News | RG21 - Part 3

Is Vertical Farming the Future of Our Food Supply?

by David Parmer / Tokyo

These days the mainstream media seems to have a few stories: the COVID-19 pandemic and US President Donald Trump, and Hong Kong. While these are important matters that concern us all, many more things are going on in our world that do not receive the attention that they might. These are often stories related to the sciences, and except for Information Technology, stories of a scientific nature are somewhat neglected.

One such neglected story is the human outreach to the edges of space. Humans are returning to our moon, and from there to Mars. Several Mars missions are already on the way. Another story worth mentioning which gets scant mainstream media attention is vertical farming.

And what exactly is vertical farming? The easiest answer is plants being grown in stacked trays, meters, or stories high. We have all probably seen a photo of such indoor farming, but maybe couldn’t quite understand what is going on. What is going on is very exciting indeed.

Using Controlled Environmental Agriculture (CEA) scientists and entrepreneurs are using indoor farming techniques to grow crops all year long indoors. Techniques used include:

Hydroponics-the growing of plants in nutrient-rich solutions
Aquaponics-combning aquaculture or fish farming with hydroponics in a mutually-supporting system
Aeroponics-growing crops in an air or mist medium

The object of vertical farming is to aim for maximum crop output using limited space. Space used for vertical farming is also often under-utilized or non-utilized locations such as underground tunnels, warehouses, shipping containers etc. Space saving and high crop yields are not the only benefits of vertical farming. Vertical farms are not subject to weather fluctuations and are less disruptive to native habitat. Crops can also be grown without pesticides offering the benefit of both organic produces and the lack of chemical residue.

The downside of organic farming at present is a very high initial cost of setting up, particularly the cost of urban real estate. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic and its emphasis on teleworking, urban renters may have excess space on their hands that makes urban farming more affordable. Also there is, as a rule, an emphasis on using unused space for vertical farming, and this too might reduce setup costs.

The other big drawback to vertical farming at present is the constant need for energy. How this will be addressed in the future seems to be the key to the feasibility of the spread of vertical farming and its sustainability.

New technologies and new trends are taking place everywhere around the world and around the clock. It is up to us to keep our eyes and ears open and look and listen beyond what the mainstream media has to offer us.

Photo: Vertical Farm via Wiki

China-Iran Agreement: A Work in Progress.

by David Parmer / Tokyo

On the surface the agreement for a strategic partnership between the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Iran makes sense. Both parties stand to gain from improving economic and political relations. Iran now bears the weight of crippling US sanctions. An economy that was struggling to recover from long-term sanctions looked like it was making progress after the signing of the 2015 “Iran Nuclear Deal” or JCPOA. The unilateral US withdrawal from the deal despite verification of Iran’s compliance and re-imposition of sanctions put Iran in a very precarious position. Add to this the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, and things were looking grim.

In 2016 China’s President Xi Jinping made a state visit to Iran, and the idea of forming a long-term partnership was floated. In 2019 the agreement took shape in the form of the Chinese offer of $400 billion investment into Iran over a 25-year period.

Cooperation between the two countries would focus on:

Executive Cooperation
Human and cultural exchange
Judiciary Security and defense
Regional and international cooperation
Political matters

Chinese investment would focus on the banking and telecom sectors as well as transportation infrastructure such as ports and airports. There was also talk of a Chinese-built high-speed rail link between Tehran and Mashhad in the east. Recently a leaked copy of the draft agreement surfaced. China was strictly “no comment” on this, but the Iranians seemed optimistic.

Domestically, there are reservations if not opposition to the agreement with the Chinese. First, it seems that Iran will have to supply China with heavily discounted oil and gas for 25 years. Secondly, there is concern that Iran will be ceding its sovereignty to the Chinese. Rumors suggested turning over an Iranian island to the Chinese as well as admitting to the stationing of Chinese armed forces in the Islamic Republic. Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif that the details of the agreement would become public once finalized.

