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CalFire firefighters turn away from the fire to watch for any stray embers during a firing operation to build a line to contain the Fairview fire near Hemet, California, on September 8, 2022

A massive wildfire burned out of control Monday in Oregon forcing residents to flee and threatening towns and thousands of homes, in the latest blaze to scorch the US West during a blistering summer.

Dozens of active infernos in California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and other western states have ravaged more than 1,200 square miles (3,100 square kilometers), worsening air quality and highlighting the devastating effects of a historic two-decade-plus drought that has left the region parched.

The Cedar Creek fire east of the city of Eugene, Oregon experienced “extreme” growth over the weekend and has now consumed 86,734 acres (35,100 hectares) — roughly twice the size of the US capital Washington — with zero percent containment as of Monday, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG).

More than 1,200 firefighters and other personnel have converged on the steep mountainous terrain, much of it in US national forest land and hard to reach.

“They have been constructing firelines away from the active fire edge, along roads and trails, where they have a better chance of successfully stopping the fire,” NWCG reported. 

Evacuations were ordered for Lane and Deschutes counties, and the Deschutes and Willamette national forests have been closed. More than 2,000 homes were under threat, authorities said.

Dense smoke has enveloped the region, and according to NWCG, “smoke has created unhealthy air quality for communities east of the fire as well, including Bend,” a town that serves as a gateway for outdoor tourism.

“Get out of here as fast as I can,” Herman Schimmel, who moved to the small town of Westfir only recently, told The Oregonian newspaper. “That’s all I was thinking about.”

Local media reported that cooler and calmer weather had improved conditions somewhat later on Monday, with officials easing evacuation instructions in some areas.

The western United States is more than two decades into a historic drought that scientists say is being worsened by human-made climate change.

Much of the countryside is parched, creating conditions for hot, fast and destructive wildfires.

– Homes threatened –

An even larger blaze was burning in northwestern Oregon Monday, in a more remote region. The Double Creek fire, first detected on August 30, has consumed 155,000 acres and was 15 percent contained.

According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), more than 90 fires were currently burning across seven states in the West: California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

More than 1,200 square miles in total was burning — an area larger that Yosemite National Park — NIFC reported Sunday.

The Mosquito Fire, California’s current largest blaze, has now swept through 46,500 acres in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with several small nearby towns reportedly evacuated.

The official CalFire website said that while cooler temperatures — following more than a week of blistering heat — had somewhat slowed the fire’s progress, stronger winds were pushing it to the north and northeast, threatening hundreds of homes.

Meanwhile, firefighters were working to contain the major Fairview fire, south of Los Angeles, which has claimed two lives.

Firefighters have the blaze 53 percent under control, local media reported Monday, raising hopes it may be slowing down after rainfall and lower temperatures at the weekend.

Air quality alerts have been issued in Oregon, Washington and Idaho due to smoke from the blazes.

Blue Origin tweeted a video clip showing the moment when the capsule fired emergency thrusters to separate from its booster

An uncrewed Blue Origin rocket carrying research payloads crashed shortly after liftoff on Monday, but the capsule carrying experiments escaped and floated safely back to Earth, Jeff Bezos’ space company said.

The company tweeted a short video clip showing the moment when the capsule fired emergency thrusters to separate from its booster rocket, around a minute after launching from Blue Origin’s base in west Texas.

“Booster failure on today’s uncrewed flight. Escape system performed as designed,” Blue said on its website, noting the rocket “impacted the ground” instead of landing upright as it normally does. 

The New Shepard suborbital rockets have been grounded pending an investigation, the Federal Aviation Administration said, which is standard procedure.

“The capsule landed safely and the booster impacted within the designated hazard area. No injuries or public property damage have been reported,” the FAA added.

It was the 23rd mission for the New Shepard rocket program, named after the first American in space, and the first to end in failure. 

NS-23, which had 36 experiments on board, was first set to launch in late August, but was delayed due to inclement weather.

The anomaly occurred as the rocket was climbing at 700 miles per hour (1,126 kilometers per hour) at an altitude of about 28,000 feet (8,500 meters).

The capsule then fired emergency thrusters to separate, engulfing the booster in a bright yellow flame.

