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View an animation of the HRRR-Smoke model predicting smoke movement from August 26-28, 2020.
With smoke from western wildfires poised to spread from coast to coast this week, people will be looking to a NOAA smoke model for guidance on everything from how it might impact their area, to the weather, to scheduling school recesses.
The High Resolution Rapid Refresh-Smoke model may still be experimental, but many depend on it already, said Michael Staudenmaier, a science and technology division leader with the NOAA’s National Weather Service Western Regional Office in Utah. “When it’s not running during fire season, you hear about it pretty quickly,” he said.
A tower of smoke rising from the Azusa, California, “Ranch2” wildfire during 100-degree heat, on August 15, 2020. Fire-generated “pyrocumulus” clouds carry smoke high into the atmosphere, where it can travel thousands of miles from its source. Credit: Russ Allison Loar/Flickr Creative Commons
HRRR-Smoke, as it’s known, is the first numerical weather prediction model in the U.S. that forecasts smoke’s impact on a number of weather variables. Based on satellite observations of fire location and intensity, HRRR-Smoke predicts the movement of smoke in three dimensions across the country over 48 hours, simulating how the weather will impact smoke movement and how smoke will affect visibility, temperature and wind.
“Smoke affects the weather in nonlinear kinds of ways,” Staudenmaier said. “In the old days, a forecaster would have looked at a nearby fire and made a prediction that smoke would make it, say, 2 degrees cooler during the day, and keep it 2 degrees warmer overnight. Now, the model puts those variables right into the prediction – how much sunlight the smoke will block, how much heat the smoke will trap, so there’s no more guessing.”
One of several experimental components of the High Resolution Rapid Refresh weather model developed by NOAA’s Global Systems Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, HRRR-Smoke is scheduled to be transitioned into the National Weather Service’s suite of operational forecast models later this year. “We do research and development to make forecasts better,” said Jennifer Mahoney, director of the Global Systems Laboratory. “HRRR-Smoke is a great example of that.”
NOAA’s HRRR-Smoke model can help warn fire managers and local communities where heavy smoke will collect when a fire “lays down” overnight, as the Four Mile Fire did in Boulder Colorado in 2010. Credit: Patrick Cullis/CIRES
HRRR-Smoke is particularly valuable for notifying those downwind of a fire about what’s headed their way. Wildfire managers may move or redeploy crews based on where heavy smoke will be. Community leaders want to know how much smoke will affect their residents. Public health managers will want to know of potential health impacts on their community. “I’ve heard that schools have canceled recess based on its forecasts, and that National Park Service employees consult it when they get questions about why it’s so hazy across the Grand Canyon,” Staudenmaier said.
A weather model that does chemistry
The model also continues to be used as a research tool. “I’ve been checking it every day,” said Jessica Gilman, an atmospheric chemist with the Chemical Sciences Laboratory who is studying changes in Boulder pollution levels during the coronavirus pandemic.
HRRR-Smoke has become an essential planning tool for forest managers who want to use prescribed fire to restore forest health or reduce fuel loads near rural communities. Knowing where smoke will go during a prescribed fire is an important consideration when deciding to initiate a prescribed burn. Credit: Krieg Rasmussun/ US Forest Service Fish Lake National Forest
“Smoke is interesting, and the HRRR gives you much more detail than air quality websites, like how concentrated is it going to be, and where did it come from?” she said. Gilman and her fellow scientists also use the forecasts to schedule maintenance on their highly sensitive instruments, work best done in cleaner air.
Information gleaned from HRRR-Smoke by Gilman and colleagues will help NOAA scientists build the next generation of air quality models. “That’s the goal, to not only predict where the smoke is going, but with it all the ozone and other pollutants in smoke that affect air quality,” she said. “This model helps us understand the stuff we’re measuring, and that knowledge will ultimately get put into the next model. It’s like a big circle.”
Tiffany Files Lawsuit Against LVMH To Enforce Merger Agreement
Tiffany and Company is suing LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton in the Delaware Chancery Court alleging that there was a breach of a merger agreement between the two companies.
LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton said it is unable to complete the acquisition of Tiffany & Company and had to purchase the jeweler for $16.2 billion. The merger was with agreed by both parties that it would be an outstanding Alliance. In particular helping Tiffany with the resources and speed for sustainable growth.
Tiffany says they had no choice but to sue LVMH due LVMH’s delays in applying for antitrust clearance in certain countries citing a breach of their agreement.