Closer ties with China could also include closer tri-lateral ties with Syria. Syria’s leader, Bashar al-Assad, has his own “Belt and Road” vision which is called the “Four Seas Strategy” and might include Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. (The fours seas being the Mediterranean Sea, Caspian Sea, Black Sea and Persian Gulf.)

Just the China-Iran agreement alone could be seen as tipping the balance of power in the Persian Gulf and Middle East. With the addition of a local trading bloc with no long-term loyalty to the US or its policies, the balance would surely shift.

Critics of the proposed agreement argue that China is in no position to further worsen relations with the US by incurring more sanctions. And yet, maybe China has come to the point where it will do what it feels necessary, and its companies will be sanctioned in the US and worldwide. Maybe China senses weakness in the US position worldwide, and now is the time to move forward. Iran badly needs investment to kick-start its sanctions-damaged economy. A deal with the Chinese might create the reality and perception of better times ahead.

Politically, both China and Iran are “planting the flag” and serving notice to the US that there is a new game afoot. What action or actions the US will take remains to be seen. An America whose president has picked fights with old friends and allies may find it very hard to form any kind of coalition to push back on China and Iran. “America First” can also be seen as “America Alone” when push comes to shove.

(Compiled from Web sources.)

Photo: Embassy of China, USA

Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau–Still On The Job.

It’s been almost 5 years since Justin Trudeau took office as the second-youngest prime minister of Canada. It has not been a particularly smooth ride, but Mr.Trudeau has endured, and some might say triumphed.

Mr. Trudeau’s troubles have come in the area of domestic politics and international relations. In the era of “gotcha” politics Mr. Trudeau has made a couple of slips which his opponents have capitalized on. He has had to apologize for appearing at a party dressed in “blackface” in his younger days, and recently he has been involved in an incident with the WE Charity that his family is involved in and which got government support, suggesting a conflict of interest.

Voters seem to have accepted his apologies and explanations, however the 2019 election was close and he was forced to form a minority government, suggesting his popularity with the voters has slipped a bit over the firs 4 years.

Internationally, Mr. Trudeau has to deal with his neighbor to the south in the form of US President Donald Trump. Trump and Trudeau have an on-again, off-again relationship. In the 2019 London Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Trump pushed Trudeau about Canada’s NATO spending which is still under 2% GDP. Trump presses everyone’s button about that, so it was not unusual, and Mr. Trudeau was reported to have said that Canada had, in fact, increased its defense spending. Later Mr. Trudeau was overheard joking with other leaders to which Mr. Trump took offense and referred to him as “two faced.” In July 2020 there was a formal signing of the new American trade agreement, USMCA, in the US. The Mexican president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, was able to attend, but Mr. Trudeau had other engagements and was not able to attend.

In early August 2020, President Trump announced the redisposition of tariffs on Canadian aluminum citing national security concerns. Canada quickly hit back with its own tariffs on US products. One might wonder why start a trade war with an ally and neighbor, but Mr. Trudeau and the rest of the world know that Mr. Trump is set to run in a very tight bid for reelection, and such protectionist measures play very well to his 30% hard-core “America first” base.

Good news for Mr. Trudeau is the approval from his countrymen that he has gotten for handling Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada’s numbers are, relatively speaking, good and Mr. Trudeau and his government has gotten a lot of credit for this. Some of the shine for this achievement seems to have worn off temporarily over the We Charity incident.

Well, there are no term limits for Canada’s Prime Minister, so it is hard to say how long Mr. Trudeau will hold on to his job. But if conditions improve worldwide with the controlling of COVID-19, and a change of government brings a more globally-minded US government as his nearest neighbor, then who knows how long we will be seeing the face of Canada being the face of Justin Trudeau? It is hard to tell, but if he has led his country in the tough times, then maybe he and his party will be chosen to lead in more congenial times.

Photo: via wikipedia

Say Goodbye To Your Cab Driver–RoboTaxi is Just About Here.

by David Parmer / Tokyo

Pretty soon chatting with a friendly and knowledgeable taxi driver may be a thing of the past. No, he’s not gone yet, but it is only a matter of time before you may see him in cook’s whites stir frying your favorite dish at a local restaurant. This will be thanks to the rise of the robotaxi or autonomous vehicle–a vehicle that has no need for a human driver. And they are coming. No, that’s not quite true: they are here already.

