Category Archives: Resource Based Economy

In 2022, NAPAfrica will celebrate a decade of playing a pivotal role in transforming Africas internet access and interconnectedness. Established in 2012, with the aim to stimulate the development of an internet exchange (IXP) within a truly vendor-neutral environment, NAPAfrica has grown into the continents biggest IXP and the seventh largest globally by number of member connections. Most recently, NAPAfrica announced it had reached a peering throughput milestone of more than 2Tbps, with over 500 organisations now actively peering.

The growth of NAPAfrica is a great African success story, says Jan Hnizdo, CEO of Teraco, where the internet exchanges infrastructure resides within vendor-neutral co-location data centres located in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. What started as an idea to attract global content to African shores while also improving latency has emerged as a leading interconnection hub that is shaping the growth and access of the internet across the African continent. It took eight years for traffic throughput on the internet exchange to reach 1Tbps, and only a little over 15 months to double that.

NAPAfrica has made it possible for peering members to access global content within African borders and keep local traffic local where previously, much of our traffic was routed via Europe. More recently, we have seen many new enterprises join the NAPAfrica peering community to improve resilience, lower costs and reduce the latency of accessing content and applications such as Microsoft O365, AWS Cloudfront, Akamai and Cloudflare. NAPAfrica has become a cornerstone for organisations in supporting their internet and communication needs with work-from-home strategies.

The continued investment into critical telecommunications infrastructure in Africa, especially in the local cloud regions like Microsoft Azure and AWS, subsea cables and broadband fibre, have also contributed enormously to the growth of NAPAfrica, as the continents demand for content and cloud services grows apace.

African enterprises are leveraging the benefits of peering by connecting with cloud deployments, networks, security providers and content providers within the NAPAfrica ecosystem as part of their move to a digital economy.

The number of IXPs in Africa has also grown exponentially since the launch of NAPAfrica, increasing from 19 in 2012 to 46 in 2020: A 140% increase in the number of African exchanges is good news for the continent and its interconnectedness. We are proud of the innovative role NAPAfrica has played in shaping Africas internet access and usage.

Deloittes Value of Connectivity report says internet connectivity has already hugely benefited developed economies, providing far-reaching economic and social advantages. Extending these opportunities to developing economies in Africa is critical in making the transition from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy.

It is in the creation of a knowledge-based economy where Africa, and NAPAfrica, has seen the immense growth of cloud providers that are launching their services across the continent as the need for cloud-based technology increases. Coupled with this has been the extensive investment and uptake in fibre and subsea cable infrastructure, allowing users access to higher capacities than ever before.

Michele McCann, Head of Interconnection & Peering, Teraco, says people have now discovered the real power of the internet, be it working from home or for pure entertainment: We are seeing NAPAfrica traffic grow daily as enterprises start investing in larger bandwidth options as they address work-from-home needs. From a content perspective, the UEFA EURO 2020 added over 400Gbps of additional traffic to the exchange.

Increased demand on networks, to service remote users, has driven the adoption of key cloud and security applications such as Microsoft O365 services, AWS, Cloudflare and Zscaler.

As NAPAfrica continues to play a significant role by servicing not only South Africa but also the southern African region, McCann says similar traffic growth numbers are occurring elsewhere on the continent within countries such as Angola, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Runion, Seychelles, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

See the article here:

NAPAfrica internet exchange leads the way for internet growth and accessibility in Africa - ITWeb

