Daily Archives: May 31, 2021

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. The future looks grim for Newfoundland and Labrador's third-largest offshore oilfield, and the head of its workers' union says the ripple effects will be devastating if it shuts down.

Unifor Local 2121 president Dave Mercer said Friday that thousands of people will take a hit if the operators of the Terra Nova offshore oilfield walk away now. Some workers laid off from the idled project months ago have already started to move away, he said.

"They come to me every day," Mercer said in an interview, pausing to swallow back tears. "Every single day. I choke up when I hear it. Because I can't fix it."The people who can fix it, he said, are running the seven oil companies that own and operate the project.

The Terra Nova oilfield sits about 350 kilometres southeast of St. John's. Oil was first discovered there in 1984, and it began flowing in January 2002. The field uses what's called a floating production, storage and offloading vessel, which is essentially a massive ship that can store 960,000 barrels and house 120 workers at a time. The craft is connected to wells in the sea floor by a sprawling network of cables and pipes.

So far, 425 million barrels of oil have been recovered from the field, according to estimates from the Newfoundland and Labrador Oil and Gas Industries Association. About 80 million barrels remain.

The field provides around 1,000 direct jobs and affects thousands more through service and supply sectors like catering, helicopters and environmental monitoring, a news release Thursday from the association said.

But the field hasn't produced oil since November 2019, Mercer said. The vessel needs maintenancein order to keep pumping for another decade, and that work has been held up, most recently because of the crash in oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I've had 11 families in the last six months tell me that they're done and they're moving out of the province, and they have," Mercer said. "We have people that work offshore because they have to pay for medical needs for the family members .... Their insurance is cut off. Their benefits are done."

Suncor Energy is the majority partner in the Terra Nova project. Company president Mark Little told The Canadian Press on Wednesday that part of the work needs to be done in Spain, where there's a dry dock facility large enough to accommodate the 300-metre-long vessel.

"Then it has to come back and hit a weather window next year to actually get back on station," Little said. "The problem is we're running out of time to actually do that. We're losing our window."

Suncor wants to proceed, but not all of the partners are on board, he said even with the Newfoundland and Labrador government offering $175 million in life support earlier this year.

"We continue to be supportive of the asset life extension, and we've advocated for it," Little said during a webcast with investors Wednesday. "But honestly, we've been doing this for many, many months and working it very diligently, and it doesn't look like we're going to get there."

A decision on whether they'll abandon the project and permanently shut down the field will be made on June 15, he said.

Wade Locke, an economist at Memorial University in St. John's, says the Terra Nova troubles are a sign of what's to come. "Both the federal and provincial governments are committed to (fighting) climate change and pretty aggressive targets as well," he said in an interview Friday. "So, you'll see some significant changes by 2030 if they follow through with their aspirations. And by 2050, you'll see a lot of changes."

If the Terra Nova operators are reticent to invest in work to unearth another 80 million barrels of oil, even with a $175 million boost from the government, Locke wonders what that says about some of the less advanced projects on the horizon.

The situation also doesn't bode well for the West White Rose project, which was launched to extend the life of the White Rose offshore oilfield, he said. Suncor owns 26 per cent of that project, and majority owner Cenovus, formerly Husky Energy, announced it was reviewing its operations in the province last September. Cenovus has said abandonment is under consideration.

Mercer is also concerned what a shutdown of Terra Nova could mean for the province's other offshore projects. "If we shut the door and Terra Nova doesn't continue, it's only sending the message to these other oil companies that Newfoundland is not open for business," he said.

In a statement emailed Friday, Energy Minister Andrew Parsons said the province is doing everything it can to keep Terra Nova going. "However, the final investment decision rests with the project partners," Parsons said. "Discussions continue among project owners, and I remain hopeful that partners can reach an agreement to secure the project."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2021.

With files from Dan Healing in Calgary

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Threat of N.L.'s Terra Nova oilfield shutdown a sign of things to come: economist - Kamloops This Week

We cant resist tinkering with our houses. In the 1980s we knocked through rooms and reached into the rafters to add loft extensions. In the 1990s side passages were glassed over and dusty coal cellars became utility rooms. Next came behemoth basement excavations. Now its all about the rear. Terraced houses that appear traditional at the front burst into cavernous open-plan extensions at the back. The glass box, gleaming with marble surfaces and bi-folding doors is every architects attempt to bring sunlit Californian modernity to cloudy British climes.