Prior to Covid-19 for Q2 Tiffany saw 29% sales tumble in the quarter but was better than the 45% dive of the first quarter. Net earnings decreased 77% to $31.9 million, as gross profit reached $461.6 million.
As of August 24, 2020, LVMH had not even filed for antitrust approval in three of the required jurisdictions. Because all other conditions to closing were met on that date, Tiffany elected to extend the outside date to November 24, 2020. However, this extended outside date is now less than three months away, and LVMH still has not filed formal requests for antitrust approval in the European Union or Taiwan, and applications are still outstanding in Japan and Mexico, all due to LVMH’s concerted efforts to delay or avoid receipt of regulatory approvals in those jurisdictions in breach of the Merger Agreement. Source: Tiffany
Authored by: Jan R. Baiker, Nadia Castro, Veruska Muccione, Christian Huggel, Simon Allen, Fabian Drenkhan Environment and Climate: Impacts, Risks and Adaptation (EClim) (https://eclim-research.ch), Department of Geography, University of Zurich
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our everyday life in an unprecedented way and has made us very conscious about the vulnerability of our modern society. It has demonstrated an increasingly critical need for systemic transformation, based on the principles of sustainability and resilience [1, 2]. As a “stress test” [3] this pandemic outbreak and ongoing crisis has already taught us several important lessons that should be considered for dealing with climate change, a fundamental challenge and risk to humanity for the 21st century and beyond.
Since its first appearance in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan the severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) [4] has spread to more than 200 countries and territories around the world, causing — as of August 14th 2020 — around 20.7 million confirmed infections, including more than 751,000 reported deaths [5]. The real numbers are probably substantially higher as unreported cases remain particularly high in countries with weak state welfare and institutions. To date the COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on social and economic life [6, 7, 8, 9], stretching from physical isolation and social distancing to the enhancement of global famines affecting 265 million people [10], and to the largest global economic recession since the Great Depression in the 1930s [11]. It has been labelled as a serious threat to humanity [12]. Although the exact origin of COVID-19 is still subject of intense debate (for a compilation of articles that appeared online and in print, see the Geneva Environment Network), it is now clear that the virus is part of the zoonotic diseases, i.e. it is passed from animals to humans [13]. There is also good consensus that the origin of this zoonotic transmission lies in human invasions into natural habitats, due to factors such as population and economic growth, unsustainable land use practices and degradation [14], deforestation [15, 16], biodiversity reduction [17] and illegal wildlife trade [18]. Many commentators, especially representatives of environmental or ecology groups, and even the Secretary General of the United Nations, see in the appearance of COVID-19 an unprecedented and clear warning shot [19, 20], about the consequences of the ongoing degradation and destruction of the natural environment and biodiversity [21]. Among the pre-conditions or factors that allowed the worldwide spreading of the COVID-19 pandemic we find the almost unlimited and unrestricted mobility of people (especially at the very beginning of its dispersion), poor health systems, ignorance or downplaying of the threats, inappropriate or delayed decisions by some political authorities [22] and a set of adverse socio-economic settings in some countries (e.g. high proportion of informal economy) [23] that inhibit strict lockdown conditions over several months.
Among the most vulnerable population stratum to COVID-19 infections are elderly people, especially the ones working in sectors with “face-to-face” contact — Market-woman with mask in Abancay (Apurimac, Peru). Photo: Jaime J. Valenzuela Trujillo.
The impacts generated by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown conditions are manifold. Here we summarize them using the three pillars of sustainability:
a) environmental (on the short term):
locally less traffic [24, 25, 26]; less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [27, 28, 29, 30]; better air quality [31, 32, 33]; species [34, 35] and ecosystem recovery [36], contrasted by increased, illegal deforestation and poaching (as a consequence of less governmental control during lockdown) [37, 38, 39, 40]; interruption of environmental monitoring projects [41, 42], causing data gaps; impacts on the “2020 super year of biodiversity” [43] and postponement of several policy work schedules, such as the COP26 [44] and the draft reporting deadlines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [45].
b) social:
immediate, high societal awareness [46, 47, 48]; physical and social distancing; increase in unemployment rate [49]; forced, domestic migration (from the urban to the rural areas) [50, 51, 52]; changed working conditions (virtual, home-office).
c) economic:
high impact on sectors that depend on travelling (e.g. business and tourism [53]); (partly) broken food supply-chains [54] (from the rural to the urban areas).