PUBLIC NOTICE The Spotsylvania County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 18, 2021 in the Board of Supervisors Chambers located on the Holbert Building, 9104 Courthouse Road, Spotsylvania, VA, 22553, to consider the following: CPA17-0002, Spotsylvania County Planning Commission: Major update to the Spotsylvania County Comprehensive Plan (Plan) consistent with the Code of Virginia 15.2-2230, 15.2-2223, 15.2-2224, and 9VAC25-830-170. Specifically, this update proposes to amend the 2013 Comprehensive Plan as last updated July 28, 2020, as follows: repeal and replace: Chapter 1 Introduction and Vision; Chapter 2 Future Land Use; Chapter 4 Public Facilities including Sub-Chapters 4A-4H; Chapter 5 Historic Resources; Chapter 6 Natural Resources; and Appendices C-D; and amend and re-ordain: Chapter 3 Transportation, including Sub-Chapter 3A; and Appendices A-B. Proposed Sub-Chapter 4G Parks and Recreation would result in repealing the Spotsylvania County Parks and Recreation Master Plan adopted March 2009, last revised February 2011. Universally, document footers will be updated to note a new adoption date. Additionally, throughout the Plan, there are numerous hyperlinks to electronic mapping resources and referenced plans, studies, resources intended as informational resources. The proposed update is available for review on the Spotsylvania County Planning Department webpage at http://www.spotsylvania.va.us/draftdocuments. Details of the proposed update are described below: Cover Page and Table of Contents A new cover page is proposed with a new page design that identifies the Comprehensive Plan and will include an adoption date when complete. The acknowledgements page will reflect current and former Planning Commissioners, Board of Supervisors who have participated in the update process, and the County Administrator. The Table of Contents reflects standalone maps located within their respective Chapters as well as Chapter titles, Sub-Chapters, and Appendices. Chapter 1, Introduction and Vision The Vision statement has been relocated to follow the Chapter Introduction. Growth rates and projections data have been updated to reflect population related changes. The update also provides data on the local fiscal climate, and land use diversification. Guiding Principles and Policies include revisions concerning fiscal sustainability principles as follows: Maintaining consistency with the Code of Virginia Sec. 15.2-2303.4; seeking to ensure public infrastructure impact mitigations; and promoting study and documentation of significant historic sites, natural resources, and cemeteries. Under agriculture and silviculture as valued components of the County's economy, refer to the Primary Development Boundary (PDB) as the intended limit of public water and sewer service. Update to the major initiatives action plan includes: Continued monitoring of economic, demographic, socio-economic, and housing trends locally; suggestion that the Design Standards Manual be reviewed and updated; reference to the annual financial report as an ongoing task; enhancement of pursuit of transportation funding identification; continued work on regional planning issues; development of special area plans for areas where unique development opportunities exist. Chapter 2, Land Use Objectives are expanded to include: protection of historic and environmental resources, rural farms, forest uses, and character; reduction of land-use conflicts; promotion of enhanced proximity and accessibility between places to live, work, recreate, shop. A summary of local economic development and tourism and related initiatives are covered. Supporting maps within this Chapter include: Electric Transmission; PDB; Future Land-Use (County-wide, and PDB Focus); Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones); Opportunity Zones; Technology Zones; Tourism Zones. Minor expansions are made to the PDB totaling approximately 275 acres, including: Five Mile Road Area just north of Route 3, incorporating a project-specific stand-alone area located at Barley Woods within the PDB with adjacent lands; New Post area east of Mills Dr adding acreage primarily zoned Industrial 2; small boundary cleanup just north of Summit Crossing Road. Within the PDB, "difficult to serve" areas have been symbolized as areas that may not be readily developable for higher intensity uses requiring public water and sewer services. New policy specifies when a Plan Amendment is warranted. It establishes conditions under which development located outside of the PDB desiring to connect to public water and sewer would submit a Code of Virginia 15.2-2232 review versus when submittal of a Comprehensive Plan Amendment application is warranted. Additionally, exception 1.a clarifies intent to apply to public sewer extensions, and 1.b is added to allow for individual connections of public water and/or sewer outside of the PDB when existing Utility infrastructure is in place to make said connection feasible, as determined by County Utilities. As part of this update, the Land-Use Categories include: Agricultural and Forestal: This land-use designation is greatly expanded. This update seeks to avoid significant losses of agricultural and forestal acreage and to maintain as zoned by-right residential development potential to avoid residential proliferation. o Expansions generally as follows: from Orange Plank Rd west of Fawn Lake extending to the Orange County line and south of the Civil War Trail, replacing Rural Residential designation; from south side of Brock Rd extending between the Spotsylvania Courthouse Battlefield (NPS) and Oakley Wildlife Management Area divided by the Po River Corridor, replacing Rural Residential designation; from south side of Guinea Station Rd corridor and north of the Ni River corridor extending from the Caroline County line westward to Interstate 95, replacing Rural Residential designation; from lands south of Morris Rd and the Oakley Wildlife Management Area extending between the Caroline and Orange County line and southward to the north side of Lewiston Rd and Lawyers Rd except where other land-use designations are depicted, and areas generally to the west of Stubbs Bridge and Belmont Rd approaching the Louisa County line, replacing Rural Residential designation. This expansion area includes but is not limited to all lands within the County's Agricultural/Forestal District program, administered by the County Agricultural/Forestal District Review Committee. Residential: includes a subset of residential, land-use designations including: Rural Residential, Low Density Residential, and High Density Residential. o Expansions as follows: ? Low Density Residential include: from north side of Hazel Run, to include Avalon Woods subdivision, replacing Mixed-Use; River Meadows subdivision, replacing Mixed-Use. Mixed-Use: revises the Mixed-Use designation by creating three Mixed-Use classification tiers, which include: o Mixed-Use Light: envisions a mix of single-family detached and attached residential at densities of 4 to 8 units/acre. Except for the development of commercial corridors as described along higher functional classification roads, most of the land within this tier is envisioned to be a mix of residential uses. o Mixed-Use General: envisions a broad mix of commercial, office, and residential development in a horizontal or vertical mixed-use pattern. Residential densities in these areas are envisioned to exceed 8 units/acre and densities of 16 units/acre or more and resulting building scale are appropriate. o Mixed-Use Commercial Heavy: envisions a commercial and office "heavy" mixed-use district at a semi-urban or urban scale. Residential development within these areas is intended as a secondary or subordinate use encourages mixes of residential housing for diversification. Densities, except for the Lake Anna area, are intended to exceed 8 units/acre. Urban or semi-urban densities of 16 units/acre or more and resulting building scale are appropriate. At Lake Anna, the land use designation is described differently as a "village center" and mixed-use area with the primary focus on commercial. Residential development in this area is intended as a secondary or subordinate use and envisioned residential densities are lower than mixed-use areas within the PDB due to lack of public water and sewer. o Mixed-Use classification tiers expansions are as follows: ? Mixed-Use Light: Jackson Gateway and Thornburg area to the west of the Route 1 corridor following the PDB edge. The tier change in this area also slightly expands east towards Route 1, south of Morris Rd, replacing Employment Center; area west of Route 1 corridor generally north of the South Oaks subdivision extending north to Lee's Parke; Massaponax Church Rd corridor south of Mills Dr, extending as far as the Cosner Industrial Park and along the periphery of the northern boundary of the Lancaster Gate Subdivision; areas north of Mills Dr to Germanna Community College, extending from Interstate 95 to Lee Hill School Dr; periphery of north and east sides of Lee Hill Park to approximately Lee Hill School Dr; northeast and northwest corners of Mills Dr and Benchmark Rd intersection; Rappahannock Riverfront area and peripheral portions of the New Post development; southeast corner of Mills Dr at Tidewater Trl, Sandy Ln intersection, replacing Employment Center and Open Space; west of Jefferson Davis Hwy to east of Lafayette Blvd extending from Fredericksburg (City) line to Four Mile Fork; unless otherwise designated, the north and south side of Harrison Rd to the west of Interstate 95 extending adjacent to the east side of the Twin Springs and Carriage Hills subdivisions; area east of Gordon Rd including existing development associated with the Salem Fields development; peripheral areas in the standalone Spotsylvania Courthouse PDB; Smith Station Rd to reflect approved Courtland Park development; Five Mile Road Extended, replacing High Density Residential at Regency Park Villas. ? Mixed-Use General: central core of Spotsylvania Courthouse area; New Post at northeast corner of Mills Dr. and Tidewater Trl; area west of Benchmark Rd extending between the Massaponax Creek corridor and Mills Dr toward Lee Hill School Dr; area south of Mills Dr and east of the RF&P Rail corridor including Crossroads Pkwy; area west of Interstate 95 extending down the east and west side of the Route 1 corridor between Cosners Corner and the Commonwealth Industrial Park to north of Lad Land Dr; Route 1 at Riverstone Dr intersection area to include the east and west side of the Route 1 corridor, replacing Mixed-Use and Employment Center; south side of Harrison Rd to the west of Interstate 95 extending south approximately half way to Rollingwood Dr and west towards Carriage Hills Subdivision. ? Mixed-Use Commercial Core: Thornburg area including areas around the northeast and northwest corners of Route 1 and Morris Rd/Mudd Tavern Rd and then down the west side of the Route 1 corridor to the PDB line, replacing Employment Center; south side of the Cosners Corner retail development and extending along the south side of Mills Dr to the west side of the Cosner Industrial Park and then south of the Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center along the east side of the Interstate 95 corridor; Four Mile Fork area extending down the Route 1 corridor to Exit 126, including Southpoint Pkwy, Market Street, portions of Spotsylvania Avenue, replacing Mixed-Use and Commercial; Spotsylvania Towne Center extending south of Route 3 between Bragg Rd and Interstate 95; area along the south side of the Route 3 corridor between Salem Church Rd and Kennedy Ln extending to General Semmes Rd; Spotsylvania Industrial Park/Bowman Center from City of Fredericksburg line to Rappahannock River, replacing Employment Center; Lake Anna area including east and west side of Route 208 corridor from approximately Lewiston Rd to Louisa County line. Commercial: descriptive language is added to include examples of complementary uses such as hotels, personal service establishments, office parks, entertainment facilities, and to promote better connectivity to and accessibility from nearby residential development. o Commercial land-use expansions include: along the Route 1 corridor extending southward from north of the PDB to Caroline County, replacing Employment Center and Rural Residential; Route 1 extending north from Four Mile Fork to Fredericksburg (City) line, replacing Mixed-Use; Route 1 at Hickory Ridge Rd intersection, replacing Employment Center; Route 208 corridor between Lewiston Rd to north of Bradley Ln, replacing Rural Residential; Gordon Rd and Brock Rd intersection, replacing Institutional and Rural Residential; Old Plank Rd and Catharpin Rd intersection, replacing Low Density Residential; east side of Bragg Rd from north of Route 1 to Fredericksburg (City) line; Bragg Rd and River Rd intersection; southwest corner of Plank Rd and Andora Dr, replacing Low Density Residential; Mills Dr at Tidewater Trl intersection, replacing Employment Center; east side of Gordon Rd, from Smith Station Elementary to north of Smith Station Rd, replacing Mixed-Use. Employment Center: Provision for traditional commercial development such as retail sales establishments within Employment Center areas have been revised for clarity and revises the Employment Center land use by creating two tiers: o Employment Center Light: primarily envisioned for light industrial parks, data centers and office parks. Light industrial uses are involved in manufacturing activities that use moderate amounts of partially processed materials to produce items of relatively high value per unit. Processing, assembly or disassembly operations, and warehousing and distribution centers may be appropriate in this land use category. Also, high technology businesses, data centers and "clean" industry are appropriate in this land use. Land-use designation changes reflective of Employment Center Light include all areas designated as Employment Center in the existing land use map except for areas where Employment Center Heavy has been employed. The extent of Employment Center Light has also been expanded to include Cosner Industrial Park and land area to the east, south of Mills Dr, replacing Mixed-Use; Industrial acreage in the area of New Post now part of the proposed PDB; south side of Massaponax Church Rd to Ni River and west of Route 1, replacing Mixed-Use. o Employment Center Heavy: described as larger in scale and intensity and may have pollution impacts (noise, odor, etc.) on the surrounding area. Such uses may have emissions or a large degree of outdoor machinery of equipment use as part of normal operations. Examples of heavy industrial uses include, but are not limited to: mining operations; refineries, power plants with emissions; scrap recycling operations; rail yards; and the fabrication and assembly of large items. Areas identified as Employment Center Heavy include along the north side of Mills Dr extending from Benchmark Rd to just west of Tidewater Trail, east and west side of the RF&P Rail corridor in proximity to the VRE Service Yard; in proximity to quarry operations off the Route 1 corridor and Smith Station Rd. Open Space: expands the geography of the land use throughout the County to include additional conserved lands established since the last Comprehensive Plan update and to reflect presence of wetlands and resource protection areas in place. Due to applicability county-wide, this expanded designation replaces a wide array of land-use designations. The land-use has also been expanded at Patriot Park and Harrison Road Park, replacing portions of Institutional designations there. Institutional: includes the governmental facilities necessary for the provision of public services and large public service uses such as airports. As such, Institutional land uses have application county-wide, both inside and outside of the PDB and across all land-use categories. As part of the update, uses such as golf courses, places of worship have been reassigned to other nearby land-use designations. The land-use designation was expanded to include a future public works/utilities campus identified in the Public Facilities Chapter, along the west side of Gordon Rd near Smith Station Rd, replacing Rural Residential. Historic or Scenic Corridors: a new addition, this includes text descriptions and mapping of existing designated historic or scenic corridors within the County. These designations do not change the underlying land-use designation but emphasize the importance of sensitive site and building design. Historic and scenic corridors include Scenic Byways and Roads and the Civil War Trail. Newly considered within the Chapter are economic development zones including tourism zones, technology zones, opportunity zones, Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones). Virginia Business Ready Sites are also considered. Economic Development Zones and Virginia Business-Ready Sites are described within the Chapter and maps and/or tables of their locations have been provided for reference. Throughout the Chapter, substantive land-use policy amendments applicable to all land uses include: clarifying rezoning impact mitigations refer to public facilities impacts; reducing physical impacts between newly proposed and existing development; encouragement of design renderings or modeling to visualize proposals; added design and transitions guidance related to utility installations; location, size, scale and additional impact mitigation guidance concerning solar energy facilities; fire, rescue and emergency management friendly guidance to promote availability of firefighting water storage for new developments where public water and sewer are not available; avoidance of development within dam break inundation areas; promotion of back-up power generation capacity for critical infrastructure uses; encouragement of uses complementary to mapped economic development zones (provided impact mitigation); accessibility to alternative modes of transportation such as FRED Bus, bicycle or pedestrian paths; viewshed and character integrity protection; provide additional guidance concerning conservation of lands to accommodate planned infrastructure needs of the community; identify zoning district appropriateness to any given land-use based on new Tables of Zoning Districts Complementary to Land-Use Designations. Substantive land-use policy amendments include: Agricultural and Forestal: enhance emphasis on protection of prime agricultural soils and notable agricultural and forestal conservation value; expand emphasis on improvements to rural roads to consider agricultural freight, trailered equipment, to benefit rural uses, citizens, and tourist populations; specify land-use appropriateness for conservation easements; and promote well and septic capacity analysis when development is proposed. Residential: further clarify development transitions between newly proposed development adjacent to existing development; emphasize character integrity and viewshed protection along designated historic and scenic corridors outside of the PDB; remove rural commercial signage size guidance; clarify affordable housing; specify land-use appropriateness for conservation easements in rural residential land-use areas; promote well and septic capacity analysis when development is proposed. Mixed Use: promote design guidelines and architectural features; address project transitions considerate of adjacent development patterns; remove language that discourages drive-through uses; promote affordable housing harmoniously designed into mixed price-point developments; connect support for commercial and office developments in the Mixed-Use Light tier to functional classification of road; establish Residential as an intended secondary or subordinate use within the Mixed Use Commercial Heavy tier; promote an additional point of access to the Bowman Center area as supported by the Thoroughfare Plan. Employment Center: recommend large Interstate-dependent, distribution facilities be located within three miles of Interstate access; promote sidewalks and path connectivity to include industrial uses; clarify that commercial development should be secondary or subordinate (in total land area and square footage devoted) to the intended uses associated with the Employment Center land-use designation; promote user diversification, economic diversification; and efforts to enhance economic development readiness of sites. Open Space: recognize that this designation is appropriate for conservation easements, environmentally sensitive areas, and significant historic resource areas. Additional subject matter addressed includes Utility, Telecommunications, and Internet infrastructure including recognition of value, location, impact mitigation, and identification of action items to promote expansion of broadband services to rural areas. Also included is a section devoted to housing, addressing housing inventory; residential building activity; multi-family development; occupancy; type of units; student generation; growth rate; housing ratio; and affordability. Chapter 3, Transportation and Thoroughfare Plan Proposed amendments are specific to the Thoroughfare Plan and corresponding map and include identification of additional road projects as follows: Shannon Airport access road from Shannon Park Dr to Shannon Airport Cir; Northwest Quadrant connector road as a new concept road between Rt 1 and Hood Dr; I-95 Exit 126 SB On Ramp Improvements resulting in additional left turn from US 1 SB, widen on ramp; Roxbury Mill Rd bridge as a new two-lane bridge with 10-foot shared-use path. Proposed route revisions to road projects already identified within the Thoroughfare Plan include: Guinea Station Rd Extension concept road from Guinea Station Rd, east of Rte 1 to Massaponax Church Rd, incorporating existing road infrastructure associated with River Run Pkwy as an alternative possible alignment in addition to an existing depicted concept route; expanding Lansdowne Rd Extension from Russo Dr to Main St in the Bowman Center; revise map depiction and Thoroughfare Plan Table description for Market St extension. Plans to further widen Salem Church Rd and Leavells Rd to 6-lanes, extending from Rte 3 to Courthouse Rd are removed. Already depicted in the Thoroughfare Plan map a corresponding Table description is added for entrance improvements at Rte 1 and the planned VA Hospital entrance. Intersection improvement description at Rte 1 and Market St updated. All other Chapter 3 content remains as previously adopted July 28, 2020. For further detail and clarity, an additional Thoroughfare Plan Map is proposed with focus on the Primary Development Boundary. The map depicts the same projects identified within the County-wide Thoroughfare Plan Map. For additional clarity, within goals and strategies, the draft elaborates on the referenced County Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) threshold by describing it in Goal 2, Strategy 2. Chapter 3A, Trailways Master Plan Proposed amendments are specific to the maps of planned improvements including the Trailways Master Plan, Greenways, and Road-Based Bicycle and Pedestrian improvements. Specific amendments to the aforementioned maps are as follows: change designation of Mudd Tavern Road from the east side of Interstate I-95 bridge to Caroline County line from shoulder improvements to shared-use path; scale back Po River Greenway (off-road) to terminate at Route 1 with future connectivity to previously approved plans along the Route 1 corridor; reflect revised Guinea Station Rd alignment noted in Chapter 3 Transportation amendments to include a shared-use path consistent with Ni River Trail implementation. Chapter 4, Public Facilities Updates to the Public Facilities Introduction include adding reference to utilities, solid waste, and general government. A duplicated list of principle needs concerning provision of public facilities is removed. One additional Key Goal appears in the update: to continue to monitor economic, demographic, socio-economic, and housing trends locally to assess service and facility needs. Under Relationship to the Capital Improvement Plan, the update outlines the importance that future public facilities have support in the Plan for Code of Virginia 15.2-2232 compliance and