Alan Martin Day and Russell Vandyk, retirees with avant-garde tastes, wanted something different for the back of their north London semi. Weve never aspired to the house beautiful look, says Day, but it was starting to look tatty. Built in the 1890s for a Mr Pooter-ish clerk, the house sits in an end-of-terrace plot embraced by a river that once fed fresh water to London. The Victorian layout had hardly changed. The loftier front rooms spoke of genteel entertaining. Behind, steps descended to the piecemeal former servants quarters, still marked with the ghostly traces of the maids bell.

For 40 years, the pair says they made do with a DIY kitchen and bathroom. The rest of the house functioned as a bohemian guest house for friends and family. There wasnt a Damascene moment when we decided to change things. But as you get older you appreciate havinga more aesthetic dimension to your life, says Day. Luxury isnt about cruises or expensive sofas; its about beauty not impressing other people.

The couple, who used to run a props-making business, handed their architects a generous brief. It was an opportunity to be experimental, says Ben Allen, whoseeponymous practice is gaining a reputation for spirited, allusive architecture.

Were moving away from huge open-plan spaces. The acoustics are awful. And eating, living and watching TV together can feel overwhelming. Covid has made us realise we all need spaces to retreat to, says Allen, who attributes his colourful, post-minimalist approach to working on projects such as the Serpentine Pavilion for Berlin-based Olafur Eliasson. Keep it simple was not his office mantra, says Allen. If you walk in a forest, the light and atmosphere is constantly changing. Our natural environment is infinitely complex; so having a bit of complexity in our interiors should be a given.

To bring intrigue to the new, two-storey extension, Allen and colleague Omar Ghazal turned to Sir John Soane. Not his grandly neoclassical Bank of England, but the Georgian architects eccentric, imaginative home in Lincolns Inn Fields. Soane extended his house with an amazing sequence of pavilions, lit in different ways. They forged a link between old and new, says Allen. Glass boxes work well in warm southern climates, but English skies can be oppressive. You need a sense of warmth and enclosure. Instead of gazing up at rain-streaked glazing, a ribbed vault sits below the skylight diffusing the light like that arboreal canopy into the double-height kitchen. Arched openings draw your gaze from the kitchen to the dining room where Allen designed the D-ended table and chairs. An Alice in Wonderland-scaled door above the sink opens, like a vintage serving hatch, on to the sitting room. These connections have made the house feel so much more sociable, says Vandyk, pointing up to the mezzanine floor, hugged by the blue balustrade. A room was sacrificed to add the new space.

Concrete, not a timber frame, was used to build the extension. We were inspired by the colour and honesty of Victorian architecture, says Allen. The brickwork is decorated, but its also load-bearing. What you see is what you get. At the back, a structural column inscribed with a scallop pattern contrasts with the flat panels of the bathroom. The rich greens, reds and salmon pinks were achieved using earth pigments. Everything stairs, kitchen counters, benches was built off-site. We spent a lot of time exploring options, but the main frame only took three days to build, says Allen who has named the project the House Recast.

The bathroom was another experiment. The shell-shaped shadows of a decorative screen flit across smooth green walls under the domed skylight. The exotic hammam-like feel is a nod to Ghazals Jordanian roots mixed with a reference to the Orientalist London home of Victorian painter Sir Frederic Leighton. Designed as a wet room, it has a specially made brass shower head and the sculpted basin looks like a classical pedestal.

Vandyk and Day recently learned that their home has been plucked from 200 other submissions to win the annual Dont Move, Improve! award. Not that they have ever doubted the uniqueness of their recalibrated interior. It has given them a fresh perspective on the home they have known since their 20s. From every angle, you always have something different to look at theres an ongoing sense of novelty, says Vandyk.

studiobenallen.com

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Concrete thinking: an astonishing terrace extension - The Guardian

In Game of Thrones terms, this summer feels like one after a long winter, or in our case, the long quarantine that COVID-19 brought to our doorstep. Summertime is here and it promises to bring our barbeque vibe on! How about turning your backyard into an outdoor movie theatre for your family and friends, or hosting a barbecue party with the best grill in the market? Weve curated a collection of product designs to help you transform these exciting ideas into a reality! These products will turn your yard into the ultimate fun space. We bet you wont want to step out of your yard, once you introduce these products to it!