Many of us can remember the introduction of the first mobile telephones. Some people had them and they were a novelty. Then more and more people got them, and then, like magic, they were everywhere.

This same pattern is now being played out with the driverless vehicles or robotaxi. And while there are many self-driving car companies in the US, China is really the epicenter of the action and excitement in the application of this new technology. Several companies are partnering to move this technology forward and see its seamless introduction into society. These include:

WeRide– Now operating Guangzhou next to Hong Kong, the company is operating its driverless vehicles with a safety driver. They are using Alibaba’s Autonavi application. We Ride has gotten an $18million investment from Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi in 2018. In July 2020 the company got the first license for driverless vehicles in China.
AutoX–Partnering with Alibaba and Fiat-Chrysler, AutoX is Fiat Chrysler’s “in” to the Chinese market. In spring 2020 a test of AutoX vehicles was run in Shanghai’s Jading area with the target of introducing an eventual 100 test vehicles. Customers can book a ride on AutoX by using the AutoNavi application from Alibaba.
Apollo Robotaxi–Partnered with China’s search giant, Baidu, Apollo started triala in Changsha, Hunan Province in April 2020 using its own DUTAXI app. Besides Baidu, partners include SIAC Motors, Geely, Alibaba and Tencent.
DiDi Chuxing–China’s major ride-hailing company has started testing in Shanghai’s Jading region with Level 4 cars with safety drivers as required by Chinese law. Their target is 1 million self-driving vehicles by 2030.

Pony.ai–Founded in 2016 in California, Pony.ai started China testing of its vehicles in 2018 in Guangzhou. In 2019 they partnered with Hyundai and GAC. They also received a whopping $400 million investment from Japan’s Toyota Motors.

In the not-too-distant future China may lead the world in the area of autonomous vehicles. Certainly it is off to a good start. When driverless vehicles have moved to the total autonomy of Level 5, (no safety driver), then the next logical step will be driverless private vehicles for those who can afford them.

So the next time you take a taxi, enjoy your conversation with the driver–there is a good chance you will not be seeing him again in the near future.

Photo: International Labor Organization via flickr

How Will A Democratic Win in November 2020 Affect US-China Relations?

by David Parmer / Tokyo

US-China relations aren’t at their lowest ever–before President Richard Nixon’s visit to China in 1972, the US and the PRC were not even talking to each other. No, things are not that bad, but in many ways they are still pretty bad.

The current US-China tensions are fueled by an ongoing trade war between the two superpowers mostly based on the Trump administration’s underlying assertion that the US has been taken advantage of by China over the decades and that it is now time to the US to stop being victimized by China. The second point of contention is that China is a rising superpower and now the world’s number two economy and that the US must compete with China.

This translates into seeing China as America’s most dangerous potential adversary and building alliances to handle this perceived threat. And of course, there is the question of Taiwan. The US continues to sell weapons and to upgrade weapons systems for Taiwan. China objects to this, but the US ignores those objections.

What’s more, in 2018 the Trump administration did a $225 million upgrade of its Taiwan mission facilities. On top of this, in 2018 the US Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act which encouraged high-level officials from both the US and Taiwan to make reciprocal visits. As noted earlier, this could be construed by the PRC as the US walking back recognition of the PRC and the One-China Policy and upgrading of the status of Taiwan.

So US-China relations are not at their worst, but they are certainly not very good. Now there is a good chance that in the 2020 election Donald Trump will not get a second term and that former Vice-President Joe Biden will be elected to replace Donald Trump as president. All indications are that it will be a contentious, dirty, hard fought election with allegations of foreign interference, vote tampering and vote suppression. Past performance indicates that Donald Trump will not be a graceful loser.

So with a Democratic president in the White House in the form of former Vice President Joe Biden, what could we expect with regard to US-China relations?

Indo-Pacific Strategy–Don’t look for much, if any, change here. This area is seen as of significant importance to America’s global power and reach, and is seen as a potent force to counter Chinese influence in the region.