outlines exceptions, and instances related to provision of public utilities or small scale building expansions whose installation will be considered shown in the Comprehensive Plan. Site Adequacy content related to public facility location selection and design purposes elaborates on convenience and safe accessibility to include provision of bicycle and pedestrian friendly improvements. Public facilities maps references are updated to reflect an updated suite of maps in the Chapter. Chapter 4A, Schools This update includes a general overview of services and programs, accounts for the inventory of schools, provides current and projected student enrollment figures, notes student generation rates by housing type, provides reference to a 2019 schools demographics study and the Schools Strategic Plan that provide insights into identified recommendations for the school system going forward. An updated schools map is also included, accounting for the schools inventory. Level of service standards for middle school design/build capacity is increased from 940-960 students to 940-1100 students. To address school specific capacity concerns, the Spotsylvania Public Schools has identified realigned attendance zones and targeted renovation and expansion projects to address capacity issues that exist. Updated recommendations include: realignment of attendance zones; continuing to analyze existing educational environments to determine whether they can be re-purposed to support research-based, best-instructional practices; identification of capital projects including renovation and expansion of Spotsylvania Middle School, improvements at Chancellor High/Middle School, added classroom capacity at Thornburg Middle School, and space reconfiguration for new programming at Spotsylvania High School and Career and Technical Center; considering expansion or enhancement of specialized educational programs and their necessary capital facilities considering potential student demand, market demand for skills (future employment opportunities) and cost to implement. Additional updates for clarification purposes, to provide examples, and to show efforts should be ongoing. For capital projects, the update previews need for an upcoming bond referendum. Chapter 4B, Fire, Rescue, Emergency Management (FREM) This update includes a general overview of services and programs, accounts for the inventory of fire and rescue stations, including reference to level of service standards for response time and service areas. A report on station capacity versus call volume is provided. Level of service standards have been reduced from four to three and are based on response times specific to identified fire and rescue stations considerate of the geography and development patterns served. A 1:11,000 ratio of stations per capita standard is removed. The updates to General Recommendations include: coordinate with lead/ support agencies and implement regional and Spotsylvania County-specific mitigation action strategies associated with the current iteration of the George Washington Regional Commission Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan; work with local and regional stakeholders to update the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan; and explore development of a County Wildland Fire Mitigation Plan in partnership with the Virginia Department of Forestry. Short-term recommendations include: integrate technologies and adopt procedures necessary to measure performance using the Unit Hour Utilization and Assembled Fire Fighting Force metrics; study fire and rescue calls and responses, as well as Unit Hour Utilization to determine whether Level of Service needs dictate the construction of additional stations in some areas, and/or staffing additional fire apparatus and ambulances in existing facilities; build replacement fire and rescue station (FC/RS) 3 in the Partlow area; delete recommendation to build replacement FC/RS 5 on Route 3 and FC/RS 11 in the Mills Drive/Benchmark Rd area; secure land for and build FC/RS 12 in the Jefferson Davis Highway/ Massaponax Church Rd. area; build the Classroom and Logistics Facility at the Rappahannock Regional Training Center to facilitate improved system-wide training and meet logistical storage needs; implement traffic management strategies and technology to facilitate improved response times; continue efforts to update the aid agreement with Culpeper County, resulting in an automatic aid agreement. The updated Chapter removes a short-term goal to secure land for and build a new fire and rescue station to split the call volume handled by Stations #4 and #6. Updates to long term goals include: removing secure property for the replacement of the FC/RS 3 facilities into a new consolidated-use site, now a short-term goal. Updated land acquisition goal includes acquiring land for fire/rescue joint-use sites in order to relieve the burden on existing fire/rescue facilities. Considering level of service standards, new locations are in the Shady Grove, Post Oak, and northwestern Spotsylvania County (north of Route 3). Complementary maps including: Public Safety Facilities; FREM First Response Zones; FREM 5-Mile Response Areas; and FREM Population Density in Service Areas have been added. Chapter 4C, Sheriff This update includes removing the short term goal of enclosing the outdoor kennel at the Public Safety Building and identifying a future capital project to expand the existing public safety building to meet space needs. Sheriff's office facility inventory is reflected in an updated Public Safety Facilities Map. Chapter 4D, Solid Waste Collection and Disposal This update includes a general overview of services and programs, accounts for the inventory of existing facilities and collections statistics. Lifespan figures for the Livingston landfill are updated. Updates to short-range recommendations include: implementing a County decal program that enables solid waste convenience site staff to effectively identify residents of Spotsylvania County; adopting a policy that restricts commercial disposal to a select number of disposal sites; revising tipping fees and disposal of select items with current market rates; evaluating strategies to make brush and yard waste recycling operations sustainable, in cooperation with the County's composting facility; continuing to implement goals of the Solid Waste Management Plan; reviewing and referencing the Solid Waste Management Plan consistent with the Code of Virginia, replacing a similar long-range recommendation; and updating applicable Chapters (to be determined) of the Plan upon completion of updates to the Solid Waste Management Plan update considering any future needs, opportunities, or recommendations that apply. Updates to long-range recommendations include: monitoring recycling industry trends and markets on an international and national level; updating educational recycling programs and continue to build partnerships with commercial recycling businesses; continuing to develop sustainable solutions for biosolids, yard waste, and brush recycling; evaluating the benefits of managing the solid waste division as an enterprise fund; evaluating the potential to enhance efficiency by expanding the capacity and viable lifespan of the Livingston Landfill through landfill mining. The draft includes a complementary Solid Waste Five Mile Service Areas Map. Chapter 4E, Water and Sewer This update includes a general overview of services and programs, service parameters tied to the PDB, and accounts for the inventory of existing facilities. The latest version of the Water and Sewer Master Plan is incorporated by reference. An update to the description of sewers and interceptors removes a reference to design a regional pump station to serve the Jackson Gateway service area. Updates to the Goal, Policy and Strategies section include: clearly specifying the PDB as the area targeted to supply public water infrastructure; adding a goal to support capacity and efficiency enhancements within a growing community; adding a policy to invest infrastructure enhancements in areas intended for growth, and strategically locate new facilities to improve operations and customer service. Strategies include: focusing infrastructure expansion and enhancements to the PDB; discouraging and avoiding potential cost, maintenance, and management risks associated with private utility systems with mass drainfields outside of the PDB; seeking to co-locate the County Utilities and Public Works Department to a new facility to be constructed on TM 21-A-84 located along Gordon Road; identifying need for a new water tower near Massaponax High School; and exploring opportunities to co-locate additional public facilities onsite, including a park site on the remaining acreage. Chapter 4F, Library Facilities This update includes a general overview of services and programs and accounts for the inventory of existing facilities. Level-of-Service standards are updated to recommended standards as approved and adopted by the Library of Virginia Board. These address collections, facilities size, and location. The Plan envisions an improved Service Level for collections and facilities from Level E? Level to EE??. For collections to achieve Level EE?? libraries must: comply with all standards of Level E (Essential), and; provide digital resources to supplement those made available by the Library of Virginia to serve community needs; have a preservation policy, if it holds special collections, it reviews at least every three years; and evaluate its collection to determine strengths and weaknesses, allocating resources to address the identified weakness. For facilities-size and location this enhanced standard establishes that the libraries: comply with all standards of Level E; create additional library space based on a standard from current .3 to .7 sq ft per capita; enhance energy efficiency, lighting, waste reduction, and air quality; utilize sustainable construction practices for new or renovated facilities; and adopt site selection guidelines for urban, rural areas with consideration of public transportation where possible. Chapter 4G, Parks and Recreation This update is intended to consolidate and replace information and planning recommendations initially approved as part of the standalone 2009 Spotsylvania County Parks and Recreation Master Plan (last amended February 2011). The 2009 Plan would be retired. The update includes: providing a general overview of services and programs, accounting for the inventory of existing facilities, identifying park classification tiers, accounting for non-County operated parks with inventory updates, and inventorying meeting spaces at community centers and libraries. Level-of-service standards are updated. A level-of- service standard for pickleball courts is added requiring per capita 1/15,000. Recommendations updates include referencing the Code of Virginia, 15.2-2232 as basis for supporting future Capital Improvement Plan projects associated with Parks and Recreation. General recommendations include: having sufficient park facilities to meet County Park Standards for current and future demand; providing community, district, and special-use parks that meet a 100% level-of-service standard, including schools; encouraging all new schools and community centers to include provisions for public recreational acres and amenities; co-locate future schools, community centers, and parks to add more recreational opportunities and avoid duplication of recreational facilities. A number of existing recommendations are relocated under the an umbrella recommendation heading that seeks to protect, maintain, and enhance current parks and open space areas, and acquire additional park land and facilities within the County, consistent with adopted level-of-service standards. These sub-recommendations include: acquiring park lands and developing park amenities based on population estimates; providing an annual Capital Improvements Plan submission of needed facilities based on adopted standards and replacement schedules; optimizing existing parks that are not built out by improving or adding new facilities to enhance efficiencies or reduce known level-of-service deficits; emphasizing current utilization of the parks with installation of artificial lighting to enhance and extend the availability of current athletic fields; preserving natural areas, parks, open space area, archaeological and architectural sites and cultural resources in Spotsylvania County; encouraging protection, accessing, and interpretation of significant cultural or historical resources within new or existing park land; maintaining and update a database and/ or mapping project that includes an inventory of all parks, open spaces, nature preserves, historic and cultural sites, park amenities, trail systems; preserve and expand upon existing recreational trails network within the County by implementing the Spotsylvania Trailways Master Plan consisting of off-road greenway trails and roadside-based trail corridors; encouraging construction of bicycle lanes and/or paths complementary to recreational trailways plan implementation efforts in conjunction with road-widening projects, where appropriate, removing exclusive reference to VDOT; considering additional specialized recreational amenities that do not warrant a specific level-of-service standard based on their uniqueness and fit within the community as well as projected demand; continuing to support development of privately managed and maintained neighborhood parks and recreational amenities that will ultimately serve County residents within their particular developments. Short-term recommendation updates include: replacing the Harrison Road and Lick Run Community Centers near where formerly located; and locate a new community center in the Partlow Area. Long-term recommendations include: exploring acquisition and/or development of an indoor aquatic recreation center; developing master plans for the Hilldrup and Belmont Properties (relocated from existing short-term goals); explore the acquisition of land in the Lee Hill/ Massaponax area for a new district park; continuing to implement the County Trailways Plan through various means including Parks and Recreation projects, Transportation projects, private development frontage and amenity improvements with target candidate projects to include trails and trailhead construction as described associated with: Deep Run Trail, Ni River Trail, Virginia Central Trail, East Coast Greenway, and Massaponax Creek. The update includes a complementary Parks and Recreation Facilities and Needs Map. Chapter 4H, General Government The content is wholly new compared to the prior approved Plan. It includes an overview of some of the services represented, population considerations, prior space-needs studies, identification of capital projects needs and recommendations, including: 50,000-60,000 sq.ft. new build in the Spotsylvania Courthouse area for the Department of Social Services and VA Department of Health offices; construction of a joint-use complex along Gordon Road, specifically Tax Map# 21-A-84 for Spotsylvania County Utilities and Public Works; review and update the County's space needs assessment and recommendations for future long-term capital project needs. The update includes a complementary Government Facilities Map. Chapter 5, Historic Resources The update provides additional insight into local historic preservation and tourism and provides an overview of some of the major resources involved in historic resource documentation and interpretation. The update acknowledges Spotsylvania County's 300-Year Anniversary. Also included are revisions to historic resource strategies, including: expanding promotion of rural character, scenery, and economy protection with reference to forestry and open space; expanding support for important scenic and historic land preservation efforts, removing reference to the rezoning process; clarifying language supportive of historic preservation efforts related to historic structure rehabilitation as part of development projects, and preservation of scenic byways, roads, and rural character outside the PDB; considering expanding scenic byway designations in the County; supporting historic markers associated with significant persons, places, and events associated with a project area; promoting living history events to include the County's 300th anniversary. Chapter 6, Natural Resources Updates include revisions to content referencing enabling legislation form the Code of Virginia to include 9VAC25-830-170 in addition to additional references carried over into this update from the existing Plan. Reference to corresponding Appendix D is also included in the update. Substantive amendments proposed to Natural Resource Policies and Implementation Strategies include adding strategies to: protect designated open space and agricultural and forestal land for their intended uses; support new approaches to enable landowners to generate revenue from these land uses; promote conservation and/or reforestation within 300 feet of perennial streams, lakes, and reservoirs; support development of a County Wildland Fire Mitigation Plan in partnership with the Virginia Department of Forestry; consider guidance of the latest Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan, and incorporate by reference; continue to pursue development of a fresh-water mussel farm along the Massaponax Creek Corridor. The Plan replaces a stated strategy to initiate a county-wide study to identify and protect aquifer and groundwater recharge areas with language that seeks groundwater hydrology studies for development proposals increasing density or intensity of development reliant on well water. Strategies proposed to be removed include promoting dark sky lighting and alternative water treatment methods. Content summarizing a variety of potentially available natural resource related grants and funding opportunities is removed. Appendix A No substantive amendments are proposed. Appendix A Land Use- Fort AP Hill Approach Fan and Joint Land Use Study would be maintained in the update from the existing Comprehensive Plan with only formatting changes to reflect new footer design. Appendix B No substantive amendments are proposed. Appendix B Transportation Exhibit was last adopted on July 28, 2020 as part of a Comprehensive Plan amendment package including Chapter 3 and Sub-Chapter 3A. As part of this major Comprehensive Plan-wide update, Appendix B would be re-ordained with only formatting changes to reflect an updated adoption date. Appendix C Appendix C Historic Resources provides background survey and study information consistent with the Code of Virginia, specifically 15.2-2224, Surveys and studies to be made in preparation of plan; implementation of plan. Content of Appendix C includes updates: overview documenting the history of Spotsylvania County; inventory of protected battlefields lands; documenting historic preservation efforts and actions; identification of the County's historic properties identified on the Virginia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places; resource recognition identifying the Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Cultural Resource Information System (V-CRIS) with summary and link. Appendix D Appendix D Natural Resources provides background survey and study information consistent with the Code of Virginia, 15.2-2224, and 9VAC25-830-170 Comprehensive Plans. Within this Appendix updates include: physiography; climate hazards, referencing the 2017 Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan; radon; light pollution; physical constraints on development with links to complementary County mapping resources; geology; mineral resources and industries (past, present, future); soils with an overview of soil conditions and specific consideration of steep slopes, shrink-swell soils , hydric soils, erodibility/permeability of soils, septic suitability, septic limitations, soil depth to water table, soil drainage, groundwater recharge areas, contaminated soils including storage tank related contamination; potable water; water reservoirs; dam break inundation areas; wetlands overview; watersheds; stream, river corridors and shorelines considering the Virginia Scenic River Program, public and private access to waterfront areas, shoreline and streambank erosion, resource protection policies overview and inventory of known impaired resources; content addressing the requirements of the Code of Virginia 15.2-2223.2. Plan to include coastal resource management guidance; Chesapeake Bay Septic Pump-out program; consideration of local zoning and ordinances, including identification of resource protection areas, resource management areas, reservoir and river protection overlay districts, floodplains and floodplain overlay district, Massaponax Creek Watershed Plan; Flora and Fauna including Spotsylvania County Natural Heritage Resources and the Natural Heritage Data Explorer resource, 2015 Virginia Wildlife Action Plan, Virginia Fish and Wildlife Information Service (VaFWIS). Additional subject matter explored in the Appendix includes: forestry, including an analysis of in County production and trends and land use consideration of forest conservation value; production of food and fiber including data from the census of agriculture, commercial fisheries and aquaculture; land use suitability models including agricultural suitability, agricultural soils, forest conservation value, ecological cores, consideration of the George Washington Regional Commission Green Infrastructure Plan; land conservation considering various programs and tools such as the land use program, conservation easements, zoning ordinance, Comprehensive Plan support and guidance. Persons interested may appear and present their views at the public hearing described above. The proposed application is on file with the Planning Department, located at 9019 Old Battlefield Blvd, 3rd Floor, Spotsylvania, Virginia 22553, and may be inspected between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Planning Commission encourages the participation of all interested county citizens. For those with special needs, please notify the Planning Department of any accommodations you may require at least five days before the meeting you wish to attend. Revised Public Hearing Procedures During the Coronavirus Emergency For your safety and the safety of the community at large during this on-going coronavirus emergency, citizens wishing to comment are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED to submit written comments to be read into the public record by County staff in front of the Board at the televised hearings rather than attending in person. Those desiring to submit written comments to be read publically to the Planning Commission may do so immediately by emailing Paulette Mann at pmann@spotsylvania.va.us, or by placing written comments in the Community Development drop box at the Merchant Square Building located at 9019 Old Battlefield Blvd, Spotsylvania, VA 22553. Comments submitted via the drop box should be in a sealed envelope which is clearly marked with the case number or case name and Attn: Paulette Mann, Commission Secretary Additionally, comments may be mailed to the attention of Paulette Mann at 9019 Old Battlefield Blvd, Suite 320, Spotsylvania, VA 22553. Mailed comments must be received by close of business on the Monday prior to the BOS meeting date in order for them to be read into the public record at the hearing. Submissions of written comments must include the citizen's name and voting district. Please construct your written comments in such manner that they are limited to three (3) minutes when read at a typical oral reading pace. For comments provided in representation of a group, the time limit is five (5) minutes. Citizens choosing to attend in person will be required to maintain recommended social distancing at all times and will be guided by County staff in accomplishing this. If you or a member of your family is sick, in the interest of public health, you are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED not to attend in person, but rather submit your comments in writing to be read aloud and heard by the Board during the public hearing. By the Spotsylvania County Planning Commission