In the context of the climate crisis, some of the above-mentioned impacts can have positive effects for mitigating or adapting to climate change, others may exacerbate existing barriers. Without any doubt, and alike climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting everyone [55], although at different levels, pace and magnitude. It is therefore important to analyse and monitor in detail how this pandemic is being confronted and managed by the different governments and in their specific environmental and socio-cultural context. Apparently, governments have learned to deal with a new risk (crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic) and were forced to impose some top-down measures (lockdown, restrictions of fundamental rights, mandatory use of masks, social distancing, etc.) that were not popular among citizens, but were widely accepted under the immediate threat by the virus. It has been repeatedly commented that the climate crisis is not tackled with the same emphasis as the pandemic so far, actions are slower and taken with less urgency even though the climate crisis is considered a more fundamental threat to humanity.[56]
Regarding the interactions that might exist between COVID-19 and climate there is so far no evidence, based on the already existing peer-reviewed publications, that would demonstrate a direct influence of the climate on the spread of COVID-19. For instance, the first publications and assessments [57, 58, 59] for which a simple correlation between temperature and the number of COVID-19 cases were made, are not reliable.[60] But there is growing evidence for an indirect relation that e.g. (changes in) weather alters human behaviours, which could lead to a higher likelihood of COVID-19 transmission.[61, 62] A remarkable trend in mountain regions (Nepal in the Himalayas and Bolivia and Ecuador in the Andes) that has been scientifically documented is the resilience of mountain people to COVID-19 infections, which is thought to be related to the physical-genetical adaptation (hypoxia and down-regulation of the ACE2 enzyme, which is the main binding target of COVID-19) to high altitude.[63, 64] Growing evidence for this hypothesis is coming e.g. from Peru which is one of the countries with an intensive COVID-19 testing effort (2.1 million tests performed until 21 July 2020) where there is a trend of higher infection and morbidity rates in the urban centres of the lowlands (e.g. Iquitos, Pucallpa) and at the coast (e.g., Chiclayo, Lima, Arequipa) than in the Andes (e.g. Cusco, Ayacucho).[65] Furthermore, some studies suggest that high levels of ambient ozone (O3) may impact COVID-19 in high altitude mountain environments.[66]
In general, we can portray the interactions between the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis as compound impacts.[67] These are risks that have to be taken into consideration in national emergency programs and in disaster risk management. Recent examples are the intense and extensive 2019/2020 bushfires and forest fires in Australia and the Amazon basin (Brazil, Bolivia), respectively, that are considered to have a relation to climate change and were directly followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. While rich and developed countries like Australia may be sufficiently prepared to respond with the necessary crisis management, others might not (see, e.g., Niger and Chad [68], or India / Bangladesh) [69]. A worst-case scenario is when both impacts (climate change related and COVID-19) develop at the same time, like e.g. the long-lasting drought, combined with a locust invasion, and the arrival and spreading of COVID-19 epidemic at the horn of Africa (Ethiopia and Somalia) [70, 71] or the recent floods in Nepal [72]. Human populations with limited resources and capacities tend to be more vulnerable to such exceptional crisis [73], and as such COVID-19 is exacerbating existing inequalities [74], see e.g., the specific case of people of colour and other minorities in the U.S. [75], or the cases of India [76] and Peru [77]. The isolation of some populations (especially some indigenous communities, e.g. in the Amazon) can be an advantage, as long as the pandemic stays outside, but could be a death sentence for whole indigenous communities once infected.[78, 79, 80] Other latent risks of the COVID-19 spread are related to the food supply-chains (missing inputs, labour and transport) for the big urban areas, making their inhabitants more vulnerable than in rural areas [81, 82]; for the latter, see, e.g. the case of the Kachchh’s nomadic pastoralists from Gujarat (India) [83]. The perception and experience of higher vulnerabilities in urban areas could potentially trigger migration from the cities to the rural areas and, as a consequence, lead to higher pressures and accelerated land-use change dynamics (including deforestation, drainage of wetland areas, etc.) in the rural areas, which most probably would exacerbate the climate crisis. In the same line stands the risk of intensified mining or extractive industrial activities (based on a reduction of environmental regulations) [84, 85], as a consequence of the refunding of debt burdens that some low- and middle-income countries had to assume in the frame of the national COVID-19 emergency situation.[86] Other demands for national budget cuts could result in the postponement of innovative, sustainable and climate-friendly green-energy projects and climate change actions.[87, 88]
COVID-19 everyday scenes in Cusco city (Peru). Photos: JazmÃn Lezama
