The Wolf Amendment was enacted in 2011 and prevents direct U.S.-Chinese bilateral cooperation except in cases where the FBI can certify that there is no national security risk to sharing information with the Chinese side in the course of work.

Still, China could cooperate with scientists of other countries. It worked with the European Space Agency, France, Italy, and Pakistan in the Chang'e 6 mission. Meanwhile, little information about the global first achieved Tuesday was announced. Chinese officials DECLINED TO REVEAL how many samples they actually gathered or any preliminary findings.

China worked with the European Space Agency, France, Italy, and Pakistan on a mission that retrieved the first-ever samples from the far side of the moon this week. NASA wasn't invited to take part in the moon probe, agency spokesperson FAITH McKIE told [Politico] NatSec Daily.

NASA also didn't get "any direct invitation" to study China's moon rocks, McKie said, after China welcomed all scientists from around the world to apply to study them. IT'S UNCLEAR  if China specifically invited any countries, but those who took part in the probe will likely study the rocks—which could help countries better understand the lunar surface that Washington and Beijing have been trying to develop.

Mao Ning: The Chinese government is open to having space exchanges and cooperation with the US....

US' weakening engineering capability root cause for stagnation: experts

The four volunteer crew members spent more than 12 months inside NASA's first simulated Mars environment at Johnson Space Center in Houston, coming out of the artificial alien enviroment Saturday around 5 p.m.

Kelly Haston, Anca Selariu, Ross Brockwell, and Nathan Jones entered the 3D-printed habitat on June 25, 2023, as the maiden crew of the space agency's Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog [CHAPEA] project.

The first CHAPEA crew focused on establishing possible conditions for future Mars operations through simulated spacewalks, dubbed "Marswalks," as well as growing and harvesting vegetables to supplement their provisions and maintaining the habitat and their equipment. They also worked through challenges a real Mars crew would be expected to experience including limited resources, isolation, and delays in communication of up to 22 minutes [!] with their home planet on the other side of the habitat's walls, NASA said.

Should the launch be validated as a success, then a maiden commercial mission carrying a French spy satellite is set for December.

"Although the stage survived and still deployed the satellites, it did not successfully circularize [sic] its orbit, but it did passivate [sic] itself as normally performed at the end of each mission," the company added. "This left the satellites in an eccentric orbit with a very low perigee of 135 km, which is less than half the expected perigee altitude."

"At this level of drag, our maximum available thrust is unlikely to be enough to successfully raise the satellites," SpaceX representatives wrote. "As such, the satellites will re-enter Earth's atmosphere and fully demise [sic]."

The APStar-6E is operated by Hong Kong-based APT Mobile Satcom Limited and managed by APT Satellite Company Limited. The APStar-6E focuses on the Southeast Asian market, providing high-capacity, cost-effective broadband communication services to the region.

The APStar-6E communication satellite and its independent propulsion module were successfully launched by a Long March-2C carrier rocket at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan Province on January 13, 2023. After separating from the propulsion module on January 23 of the same year, the satellite used its onboard Hall/Ion dual electric propulsion systems to autonomously change orbits, reaching geosynchronous orbit (GEO) and positioning at its test location on June 10, 2024.

Now, as NASA and other space agencies plan for a more established human presence on the moon through the Artemis program, it turns out that the Sea of Tranquility may have an unexplored treasure worth revisiting.
[...]
The long, wide cave, found by reviewing archival NASA data, could be used to protect astronauts from harsh radiation and extreme temperature swings as well as provide a new avenue to study lunar rocks.

The Book of Overthrowing Apophis (the other Middle Kingdom)

[...]
Separately, the European Space Agency [ESA] plans to send a spacecraft named Ramses [16.07.24] to accompany the asteroid Apophis [10.05.24] as it makes a safe, close approach of Earth—10 times nearer than the moon—in April 2029. The spacecraft could capture quakes and landslides on the space rock as it is affected by Earth's gravity.

usnews ChatGPT | NASA Says No Return Date Yet for Astronauts and Troubled Boeing Capsule at Space Station, 25 July trolling

Already more than a month late getting back, two NASA astronauts will remain at the International Space Station until engineers finish working on problems plaguing their Boeing capsule, officials said Thursday....

Russia and China will conduct five joint expeditions to create an International Scientific Lunar Station (MNLS), according to a published intergovernmental agreement.

Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the People's Republic of China on Cooperation in the Creation of an International Scientific Lunar Station, 25 Nov 2022
(ratified by Federal Law No. 128-FZ of June 12, 2024, entered into force on July 18, 2024)

The large-scale project is planned to be implemented in three stages from 2031 to 2035.
[...]
The main participants of the MNLS are Roscosmos and the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA), but the project is open to international partners, the number of which has already reached about 25. In particular, Azerbaijan, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Pakistan, South Africa, Serbia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Thailand, Serbia and Kazakhstan will contribute, as well as the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), the private Swiss company Nano-SPACE, and the Hungarian Solar Physics Foundation, which signed an agreement with China.

On 2 July, Luxcara, a German renewables developer based in Hamburg, announced it had struck a deal—known as a "preferred supplier arrangement"—with Chinese powerhouse Mingyang for 16 offshore wind turbines to be built in the North Sea by 2028.

"By deciding for the world's most powerful offshore wind turbine, we will be able to expedite Germany's energy transition, while fostering much-needed competition in the industry," said Holger Matthiesen, who manages the Waterkant project that won a bid to build turbines last year.
[...]
Luxcara's announcement comes three months after lawmakers approved into EU law the Net-Zero Industrial Act, which aims to defend the EU's share in key clean-tech industries like wind and solar, came into force.

"With this project, China gets access to critical infrastructure in Germany," said a spokesperson of WindEurope, the industry's lobby group in Brussels, adding that the "European supply chain would have been ready to deliver the wind turbines for this project."

reuters | EU report details widespread Chinese interference in [China's] economy, 3 July

In the run up to announcing provisional tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, the European Commission in April released a 712-page report on the many layers of subsidies it argues the Chinese government provides to domestic firms. The report is designed for anti-dumping cases, but trade experts see it as a supporting document for its anti-subsidy investigation into EVs and as a signal to both China and reluctant European Union member states that it means business.

In its monthly update on energy trends, Statistics Canada reported this week that this year, for the first time ever, Canada has become a net importer of electricity.

Hydroelectricity shortfall drives electricity trade deficit in April
Reduced electricity generation has resulted in lower export levels as well as an increased reliance on imports. Imports of electricity from the United States climbed 79.0% year over year to 2.6 million MWh in April, while exports to the United States fell 64.4% to 1.7 million MWh. Canada is generally a net electricity exporter, but April marked the third consecutive month that imports have exceeded exports. In April, exports fell to the lowest level recorded since this series was redesigned in 2016.

The ["]switchover["] in our electricity trade balance reveals the shortcomings of an energy strategy that now emphasizes de-carbonization over energy security, leaving customers vulnerable to supply shortfalls and higher prices.

financialpost | Alberta updates electricity rules to help lower utility bills (11.03.24): "Economic withholding" is when power producers deliberately hold back [embargo?] some of their supply, offering it at a higher price. The practice is not illegal, but has been highly criticized recently as one of the factors contributing to soaring consumer power bills in the province, as well as a growing number of occurrences where power prices in the province have been higher during off-peak periods than during periods of peak demand.

[...]
Canada's plan to lower greenhouse gas emissions largely depends on hydro power supplying most of our rapidly growing energy needs. We remain ambivalent about nuclear power, with Ontario and New Brunswick the only two provinces producing it after the Parti Québécois government closed Quebec's only nuclear plant in 2012.

"It is important that these cars are energy-saving," notes Lvivelectrotrans (LET), which operates Lviv's trams and trolleybuses. "In particular, they consume 2-2.5 times less electricity than existing trams. This will allow you to significantly save on electricity bills."

strana | Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Daniil Hetmantsev urged not to dramatize the heat

"At the risk of shocking the generations who were born and raised with air conditioners, let me remind you that 40 thousand years before they were born, humanity coped with the 'unbearable' heat using a bucket and a pond or well, which not only help to overcome any heat, but also make it fun. Call it a life hack and don't make a tragedy where it definitely doesn't exist," the MP wrote.

src: Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre

F24 | Roughly 9,000 evacuated in northeast Canada due to raging wildfires, 13 July

"We are seeing extreme fire behaviour out there. The fire is moving about 50 meters per minute," provincial fire duty officer Jeff Motty said.
[...]
Federal authorities said Friday that the weather had been favourable for limiting fires since the start of summer, but that the country was entering the peak wildfire season. Last year, the country recorded the worst fire season in its history.

The Mina fire first sparked Monday and has since burned almost 100 acres but was 85% contained by Saturday morning, according to Cal Fire.
[...]
So far, the 2024 wildfire season has resulted in more than 3,600 blazes that have burned more than 228,000 acres, scorching a far greater swath of land than the average for this point in the year. Fires have destroyed or damaged at least 148 structures, officials said. Several continued to burn Saturday.