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PUBLIC NOTICE The Spotsylvania County Planning Commission will hold a - Fredericksburg.com

Ny-lesund Research Base. Photo: Christopher Michel

The Arctic has recently assumed considerable strategic significance as it has been underlined by the policies of major powers. The interests and concerns of the Arctic states are vast and varied. India, being an observer in the Arctic Council, has legitimate interests in the region and has created its own Arctic policy. Indias Arctic policy, notified as a draft document in early January 2021, continues along the lines of the countrys science diplomacy.

Indias Arctic Policy (IAP) was notified as a draft document in early January 2021, and the draft policy is in line with Indias fast expanding scientific-technological (SciTech power) status which has both national and international dimensions. As per the global ranking, India currently occupies the third position in scientific and technical manpower in the world. Its Research and Development (R&D) expenditure and Science and Technology(S&T) publications also rose significantly. With the surge in S&T publications, India is globally at the third position.1)India, Ministry of Science & Technology (2020) Indias R&D expenditure & scientific publications on the rise: India is placed 3rd among countries in scientific publication. 1 May. Government of India, https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1620083/. Accessed on 20 March 2021

IAP has been drafted in a strategic milieu of big powers (like China) having invested with great ambition in the Arctic region. Chinas Polar Silk Road is essentially a part of its robust Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which seeks to reinforce its geopolitical and geoeconomic posture in the region. India has stepped in at the right time with its sustainable engagement diplomacy and SciTech power in the Arctic.

Geospatially, the Arctic is located above the Arctic Circle, which encompasses the Arctic Ocean basin (roughly 6.1 million square miles) and the northern parts of Scandinavia, Russia, Canada, Denmark (Greenland), and the U.S. state of Alaska. Canada, Russia, Denmark, Norway and the U.S. state of Alaska have direct access to as well as jurisdiction over the Arctic Ocean.

The Arctic Council was formed as an intergovernmental forum with these countries along with Finland, Sweden and Iceland, following the Ottawa Declaration in 1996. The Declaration has provisions [3(a), (b) and (c)] for non-Arctic states and organisations to participate in and contribute to the working of the Council with an Observer status. The Council is envisaged as a forum to promote cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic states, Arctic Indigenous peoples and other Arctic actors on common issues such as environmental protection and sustainable development in the region.2)The Arctic Council (1996) The Ottawa Declaration 1996, https://oaarchive.arctic-council.org/handle/11374/85. Accessed on 30 January 2021

There are currently five states from Asia holding Observer status in the Arctic CouncilIndia, China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore, all of which joined in 2013. India renewed its membership in 2019 for another five-year period. The admission of Observers in the Council was made conditional upon recognizing the Arctic States sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the Arctic besides recognizing the broad international legal framework that has a bearing on the Arctic Ocean, such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The United States had insisted that the Council should not deal with matters related to military security and this was added as an addendum upon signing the Ottawa Declaration. Curiously, after twenty years, the former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a 2019 statement that since the situation in the Arctic region had changedhaving become a terrain of power and competitionand the eight Arctic States should adapt to this new future.3)Sengupta S (2019) United States Rattles Arctic Talks With a Sharp Warning to China and Russia. The New York Times, 6 May. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/climate/pompeo-arctic-china-russia.html. Accessed on 30 January 2021 Obviously, the reference to power and competition was aimed at the expanding role and activities of China against which the Trump administration had serious reservations.4)Seethi KM (2019) A New Washington Consensus: IndoPacific and Indias Emerging Role. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.53, No.8, 23 February, https://www.epw.in/journal/2019/8/commentary/new-%E2%80%98washington-consensus%E2%80%99.html. Accessed on 20 March 2021 However, geostrategic concerns continue to generate anxieties among the Arctic States and, consequently, countries like Russia, Canada and Norway have to bolster defence infrastructure in the region.

Indias Arctic contacts began a century ago with its signing of the Svalbard Treaty in February 1920 in Paris.5)Royal Ministry of Justice Oslo (1988) The Svalbard Treaty, 9 February 1920, https://www.spitzbergen.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Spitsbergen-treaty_English.pdf. Accessed on 20 March 2021 A breakthrough in Indias Polar research came in 1981 when the country joined the states engaged in Antarctic exploration. However, its engagements did not make much headway until 2007 when the scientists undertook Indias first Arctic expedition with the goal of initiating studies in glaciology, biological sciences, and ocean and atmospheric sciences. The following year, India set up the research station Himadri at the international Arctic research base at Svalbard, Norway.

In another six years time, scientists from the ESSO-National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) and the ESSO-National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) set up another facility at Kongsfjorden (which is part of the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean). The facility is Indias first multi-sensor moored observatory called IndArc which is to undertake studies and collect real-time data on the Arctic climate and its impact on the monsoon. The successful deployment of this facility is seen as a model of Indo-Norwegian scientific and technical cooperation in addressing global climate change.

Another atmospheric laboratory was established in 2016 at Gruvebadet in Ny-Alesund with the aim of initiating studies on clouds, precipitation, long-range pollutants, and other background atmospheric parameters. The Arctic research has obviously helped to initiate studies on glaciers in the Himalayan region. The importance of such comparative studies is underlined by The Annual Report 2018-19 of the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), which acts as the nodal agency for Indias Polar research programme, that also includes Arctic studies. According to the Report, the glaciers are melting world over and those in Arctic and Himalaya are no exception. The Svalbard glaciers and ice caps cover an area of 34,600 square kilometers while Himalaya occupies a nearly 38,000 square kilometer area. Observation revealed that for the last one and half decades, the process of glacier retreat has been significantly enhanced in both the regions.6)NCPOR (2019) National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research: The Annual Report 2018-19, Government of India, https://ncpor.res.in/annualreports. Accessed on 20 March 2021

Needless to say, this has tremendous implications for the agro-climatic conditions of countries like India whose food security itself is dependent on ecosystem stability. The draft IAP itself says that there are several synergies between polar studies and the study of the Himalayas. Arctic research will help Indias scientific community to study melting rates of the third polethe Himalayan glaciers, which are endowed with the largest freshwater reserves in the world outside the geographic poles.

There are not many institutions involved in polar studies in India. The Goa-based NCPOR, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, focuses on polar studies and research. While the Ministry of External Affairs looks after the engagements with the Arctic Council, other ministries such as the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Ministry of Science and Technology, and Ministry of Space are involved in polar research. Since Indias first scientific expedition to Antarctica in 1981, the country has been invested in polar studies, and has several projects underway in the areas of the Arctic, Antarctic, Southern Ocean and the Himalayas.

According to the note attached to IAP, India seeks to play a constructive role in the Arctic by leveraging its vast scientific pool and expertise in Himalayan and Polar research. India would also like to contribute in ensuring that as the Arctic becomes more accessible, the harnessing of its resources is done sustainably and in consonance with best practices formulated by bodies such as the Arctic Council.

The IAP is enunciated with five major areas of engagements(i) Science and research; (ii) Economic and human development cooperation; (iii). Transportation and connectivity; (iv) Governance and international cooperation; and (v) National capacity building. It is clear that the IAP, apart from underlining the significance of science and research, sees the Arctic region as a potential area of engagement in diverse areas of human development and commercial activities. The document says: India seeks to engage in economic development in a manner that is sustainable and is of value to the Arctic residents, especially indigenous communities. The Arctic offers viable opportunities in different sectors where Indian enterprises can be involved, become part of international commerce, promote traditional indigenous knowledge, businesses and best practices.

IAP sees the Arctic as the largest unexplored prospective area for hydrocarbons remaining on earth besides its vast reserves of mineral deposits. It also keeps in perspective Indias investment in Russia which amounts to $15 billion in oil and gas projects. Hence India seeks to explore similar opportunities in other Arctic nations as well.7)U.S. Energy Information Administration (2012) Arctic oil and natural gas resources. EIA, 20 January, https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=4650. Accessed on 20 March 2021

The draft policy document is also confident of utilising Indias expertise in the digital economy for facilitating establishment of data centres for commerce in the region. It further explores opportunities for investment in Arctic infrastructure in areas such as offshore exploration/mining, ports, railways and airports. This inevitably calls for encouraging participation by Indian public and private sector firms with an expertise in these sectors. Indias chambers of industry and commerce will be encouraged to enhance private investment in the Arctic and explore the public-private-partnership model. The draft policy also indicated that Indian companies will be encouraged to obtain membership of the Arctic Economic Council.

Another area where India has leverage in the Arctic region is human development. The document says: Specialized cultures of the Arctics indigenous inhabitants are being inexorably impacted by climate change as well as economic development and improved connectivity. This is similar to the socio-ecological-economic predicament of the Himalayan peoples. The disruption of unique ecosystems and erosion of traditional knowledge are common to both. India has substantial expertise in addressing such issues and is uniquely placed to make a positive contribution in assisting the Arctics indigenous communities cope with similar challenges.8)Ghosh S & Mayank A (2021) Indias Draft Arctic Policy Explores What the Two Regions Can Do for Each Other. Science The Wire, 23 January, https://science.thewire.in/environment/india-draft-arctic-policy/. Accessed on 30 March 2021

In the realm of transportation and connectivity, India has vital stakes. According to IAP, India ranks third in the list of seafarers supplying nations catering to almost ten per cent of global demand. Indias maritime human resources could contribute towards meeting the growing requirements of the Arctic.

