NEWS Daily Recap w/Sunny

Being forced into isolation and confinement creates a number of potentially stressful demands. However, we might be able to learn a thing or two about coping with these demands, from people who choose a life in such settings.

Despite the glorified image of being an astronaut, isolation and confinement remains a challenge for the star sailors that live above us. Demands associated with isolation and confinement are known as a red risk for long duration human spaceflight, which means they have the highest “likelihood of occurrence and the severity of their impact on human health, performance in mission, and long term quality of life”.

Astronauts know that by choosing to fly in space, they are going to have to live, work and play under isolated and confined conditions. Clearly, being a well trained astronaut flying in space is different to being thrust into another pandemic related lockdown. Yet instead of trivialising what we are going through, we can look to astronauts’ experiences for tips to improve our own situation. Read More 

*******************************************************************

Rainstorms In France And Spain! Strong Winds Monterrry And More Earth Change Around The World

*******************************************************************

WEF: How To Follow Our Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2021

AUKUS Partnership More A 'Symbolic Deal' Than A 'Capability Deal'

The Australian's Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan says he thinks the AUKUS partnership announced on Thursday is more of a “symbolic deal” than a “capability deal”. “The symbolism though, is very, very powerful,” Mr Sheridan told Sky News host Peta Credlin. “The fact that the US President and British Prime Minister stood shoulder to shoulder with the Australian Prime Minister in this time of maximum pressure from China ... is a deep commitment to us, a deep commitment to our region. “Now on the submarines...we are a terrific nation for submarine announcements, we’re very bad at actually delivering submarines. “So, I’m all pro-nuclear subs, that’s great, but in fact, I will be in my mid-80s and we’ll all either be subject to Beijing or Beijing will be tremendously reformed by the time the first of these subs come into service.”

*******************************************************************

World-First Resurfacing Project Mixes Graphene Into Freshly Laid UK Road

One of the many areas graphene promises to have transformative effects is in fortifying construction materials like concrete and asphalt. A first-of-a-kind trial now underway seeks to apply the wonder material's impressive attributes to one of the UK's major thoroughfares, by deploying it in a road resurfacing project along a stretch of the A1.

Made up of a single sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern, graphene offers incredible strength and flexibility, and by incorporating it into materials like asphalt scientists hope to develop road surfaces that last far longer, and therefore cost less to maintain.

Back in 2017 we looked at an interesting take on this from a pair of Italian companies that developed an asphalt material doped with a graphene additive to make it less likely to soften in the heat and crack in the cold under high loads. This product, known as Gipave, also incorporates plastic pellets and was recently rolled out along stretches of UK roads as part of trials to see how it can extend the lifespan of the surface. Read More 

*******************************************************************

Earthquake Swarm Triggers Volcano Alert On Spain's La Palma

MADRID (Reuters) – Authorities on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma have warned that a sudden increase in seismic activity could herald a volcanic eruption in the coming days or weeks.

Spain’s National Geographic Institute has detected 4,222 tremors in a so-called “earthquake swarm” in the Cumbre Vieja national park, around the Teneguia volcano in the far south of the island.

As the quakes intensified and moved closer to the surface, the Canary Island’s regional government on Tuesday put the island on a yellow alert for an eruption, the second of a four-level alert system.

It said on Thursday there was no clear evidence for an immediate eruption, though warned the situation could evolve rapidly. “More intense earthquakes are expected in the coming days,” it said in a statement.

More than 11 million cubic metres (388 million cubic feet)of magma have seeped into Cumbre Vieja in recent days, swelling the peak by around 6 centimetres, the Volcanic Institute of the Canaries said on Thursday. Read More 

*******************************************************************

Lockdown Will Be Lifted Once 'Sustainable Sectoral Regulatory Measures' Are In Place - Ramaphosa

South Africa's lockdown will be lifted once "sustainable sectoral regulatory measures for Covid-19 response are in place", said President Cyril Ramaphosa in a late response to a parliamentary question.

But he did not say what these measures would be or when it could be expected to be implemented.

DA leader John Steenhuisen asked Ramaphosa, in a written parliamentary question, whether specific conditions had to be satisfied before the national state of disaster was lifted.

Ramaphosa responded: 

"The current measures contained in the regulations for dealing with the disaster in the context of the risk adjusted strategy remain necessary to limit the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Once sustainable sectoral regulatory measures for Covid-19 response are in place or the need to invoke current extraordinary measures provided for under the state of disaster ceases, all the regulations and directions issued under the national state of disaster will cease to exist.

"Accordingly, ongoing assessments by the National Coronavirus Command Council and Cabinet will determine the satisfaction of conditions for terminating or allowing the state of disaster to lapse." Read More