Latest news with #Rusch
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas oil company fined $18 million for unapproved work along California coast
In an action cheered by state environmentalists, the California Coastal Commission has voted to fine a Texas-based oil firm $18 million for failing to obtain necessary permits and reviews in its controversial push to revive oil production off the Gaviota Coast. After hours of public comment Thursday, the commission found that Sable Offshore Corp. has for months violated the California Coastal Act by repairing and upgrading oil pipelines near Santa Barbara without commission approval. In addition to the $18-million fine, commissioners ordered the company to halt all pipeline development and restore lands where environmental damage has occurred. "The Coastal Act is the law, the law ... put in place by a vote of the people," Commissioner Meaghan Harmon said. "Sable's refusal, in a very real sense, is a subversion of the will of the people of the state of California." The decision marks a significant escalation in the showdown between coastal authorities and Sable officials, who claim the commission has overstepped its authority. The action also comes at a time when the Trump administration is actively encouraging oil and gas production in stark contrast to California's clean-energy and climate-focused goals. Read more: Under Trump, Texas firm pushes to restart Santa Barbara oil drilling. Is it skirting California laws? Sable insists that it has already obtained necessary work approval from the County of Santa Barbara, and that commission approval was necessary only when the pipeline infrastructure was first proposed decades ago. It wasn't immediately clear how the Houston-based company would respond to the commission's action. 'Sable is considering all options regarding its compliance with these orders," read a prepared statement from Steve Rusch, Sable's vice president of environmental and governmental affairs. "We respectfully have the right to disagree with the Commission's decision and to seek independent clarification.' Ultimately, the matter may be end up in court. In February, Sable sued the Coastal Commission claiming it lacks the authority to oversee its work. On Thursday, Rusch called the commission's demands part of an "arbitrary permitting process," and said the company had worked with Coastal Commission staff for months in attempt to address their concerns. Still, Rusch said his company is "dedicated to restarting project operations in a safe and efficient manner." Commissioners voted unanimously to issue the cease-and-desist order — which would stop work until Sable obtained commission approval — as well as the order to restore damaged lands. However, the commission voted 9 to 2 in favor of the fine — the largest it has ever levied. The hearing drew hundreds of people, including Sable employees and supporters and scores of environmental activists, many wearing "Don't Enable Sable" T-shirts. 'We're at a critical crossroads,' said Maureen Ellenberger, chair of the Sierra Club's Santa Barbara and Ventura chapter. 'In the 1970s, Californians fought to protect our coastal zone — 50 years later we're still fighting. The California coast shouldn't be for sale.' At one point, a stream of 20 Santa Barbara Middle School students testified back-to-back, a few barely reaching the microphone. 'None of us should be here right now — we should all be at school, but we are here because we care,' said 14-year-old Ethan Maday, a ninth-grader who helped organize his classmates' trip to the commission hearing. Santa Barbara has long been an environmentally conscious community, due in part to a history of major oil spills in the area. The largest spill, which occurred in 1969, released an estimated 3 million gallons of oil and inspired multiple environmental protection laws. Sable hopes to reactivate the so-called Santa Ynez Unit, a collection of three offshore oil platforms in federal waters. The Hondo, Harmony and Heritage platforms are all connected to the Las Flores pipeline system and associated processing facility. It was that network of oil lines that suffered a massive spill in 2015, when the Santa Ynez unit was owned by another company. That spill occurred when a corroded pipeline ruptured and released an estimated 140,000 gallons of crude near Refugio State Beach. Sable's current work is intended to repair and upgrade those lines. Read more: Is California government considering oil refinery takeovers? Yes, it is At Thursday's hearing, Sable supporters insisted the upgrades would make the pipeline network more reliable than ever. Mai Lindsey, a contractor who works on Sable's leak detection system, said she found it 'unfair' how the commission was asserting itself in their work. 'Are you in your lane for enforcing this?' Lindsey asked. She said people need to understand that focusing on previous spills is no longer relevant, given how technology in her industry has drastically changed: 'We learn and we improve,' she said. Steve Balkcom, a contractor for Sable who lives in Orange County, said he's worked on pipelines for four decades and he has no doubt that this one will be among the safest. He chalked up the controversy to a "not in my backyard" attitude. 