India expects that ice free conditions in the Arctic would soon result in the opening of new shipping routes and thereby lowering costs and reshaping global trade. Traffic, especially through the Northern Sea Route, is rising exponentially and is projected to quadruple by 2025. The draft policy also seeks to explore the possibility of linking the International North South Transport Corridor with the Unified Deep-Water System and its further extension to the Arctic.India expects that the North-South connectivity will result in lowering shipping costs and overall development of the hinterland and of indigenous communities more than East-West connectivity.

India is well aware of the fact that the Arctic governance is very crucial in the geopolitical milieu and the region itself is governed by numerous national domestic laws, bilateral agreements, global treaties and conventions and customary laws for the indigenous peoples. Hence the Arctic states respective sovereign jurisdictions as well as areas beyond national jurisdiction need to be reckoned within the framework of international and national regulations.

Through IAP, India is expected to enhance its human resource capabilities and as part of its Arctic engagement, the overall approach is to expand capability, capacity and awareness for Arctic-related scientific research by strengthening NCPOR, involving academic and scientific institutions in India and identifying nodal institutes. While the overall focus of capacity building is on science and technology, the draft document does not seem to have given adequate space for social sciences, including strategic components, in the making of Indias Arctic policy through the four sections of the five pillars that the IAP outlines to deal with these diverse areas.

India put together the IAP at a crucial time of global and regional power realignments, even in the midst of the pandemic. It was in 2018 that China declared itself a Near Arctic State and brought out a white paper outlining its plans for the region. Though China does not have territorial sovereignty and related sovereign rights in the Arctic, it has been eager to establish a foothold in the region with its self-professed identity as a near-Arctic state. The strategic significance of Chinas Arctic Policy (2018) outlined through its white paper cannot be glossed over. It underscores that the Arctic is a region having global implications and international impacts. Referring to the Arctic situation, the white paper says that the geopolitical scenario goes beyond its original inter-Arctic States or regional nature, having a vital bearing on the interests of States outside the region and the interests of the international community as a whole, as well as on the survival, the development, and the shared future for mankind.9)The Peoples Republic of China (2018) Chinas Arctic Policy, White Paper. The State Council of Information Office, 26 January, http://english.www.gov.cn/archive/white_paper/2018/01/26/content_281476026660336.htm. Accessed on 20 March 2021 China has also gone to the extent of conceding, perhaps for the first time, that its interests in the Arctic region cannot be limited to scientific research but would move to an array of commercial activities. This obviously becomes a part of its project to build a Polar Silk Road that links China with Europe through the Arctic and fits in with the new blue ocean passages extending from Beijings Maritime Silk Road (MSR), put in place in 2013.10)Wenwen W (2014) Silk Road economic belt concept pushes trade, investment between China, Central Asia. Global Times 30 June, https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/868211.shtml. Accessed on 20 March 2021 A document by the European Parliament Think Tank (EPTT) says that Chinas Arctic policy suggests a strong desire to push for the internationalisation of the Arctics regional governance system. The white paper is not a strategy document, and is more interesting for what it omits, such as the national security dimension that is a major driver of Chinas Arctic ambitions.11)Grieger G (2018) Chinas Arctic Policy: How China Aligns Rights and Interests. European Parliamentary Research Service, May, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2018)620231. Accessed on 20 March 2021 By calling itself as a responsible major country, China, however, tries to dispel concerns of the Arctic or non-Arctic statesabout the extent of its geopolitical ambitions in the regionby emphasising Beijings commitment to international law and cooperation and balancing economic interests with environmental protection as EPTT pointed out.

Though there were frequent references to UNCLOS in the white paper, experts contest Chinas sincerity and credentials. In 2016, for example, as EPTT document says, China bluntly disregarded the Permanent Court of Arbitrations ruling on Chinas maritime claims in the South China Sea versus the Philippines claims, and on the environmental damage Chinas large-scale artificial island-building on several maritime features entailed.12)Grieger G (2018) Chinas Arctic Policy: How China Aligns Rights and Interests. European Parliamentary Research Service, May, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_BRI(2018)620231. Accessed on 20 March 2021

China became more assertive in its maritime policy during the last decade, but the scholars and experts were already absorbed in reimagining the Chinese power in the global strategic landscape. For example, Li Zhenfu of Dalian Maritime Universityone of the most ardent Chinese commentators on Arctic issueswrote a decade go that Whoever controls the Arctic sea route will control the world economy and a new internationally strategic corridor Li said that China must play an active, pre-emptive, and vigilant role in Arctic affairs.13)Lasserre F et al. (2015) Chinas strategy in the Arctic: threatening or opportunistic? Polar Record, online version, doi:10.1017/S0032247415000765; Wright D (2011) The Dragon Eyes the Top of the World: Arctic Policy Debate and Discussion in China. China Maritime Study No. 8, August. U.S. Naval War College, https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=cmsi-red-books. Accessed on 20 March 2021

In 2010 a Chinese admiral Yin Zhuo said that the Arctic belongs to all the people around the world, as no nation has sovereignty over it China must plan an indispensable role in Arctic exploration as we have one-fifth of the worlds population. However, such statements cannot be dismissed as mere academic or far-fetched opinions given the new tempo of Chinese maritime strategies under Xi Jinping. No doubt, the Arctic is rich in resources (with as much as 13 per cent of the worlds undiscovered oil and 30 per cent of its undiscovered natural gas reserves). However, the Arctic has become geopolitically sensitive14)Folland R (2021) Arctic Security: Deterrence and Dtente in the High North. The Arctic Institute, 30 March, https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/arctic-security-deterrence-detente-high-north/. Accessed on 30 April 2021 and the region is warming far more rapidly than anywhere else on the planet. Scientists say that temperatures mounted almost 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 Celsius) in the past decade alone. It certainly calls for extreme vigilance when powers like China and Russia think about transforming the Arctic into a terrain for big business and rapid economic development.

Plausibly, Indias draft Arctic policy is embedded in its basic approach which underlines the significance of sustainable engagement through its SciTech power. IAP is also cognizant of the vulnerability of the Arctic to unprecedented changes in the climate. Hence its emphasis on rule-based governance architecture in the region fits in with Indias long-standing policy.

This article was originally published by Economic and Political Weekly, 13 May 2021.

KM Seethi is Director of the Inter University Centre for Social Science Research and Extension (IUCSSRE), Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India. He also served as Dean of Social Sciences and Professor of International Relations and Politics in MGU.

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The Contours of India's Arctic Policy - The Arctic Institute

Caspian Sea Region

The Caspian Sea region consists of countries with complex economic and political relations. The region is replete with natural resources which mainly determine the economic health of the countries located near the Caspian Sea. The sea is bounded by five countries, while the broad Caspian Sea region encompasses more than just five of them. The littoral states are Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Russia, and Iran. Among the five countries, Kazakhstan has the longest coastline, while Iran has the shortest coastline. The 2018 Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea has granted 15 miles of territorial waters and 10 miles of exclusive fishing rights to each littoral state, solving a decade-long dispute over the status of the Sea. (1) In addition to those countries, Tajikistan, Georgia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan are generally considered to parts of the broad Caspian region. Due to its strategically important location, the region serves as a connection between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. As a consequence, many other states, such as China and the US, try to influence it and maintain good economic and political relations with the region.

The economies of the Caspian region countries differ widely concerning their material wealth, economic health levels, and diversification levels. As most countries in the region owe their economic successes to their natural resources, they are not sufficiently diversified and face severe risks from fluctuations in commodity prices. This is probably the main weakness of the Caspian region economies. The infamous 2014 oil price crash has led to diminishing economic growth rates in many of them. Since then, the states have been employing various diversification policies to mitigate the risks of overreliance on resources. The ongoing shift to green energy may have even greater negative impacts on those economies unless they truly diversify.

The contribution of oil and gas to the GDPs of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan has been higher than 10%, and oil and gas exports accounted for more than 40% of their total exports. As a result of their strategic importance, two of these countries, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, have been able to attract the largest share of FDI in the Caspian Sea region.(2) Despite several instances of slow growth rates which were mainly caused by external factors, both economies have shown steady economic growth since independence. (3) (4)

The average economic growth rate of the Caspian region is nearly 4%.(5) Apparently, the growth rate is not very satisfying for such a region. As of now, the highest GDP growth rate in the region belongs to Tajikistan at 7.5%, while the lowest one is the growth rate of Kyrgyzstan.(6) (7)

It should be noted that the pandemic had a negative effect on the growth rates, and the economies are expected to recover soon. However, many fundamental issues may remain for a long while. Apart from the insufficient diversification problem, common problems include corruption, overreliance on remittances from foreign countries, mainly from Russia, and underutilization of capital. Russia, the largest economy of the region, is also the main import and export partner of most of the countries in the region. This explains why the 2014-2015 financial crisis in Russia had such a significant impact on the economies of surrounding countries. Additionally, landlocked countries in the region, such as Armenia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, do not get the benefits of being next to the sea, and this reflects on their economies to a certain degree.

However, the Soviet legacy still persists in some of the Caspian states. The lack of economic freedom is still a problem in many of the Caspian countries. According to Caspian Policy, Azerbaijan has had the greatest change (35.4) in its economic freedom score over the last 25 years. (8) The country has achieved the result mainly by becoming an important transit road, joining the WTO, and improving diversification. Meanwhile, the economic freedom score of Russia changed by 7.5 only, which was the lowest in the region. Currently, Georgia has the highest economic freedom score, followed by Armenia. Reforms made in both countries have proven effective. The development of the Armenian economy has been especially hampered by the blockade created as a result of its long-standing conflict with Azerbaijan. Kazakhstan is assumed to have a significant potential for a better economy, though the actions taken by the government and the lack of diversification have prevented the economy from realizing its potential. The remaining countries, namely Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, are suffering from the lack of a strong legal framework, and it is thought to be among the main factors that hinder development. Georgia seems to be better than the rest of the Caspian countries in terms of Rule of Law and Control of Corruption, according to Worldwide Governance Indicators. (9)

Except for Georgia and Armenia, all Caspian countries are members of The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). The organization is aimed to form a single liberalized market for the member states and enables the states to sign favorable bilateral free trade agreements with each other. (10) Additionally, except Iran, all countries in the region are members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Natural resources are the main source of income for many countries in the Caspian region. The Caspian region economies are considered resource-based economies as most of them depend heavily on mineral wealth.(11) According to British Petroleum, the five major countries of the region, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan hold nearly 8.4%, 32.3%, and 17.8% of the worlds total oil, gas, and coal reserves, respectively. (12) Additionally, the same countries, are responsible for over 5% of the worlds total electricity production. The Caspian Sea itself contains around 48 billion barrels of oil and trillion cubic meters of gas reserves. (13) Natural resources of the Caspian Sea play an especially crucial role in the economies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. For example, the Caspian Sea is responsible for nearly 100% of Azerbaijans total oil and gas production. However, its hydrocarbon resources do not contribute significantly to the economies of other surrounding countries, such as Iran and Russia. It has been estimated that oil and gas produced from the Caspian Sea comprise nearly 0% of Irans total oil and gas production and almost 1% and 2% of Russias total oil and gas production, respectively. (14) Apparently, the region does not fully depend on the Caspian Sea. Despite such a low share of the Sea in Irans economy, Iran has 16% of the total gas reserves of the world. (15) It is the third largest gas producer in the world. (16) Similarly, Russia is the third largest oil producing country in the world.(17)

Apart from its fuel resources, the Caspian countries are rich with non-fuel resources too. The region is known to have a considerable amount of hydroelectricity resources. Valuable metals are also among the vast resources of the region. Gold, silver, iron ore, zinc, copper, uranium, bauxite, cotton, and caviar are among the most valuable and common resources in the region. Nearly 90% of the worlds total caviar production comes from the Caspian Sea. (18) According to the World Gold Council, three of the worlds top twenty gold producing countries are from the Caspian region. (19)

There are around a dozen oil and gas pipelines carrying the Caspian oil and gas to different parts of the world, mainly Europe, East Asia, and South Asia. Exports to Europe are done through Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Uzen-Atyrau-Samara, Baku-Novorossiysk, Central Asia Center gas pipeline system, Kazakhstan Caspian Transportation System, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (as known as the South Caucasus Pipeline), Trans Adriatic Pipeline, and Trans-Anatolian Pipeline. The last three pipelines are parts of the Southern Gas Corridor. Exports to East Asia are carried through Kazakhstan-China Pipeline and Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline. Another major pipeline, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline (TAPI), is going to be used for exports to South Asia. The pipeline would carry Turkmen oil to Pakistan and India and gain Afghanistan transit revenues. (20) Its completion is expected in 2022. (21) Another important and controversial project, Trans-Caspian Pipeline (TCP)has been proposed, although Russia and Iran have heavily criticized it citing its potential dangers as some of the reasons. The project is planned to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to European countries, making the country less dependent on the current transit countries, namely Russia and Iran.