The Rocco multifunctional outdoor furniture byMorrois a barbecue, a sofa, a champagne bar, and more! 2020 has been about creating intimate moments at home, and nothing says intimate like a cozy evening in your backyard! To take things up a notch, we have Rocco which is an all-rounder piece of outdoor furniture. Its clever design transforms it from a fun barbecue into a sofa or champagne bar and even a smores pit I think its safe to say Rocco is an essential this year! You can add a fire bowl to the base or choose from various other accessories like a grill, tabletop, ice bucket, and parasol base. Customize Rocco to fit what you define as a chill evening.

The Bailey Discovery D4-2 Camper Trailer is one such creation, tailored for adventure enthusiasts who cant help but satiate their wanderlust exploring the untrodden trails. The USP of this camper trailer is its inflatable awning which creates almost double the private space you need for your escapades under the star-studded nights. On the inside, D4-2 is equipped with all the amenities and a fully furnished interior. Enough to suffice the needs of a couple on their long road trip with the odd guest coming along the way for a couple of days. The big windows on all sides and the skylight fills the interiors with enough sunlight for a calming feel. The lounge area includes two couches and a fold-down table. In the kitchen, youll get an oven/grill combo appliance, a drop-down worktop extension, and a sink. On the opposite side, there is a mini-fridge with space underneath to store food and beverages.

Cineorama byErika Hockis an outdoor viewing space, so you can sit and watch a couple of your favorite movies with your family and friends, within the comforts of your own backyard! Its the perfect movie-watching solution during this pandemic when you wish to avoid the crowded movie theatres but also yearn for the conventional theatre experience. You can simply convert your backyard into one!

Developed in the design language of DHL, PDF Haus aimed to give Shelf a simple box silhouette with a freewheeling attitude, taking inspiration from the color scheme, materials and finishes often chosen by DHL for their vehicles and brand aesthetic. The grill even comes with DHL decals and tags that can be adhered to the metallic grills front case that turns into its table extension.

The BURCH BARREL gives you unprecedented control over your barbecue process. You can operate the barbecue lid without having to touch it, or rest the grill on any uneven surface without worrying about it falling over, you can even lift the grill plate off the coal-pan to add more fuel. Moreover, when youre not grilling food, the BURCH BARREL doubles up as a portable fireplace for those perfect sunset social gatherings. The barrels design is immediately striking, with a large tripod system that has the barrel suspended from the very center. This unique format keeps the barrel balanced and vertical at all times, allowing you to mount it on rocky terrain or even on slanted surfaces without any fear of the barrel tipping over. Inspired by a cameras tripod, the BURCH BARREL comes with telescopic legs that let you orient the unit to be stable, no matter how unstable your ground is, giving it a competitive advantage over regular barbecue grills that traditionally require a flat surface like pavement, to begin with.

If your dog, by chance, eats the snail or lick its trail, he can get infected with Lungworm! And with the fact that the snail population has increased by 50% since 2012, its a real tangible threat. Taking this issue into consideration, designer Karl Martin designed Bark, an outdoor feeder with a foolproof update! The feeder looks like a standing yellow box, to be honest, however, equipped with a Makrolon 2407 PC injection-molded body, its pretty sturdy. The outer yellow body protects a stainless steel bowl within, which holds your pets food. An injection-molded ABS flap functions as a protective layer between your dogs meal and those pesky snails, slugs and not to mention other insects and creatures (I mean lets not count out all the other species too).

Roxons MBT3 Multi BBQ Tool promises to meet all your outdoor barbecuing needs! Crafted from food-grade 430 stainless steel, the 6-in-1 multi-tool combines a variety of functionalities, so you dont have to carry a case full of tools with you. The compact tool functions as a fork, knife, spatula, tongs, bottle opener, and a wine corkscrew! The design basically comprises of three base elements, the fork, spatula, and knife, which are combined together via a 1.2mm liner lock. The various parts can be attached, detached and arranged according to the tool you need at the moment. For example, the fork and the spatula can be joined to create a pair of tongs! Whereas the knife comes with a foldable handle, once the handle is folded in, it functions as a bottle opener and a wine corkscrew as well!

Meet the Fufu. What it lacks in name catchiness, it makes up for with function. Designed to work as a tabletop air conditioner as well as a mini-fridge, Fufu is your ultimate weapon against a hot and sweaty summer day. With the proportions of a backpack, Fufu sits anywhere in your room, cooling your space as well as preserving your food and drinks. It uses two semiconductor cooling systems that run simultaneously, balancing energy efficiency and cooling efficiency together.