South China Sea–Same again; not much, if any, change. America’s presence in this area will not diminish. It is seen as much too important to the overall US strategy to give any leeway on this issue.

Taiwan–The long-standing US commitment to Taiwan, especially from the US congress is not likely to change. What might change, however, is the US government’s emphasis on Taiwan. The support will be there, but actions by a Biden administration would be less confrontational than those of the Trump administration. US support goes all the way back to its support of Chiang Kai Shek and the Republic of China after WWII. So a less provocative stance by the US might be on the cards, but fundamentally no real change in policy except the avoidance of overtly-provocative actions that the PRC could not ignore like port calls by US warships for example.

Hong Kong–Not much change here either. Democrats are basically liberals, and what they consider human rights will be a priority for them. If US prestige is restored after the Trump debacle presidency, then “human rights” as preached by the US might again have some meaning around the world. Moral support for Hong Kong democracy will continue.

Xinjiang–In the same manner as with Hong Kong, American Democrats will continue to push for human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet.

Trade–This is a real problem for the US, and the Biden administration will have to do some serious “fence mending” with China (and many others). Tough negotiations are part of the game, but politically-motivated trade policies only hurt the perpetrator. One great concern is whether Chinese buyers will trust American suppliers again after relations have been fractured during the Trump Administration’s trade war with China. American products might be attractive in terms of quality and price, but buyers will have to consider whether the flow of commodities will be turned on and turned off like a faucet at a political whim in the future.

Overall: If there is a Biden administration in power, China can expect a return to normalcy in the US, i.e. a government run by professionals and not by ideology. There will be an end to the demonization of China and an end to the racist attitudes towards China, the PRC, and the Chinese people.

We can assume that the Democrats will fill the vacant jobs in the US government at all levels from ambassadors to department heads and again attract dedicated professionals to government service. Finally, a Biden administration might restore some order to the chaos caused by Donald Trump personally and by his ideologue cronies.

Will things return to normal? Will Joe Biden become the next president? It would be good for US-China relations, and probably good for the world. However, if we learn anything from China’s epic novel by Lo Kuan-chung, The Romance of The Three Kingdoms, it is just this: the good guys do not always win.

Photo:Marco Verch via flickr

Women in Tech Global Summit, Paris 5-6 October 2020.

Women in Tech will hold their Global Summit on October 5-6 in Paris. The event, sponsored by the French Ministry of Labor will deal with the challenges facing women today in the technology field. More than 300 participants from 40 countries will hear reports of success in the four target areas put forward by the organization:

Education
Entrepreneurialism
Social Inclusion
Science and Innovation

Speakers will include Dr. Christyl Johnson, Deputy Director for Technology and Research Investments, NASA, Najat Vallaud Belkacem former French Education Minister and publisher of “Raison de Plus” H.E. Florence Mangin French Ambassador to Portugal and Professor Carlos Moreno of the Sorbonne Business School.

Women in Tech is an international organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology and helping women enter and thrive in the field of technology. Delegations to the conference will be made up of people from academia, industry, government, and NPOs. The venue for the Global Summit is 3 Mazarine, Paris 6 in downtown Paris.

Photo: Women in Tech website.

Women in Tech Global Summit Website

For China, Tokyo 2020 is Just The Start of A Very Busy Two Years.

by David Parmer / Tokyo

There are a lot of expressions to explain the situation surrounding the Tokyo Olympics (Rescheduled) 2020. For example “up in the air” “undecided” “unclear” “murky” “fuzzy” “hazy” etc.

From all the news that is available from Japan and the IOC it seems that the rescheduling of the 2020 Olympics will be decided in the spring of 2021. And it seems clear that summer 2021 is “it” i.e. it is either next summer or not at all.

The other news for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 (Rescheduled) is that even if it is held, it will be scaled down in terms of fewer spectators at events and scaled-down opening and closing ceremonies. All well and good, we will just have to wait and see. But for China, there is a problem caused by this rescheduling, and it has to do with events that China will host post-Tokyo 20230.