Trans-Caspian International Route (TITR) and Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) are considered to be the main transport programs that involve the region. TITR (as known as the Middle Corridor), created by Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan, connects Southeast Asia, China, the Caspian Sea, Georgia, and Europe. The TITR reduces shipping time by three times and decreases the likelihood of the risks that are caused by long delays. The TRACECA program consists of 12 ports and 22 land-based routes.(22)

Another transportation route, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway connects Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. BTK, the shortest rail link between Europe and Asia, does not have a passenger service for now, but it is used by several countries, including, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and China, for freight transportation. BTK is expected to transport 1 million passengers and 6.5 million tons of freight annually.(23)

A new project, Caspian Digital Hub, is planned to commence at the end of 2021. The project will enable data transfer from Europe to Asia through data centers in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, create an open information society in Eurasia, and improve Internet services in the region. (24) The fiber optic links that will transfer data are going to be built along the bottom of the Caspian Sea. The length of the cable is expected to be almost 400 km.

Russia remains the main military equipment provider in the region. The country is the second largest military hardware exporter in the world and has imported only a limited of amount equipment from others including Israel, and France. (25) Between 2016 and 2020, Russia accounted for 89% and 17% of total arms imports of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, respectively. (26) Meanwhile, arms imports from Russia represented 94% of Armenias total arms imports. According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Armenia and Azerbaijan were responsible for 0.3% and 0.7% of global arms transfers.

Among other major providers of military equipment to the region are Turkey, China, and Israel. Turkey is among the top arms exporters of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, while China exports to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. (27)

*About the author: Ali Mammadov has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Finance at George Washington University. Currently, he is a Visiting Researcher at Economics Research Institute and writes blog posts on his Medium account. He is going to pursue a Master of Arts in International Relations at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Footnotes:

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Geoeconomics Of The Caspian Sea Region Analysis - Eurasia Review

Greenland is scrapping all new oil and gas exploration due to the escalating climate emergency and the high-price of extracting the valuable resource, the government announced Thursday.

While the U.S. Geological Survey estimates there could be nearly 18 billion untapped barrels of oil on Greenlands west coast alone, government officials said the price of extraction and impact on the environment is too costly.

The government said it decided to stop issuing new licenses for oil and gas exploration. The decision is a win for environmentalists but could hinder Greenlands efforts to gain economic independence from Denmark, which provides the territory an annual subsidy. The yearly grant makes up about two-thirds of the large islands economy.

As a society, we must dare to stop and ask ourselves why we want to exploit a resource. Is the decision based upon updated insight and the belief that it is the right thing to do? Or are we just continuing business as usual? Naaja H. Nathanielsen, Greenlands minister for housing, infrastructure, mineral resources and gender equality, said in a statement.

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.

It is the position of the Greenlandic government that our country is better off focusing on sustainable development, such as the potential for renewable energy, Nathanielsen said.

Greenland is rich in both oil and mineral resources, and the government said it remains committed to developing its vast mineral potential, although lawmakers are considering a measure to ban uranium mining.

Global sea levels have risen about 9 inches since 1880, with a third of that occurring over the last two and a half decades. The increase is due to the melting of glaciers and ice sheets and thermal expansion of seawater as its getting warmer.

Ice loss from the Greenland ice sheet increased seven-fold from 34 billion tons per year between 1992 to 2001, to 247 billion tons per year between 2012 and 2016.

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CHERNOBYL IS SHOWING SIGNS OF A POSSIBLE NEW NUCLEAR ACCIDENT, SCIENTISTS SAY

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Greenland is stopping all oil exploration because of climate change | TheHill - The Hill

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Board released its July 2021 Beige Bookupdate, a summary of commentary on current economic conditions by Federal Reserve District. The report included several observations pertaining to the U.S. agricultural economy.

* Sixth District- Atlanta Agricultural conditions remained mixed. Widespread rain across parts of the District resulted in abnormally moist to excessively wet conditions while much of Florida and southern Georgia experienced abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions.

Planting progress for much of the regions cotton, soybean, and peanut crops were mostly on par with the five-year average. On a month-over- month basis, the production forecast for Floridas orange crop was up in June while the grapefruit production forecast was down; both forecasts remained below last years production levels. The USDA reported year-over- year prices paid to farmers in May were up for corn, cotton, soybeans, cattle, broilers, eggs, and milk, but down for rice. On a month-over-month basis, prices were up for corn, rice, soybeans, broilers, eggs, and milk, but down for cotton. Cattle prices were unchanged.

* Seventh District- Chicago

Agriculture stayed on course to earn higher market- based incomes relative to last year, as most product prices remained high enough to offset increased costs for freight, energy, fertilizers, and labor.

On net, corn prices were little changed, while soybean prices were a little lower over the reporting period. Although planted corn and soybean acreage was up from last year, it was lower than expected earlier in the growing season, which helped maintain prices. Crop conditions for corn and soybeans were mixed, as some parts of the District were in excellent shape and others were stressed by drought.

Hog and milk prices eased off highs during the reporting period, while cattle prices were flat. One contact noted that a lack of workers in slaughterhouses had led to the suspension of some contracts with poultry producers. Farmland values moved higher again.

*Eighth District- St. Louis District agriculture conditions declined modestly relative to the previous reporting period but remain steady relative to the same period last year. Between the end of May and end of June, the percentages of corn, cotton, rice, and soybeans rated fair or better decreased modestly across the District.

* Ninth District- Minneapolis District agricultural conditions continued to benefit from strong commodity prices. However, severe drought conditions across most of the District had many crop producers concerned about yields, as most corn, soybean, and wheat acres in the District were rated in fair or poor condition.

* Tenth District- Kansas City

Agricultural economic conditions in the Tenth District were strong through June, with profit margins for most major commodities relatively high.

Prices of most crops were still near multi-year highs, although had declined slightly since the previous reporting period. Hog prices also remained strong. The winter wheat harvest was delayed slightly in parts of the District, but crop quality was not expected to be hindered and higher production was anticipated throughout the region. In addition, the Districts corn and soybean crop was in slightly better condition than the nation in all states except Missouri. In contrast to other commodities, profitability for cattle producers continued to be limited. Drought also persisted in some portions of the District and remained a concern for both crop and livestock producers.

* Eleventh District- Dallas Drought conditions eased in much of the District, though severe drought persisted in West Texas and Southern New Mexico. In areas with sufficient soil moisture, producers were optimistic for robust crops this year. Crop prices were slightly higher overall, supported by concern over U.S. and global drought conditions. For crops like corn and sorghum, cash prices are at an eight-year high. Recent rainfall benefitted pasture conditions, which is a positive for livestock producers amid high feed costs.

*Twelfth District- San Francisco Activity in the agriculture and resources sectors increased somewhat. Eased local restrictions led to generally increased domestic demand for agricultural and resource-related products. International demand for logs, fruits, vegetables, seafood, and other products increased over the reporting period despite an appreciating dollar. Producers noted reduced but still adequate supply and inventory levels of fruits, raisins, and nuts. Supply chain disruptions continued to cause costly delays with trade from Asian markets in particular. Growers in California reported drought conditions and increased costs associated with irrigation. This led some farmers to leave a portion of their acreage fallow, prioritizing water usage on more profitable crops.

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Federal Reserve: Observations on the Ag Economy- July 2021 Farm Policy News - Farmdoc Daily

BEIJING, July 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As an important part of 2021 Global Digital Economy Conference, the 2021 Global Digital Economy Innovation Competition will be held on August 2, 2021 in Beijing.

The "2021 Global Digital Economy Conference" is co-sponsored by the People's Government of Beijing Municipal, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Cyberspace Administration of China. The "2021 Global Digital Economy Innovation Competition" is jointly organized by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economics and Information Technology, the People's Government of Daxing District, and Asia Data Group.

Over recent years, the digital economy market and related industries have continued to develop and are increasingly becoming the main form of economic development in China.

In 2020, the scale of digital economy in China reached 39.2 trillion yuan, accounting for 38.6% of GDP. The growth rate of the digital economy was more than three times of the GDP growth rate, which means digital economy had become a key driving force for stable economic growth.

2021 is the first year of the "14th Five-Year Plan". Standing at a new historical starting point, the digital economy will further promote economic transformation and upgrading and the transformation of growth patterns, enhance the resilience of China's economic development, and provide strong momentum for economic and social development.

In order to accelerate the digital transformation, vigorously promote the digital economy, further enhance the competitiveness of the core industries of the digital economy, and stimulate the leading and enabling role of economic and social development, the competition focuses on new trends and hotspots in the development of the digital economy, and is committed to building an international professional event platform in the field of digital economy.

Set a benchmark effect with support of the platform.

The theme of the 2021 Global Digital Economy Innovation Competition is "Technology New Empowerment Digital New Benchmark". Based on the development trend of the digital economy industry, focusing on digital life and health, digital culture, digital trade, advanced intelligent manufacturing and other fields, the Competition has started project recruitment in the form of online and offline.

As one of the characteristic activities of the 2021 Global Digital Economy Conference, the competition is committed to solving the problem of inter-communications among digital economy enterprises by building a platform for communication and resource sharing between government, enterprises, enterprises and investors. The platform will also help introducing the strong support and high-quality policies of innovative projects and high-end talents in the place where the competition is held.

It is worth mentioning that Daxing District, Beijing, where the 2021 Global Digital Economy Innovation Competition is located, has unique policy advantages as a "policy highland for reform and opening up"-this is the only region in the country that has two provinces and cities free trade zone policies at the same time. Daxing also enjoys many major policies such as building the comprehensive demonstration zone, comprehensive bonded zone, and Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone.

Daxing District is sitting on new opportunities of "two districts" construction, "dual free trade" policy and international innovation cooperation construction. Multiple benefits will maximize the platform effect of the competition, and ultimately help the transformation of outstanding innovation results and cutting-edge technology. More outstanding innovative projects, professional scientific and technological talents will be reserved to build a benchmark city for the global digital economy.

Create influence with authoritative endorsement.

The competition will invite partners and executives of leading investment institutions to serve as roadshow judges. At the roadshow site, investors representing the focus of the capital market, will provide comprehensive guidance and review on the development direction, development skills, and marketing of the participating companies' projects standing at the forefront of research perspectives as well as deep industry insights.

There will also be a number of industry experts, partners of various fields, executives of innovative companies, media representatives and other guests to participate in order to ensure the high level of evaluation and fairness of the competition, and jointly witness the future star of the digital economy industry.

All-round empowerment with abundant resources.

The competition is recruiting projects in four fields of life and health, digital culture, digital trade, and advanced manufacturing. Excellent projects are given priority so the scope can be expanded to Internet or technology-related companies. In order to gather and attract outstanding teams, the organizing committee has specially set up generous bonus prizes and abundant supporting activities for participating companies.

In this competition, there will be 1 champion, 2 runners-up, and 3 third-winners. These three kinds of winners will receive RMB 500,000, 300,000, and 200,000 respectively. At the same time, the competition will also set up a number of outstanding innovation awards, who will be given exclusive trophies and certificates.

What's more, all participating projects will be listed as key projects in the field of digital economy in Daxing District. While enjoying the digital economy development policies of China and Beijing, in accordance with the 1+N industrial policy of Daxing District, priority will be given to the award-winning teams' talent settlement, rent reduction, scientific research and innovation, fund investment, and special industrial policy support for the landing projects.

In order to maximize the impact, the competition will also launch an overall and all-round publicity activity combined with the global digital economy conference cooperative media platform, the digital new country gate (Daxing) branch venue media platform, and the competition-related media resources and platforms.

For participating companies, these are real "empowerment". With multiple strong supports, the competition brings together new directions and new developments in the industry, which will effectively stimulate the innovative vitality and development potential of participating companies, and ultimately actively promote the sustainable construction and development of the digital economy industry.