Ditching bulkiness for compactness and swapping chemicals for electric current, Sang Kun Park designed FOLD, a foldable electric mosquito net inspired by the traditional Korean fan. A lot of us are going camping or spending more time outdoors these days, and when the bugs come out hunting, we need to be prepared. Sang Kun Park designed FOLD with Designer Dot so that when nature calls out our names, no amount of mosquitoes can get in the way of enjoying it. FOLDs compact size is its primary appeal, fitting into even the most tightly packed knapsacks. Resembling the traditional Korean fans shape and folding apparatus, FOLD is a handheld, portable alternative to the heavy mosquito lamp that measures only two times the size of an average-sized smartphone when folded.

A tool used for firing clay in a kiln transforms into a minimalist bird feeder! Thisceramic bird feederdoesnt present a new solution for bird feeders but does present an approach for sustainable product manufacturing that solves a problem faced by many designers: the scrap material used during construction, like rings in clay kilns, that is discarded once the product is finished. Ceramika Design and Studio Kononenko wanted to make use of ceramic rings used when firing clay in kilns. The main element of the bird feeder is formed from ceramic the frame and body of the bird feeder. Covering just about a quarter of the round frame is a plastic plate that functions to store plenty of food for the wild birds. Extending from the middle of the plastic plate is a wooden peg that works as a perch for birds to enjoy their seeds. Its a beautiful sustainable design for your backyard!

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Bring your yard to life with these inspirational product designs: part 4 - Yanko Design

Jennifer Acuff is making a three-tiered effort to ensure food gets from the farm to the kitchen without contamination.

Acuff joined the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is an assistant professor of food microbiology and safety in the department of food science.

She has appointments as an assistant professor in the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agricultures research and extension arms, and a teaching appointment in Bumpers College.

My appointments in research, extension and teaching are very close in terms of percentage, Acuff said. It is meant to create a very integrated program

Food science is an ideal place for such similar appointments, said Jeyam Subbiah, food science department head. We want results from Dr. Acuffs research to be immediately applied to the food industry through her extension efforts, and also she teaches students about this very important area.

She is an excellent teacher, Subbiah said, and has been very flexible, coming on board in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and having to change everything we do in order to adapt. She pulled it off exceptionally well, to manage her classes and build a research program.

Acuff earned her bachelors degree in biology from Abilene Christian University and a masters degree in food microbiology from Kansas State University. She earned a doctorate in food safety and microbiology from Virginia Tech University in 2020.

She has research experience in food safety, working in areas related to beef, ready-to-eat foods and low-water activity foods.

Acuffs research primarily focuses on intervention technologies designed to reduce pathogen contamination in post-harvest foods. She investigates strategies to improve fresh and processed food safety and protect products from microbial contamination.

She is currently focusing on microbial contamination in low-moisture food products, including such things as spices, nuts, dry fruits and powders.

Low-moisture foods are often overlooked, Acuff said. Low-moisture environments dont promote bacterial growth. Its rare, but it does happen. She cited two cases one in peanut butter and another in dry infant formula that led to recalls and production changes.

Its a huge deal to make sure dry foods are safe, she said.

The Food and Drug Administration says all foods are susceptible to contamination, Acuff said. So, we are investigating what we can do to reduce the risks and how to prove it works.

Acuff is currently working on an industry grant-funded project to investigate Salmonella contamination in dairy powders. Im looking for routes of contamination and how long the bacterial pathogen survives. Also, what solutions are available to destroy the bacteria.

She is also searching for effective surrogate bacteria. These would be harmless bacteria that otherwise behave like Salmonella. They could be introduced into a companys production line to verify that detection and inactivation systems are working properly.

Acuff wants to take her research results directly to the food industry, she said. Also, she will be able to help companies find potential problems in their food processing systems and take successful action to make their products safe.

My extension work will focus on consultation and in-plant research to help companies identify, mitigate and document risks of contamination, she said.

Were doing applied research that can help the food industries, Acuff said, and also to engage our local communities on food safety issues.

Acuffs classroom will help prepare students for food safety jobs in the food industry and prepare the next generation of food safety scientists. She is already teaching food microbiology lectures and related labs.

There are many students from other academic programs besides food science, Acuff said. They come from pre-health programs and other disciplines for which food safety education is important.

Acuff is also developing an online masters degree program in food safety.

The aim is to help people be better educated about food safety, at home as well as in the industry, she said.

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Tackling food safety in the lab, field and classroom - Batesville Daily Guard