China has a “full plate” of hosting major international sporting events in the 2021-2022 timeframe. All of these events, to one extent or another, will be affected by the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Summer games, and the threat of COVID-19 contamination.

The events in question are:

China 14th National Games, (Xian Xiaanxi). China’s internal Olympics are directly affected by the dates of the Tokyo games. While the schedule cannot be confirmed, the dates of August 28-September 9, 2021 have been mentioned. This timeframe would put a strain on China’s athletes who would have to compete in two major international sporting events only 10 days apart.

World Summer University Games in (Chendu, Sichuan). As many as 10,000 student athletes would compete in the games which will be held August 18-29 2021. Again, this event like the China National Games is, just 10 days after the closing of the Tokyo Olympics. Organizers are moving forward with preparations despite the uncertainty surrounding both Tokyo and the threat of continued COVID-19.

Beijing winter Olympics (Beijing and Vicinity). The winter games are a bit farther down the timeline, scheduled to be held from February 4-20, 2022. China has a lot to do to get ready to host the winter games. Also, by this time, a model for the Olympics in the time of COVID-19 should have been established at the Tokyo games. So China and the International Olympic Committee will have a “template” to work from for the winter games.

19th Asian Games 2022 (Hangzhou, Zhejiang). To be held from September 10-25, 2022. Athletes from around Asia will be competing in 37 sports in venues in one of China’s most beautiful cities. The slogan for the 19th Asian Games is “Heart to Heart,@Future” which is a tip of a hat to the digital age being able to connect people.

For the next two years China will be planning and coordinating four major sporting events with thousands of athletes and their teams and many tens of thousands of visitors from around the world. What China learns not only from managing such events, but also in holding mega-events in the post-pandemic world will be lessons well worth learning and well worth sharing.

Photo: Du Kong, via flickr

Person of Interest: Kier Starmer, UK Labour.

On April 4, 2020 Kier Starmer was elected head of Britain’s Labour party and Leader of the Opposition. Starmer pulled off a convincing win by capturing 56.2% of the vote in the Labour party to succeed the increasingly unpopular Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn had to take responsibility for Labour’s dismal 2019 election showing and for Labour being branded anti-Semitic as a result of Corbyn’s strong support of the Palestinian cause.

After graduating Oxford, Kier Starmer started a distinguished legal career by becoming a Middle Temple Barrister in 1987. He became known as a defense lawyer specializing in human rights. In 2002 at the age of 39 he was appointed Queen’s Counsel. In 2004 he was knighted by the queen, “for services to law and criminal justice” but prefers not be known as “Sir Kier.”

Starmer worked as Human Right Advisor for the Northern Ireland Policing Board and sat on the Death Penalty Advisory Panel. In 2008 he became Head of the Crown Prosecution Service.

In May 2015 Kier Starmer became MP for Holborn and St.Pancras and joined the House of Commons. He quickly moved to the front and became Brexit shadow minister. After Corbyn’s 2019 election debacle he decided to stand for election as head of the party. He vowed to uproot Labour’s alleged anti-Semitic stance. His style in Parliament is described as low-key and businesslike; a stark contrast to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s more flamboyant manner.

So what is ahead for Kier Starmer and Labour? He will have to deal with a post Corona virus Britain and a post Brexit Britain, no small task. More importantly, the Conservative party has a robust 80 seat majority making getting a Labour agenda moved down the field a daunting task. Labour has been out in the cold since the time of Tony Blair in 2005. Can Labour reform itself and make a party and a platform that is attractive to the British public? Time will tell, but clearly Kier Starmer has his work cut out for him.

Photo: Chris McAndrew via Wiki

Asian Waters–China’s Remote And Vital Tarim River.

Water in the Wuxing or Five Element theory of traditional Chinese medicine and is associated with winter, stillness and storage and the direction north. Life cannot easily exist without the other four elements, earth, wood, fire and metal, but for humans, water is life.