But at the same time many of these risks can be transformed into long-term opportunities.[89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95], especially in countries with a long-term, strategic planning that is based on scientific evidence regarding climate change adaptation and mitigation. Among the opportunities, there are, e.g., a deeper consideration of Nature-based Solutions [96] (in order to increase the resilience of ecosystems), changing working conditions, using more frequently or exclusively virtual solutions (e-meetings instead of physical meetings that requires travelling and produces GHG) [97], renovation and diversification of the tourism sector (towards more sustainability [98, 99, 100]), and changed politics at all levels (local, national, international / regional) [101, 102, 103], in favour of more sustainable solutions (e.g., car-free days, improved / less energy consuming material and food supply-chains [104, 105], agroecological production, etc.).[106]
Our current COVID-19 experiences are unprecedented in pace and magnitude in recent times so far. The above-mentioned examples show that there are important lessons already taken from the COVID-19 crisis that should be considered for the climate crisis, including the trade-offs of central government interventions on social and economic affairs versus democratic processes and individual freedom, or the tangible experience that all the systems (social, environmental, economic) are interconnected and that they have to be addressed through a holistic, social-ecological approach. The next pandemic is about to come and the climate crisis will not be tackled with masks, lockdown and economic injections. The post-pandemic recovery plans (under the motto “build back better” [107]) are an opportunity to redesign these systems as a whole, aiming for transformative change as a globally coordinated effort at all socio-political levels, in the framework for actions based on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) isn’t taking it easy in its now-litigated fight with Epic Games, countersuing the Fortnite game maker for breach of contract over the in-game payment system it created to bypass the App Store. “Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multibillion-dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store,” Apple said in the filing. It also took a swipe at Tencent (OTCPK:TCEHY), owner of 40% of Epic: “Tencent (which has its own competing app store, one of the largest in the world), also seeks to dismantle the App Store’s entire business model to advance its own economic interests.”
US President Donald Trump has been nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize over the deal his administration brokered between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
Tybring-Gjedde, a four-term member of Parliament who also serves as chairman of the Norwegian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, told “For his merit, I think he has done more trying to create peace between nations than most other Peace Prize nominees. “I’m not a big Trump supporter.”The committee should look at the facts and judge him on the facts — not on the way he behaves sometimes. “The people who have received the Peace Prize in recent years have done much less than Donald Trump.
Not everyone finishes college at the age of 22, and most athletes play on a college team before becoming pro and don’t finish their degrees. While the most prominent names make billions of dollars each year, getting a college degree may seem unnecessary, but what about after retirement? A college degree can be invaluable, which is why the following five athletes went back and earned their degrees.
Check out how these superstar athletes managed to find success in both ventures and why a degree held importance for them:
The two-time Olympic figure skating medalist left UCLA to focus o her career but returned to get her degree in 2009. She got a degree in International Studies from the University of Denver. She further went on to earn a master’s degree as well, which led to a distinguished career in international diplomacy.
Shaq left Louisiana State University early on to focus on his career in the NBA. Some eight years later, after becoming a four-time NBA champion, he went on to complete his bachelor’s degree from LSU. He also earned a doctorate in education and claimed his mother stressed the importance of education.
MJ was enrolled at the University of North Carolina before he was drafted in 1984 by the Chicago Bulls. Despite reaching unrivaled success in the NBA, he went back to UNC and finished his bachelor’s degree in Geography. The billionaire basketball star said that his father inspired him to go after what he wanted and that it’s never too late to do anything.
The tennis star wanted to study business but could not do so until she was 35 years old. Williams applied the same tenacity and drive in her studies that she did on the court and said that it was always her dream to get a business degree. She felt she needed it to hone her leadership skills and get the tools for a more hands-on approach for her own business.
Hamm graduated from the UNC before leading the women’s national soccer team to global success. She helped women’s soccer take off and become a mainstream sport and earned an Olympic gold medal in 1996.
These superstars have proven there’s no alternative for an education and that’s its never too late to get one!
Apple is expected to announce details around new product launches this week, in particular with the release of its first 5G phone, the iPhone 12 in October. The date of the announcement will be September 15th, 2020. While the new phone won’t be available till October, consumers eagerly await the 5G phones new features and upgrades. In this upcoming virtual event Apple will announce an updated Apple Watch Series 6 and iPad Air.
