County Environmental, and the Odessa Fire Department for their support of the investigation.

    Senior Trial Attorney Christopher Costantini, Trial Attorney Mark Romley, and Assistant Section Chief Thomas T. Ballantine of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case.  

    MIL Security OSI