The incident marks a setback for both Blue Origin and the nascent space tourism industry.

Blue Origin began flying humans to space on 10-minute rides last year for an unspecified ticket price. 

In all it has flown 32 people — some paying customers and others guests. Notable passengers include founder Jeff Bezos and Star Trek icon William Shatner.

Passengers experience a few minutes’ weightlessness and observe the curve of the Earth before the capsule re-enters the atmosphere and floats down for a gentle desert landing.

An international research team has revealed the first images of the Orion Nebula captured with the James Webb Space Telescope, leaving astronomers "blown away" 

The wall of dense gas and dust resembles a massive winged creature, its glowing maw lit by a bright star as it soars through cosmic filaments.

An international research team on Monday revealed the first images of the Orion Nebula captured with the James Webb Space Telescope, leaving astronomers “blown away.”

The stellar nursery is situated in the constellation Orion, 1,350 light-years away from Earth, in a similar setting in which our own solar system was birthed more than 4.5 billion years ago.

Astronomers are interested in the region to better understand what happened during the first million years of our planetary evolution.

The images were obtained as part of the Early Release Science program and involved more than 100 scientists in 18 countries, with institutions including the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Western University in Canada, and the University of Michigan.

“We are blown away by the breathtaking images of the Orion Nebula,” Western University astrophysicist Els Peeters said in a statement.

“These new observations allow us to better understand how massive stars transform the gas and dust cloud in which they are born,” she added.

Nebulas are obscured by large amounts of dust that made it impossible to observe with visible light telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, Webb’s predecessor. 

Webb however operates primarily in the infrared spectrum, penetrating the dust.

This revealed numerous spectacular structures, down to the scale of 40 astronomical units, or the size of our solar system.

These include dense filaments of matter, which could birth new generations of stars, as well as forming stellar systems that consist of a central proto-star surrounded by a disc of dust and gas, in which planets form.

“We hope to gain understanding about the entire cycle of star birth,” said Edwin Bergin, University of Michigan chair of astronomy and a member of the international research team. 

“In this image we are looking at this cycle where the first generation of stars is essentially irradiating the material for the next generation. The incredible structures we observe will detail how the feedback cycle of stellar birth occurs in our galaxy and beyond.”

Webb is the most powerful space telescope ever built, boasting a primary mirror measuring 6.5 meters (more than 21 feet) that is made up of 18 hexagonal, gold-coated segments, as well as a five-layer sunshield the size of a tennis court.

European nations are keen to rush through the new generation of jabs to start booster campaigns

The EU’s medicines watchdog on Monday approved a vaccine specifically targeting the new and contagious types of the Omicron variant amid fears of a new wave of Covid-19 winter infections.

The so-called “bivalent” jab, made by Pfizer/BioNTech, is directed at the highly infectious BA.4 and BA.5 types of the variant and is the first of its kind to be approved within the 27-nation bloc.

“This recommendation will further extend the arsenal of available vaccines to protect people against Covid-19 as the pandemic continues and new waves of infections are anticipated in the cold season,” the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said.

The vaccine also targets “the original strain of SARS-CoV-2” and comes 11 days after the Amsterdam-based drug watchdog approved vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna against the Omicron BA.1 variant.

The latest shot is aimed at people over 12 and who have already received at least one primary vaccination against the coronavirus, and it is an adaptive version of Pfizer’s original Comirnaty vaccine.

European nations have been keen to rush through the new generation of jabs so they can start booster campaigns ahead of a feared Covid surge in the latter part of this year.

The latest vaccines “better match the circulating variants of SARS-CoV-2 and are expected to provide broader protection against different variants,” the EMA said.

“Prompt assessment of the available data on these adapted vaccines will enable their timely deployment in the autumn vaccination campaigns,” it added.

The EMA’s recommendation — which will now be sent to the European Commission for a final decision — was specifically based on clinical data from Pfizer’s vaccines aimed at the original virus and the Omicron BA.1 variant.

– New wave feared –

“Apart from containing mRNA matching different, but closely related, Omicron sub-variants, Comirnaty Original/Omicron BA.4-5 and Comirnaty Original/Omicron BA.1 have the same composition,” the EMA said.

