There's a better answer than electric cars

Erich Sixt, chairman and chief executive officer of the Pullach, Germany-based global car rental company that bears his family’s name, recently described electric cars as a “costly political error” given their still inferior range, long charging times and the huge investment necessary to expand the charging infrastructure. It may have been a self-serving statement (renters don’t like them), but he may also well be right: If a paper published on Thursday correctly estimates the cost of extracting carbon dioxide from the air, regulators could do better to concentrate on that technology rather than on forcing vehicle electrification. 

Carbon Engineering is a company co-founded by Harvard physicist David Keith and funded, among others, by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Since 2015, the firm has been running a CO2 extraction plant in Canada, testing out a technology that was until recently rejected as too costly. Keith and his collaborators, who wrote the paper, have used an independent cost assessment to calculate that using the process they developed allows the capture of a metric ton of carbon dioxide at the cost of $94 to $232, depending on variable costs such as the price of natural gas. (Since energy is used in the process, about 0.9 tons of CO2 is actually removed from the atmosphere with each ton captured).

World's last male northern white rhino dies; could spark extinction crisis

Researchers say the world's last male northern white rhino, Sudan, has died after "age-related complications." A statement from the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya says the 45-year-old rhino was euthanized yesterday after his condition "worsened significantly" and he was no longer able to stand.

The rhino had been part of an ambitious effort to save the subspecies from extinction with the help of the two surviving females.

"He was a great ambassador for his species and will be remembered for the work he did to raisConservancy'slobally of the plight facing not only rhinos, but also the many thousands of other species facing extinction as a result of unsustainable human activity," said the conservancy's CEO, Richard Vigne.

Sudan was something of a celebrity, attracting thousands of visitors.

Delhi air pollution: Arvind Kejriwal to meet Manohar Lal Khattar today

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said he would meet his Haryana counterpart in Chandigarh on Wednesday to discuss rising air pollution levels in the national capital as the latter was too "busy" to meet him in Delhi.

Kejriwal said Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had called him and told him that the latter was in Delhi till tomorrow, but cannot meet him in Delhi, citing "he (Khattar) was very busy".

The Haryana CM has asked me to see him in Chandigarh on Wednesday, the AAP supremo said.

The Delhi chief minister has been seeking a meeting with his counterparts from Haryana and Punjab over the last few days to find a solution to stubble burning in the neighbouring states, a major source to high pollution levels in Delhi.

"Khattar ji called. He is in Del till tomo. Says he is v busy n can't meet me in Del. He has asked me to come to Chandigarh on Wed. I look forward to meeting him in Chandigarh on Wed (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted.

Earlier in the day, he said his office was constantly trying to fix a meeting with the Haryana chief minister.

The development comes after Khattar wrote back to Kejriwal and said he was "likely" to be in Delhi on November 13 and 14.
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ArcelorMittal denies French pollution charge, says 97% residue recycled

Facing allegations of pollution, steel giant ArcelorMittal has said 97 per cent of residues from the Florange site in France are recycled or recovered and its internal probe has concluded that there is no wrong-doing.

The statement comes amid reports by French newspaper The Repulicain Lorrain that the public prosecutor's office in Thionville has opened an investigation into the alleged acid pollution of ArcelorMittal's crassier in Florange of France.

"ArcelorMittal and all of Florange's staff work are in full compliance with our authorisations to operate and store our residues. For the past 10 years, the Florange site has considerably reduced the volume of residues deposited in the storage area and today, 97 per cent of the residues from the site are recycled or recovered," said Eric Niedziela, CEO of ArcelorMittal Atlantique and Lorraine, in a statement.

"Our internal investigation concludes that there is neither fraud nor pollution," Niedziela said.

Announcing the conclusion of the internal investigation, Niedziela stressed: "We take our responsibilities very seriously and continue to work intensively to improve treatment and recovery of our residues to reduce our environmental footprint."

The steelmaker said: "No dumping of pure acid has been done... The acid used for the pickling process is systematically regenerated and reused."

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Canada wildfire: Thousands of people can't return home as blazes rage on

Tens of thousands of people who fled wildfires in western Canada were unable to return home as the massive blazes raged on.

Officials said that 155 fires were still burning in British Columbia province, where the flames have already consumed more than 327,000 hectares of forest and uncultivated land.

Of the active blazes, 15 present a "real threat to communities," said British Columbia fire spokesman Kevin Skrepnek.

Although small numbers of people have been able to return to their homes, around 46,000 people remain displaced by the inferno.

Some 1,000 residents of Cache Creek, around 100 kilometres west of Kamloops, were able to return home 11 days after they were first evacuated, but under warning they may have to flee again at short notice.

"Residents need to be reminded that the village of Cache Creek remains on evacuation alert," local authorities said in a statement. "While the Ashcroft fire continues to remain active, residents must be prepared to leave at any time."

Families who returned home were set to receive about Can$ 600 ($475 US) in aid from the Red Cross, said Transport Canada official Robert Turner.

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Trump taking world back to horse & cart: Arnold Schwarzenegger at Cannes

Arnold Schwarzenegger laid into US President Donald Trump on Sunday saying his plans to revive coal would bring the world back to the horse and cart.

The Hollywood star and former California governor said he despairs of what Trump's energy policy, which is heavy on fossil fuels, will do to the planet.

"When I hear he wants to bring coal back, that's going backwards. The next thing he'll want to bring horses and buggies (carts) back," the actor and activist told reporters at the Cannes film festival.

"Trump or no Trump we all have to move forward," he added.

And he urged people worldwide to rise up to save the planet.

"All great movements -- civil rights, the vote for women, the anti-apartheid movement, the freedom movement in India -- all started on a grassroots level.

"We cannot wait for Washington. The people have to rise up and say we got to protect what we have so we don't have climate change and seven million people dying every year because of pollution."

Schwarzenegger narrates a new documentary by the son of undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau, "Wonders of the Sea 3D", which he claimed would make "people fall in love with the ocean".

He said its positive message worked much better than "the shaming, guilt and finger pointing" that Schwarzenegger believes puts people off environmentalism.

"You can't just tell people all the time you should turn off your jacuzzi and not drive a big car," he told the Hollywood Reporter.

"If you want people to change you got to make people feel good. Like 'Come to the gym and you will feel so much better.' When you see this film you will inevitably fall in love with the ocean," he added.

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