Project registration deadline: July 15, 2021 18:00. Please submit the project registration form through https://www.wjx.top/vm/tU3Fikf.aspx. Please send the project BP to: [emailprotected]

Please click the link to fill in the registration form.https://www.wjx.top/vm/tU3Fikf.aspx

SOURCE Asia Data Group

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2021 Global Digital Economy Innovation Competition Officially Launched. Accelerating the Upgrading of Digital Economy Industry - PRNewswire

Company will commence trading on the CSE under the symbol "NVRO"

TORONTO, July 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- EnviroGold Global Limited ("EnviroGold" or the "Company") (CSE:NVRO), a clean technology company accelerating the world's transition to a circular resource economy, today announced that its common shares have been approved for listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE"). The Company expects to begin trading on the CSE under the ticker symbol "NVRO" as of market open on July 16th, 2021 (EST).

"Obtaining a listing on a major securities exchange is an important milestone in the growth of our Company. We are grateful for the support of our shareholders and the efforts of our experienced, talented team," said Dr. Mark Thorpe, EnviroGold Global's CEO. "We believe this listing will enhance our visibility and liquidity, strengthen and broaden our shareholder base, and pave the way for accelerated growth as we create long-term value for shareholders, stakeholders and the environment by leading the future of a sustainable, circular economy in metals & mining."

A Listing Statement with additional details about the Company, prepared in accordance with the policies of the CSE, has been filed on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com under the Company's profile.

AboutEnviroGold

Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, EnviroGold is a clean technology company capitalizing environmental stewardship and sustainably supplying the world's increasing demand for precious, critical, and strategic metals by profitably reclaiming unrecovered value from mine tailings and resource development waste streams. EnviroGold leverages proprietary technology, superior operationalized knowledge, and an agile, efficient culture to recover valuable metals, recharge critical natural resources and accelerate the world's transition to a sustainable circular resource economy. EnviroGold has acquired remediation rights to precious, critical and strategic mine tailing sites across North America and is actively expanding the Company's significant reprocessing pipeline.

Further Information

Mark B. ThorpeEnviroGold Global LimitedTelephone: 416-777-6720Email: [emailprotected]

Jonathan L. Robinson, CFAInvestor Relations ContactTelephone: (416) 669 1001Email: [emailprotected]

ForwardLookingStatements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking information or statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to internal expectations, the Company being able to successfully execute its business strategy, the continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic market or business conditions. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by management. Although management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information. There can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct. By its nature, such forward-looking information is subject to various risks and uncertainties, which could cause the actual results and expectations to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed. These risks and uncertainties, include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, the state of the regulatory environment in which the Company operates, competition, loss of markets, inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, currency and interest rate fluctuations, and other risks. Please refer to the Listing Statement for more details on the risks faced by the Company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is given as of the date hereof, and to not use such forward- looking information for anything other than its intended purpose. Management of the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1496619/EnviroGold_Global_Logo.jpg

SOURCE EnviroGold Global

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EnviroGold Global Limited to Commence Trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange - PRNewswire

Mangrove saplings for a reforestation program in the southern Philippines. Countries are failing to ... [+] invest in such nature-based solutions, which offer "triple-win" solutions to economic growth, climate change and biodiversity loss, a new report finds.

Trillions of dollars in pandemic stimulus packages have had a net negative impact on the environment, with over a quarter of the money going to carbon-intensive sectors including fossil fuels and heavy industry, new research shows.

Of the $17.2 trillion so far spent on economic recovery measures globally, some $4.8 trillion will harm nature, biodiversity and the climate, while only $1.8 trillion will make a positive contribution, according to a new analysis of pandemic recovery spending.

In an assessment of 30 major economies, research firm Vivid Economics and the U.K.-based Finance for Biodiversity Initiative found that 20 had done more environmental harm than good through their stimulus spending, though 17 countries had seen an improvement in their spending patterns over the last year. In general, European nations scored highly in the assessment, with Denmark coming top overall, spending $44 billion on Covid stimulus packages, most of which helped support environment-positive measures.

In the largest nationsthe U.S., China and Indiathe lions share of pandemic stimulus money went to measures that would have a net-negative environmental impact, including subsidies for environmentally harmful activities such as drilling and mining for fossil fuels, road building, tax reductions for environmentally harmful products, and deregulation of environmental standards.

The report comes as Democrats in the U.S. continue to push through a severely compromised $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill that largely abandons support for measures to both combat and prepare for climate change.

Meanwhile, the EU has unveiled its latest plan to cut carbon emissions 55% by 2030, in a raft of climate measures the bloc claims are its most ambitious everthough not everyone is impressed.

The Greenness of Stimulus Index indicates that, overall, countries are failing to adequately respond to the acute threats of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Jeffrey Beyer, the reports lead author and an economist at Vivid Economics, told me the findings concerned him for several reasons.

We have witnessed the largest global mobilisation of public money that we are likely to see in our lifetimes, but the GSI shows that we have not fundamentally changed the trajectories of our economies towards something that is climate-compatible and nature-positive, Beyer said.

Even in those countries that scored well overall, the impact of spending on nature had been shown to be often more harmful than helpful.

Public money should be used for public good, not to more deeply entrench our environmental problems, he said, adding that the findings further indicate a general failure to treat climate change and biodiversity loss as the emergencies that they are.

Beyer noted that much of the stimulus cash had gone towards vital measures to keep people in work and to keep economies running, but that even in the rescue phase, authorities had missed opportunities to attach environmental conditions to business bailouts.

But it was in the second stagepandemic recoverywhere many governments had really dropped the ball on the environment.

The goal here is to stimulate the economy through investment, and ideally, orient it towards a low carbon development pathway, Beyer explained. Investment measures, like tax breaks for industrial resource efficiency, grants and loans for energy efficiency retrofits, and investment in enabling infrastructure like power grids and electric vehicle charging points, help mobilise private sector money towards environmentally positive investments.

Some nations, including Canada, Denmark and the U.K., had in fact instituted some of these measures. But the report singled out Russia, Turkey, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia for their support of environmentally harmful sectors without a view to a low-carbon transition.

Rather than pumping further money into closed-ended, polluting measures such as road transport and fossil fuel infrastructure, countries had an opportunity to invest in triple-wins for the economy, society and the environment, Beyer said.

So many measures generate win-win-wins, from all kinds of perspectives. Measures that reduce pollution improve human health and ecosystems; restoration of natural spaces provide climate resilience and habitats, he said. But what we found to be an especially large triple-win is investments in nature-based solutions.

Beyer said that his firms analysis of 10 EU countries recovery plans showed that investment in measures such as agroforestry, ecosystem restoration and urban greening resulted in more jobs, economic activity and emissions reductions than typical stimulus packageseven those that included apparently green investments in solar and wind power. For example, a relatively modest investment of $4.4 billion into nature-based solutions in Bulgaria, France, Italy and Poland was estimated to have created some 140,000 jobs and $8.3 billion in economic activity over 15 years.

These findings align with last months groundbreaking report from the UN which emphasized that the interlinked global biodiversity and climate crises must be tackled in conjunction if the international community is to have any hope of resolving either.

Other studies this year, including a key report from the Oxford Biodiversity Network, have further bolstered the case for nature-based solutions being the most cost-effective and efficient methods for both mitigating climate change and for adapting to its impacts.

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Trillions In Covid Relief Actually Harming Nature And Climate, Research Finds - Forbes

Reading Round-Up Returns to Campus This Fall

The Reading Round-Up is a popular summer book club that introduces new Longhorns to the college environment at The University of Texas at Austin. Over the summer, incoming freshmen choose from a large selection of books curated by faculty members. Then students and professors meet in small groups on campus the day before fall classes start. This beloved back-to-school tradition helps kick off the new academic year, connects students with one another and offers a more personal introduction to the outstanding faculty across departments.

Last year, the 2020 Round-Up gathered over video chat. This fall the reading groups will have a chance to meet up in person. This gathering will be a milestone moment in a return to normal for UT Austin. So far, 764 students have registered, and incoming students can still sign up. Its not too late. There are still lots of great books with seats open.

I love the Reading Round-Up and the chance to talk with new students about a book we all read over the summer, but Im especially excited to reopen campus and welcome our newest Longhorns to meet with me in person, says Brent Iverson, dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies, which hosts the event. Its always a worthwhile experience and a great way to kick off the fall semester, but because we are emerging from our COVID hibernations, this feels much bigger than normal, really special.

The event isnt open to the public, but the reading list of over 60 books is a great resource for anyone looking for the next worthwhile read. Whether you are interested in fiction, biographies or nonfiction, this list has something for everyone.

A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young

Join the legions of poets, scientists, politicians, and others who have learned to think at the invitation of James Webb Young's A Technique for Producing Ideas. This brief but powerful book guides you through the process of innovation and learning in a way that makes creativity accessible to anyone willing to work for it. While the author's background is in advertising, his ideas apply in every facet of life and are increasingly relevant in the world's knowledge-based economy. Young's tiny text represents an ideal start to university education with its tactics for viewing life through a new lens and its encouragement to look inside for a more creative version of ourselves.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Want to learn how to make positive changes in your life? Start your time at UT having learned simple ways to build positive habits and break up with those that arent helpful. Check out this book for simple yet powerful advice with practical tips you can implement right away.

Grit: The Power of Perseverance and Passion by Angela Duckworth

University of Texas first year students come from many backgrounds, but what we all have in common is a desire to succeed. This book reminds us that a fair bit of our success is in our willingness to give things our all.

In my years teaching college students, Ive learned just how important this concept is both inside the classroom and in life. The stories shared in this book will resonate with you, and they are an ideal way for you to think about your own success from the first day you become a Longhorn for life! If you would like, take the Grit Scale as you read this book.

Make it Stick, The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown

This is a well-written little book on learning. It reportsreal researchnot guesses, conjectures, and opinionsas most books of this sort have done in the past. The book is available as a paperback, audiobook, or ebook.

Perfect Pitch: The Art of Selling Ideas by Jon Steel

Steel shares his experience and wisdom in crafting winning ad agency presentations. Steel, an irreverent Brit who has worked in the U.S. for many years, draws insights from a diverse range of persuasive experts including Johnnie Cochran vs. prosecutor Marsha Clark in the O.J. Simpson trial, Bill Clinton, and a London hooker. The applications of Steels insights extend to any situation where an audience or individual is the focus of a persuasive pitch. This is a lively, fun, and most revealing read.

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

A timely and compelling message for students who are entering their college experiencewith a narrow definition of who they are, and who they want to be.Rangeis a fascinating case for the importance of coloring outside the lines, whetheryou're focusing on athlete development (like I do) or pursuing excellence in virtually any other field.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks

This book tells the tales of patients afflicted with different neurological disorders. The stories are deeply human and highlight in bizarre and at times very comical ways the importance of the brain for our ability to interpret the world around us.

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr

Is Google making us stupid? When Nicholas Carr posed that question in a celebrated Atlantic essay, he tapped into a well of anxiety about how the Internet is changing us. He also crystallized one of the most important debates of our time: As we enjoy the internets bounties, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply?

With The Shallows, a finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction, Carr expands his argument into a compelling exploration of the nets intellectual and cultural consequences.

How Innovation Works: And Why It Flourishes in Freedom by Matt Ridley

This book argues that we need to change the way we think about innovation. What if we saw innovation as an incremental, bottom-up process that happens to society as a direct result of the human habit of exchange, rather than an orderly, top-down process developing according to a plan? This book tells the lively stories of scores of innovations, how they started and why they succeeded or, in some cases, failed.

Our Iceberg is Melting by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber

Our Iceberg is Meltinguses a fable-like story about penguins to explain the complexities of creating organizational change in the face of uncertainty. Written in a style everyone can understand, the book acts as a crash course in change management based on the author's award-winning research. In our dynamic and turbulent world this interesting book, with its many levels, is a must read.

Rising Strong: The Reckoning, The Rumble, The Revolution by Bren Brown

Struggle, Brown writes, can be our greatest call to courage, and rising strong our clearest path to deeper meaning, wisdom, and hope. The physics of vulnerability is simple: If we are brave enough often enough, we will fall. The booktells us what it takes to get back up, and how owning our stories of disappointment, failure, and heartbreak gives us the power to write a daring new ending.

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

A "black swan" is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was. The astonishing success of Google was a black swan; so was 9/11. For Nassim Nicholas Taleb, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from the rise of religions to events in our own personal lives.

This book changed how I view and approach the world. Fundamentally, humans think about the world and future events linearly. This is an adaption to survival on the savannah of Africa not at all suited for the complex universe and human affairs. The author is provocative and polarizing - this book will echo in your head for a long time to come.