The Freeman Fire, formerly known as the Wash Fire, grew overnight and burned nearly 2,000 acres north of Tucson, prompting evacuations on Friday. The lightning-caused fire near Oracle spread as windy conditions pushed the fire in all directions and forced the evacuation of Willow Spring Ranch, the Department of Forestry and Fire Management [dffm.az.gov] said.
[...]
Tucson fire crews battled the fire since it started around 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Containment remained at 0% and officials said the blaze burned more than 1,750 acres.

Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for president, has proposed a "Green New Deal" that would create 20 million living wage jobs, wants to drive big money out of politics, and wants the U.S. to immediately stop sending weapons to the Middle East....

5 years ago
npr | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Releases Green New Deal Outline (07.02.19)

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., think they have a start to a solution. Thursday they are introducing a framework defining what they call a "Green New Deal"—what they foresee as a massive policy package that would remake the U.S. economy and, they hope, eliminate all U.S. carbon emissions....

latimes | Kamala Harris releases $10-trillion plan to fight climate change (04.09.19)
The California senator's plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2045, five years faster than the target of the Green New Deal framework championed by progressive Democrats. "Climate change is an existential threat to our species, and the United States must lead the world with bold action to safeguard our future and protect our planet," Harris said. "The Trump administration is pushing science fiction, not science fact, putting our health and economy at risk."

whitehouse | Fact Sheet: Vice President Harris Announces Actions to Accelerate Clean Transit Buses, School Buses, and Trucks (07.03.22)
Heavy-duty vehicles, like buses and trucks, make up nearly one-quarter of all U.S. transportation greenhouse gas emissions, and heavy-duty vehicles are the largest contributor of nitrogen oxides (NOx)—air pollution that is known to cause asthma, heart and lung disease, and other serious respiratory issues. Neighborhoods near highways, ports, and other congested areas are especially impacted by health problems and premature deaths associated with dirty diesel exhaust. These burdens disproportionately impact people of color and low-income households.

euractiv | Kamala Harris: Climate justice warrior (25.07.24)
Climate issues have regained prominence under the Biden administration. See for example the country's return to the Paris Agreement, or the the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act [TAX CREDITS]. Harris has long been a voice who championed the environment during her years as a public prosecutor, US senator, and most recently vice president.

oh, well, maybe 5 more years.

The speech, delivered as part of an event by the Inter-American Development Bank [IDB], reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the IDB's Amazonia Forever program on its first anniversary, a project intended to promote sustainable development in the Amazon region and defend against deforestation.

Remarks by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen at the Goeldi Museum in Belém, Brazil
Inflation Reduction Act "Net-Zero Principles for Financing and Investment to provide guidance to U.S. financial institutions pursuing net-zero commitments"
I. Strengthening Relationships with our Allies and Partners
II. Making the International Financial Architecture Work Better for Countries
III. Harnessing the Power of Markets
"Ultimately, through strengthening relationships, making the international financial architecture work better for countries, and harnessing the power of markets, we're making progress toward tackling climate change, the loss of nature and biodiversity, and related challenges"

Yellen urged coordination between the U.S. and countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador to achieve global climate and economic goals—working within and across countries to catalyze investment in agriculture and infrastructure projects.

"Globally, nature crimes are estimated to generate proceeds in the hundreds of billions of dollars annually and often entail misusing and abusing the U.S. financial system. Given the importance of the U.S. dollar and financial system to international trade and finance, nature crimes present a unique money-laundering threat with respect to proceeds transiting the U.S. financial system."

Earlier Saturday, at a roundtable with IDB President Ilan Goldfajn and finance ministers in Belém, the Treasury secretary unveiled the Amazon Region Initiative Against Illicit Finance [17.07.24], a program that aims to obstruct the financing of so-called nature crimes, such as illegal logging and mining that threaten biodiversity in the region.

reference
treasury.gov, 2024 National Money Laundering Risk Assessment (NMLR), Feb 2024, 108 pp
"The establishment of a beneficial ownership information registry housed at Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on January 1, 2024 will fundamentally enhance corporate transparency and address the United States' most significant and longstanding gap in its AML/CFT [Anti-Money Laundering / Countering the Financing of Terrorism] regime."

treasury.gov, 2024 National Strategy for Combating Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing, pdf
"Illicit finance threatens U.S. national security, prosperity, and the viability of democracy. Protecting these tenets of American life requires monitoring and evaluating the evolving threats and vulnerabilities to the U.S. financial system."

thefactcoalition, Dirty Money and the Destruction of the of the Amazon, Uncovering the U.S. Role in Illicit FInance and Environmental Crimes in Peru and Columbia (Oct 2023)