'I know the pipeline can be safe,' Balkcom said. Sable has argued that it can could proceed with its corrosion repair work under the pipeline's original permits from the 1980s. The company contends such permits are still relevant because its work is only repairing and maintaining an existing pipeline, not constructing new infrastructure. The Coastal Commission rejected that idea Thursday. Showing several photos of Sable's ongoing pipeline work, Lisa Haage, the commission's chief of enforcement, called Sable's work "extensive in both its scale and the resources impacted." Commission staff have also argued the current work is far from identical from original permits, noting that recent requirements from the state fire marshal mandate new standards to respond to corrosive tendencies on the pipeline. 'Not only did they do work in sensitive habitats and without sufficient environmental protections and during times that sensitive species were at risk, but they also refused to comply with orders issued to them to address those issues,' Haage said at the hearing. In a statement of defense, however, Sable said this project will "meet more stringent environmental and safety requirements than any other pipeline in the state.' The company estimates that when the Santa Ynez Unit is fully online, it could produce an estimated 28,000 barrels of oil a day, according to an investor presentation, while also generating $5 million a year in new taxes for the county and an additional 300 jobs. Sable anticipates restarting offshore oil production in the second quarter this year, but the company acknowledges that some regulatory and oversight hurdles remain. Most notably, its restart plan must still be approved by the state fire marshal, though several other parts are under review by other state agencies, including state parks and the State Water Resources Control Board. Commissioners on Thursday were grateful for the community input, including from Sable employees, whom Harmon called "hard-working people" not responsible or at fault for the Coastal Act violations. "Coastal development permits make work safe," Harmon said. "They make work safer not just for our environment ... they make work safer for the people who are doing the job." She urged Sable to work cooperatively with the commission. "We can have good, well-paying jobs and we can protect and preserve our coast," Harmon said. But some environmentalists said Thursday's findings should further call into question Sable's larger project. "How can we trust this company to operate responsibly, safely, or in compliance with any regulations or laws?" Alex Katz, executive director of the Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center, said in a statement. "California can't afford another disaster on our coast." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Behold This Bonkers Photo of a 2,800-Pound Rhino Dangling Upside Down From a Helicopter
What you're seeing isn't Photoshop, or — heaven forbid — AI slop. That's a real rhino, weighing over 2,800 pounds and suspended from the bottom of a helicopter by its legs, upside down. This isn't the giant herbivore's idea of thrill seeking. And it's okay to laugh. What you're seeing is called "translocation," and it's become a favored way of rescuing the critically endangered creatures from poachers, the BBC reports. That it looks like some hilarious circus act is just an added bonus. It wouldn't be a stretch to call this a miracle in the animal conservation world. In the wilderness of South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana, where these black rhinos roam, transporting a creature that can weigh more than a ton overland isn't always practical. Roads don't reach everywhere, and the long, bumpy rides are far from comfortable for the rhino passengers. But helicopter airlifts sidestep those problems. Using them has "revolutionized the world of rhino conservation," according to Ursina Rusch, population manager for the World Wildlife Foundation's South Africa Black Rhino Range Expansion Project. The project shelters over 400 black rhinos across eighteen sites. For reference, black rhinos have a total population of just 6,500 globally, which is more than double what it was three decades ago, per the BBC. "Really none of this would be possible without helicopters, both in terms of darting and transferring rhinos out of inaccessible areas," Rusch told the broadcaster First, the rhino is immobilized with a tranquilizer dart. After microchipping the behemoth to track it, a ground team ties straps around each of its four ankles, which connect to a single rope dangling beneath a chopper, usually an Airbus AS350 Astar, or an old UH1-H Huey. Then the rhino's ready to fly, usually for a duration of ten to thirty minutes. As precarious — and ridiculous — as it looks, the intervention is pretty safe. Conservationists have spent years experimenting with multiple methods, including using nets, but Rusch says that hanging the rhinos upside down has proven the most dependable. One reason why is that the rhinos can still breathe properly in that position. Amazingly, with their horns acting