Atlantic Council

Electrabel - the Belgian subsidiary of French utility Engie - says it will not make any further investments at Doel unit 4 and Tihange unit 3 unless it is clearer whether the reactors will or will not be allowed to operate beyond 2025. A report due out at the end of next year may lead to the reactors being allowed to continue operating to ensure Belgium's energy security.Read Full Story Energy SecurityBelgiumFranceNuclear PowerEnergy PolicyEnergy PricesElectricity SupplyBelgianTihange 2Tihange 3The Council Of MinistersFlemishWorld Nuclear NewsElectrabel StaffFrench Utility EngieAlexander De Croo

A new three-tier system of local lockdown measures for England is expected to be announced by prime minister Boris Johnson on Monday to help keep the spread of coronavirus under control. Different parts of the country will be split up into “medium”, “high” or “very high” local coronavirus alert areas...LockdownCoronavirus Disease 2019EnglandSouthwestSocial DistancingNorth EastIntensive Care UnitsLocal FoodPubsOldhamLabourLiverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustNottingham City CouncilStateYorkshireBoris JohnsonMatt HancockJim McmahonRead Full Story

During its September 15 meeting, the Sandy Springs City Council announced that the expanded partnership would open the door for ongoing collaboration on research and special projects between the two entities. “It’s a

AUBURN, Alabama–Halfway through their 10-game Southeastern Conference regular season schedule, there are still questions about the Auburn football Tigers. However, it’s not too early to come to some conclusions about the 2020 edition of the team. Auburn, which has a 3-2 record, will begin the second half of the season...Read Full Story Auburn FootballJordan-Hare StadiumLSUWide ReceiverGeorgiaTigersAlabama FootballSMUBrandon CouncilTank BigsbyJamien SherwoodRoger McCrearyOwen PappoeZakoby McClainGus MalzahnChad MorrisBo NixSeth WilliamsKevin Steele

Shutterstock There has been much attention on how the Morrison government’s university funding reforms will increase the cost of humanities degrees. But another devastating change has passed almost unnoticed: a 29% cut to funding to environmental studies courses. This is one of the largest funding cuts to any university course. Universities will receive almost A$10,000 less funding for each student undertaking environmental studies. The cut will undoubtedly lead to fewer students and lower-quality learning experiences. Environmental studies encompasses the biological and earth sciences, as well as management and planning. Graduates go on to work as government policy officers, and managers in fields including water resources, the environment, urban planning and climate change adaption. We are senior members of the Australian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors, with more than 80 years of collective experience in various environmental fields. At a time of unprecedented pressures on our environment, expertise in these fields is clearly needed more than ever. Cuts to university funding for environmental studies will have far-reaching effects. Catlin Seaview Survey Clear-felling environmental expertise The government’s Job-ready Graduates package applies to future students from 2021. It will cut the student contribution for environmental studies from A$9,698 to A$7,700 a year, and reduce the Commonwealth contribution from A$24,446 to A$16,500 per year. The move has been widely questioned . We welcome any reduced fees for students. However the government contribution was not raised to cover the shortfall, so overall, the changes represent a cut of A$9,944 per year per student – a 29% decrease on current levels. Currently, environmental studies funding is spent on specialised facilities such as labs equipped with cutting-edge technologies and field centres to support both teaching and research. It’s also spent on supporting students to gain practical and industry experience. This ensures world-class graduates skilled in the latest techniques and technologies. Read more: The government is making ‘job-ready’ degrees cheaper for students – but cutting funding to the same courses More than 5,000 Australian students are currently enrolled in undergraduate environmental studies courses. While current students will not be affected by the changes, the enrolment number may drop in future due to fewer places being offered. The funding cuts may also lower the quality of experiences offered to students or require cross-subsidisation. Some universities may also deem environmental studies courses unviable, and close them, while prioritising higher revenue-generating courses. The change may also likely to lead to fewer staff, with specialist expertise in areas such as geospatial science, water chemistry and fire management. This will lead to smaller teaching teams with less expertise, who will in turn face increased teaching loads and less time for quality research. Until now, Australia has been a world leader in training the next generation of environmental managers and scientists. Thirty of our universities have recently been rated as producing research in environmental science significantly above world standard. And environmental science at four Australian universities – Australian National University, University of Melbourne, UNSW and University of Sydney – was recently ranked in the top 50 worldwide . Without adequate funding, this global standing is threatened. Australia’s world reputation as a leader in environmental science is threatened. CESAR The bigger picture Fewer and less well-trained environmental studies students will inevitably have a knock-on effect in sectors and industries that need quality graduates with specialist environmental knowledge, such as: local, state and federal government, to ensure developments are sustainable and broadly benefit communities agriculture, to address threats as diverse as water quality in the Great Barrier Reef, better retention of nitrogen fertilisers in soils and adaptation to climate change mining, for advice on site planning and restoration to ensure minimal environmental harm during and after the mine’s operation water management in rivers and wetlands, to respond to climate change and higher demand from growing populations. What’s more, environmental studies courses – either as double degrees or core courses – are often part of other degrees such as law, journalism, teacher education, and engineering. This provides these professions with a critical understanding of the environment and sustainable management. Environmental scientists are critical to a range of sectors. Catlin Seaview Survey We need environmental experts Australia’s recent, brutal experience with bushfires and drought shows just how badly we need world-class environmental expertise. As climate change grows ever worse, these experts will be critical in steering us through these challenges. What’s more, the COVID-19 pandemic – linked to land clearing and more human-wildlife interaction – shows just what can happen under poor environmental management. Australia is uniquely vulnerable to climate change, and in 2019, recorded its worst-ever environmental conditions. These university funding cuts affect the people with the answers to our pressing environmental problems – they are a blow to the future of all Australians. Read more: A major scorecard gives the health of Australia's environment less than 1 out of 10 Dianne Gleeson is the President of the Australian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors and receives funding from a variety of State and Federal government agencies. Ian Clark is the Executive Officer for the Australian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors Stuart Parsons currently receives funding from industry research development corporations. He is the incoming President of the Australian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors. This article is from The Conversation AU, which brings news and analysis from academic experts directly to the public.Environmental SciencePublic PolicyMorrison GovernmentCommonwealthGovernment FundingResearch FundingState FundingEnvironmental EducationUniversity EducationUniversity Of MelbourneNational UniversityCatlin SeaviewUNSWUniversity Of SydneyAustralian Council Of Environmental Deans