This is true all over our planet, in every region and clime, but especially in the arid regions of the world such as China’s Xinjiang. The largest desert in the PRC, the Taklimakan Samo, is just such an arid region. Life on the edge of this vast empty space is made possible by the waters of the Tarim River, China’s longest inland river. What life there is between the Tienshan Mountains and the desert is made possible by the Tarim River. The Tarim was once fed by countless sources, but is now gets its water from the Kotan, Yarkand, and Aksu Rivers.

The Tarim flows 1300km across Xinjing’s Uyghur Autonomous Region to LakeTaitema. The river does not just make human life possible in the region, but it also is the prime mover for agriculture. And in Xinjiang, agriculture means cotton. This is one of the world’s largest cotton production regions, and while cotton has contributed to the eoconomy of the region, it has also come at a cost.

Agriculture accounts for 95% of the Tarim River’s water use, and agriculture, together with natural evaporation due to the arid climate and added population density, has put the river under stress. Over the last decade measures have been taken to alleviate this stress and to improve the river’s ability to provide for life and for agriculture.

During this decade there have been two World Bank river-related projects completed. The Chinese government itself has also taken effective measures to increase the efficiency of water use and implement water saving measures. The government has both encouraged private investment and established local-level water management authorities.

Protecting and managing the Tarim River is vital to the livelihood and well being of the people of the region and to the ecosystem itself. Its continuance will mean a bright future for all touched by this precious source of life in the desert.

Map of Tarim Basin Wikipedia

Excellent article on Tarim River by Feng Hu, China Water Risk

Why Are The French in Mali?

by David Parmer / Tokyo

A quick glance at a map of Africa will show you that the country of Mali looks very much like a piece in a giant jigsaw puzzle. And that is just about right, for Mali is a key piece in a very complex puzzle that is the Sahel region of Africa. The Sahel is a semi-arid region below the Sahara Desert that extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. Countries that make up the Sahel include Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia.

Why Mali is a key piece in this region is the Islamist insurgency that has plagued the region since 2012. As a result of the spillover from events in Libya, the nomadic Tuareg peoples started an insurgency to declare their independent state. This revolution was said to be hijacked by militant Islamists during a military coup in Mali. To counter the development of an independent Islamist state in the region, France, Mali’s former colonial overseer, intervened militarily.

France’s intervention was successful, and the lost territory in the North was reclaimed for Mali’s central government. Sensing that the battle had been won, but that the war was far from over, the French launched operation Barkhane to deal with not just Mali but the whole Sahel region. France’s objectives were not only to prevent the creation of failed states in the region, but also to prevent the creation of a terrorist safe haven in the Sahel. The 2014 French mission continues into the present. France has suffered casualties and continues to do. The fighting which, resembles combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan, is characterized by deadly ambush and the use of IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) and mines.

France was not alone in doing the work of bringing security to the Sahel region. In 2014 a security alliance was formed in the region consisting of Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso Niger and Chad. This organization, known as the G5 Sahel, has the backing of both the EU and the United Nations. The alliance focuses both on civil action and military cooperation.

Another attempt to bring peace and stability to the region was the formation of a United Nations peacekeeping force in 2013 which was called MINUSMA (United Nations Multi-Dimensional Stabilization Mission in Mali). Police from 27 countries and peacekeeping troops from 57 countries take part in this mission.

Latest count shows:

12,000 military personnel
1,700 police personnel
1,200 civilians

MINUSMA is considered one of the most dangerous UN deployments with the organization sustaining high casualties over the years.

In late Spring 2020, Mali’s president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has hinted at the possibility of beginning talks with the Islamists in the North of his country. As a pre-condition, the militants are calling for the removal of all foreign troops including the French and the UN.

Having seen what happens when an IS-like group gains total power as in the case of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq, it is unlikely that France, the G5 Sahel or the UN will agree to these demands. Perhaps Mali’s president has a wish to appear reasonable in considering these talks, but a power vacuum in Mali is not the answer to the country’s problem or to those of the region for that matter.

So what is France doing in Mali? For the time being she is keeping the peace, such as it is, and providing security. And maybe that is as good as it gets for now in the puzzling and volatile region that is Africa’s Sahel.

Photo: Fred Marie via flickr