The Gifts of Imperfection by Bren Brown

Nobodys perfect. So why are we so hard on ourselves when we dont achieve perfection? As a new student at a large, competitive university, the lessons found inside this insightful guide, which Forbes named one of five books that will actually change your outlook on life, may be exactly what you need. University researcher in human behavior and best-selling author Bren Brown shows us how to cultivate the courage and compassion to embrace your imperfections, overcome self-consciousness and fear, and live authentically.

The Strange Order of Things by Antonio Damasio

Antonio Damasio, a professor of neuroscience, psychology and philosophy, sets out to investigate why and how we emote, feel, use feelings to construct our selves and how brains interact with the body to support such functions." This book gives us a new way of comprehending the world and our place in it.

What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain

Want to know the secrets of college success, of achievingrealcollege success in these next four years? You can find the answer in this book, which is based on years of research. The best college teachers engage and challenge students and provoke impassioned responses. As a co-creator of your education, college success involves you seeking challenges and inspiration and digging into your passions. This book shows you how together, the best college teachers and the best college students lead to gaining the highest expertise and readiness to tackle your career, but also your life.

Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff

This best-selling memoir depicts a family's experience with addiction and covers a substantial portion of the author's son Nic's life and the struggles to live with, help, and understand the person with a substance use disorder. This book was #1 on New York Times best seller list,Entertainment Weeklynamed it the #1 Best Nonfiction Book the year it was published, Amazon named it "Best Book" in 2008, and it won the Barnes and Noble "Discover Great New Writers Award" for nonfiction as well.

Beautiful Boy is used as a text in the Young People and Drugs UGS Signature Course. It elegantly weaves the narrative and experience withthe best of the evidence-based science about addiction and recovery.The authors have visited our class in the past, so we can share insights beyond the written word. This book is an excellent vehicle to understanding addiction, recovery, and more about yourself in the midst.

Educated by Tara Westover

In this compelling memoir, author Tara Westover reflects thoughtfully on her experiences as a child in asurvivalist Mormon family. With no formal education until age 17, Tara defeats all odds by gaining admission to Brigham Young University and eventually earning her doctorate from Cambridge University. This book is compelling and thought-provoking, leaving readers to ponder the question: What does it really mean to be educated?

Factfulness by Hans Rosling

Factfulness presents data about the health, economic condition, and safety of the world today and how all those and other features have improved significantly. Most people are misinformed about the world situation, and most people believe that the world is in much worse shape than actual data about the world reveals. If you do not have time to finish the whole book, no worries, just watch some of Rosling's TED talks.

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

If you've ever had a teacher that touched your life in a very positive way, this book is for you. Short, very readable, and yet, quite profound in its reflection, Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie describes rediscovery of that mentor and a rekindled relationship that goes beyond the classroom and brings us to lessons on how to live.

Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann

Disability only becomes a tragedy when society fails to provide the things we need to lead our lives. This is the memoir of Judith Heumann, an iconin the disability rights community, known for her leadership in the San Francisco 504 sit-ins. These sit-ins led to the signing and implementation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Judiths memoir is both a history lesson on disability rights activism in the United States and an intimate storytelling of her life from childhood to present. It is her story, but also the story of the history, movement, and future of disability justice.

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century by Edited by Alice Wong

In time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together a collection of personal essays by contemporary disabled writers.

From original pieces by up-and-coming authors like Keah Brown and Haben Girma, to blog posts, manifestos, eulogies, testimonies to Congress, and beyond: this anthology gives a glimpse of the vast richness and complexity of the disabled experience, highlighting the passions, talents, and everyday lives of this community. It invites readers to question their own assumptions and understandings. It celebrates and documents disability culture in the now. It looks to the future and past with hope and love.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didnt commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanshipand transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.

Just Mercy is an unforgettable account of an idealistic, gifted young lawyers coming of age, a moving window into the lives of those he has defended, and an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of true justice.

Know My Name: A Memoir by Chanel Miller

Know My Nameis aNew York Timesbestseller and the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography. In it, Miller challenges her depiction in the media as the anonymous "Emily Doe," who survived a Stanford undergraduate student's sexual assault in 2015. In her memoir, Miller reclaims the public narrative about her and asserts her full humanity while critiquing the criminal justice system and the treatment of sexual assault victims in the United States.

The Little Bach Book by David Gordon

The Little Bach Book is not a comprehensive biography of J. S. Bach but a collection of curious facts and observations about his life and the times in which he lived. It is light and fun reading for those who love the music of J. S. Bach but dont know much about him.

The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles C. Mann

This book looks into the future: How should we approach keeping earth livable for humans and the other organisms we share the planet with?Wizards rely on technology to help us, and prophets urge us to reduce the resources that we use.Few believe only one solution is the answer, but while complex answers are often correct, they do not always make for compelling arguments.We find people often arguing from one of these perspectives, maybe not recognizing the history behind them or the implications that they entail.So let's delve into these two seemingly opposed approaches to our future, understand their background, see how they have impacted us thus far, and try to discern what we should do moving forward.

Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck

In September 1960, John Steinbeck embarked on a journey across America. He felt that he might have lost touch with the country, with its speech, the smell of its grass and trees, its color and quality of light, the pulse of its people. To reassure himself, he set out on a voyage of rediscovery of the American identity, accompanied by a distinguished French poodle named Charley; and riding in a three-quarter-ton pickup truck named Rocinante. His course took him through almost forty states.

This bookis an intimate look at one of America's most beloved writers in the later years of his lifea self-portrait of a man who never wrote an explicit autobiography. Written during a time of upheaval and racial tension in the Southwhich Steinbeck witnessed firsthanditis a stunning evocation of America on the eve of a tumultuous decade.

Eligible for Execution: The Story of the Daryl Atkins Case by Thomas G. Walker

On August 16, 1996, 18-year-old Daryl Atkins was involved, along with a co-defendant, in the murder of Eric Nesbitt, a young naval mechanic stationed in Virginia. Found guilty and then sentenced to death in 1998, Atkinss case was taken up in 2002 by the Supreme Court of the United States. The issue before the justices: given Daryl Atkinss reported intellectual disability, would his execution constitute cruel and unusual punishment? Their 63 vote said yes.

Despite the SCOTUS ruling, Daryl Atkinss situation was far from being resolved. The determination that Atkins actually had an intellectual disability, under Virginia law, occurred a few years latera process in which I (Jim Patton) was involved. Eligible for Execution gives readers a front row seat into the twists of the judicial process while addressing how disability, race, and other issues play into societys evolving view of the death penalty. Personal reflections, as an insider to a part of Atkins judicial process, will be shared.

Enlightenment Now:The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress by Steven Pinker

This book makes the argument that on every possible front, from health to education to equality, and even the environment, things have never been better, a lot better.A lot of historical data is offered up in supportfor example, world-wide life expectancyis 71, a number probably far higher than you might think, given the pessimistic nature of the media and humankinds need to focus on the negative.Pinker argues that instead of being so negative, we should spend our time celebrating reason, the science it has produced, and the progress that has been realized because of it.

Of course Pinker wrote this book unaware of the current pandemic, but I would imagine he would argue this moment in time is just a blip on a time-scale in which the world will continue to thrive and improve, with science once again carrying the day.Do you agree?

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, they rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.

Then, one by one, the Osage began to die...under mysterious circumstances.

In this last remnant of the Wild Westwhere oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes like Al Spencer, the Phantom Terror, roamedmany of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll climbed to more than twenty-four, the FBI took up the case. It was one of the organizations first major homicide investigations.

In Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann revisits a shocking series of crimes in which dozens of people were murdered in cold blood. Based on years of research and startling new evidence, the book is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, as each step in the investigation reveals a series of sinister secrets and reversals.

Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad

One of the most frequently asked questions after a talk or training focused on racism is, "What can I do about it?" Robin DiAngelo often pushes back with another question, "How is it that you've managed to not know?"

In an information overloaded world, the question of what to do to undo racism still looms large because it's not just about external information, but about knowledge of self.

Layla F. Saad's work began as an Instagram challenge, and after thousands of challenge participants and downloads of her Me and White Supremacy Workbook, her most recent book carries that work forward by teaching readers to understand their privilege and participation in white supremacy using a step-by-step self-reflection process. This reflection is a necessary prerequisite to figuring out "what to do" about racism. After all, "You cannot dismantle what you cannot see. You cannot challenge what you do not understand." -Layla F. Saad

The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston

The bestselling landmark account of the first emergence of the Ebola virus. A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic "hot" virus.

Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

During the height of the Great Depression, nine working-class college students on the University of Washington varsity crew team set off to do the impossible: defeat the German rowing team in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It's one of those stories that I intentionally slowed my reading pace to savor every minute of it! (And, if you aren't knowledgeable about rowing, that's OK. But, I was surprised to find a new interest in the sport after reading this.) It is a compelling account of how these all-American underdogs beat the odds and found hope in the most desperate of times.

Christmas: A Candid History by Bruce David Forbes

Whether you love Christmas, hate Christmas, or have very mixed feelings about it, Christmas is an extremely strange holiday with a fascinating history. From reading this book and discussing it with Religious Studies professor Brent Landau, you'll learn: how Santa can squeeze down a chimney; why the Puritans banned Christmas; whether Jesus was really born in Bethlehem; and much more!

Icebound by Andrea Pitzer

Icebound is a narrative non-fiction account of Dutch explorer William Barents third expedition in the sixteenth century off the frozen coast of Nova Zembla.This is a great piece of reportage and writing for students interested in history, literary non-fiction, journalistic narrative, expedition tales and good, old-fashioned survival stories.

Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed

A penetrating, acutely insightful, memoir and historical analysis of the importance of Juneteenth from the eminent Harvard University Professor and Pulitzer Prize Winner and Texas native Dr. Annette Gordon-Reed. This is a must read for those interested in Texas History and how that history intersects and, at times collides, with Black, LatinX, and Native American and indigenous histories. A must read for our students at UT especially.

Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP by Sarah Schulman

ACT UP, New York, a broad and unlikely coalition of activists from all races, genders, sexualities, and backgrounds, changed the world. Armed with rancor, desperation, intelligence, and creativity, it took on the AIDS crisis with an indefatigable, ingenious, and multifaceted attack on the corporations, institutions, governments, and individuals who stood in the way of AIDS treatment for all. Twenty years in the making, this book is a comprehensive political history of ACT UP and American AIDS activism. Discussion will focus on excerpts from this extensive book.

Letters to My White Male Friends by Dax-Devlon Ross

Note: The book is available for pre-order until its release date of June 15. The author will join us during our discussion session.

This book speaks directly to the millions of middle-aged white men who are suddenly awakening to race and racism. White men are finally realizing that simply not being racist isn't enough to end racism. These men want deeper insight not only into how racism has harmed Black people, but, for the first time, into how it has harmed them. They are beginning to see that racism warps us all. This book promises to help men who have said they are committed to change and to develop the capacity to see, feel and sustain that commitment so they can help secure racial justice for us all.

Ross helps readers understand what it meant to be America's first generation raised after the civil rights era. He explains how we were all educated with colorblind narratives and symbols that typically, albeit implicitly, privileged whiteness and denigrated Blackness. He provides the context and color of his own experiences in white schools so that white men can revisit moments in their lives where racism was in the room even when they didn't see it enter. Ross shows how learning to see the harm that racism did to him, and forgiving himself, gave him the empathy to see the harm it does to white people as well. Ultimately, Ross offers white men direction so that they can take just action in their workplace, community, family, and, most importantly, in themselves, especially in the future when race is no longer in the spotlight.

Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder

As the worst days of the pandemic seem to be behind us, eviction moratoria will be lifted and hundreds of thousands of Americans will be houseless. In the meantime, many working Americans find themselves priced out of the housing market and unable to replicate the life of their childhood. In Austin, we have seen this issue play out in the debate about public camping and the current policy to ban it. The combination of low wages and high housing costs has created a class of Americans we might call nomads.

Transient older Americans have taken to the road by the tens of thousands in RVs, travel trailers, and vans, forming a growing community of nomads. Finding that social security comes up short and often underwater on mortgages, these nomads make up a new, low-cost labor pool for employers.

In a secondhand vehicle she christens Van Halen, Bruder hits the road to get to know her subjects more intimately. Accompanying her subjects from campground toilet cleaning to warehouse product scanning to desert reunions, Bruder tells a compelling, eye-opening tale of the dark underbelly of the American economyone that foreshadows the precarious future that may await many more of us. At the same time, she celebrates the exceptional resilience and creativity of Americans who have given up ordinary rootedness to survive.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

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