The anger was evident in Andy Burnham’s voice as he declared that Greater Manchester would stand firm in the face of any UK government attempt to impose a “tier three” restriction on the northern English city-region without adequate financial compensation. The mayor and other local leaders were unanimous in opposing the government’s plans as “flawed and unfair”. A statement from Burnham, the two deputy mayors and Greater Manchester’s ten council leaders declared: “We are fighting back – for fairness and for the health of our people in the broadest sense.”Greater ManchesterCoronavirus Disease 2019PoliticsNorthern EnglandUnited KingdomNorthern IrelandScotlandCity LeadersCity GovernmentCentral GovernmentPolitical LeadersManchester City CouncilLiverpoolTyneDevolution LeadersAndy BurnhamJamie DriscollSteve RotheramRichard LeeseDan JarvisRead Full Story

image captionAnrí Ó Domhnaill hopes to complete the feat in a year. Anrí Ó Domhnaill is no ordinary swimmer. The Irish endurance athlete is attempting to finswim around the coast of Ireland. Finswimming involves swimming on the water's surface using fins and a snorkel. Known as Finman, a nod to...Read Full Story CoastSwimmingO'DonnellNorthern IrelandIrish PeopleAtlantic OceanCounty DonegalEuropeScotlandUNMount ElbrusBeagle ChannelBBC News NIFinmanPerito Moreno Glacier

President, CEO & Board Chair, A10 Networks, providing secure application services for on-premises, multi-cloud and edge-cloud environments. If you're working in an enterprise IT department or at a telecommunication service provider, chances are good you're concerned about digital transformation. You are thinking about the impact of big global trends like cloud infrastructure adoption and the coming of 5G networks. On the other hand, you're also working feverishly to make sure that your existing systems, applications and processes are both cost-effective and meeting the requirements of your business and customers.Read Full Story Service ProviderCloud ComputingCustomerApplicationEnvironmentDigital TransformationKubernetesHybrid TechnologyEnterprise SolutionsDigital TechnologiesForbes Technology CouncilBPI5G TransformationTechnology ExecutivesIntegrated Services

In a recent meeting regarding the health of the Kootenai watershed, I was shocked to hear Rep. Steve Gunderson (R-Libby) use his position to protect his Lincoln County constituents and Montana from clean water. At issue

BEIJING, Sept 28 (Reuters) - China’s leaders are poised to endorse a lower economic growth target for Beijing’s next five-year plan compared with 2016-2020, as authorities navigate growing challenges fuelled by a dee