Pfizer’s vaccine works on the principle of tiny molecules carrying instructions for the human body to temporarily produce spike proteins similar to those found on the coronavirus — and which it uses to enter the body’s cells.

The body’s immune system recognises the spike protein as foreign and activates natural defences against them.

When a person then comes in contact with the real virus, the body’s immune system will also recognise and attack it. 

The United States authorised its first anti-Omicron vaccines late last month, approving Pfizer and Moderna jabs for the BA.4 and BA.5 strains. 

Britain authorised the Moderna vaccine for the BA.1 type in mid-August.

While the original vaccines, approved nearly two years ago provided some protection against newer coronavirus variants, the race had been on to come out with a newer group of vaccines that also target the milder but more infectious Omicron strains.

While previous “variants of concern” like Alpha and Delta eventually petered out, Omicron and its sub-lineages have dominated throughout 2022.

The BA.4 and BA.5 types have in particular helped to drive a wave of new cases of the disease in Europe and the United States in recent months.

All Omicron variants tend to have a milder disease course as they settle less in the lungs and more in the upper nasal passages, causing symptoms like fever, tiredness and loss of smell.

jhe/rox

Injured villagers arrive at a hospital in Lae, Papua New Guinea after being evacuated by helicopter from Wauko village after the quake

The death toll from a massive earthquake in Papua New Guinea rose to seven Monday and is expected to grow as rescuers begin to reach remote landslide-hit communities.

Police Commissioner David Manning said the victims of Sunday’s 7.6-magnitude quake had been found across the central north of the country, where there is widespread damage to homes and infrastructure.

“The tremors caused damage to buildings and public roads” he said, adding “a number of landslides were triggered.”

Three alluvial miners were buried alive near the settlement of Wau and four others died in locations across Morobe and Madang provinces, Manning said.

University of Goroka buildings were badly damaged and “there are reports of injuries to students on the campus and they have been admitted to hospital,” said Manning.

Missionary groups and private aviation firms have been trying to reach isolated communities and airlift the injured to safety.

Aerial reconnaissance by the Mission Aviation Fellowship indicated “visible slides in the Nankina area and that some are still actively slipping”, according to the UN’s Papua New Guinea Disaster Management Team.

Many people are feared to have been displaced but early on-the-ground assessments have been sketchy.

Papua New Guinea Red Cross secretary-general Valachie Quagliata said the area’s rough mountainous terrain made access difficult, with the worst affected areas not accessible by car.

According to a UN assessment, the earthquake damaged the Ramu hydropower plant “resulting in a total system outage across the Highlands provinces, Madang, and Morobe”.

“There will be major interruptions to power going forward,” Quagliata said.

An undersea cable linking the regional capital Madang to Port Moresby was also affected by the quake, as was a link between Madang and Sydney.

Parts of the vital Highlands Highway, which connects several of Papua New Guinea’s main cities, have been damaged.

However, regional airports in Goroka and Lae-Nadzab remained open with no damage reported, according to the United Nations.

Prime Minister James Marape has warned Papua New Guineans to be cautious after the “massive” earthquake, but said its impact was expected to be less than a 2018 quake which killed 150 people.

The country’s national coronavirus hotline has been redirected to take calls from people affected by the earthquake.

The quake struck at a depth of 61 kilometres (38 miles), about 67 kilometres from the town of Kainantu, according to the US Geological Survey.

Papua New Guinea sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, causing it to experience frequent earthquakes. 

Injured villagers arrive at a hospital in Lae, Papua New Guinea after being evacuated by helicopter from Wauko village after the quake

The death toll from a massive earthquake in Papua New Guinea rose to seven Monday and is expected to grow as rescuers begin to reach remote landslide-hit communities.

Police Commissioner David Manning said the victims of Sunday’s 7.6-magnitude quake had been found across the central north of the country, where there is widespread damage to homes and infrastructure.

The quake struck mid-morning and triggered a series of deadly landslides.

Three alluvial miners were buried alive near the settlement of Wau and four others died in locations across Morobe and Madang provinces, Manning said.

Missionary groups and private aviation firms have been trying to reach isolated communities and airlift the injured to safety.