Apple’s iPhone in IOS operating system have consistently be rated at the top a customer satisfaction.
Recent survey data shows that iPhone customers are not even contemplating switching brands today. In a December 2018 survey by Kantar, 90% of U.S.-based iPhone users said they planned to remain loyal to future Apple devices. Source Morningstar
17 analysts offering 12-month price targets for NASDAQ: Peloton Interactive in the last 3 months. The average price target is $78.88 with a high forecast of $109.00 and a low forecast of $58.00. The average price target represents a -12.96% decrease from the last price of $90.62. Source TipRanks
The Bike+ will be available starting on September 9, 2020 in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Germany, with the Peloton Tread coming to the U.K. December 26, 2020, U.S., and Canada in early 2021, and Germany later in 2021. Source: Peloton
The original Peloton Bike, available at the lower price point of $1,895 USD on September 9, 2020
The Peloton Bike+ ($2,495 USD)
The original Peloton Tread, now called Peloton Tread+ ($4,295 USD)
The lower-priced Peloton Tread ($2,495 USD), coming in early 2021
The Peloton Bike+ features:23.8″ rotating HD touchscreen: Seamlessly transition between cycling and floor-based workouts. The screen rotates 180 degrees left and right for easy viewing.
High-fidelity four-speaker sound system: Clearer sound and quality for a more intense Instructor connection. The bike also features Gymkitâ„¢: With just a tap, pair your Apple Watch ® with the Bike+ to keep your metrics in sync.
The Peloton Tread features: 23.8″ HD touchscreen with integrated speakers: Transition seamlessly between the Tread and the floor during your workout. The screen tilts up and down 50 degrees, so you can have the best possible view and sound, bringing you even closer to Instructors.
Designed to fit your daily routine: Tread measures smaller than most couches at 68″ L x 33″ W x 62″ H and fits comfortably in most homes. Thoughtfully designed running platform: Tread has no front shroud, typically found in traditional belt treadmills, which creates an unencumbered training environment free of obstacles. Source: Peloton
Warner Bros. Tenet (NYSE:T) thriller that may be the biggest film release of this pandemic year, in terms of stakes – debuted in the U.S. with $20.2M, in the first of three days of the long Labor Day weekend. That figure is hard to judge against any historical comparisons – with a subset of U.S. theaters open, and those that are open enforcing capacity restrictions, but it marked a triumph of sorts in even making it to theaters after multiple delays.
Internationally, Tenet has $150M so far, and in China, where theaters were able to reopen more quickly, it grossed $30M over the weekend, trailing only Chinese war epic The Eight Hundred.
Palantir Technologies is a software company founded by Peter Thiel in 2003 CREDIT: KIYOSHI OTA/ BLOOMBERG
Palantir is a company that that provides data-gathering and analysis for government agencies winning $1.5 billion in federal government contracts with the Space Force and the Navy, including national security and intelligence.
Palantir Technologies offers a suite of software applications for integrating, visualizing, and analyzing information. Palantir software allows analysts within and between government organizations to collaborate and to analyze large quantities of data.
Palantir builds the world’s leading software for data-driven decisions and operations. Many market segments use the software from auto companies to insurance companies seeking risk management.
The VA Technology Acquisition Center awarded a nearly $5 million contract to the Silicon Valley company for its Gotham data-sharing software, already used by the HHS Protect system informing White House coronavirus efforts. Source: FedScoop
In recent reports the company has been valued at $20 billion dollars. PitchBook states, Palantir has raised around $3 billion in cumulative funding. The last fundraising round valued the company at $20 billion. Yet the controversy come from a lack of profits. No IPO date has been set
As of late, COVID-19 Hospital Data Systems that bypass the CDC has been riddled with inaccurate information and delays.
Hospitals would now report their data exclusively to HHS Protect, that Palantir developed but run by the private company , TeleTracking. Palantir founded by Peter Thiel is one of the most valuable private companies in Silicon Valley because Palantir is about to go public
Palantir said it has 125 customers using its software across more than 150 countries, with the average revenue per customer of US$5.6 million. Palantir has relocated its headquarters from Palo Alto, to Denver, although it is unclear how many of its roughly 2,400 employees will work there and when. The company has instructed employees to work from home through the end of 2020.
Palantir gets its name from J.R.R. Tollkien’s Lord of the Rings saga. A palantÃr is a magical artifact in Middle-earth that is used for communication and to see events in the past and future.
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