Aerial reconnaissance by the Mission Aviation Fellowship indicated “visible slides in the Nankina area and that some are still actively slipping”, according to the UN’s Papua New Guinea Disaster Management Team.

Many people are feared to have been displaced but early on-the-ground assessments have been sketchy.

Papua New Guinea Red Cross secretary-general Valachie Quagliata said the area’s rough mountainous terrain made access difficult, with the worst affected areas not accessible by car.

According to a UN assessment, the earthquake damaged the Ramu hydropower plant “resulting in a total system outage across the Highlands provinces, Madang, and Morobe”.

“There will be major interruptions to power going forward,” Quagliata said.

An undersea cable linking the regional capital Madang to Port Moresby was also affected by the quake, as was a link between Madang and Sydney.

Parts of the vital Highlands Highway, which connects several of Papua New Guinea’s main cities, have been damaged.

However, regional airports in Goroka and Lae-Nadzab remained open with no damage reported, according to the United Nations.

Prime Minister James Marape has warned Papua New Guineans to be cautious after the “massive” earthquake, but said its impact was expected to be less than a 2018 quake which killed 150 people.

The country’s national coronavirus hotline has been redirected to take calls from people affected by the earthquake.

The quake struck at a depth of 61 kilometres (38 miles), about 67 kilometres from the town of Kainantu, according to the US Geological Survey.

Papua New Guinea sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, causing it to experience frequent earthquakes. 

Enthusiasts hope a greener ethereum will spark wider acceptance

An army of computer programmers scattered across the globe is set to attempt one of the biggest software upgrades the crypto sector has ever seen this week to reduce its environmentally unfriendly energy consumption.

Developers have spent years working on a more energy-efficient version of the ethereum blockchain, a digital ledger that underpins a multibillion dollar ecosystem of cryptocurrencies, digital tokens (NFTs), games and apps.

Ethereum — the second most important blockchain after bitcoin — burns through more power each year than New Zealand.

Experts say the changeover, expected to take place between Tuesday and Thursday, would slash energy consumption by more than 99 percent.

Enthusiasts hope a greener ethereum will spur wider adoption, particularly as a way of enabling banks to automate transactions and other processes.

But so far the technology has been used largely to create speculative financial products.

The ING bank said in a recent note that the switchover might help ethereum gain acceptability among policymakers and regulators. 

“This in turn may provide a boost to traditional financial institutions’ willingness to develop ethereum-based services,” the bank said.

– ‘Technological milestone’ –

The switchover, dubbed “the merge”, will change the way transactions are logged.

At the moment, so-called crypto miners use energy-guzzling rigs of computers to solve puzzles that reward them with new coins — a system known as “proof of work”.

The new system will get rid of those miners and their computer stacks overnight.

Instead, “validators” will have to put up 32 ether (worth $55,000) — ethereum’s cryptocurrency — to participate in the new “proof of stake” system where they earn rewards for their work.

But the merge process will be risky.

Blockchain company Consensys called it a “monumental technological milestone” and the biggest update to ethereum since it was launched in 2015.

Critics have questioned whether such an upgrade will pass off without incident, given the sector’s history of instability.

Ethereum went offline in May for three hours when a new NFT project sparked a surge in buyers that overwhelmed the network.

Several exchanges and crypto companies said they would halt transactions during the merge process.

– ‘Decentralised and complicated’ –

The upgrade also faces a possible rebellion from crypto mining companies whose business will be severely damaged.

They can try to hijack the process or create a “fork”, basically a smaller blockchain that would continue with the old mechanism.

And even if the “merge” is successful, ethereum will still face major hurdles before it can be more widely adopted.

For example, it is expensive to use and the update will not reduce fees.

And the wider crypto sector is beset by wildly fluctuating prices, security flaws and an array of scams.

Crypto lawyer Charles Kerrigan from the firm CMS told AFP that ethereum was “decentralised and complicated” and had not yet been tested enough for governments and banks to get onboard.

“There have been questions about how easily it could deal with upgrades of the type that traditional software vendors provide to customers,” he said. 

“A successful merge will answer those questions.”

The Lebanese mountain village of Toula barely had three hours of daily generator-driven electricity but now, solar power helps keep the lights on for 17 hours, an engineer working on the alternative energy project says

Thanks to solar energy, residents of the northern Lebanese village of Toula are finally able to enjoy ice cream again — a treat in a sun-baked country plagued by power cuts.

Lebanon’s economy collapsed in 2019 after decades of corruption and mismanagement, leaving the state unable to provide electricity for more than an hour or two per day.

Last winter, the mountain village of Toula barely had three hours of daily generator-driven electricity.

Solar power now helps keep the lights on for 17 hours, an engineer working on the alternative energy project said.

“For two years the kids have been asking for ice cream, now it’s finally time,” said Toula mini-market owner Jacqueline Younes, beaming.

“We are waiting for our first order of ice cream to arrive.”

While many Lebanese rely on costly generators for electricity, a growing number of homes, companies and state institutions are turning to solar — not out of environmental concern, but because it’s their only option.

Solar panels dot rooftops and parking lots, powering entire villages — and even Beirut’s only functioning traffic lights, thanks to a local NGO.

“Solar energy is no longer an alternative, it’s a necessity. If we hadn’t installed panels, the village wouldn’t have any electricity,” said engineer Elie Gereige, standing beside a sea of panels on a hilltop overlooking Toula.

Gereige is part of a team of volunteers who raised more than $100,000 from Toula expatriates to build a solar farm with 185 panels installed on church land.

They worked with the municipality to feed the village generator with solar energy, cutting down on fuel costs while powering the entire community.

– $1.4 million for power –

An hour’s drive south of Toula, a branch of Spinneys supermarket is also installing panels in the parking lot and rooftop to slash its generator bills.

“I think we will save around half of our energy costs in Jbeil due to solar panels,” said Hassan Ezzeldine, chairman of Gray Mackenzie Retail Lebanon, which owns Spinneys.

The company spends between $800,000 and $1.4 million a month on electricity for its chain of supermarkets, he said, to power generators that run on diesel round-the-clock.

“The cost of generators today is dramatic. It’s a disaster.”

His company has considered turning to solar energy for years, but after the crisis “we thought… it’s something we needed to do, and we needed to do it immediately,” he said.

Private individuals are also turning to solar to cut down on generator bills, setting up panels and batteries on balconies and rooftops.

Homemaker Zeina Sayegh installed solar power for around $6,000 for her Beirut apartment last summer, when the state lifted most petrol subsidies.

She was the only one in the building with panels.

This year, nine neighbours have joined her, covering the roof with metal bars connecting dozens of panels.

She has switched completely to solar, limiting power consumption at night. But she has non-stop electricity in the summertime — a rare luxury.

“I’m more comfortable this way. I feel I’m in control of the electricity and not the other way around,” she said.

– Expensive switch –

In a country where poverty is rampant and bank depositors with savings are locked out of their accounts, installing solar power is expensive.

Many Lebanese have resorted to selling a car, jewellery or a plot of land to finance the switch.

Before Lebanon’s economy collapsed, only a few companies offered solar power installation services.

But high demand has opened the door “for anyone to start selling solar systems”, said Antoine Skayem of solar power company Free Energy.

Demand from cash-strapped municipalities has soared, he said.

But they are vulnerable to political meddling and patronage.

King Charles III has been a lifelong environmentalist

Britain’s new King Charles III is a committed environmentalist with a long history of campaigning for better conservation, organic farming and tackling climate change, which is likely to sit well with more eco-conscious younger Britons. 

Interspersed between photos of official meetings and other royal duties, his Instagram account as Prince of Wales typically featured pictures showing him furthering environmental causes in Britain and beyond.

They included planting trees, showing off organic fruit and vegetables from his Clarence House residence and colourful flowers growing in the garden at his beloved Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, western England.

One photo even captured Charles — who has now passed the prince of Wales title to his son and heir William — on a visit to threatened mangrove swamps in St Vincent and Grenadines in the Caribbean.

When Britain hosted the COP26 climate summit in Scotland last year, he gave the opening speech, urging world leaders seated in front of him to redouble their efforts to confront global warming and warning: “Time has quite literally run out.”

Since his first big public speech on the subject in 1970, Charles has “been raising awareness about all aspects of the environment for a very long time,” said Bob Ward, of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

“In many ways he has been ahead of the public awareness and political awareness” on the issue, he told AFP.

– Sustainability –

At Highgrove, Charles has cultivated a garden, which is open to the public, as well as a fully organic farm. 

It initially left some neighbouring farmers sceptical, but has gradually become a successful business and sells its produce under the “Duchy Organic” brand in the high-end supermarket chain Waitrose. 

“His Royal Highness has taken many steps personally to live in a more sustainable way,” his official website for his tenure as prince of Wales said.

It noted about 90 percent of energy for office and domestic use now came from renewable sources, with around half that generated from on-site renewable sources such as solar panels, biomass boilers and heat pumps and the remainder from electricity and gas purchased from renewable sources.

For several years Charles has published his annual carbon footprint — including unofficial travel — which amounted to 445 tonnes in the year to March 2022. 

His car, an Aston Martin owned for over 50 years, has been modified to run on surplus English white wine and whey from the cheese-making process. 

It runs on a mixture of 85 percent bioethanol, and 15 percent unleaded petrol. 

The monarch has been president of the WWF-UK animal charity since 2011, emulating his late father Prince Philip, who performed the same role from 1981 to 1996.

He is also the patron of several other associations, such as “Surfers Against Sewage”, and made numerous speeches warning of the disappearance of biodiversity.

More recently, in April, he wrote an article for Newsweek magazine — and also graced its cover — headlined “our children are judging us”. 

– Sensitive –

His vocal stances on issues including the environment have prompted some criticism that he is departing from constitutional norms which see the royal family remain politically neutral at all times. 

Charles has repeatedly vowed to remain true to constitutional practices, as recently as this week when he ascended to the throne.

But he may not see environmental and conservation causes as overtly political. 

“He would be very sensitive as a head of state,” predicted Ward. 

“He must be very careful about being seen to act in a way that might be seen as putting pressure on the government. But I don’t expect him not to speak at all.”

Ruby Wright, a 42-year-old illustrator who came to Buckingham Palace to pay her respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, said on Friday that she hopes “he sticks to his guns”. 

“I think he needs to be more modest and really push the environmental agenda and make that his legacy,” she told AFP. 

“I know he’s not allowed to be political at all but this isn’t politics. This is the future of humanity.”

Laura Beirne, a 30-year-old fashion designer, agreed. “I think it’s positive he supports the environment. That’s important, I think, for my generation.”

As king, he will have less time for his passions of gardening and farming. He admitted in an interview in 1986 that he talked to plants, attracting some mockery. 

But the baton has already been passed to his son William, who shares his commitment to the environment.

Last year William created the Earthshot prize, which rewards projects that propose solutions to the climate crisis. 

Firefighters were able to beat back a massive wildfire outside Los Angeles after a tropical storm brought rains and cooler temperatures, US authorities said Saturday

California firefighters were able to beat back a massive wildfire outside Los Angeles after a tropical storm brought rains and cooler temperatures, US authorities said on Saturday. 

The Fairview Fire was 40 percent contained as of Saturday evening after forcing evacuation orders and leaving two people dead, fire officials said.

The blaze erupted on Monday at the midpoint of a ferocious heat wave in the southwestern United States, scorching 28,000 acres (11,300 hectares) and destroying more than 20 buildings.

The remnants of storm Kay, which made landfall Thursday in Mexico as a hurricane before rolling north up the Pacific Coast, brought rains that helped calm the fire.

“Fire activity has been greatly reduced due to the moisture from Tropical Storm Kay,” a statement from Cal Fire, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said.

Authorities warned, however, that the rains brought a risk of flash flooding and mudflows in areas where burned-out soil cannot absorb the sudden downpour.

“We could go from a fire suppression event into significant rain, water rescues, mudslides, debris (flows),” Jeff Veik of Cal Fire’s Riverside Unit said Friday.

The western United States is more than two decades into a historic drought that scientists say is being worsened by human-made climate change.

Much of the countryside is parched and overgrown, creating the conditions for hot, fast and destructive wildfires.