as a "tail feather or wind vane," the rhinos are also surprisingly well-suited to being suspended in the air. "The great thing about lifting the rhinos upside down by their feet is that they're aerodynamic themselves," Robin Radcliffe, associate professor of wildlife and conservation medicine at Cornell University, told the BBC. Since it began, the WWF project has translocated 160 rhinos via airlift, per the BBC's reporting. And it's not just to save them from poachers, either. "If we don't translocate rhinos and create new populations, they will inbreed enough that they crash, or run out of resources and stop breeding," Rusch said. We said this was a miracle in the world of conservation. From the perspective of a rhino, which is high on an opioid while this is all happening and isn't used to seeing the landscape rush by hundreds of feet below them, it's literal deus ex machina — a term that originates from ancient Greek theater, in which god was brought in, poetically, with a crane. More on wildlife: It Turns Out Sharks Make Noises, and Here's What They Sound Like
BBC News
29-03-2025
- Science
- BBC News
How do you re-home a rhino by helicopter? Upside down
Moving endangered rhinos to new areas is a vital part of their conservation. War-torn helicopters from the Vietnam war are airlifting the creatures to safety. Zipping through the skies over South Africa, a 1,300kg (2,865lbs) horned herbivore is dangling by its feet from a helicopter. It may be a shocking sight to behold but, within the last decade, the use of helicopters in rhinoceros conservation has been gaining momentum in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. Black rhinos are critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, thanks to conservation efforts, their numbers are on the rise. Today, black rhinos have a population of roughly 6,500 – up from the 1990s' low point of less than 2,500, when poaching and habitat loss drove the species to the edge of extinction. Black rhinos are moved around for three reasons, says Ursina Rusch, population manager for the WWF South Africa Black Rhino Range Expansion Project. First, to protect them from poaching. Secondly, for monitoring purposes – rhino researchers often take the opportunity to insert satellite GPS telemetry into the rhinos' horns. And, thirdly, to ensure their genetic population is as diverse as possible. The species mostly exists within protected pockets on public and private reserves, so translocation is one of the only available methods to increase their range. "If we don't translocate rhinos and create new populations, they will inbreed enough that they crash, or run out of resources and stop breeding," says Rusch. Black rhino population growth rates are density dependent. This means if a rhino community is too crowded, the females will start having longer intercalving periods – the time between the birth of one calf and the next – and so produce fewer calves, an evolutionary response and adaptation to resource management. While the transport of animals for population regrowth and genetic diversity isn't new, the regular use of helicopters in this fight is. Beginning in the 1990s but refining methods since the 2010s, helicopters have "revolutionised the world of rhino conservation", says Rusch. Her WWF project has translocated around 270 rhinos, of which about 160 have been airlifted. Leaning from an airborne helicopter, a veterinarian "darts the rhino in the bum" with immobilising drugs, typically targeting youngsters or dominant bulls that need to be removed to prevent inbreeding, says Rusch. Rhino immobilisation typically involves a potent opioid and a tranquilliser. The anatomy of the rhino means it is, remarkably, able to breathe comfortably upside down Whereas before veterinarians would have spent 20 minutes on-foot tracking a half-way-sedated rhino, the helicopter team now saves precious time by aerially tracking the rhino – and within four minutes, the rhino falls unconscious, says Rusch. By the time the rhino goes down, the ground team and the helicopter team spring into action: quickly approaching the rhino for processing. They take biological samples and measurements and insert microchips for monitoring. Next, the crew ties big, soft straps around the rhino's four ankles. The straps connect to a single rope which is hooked to the underside of the helicopter. Then the move happens. The helicopter airlifts the rhino, which dangles below, to a central location – generally an open field – where ground crews are waiting, says Rusch. Historically, the rhino would have been woken up from the immobilising drug and walked into a crate, before being hoisted onto the back of a truck headed for a conservancy. But these road trips could be stressful for the rhino passengers; they're awake for the journey (albeit, sometimes, anaesthetised) and standing in a crate, which can cause muscle or horn damage – or even occlude their airways, which can be fatal. Moreover, the limited road network in the region and difficult terrain made it hard to reach the remote final locations using ground transport. This is where airlifting comes in. The health risks of crate travel and lack of roads – for instance, in Namibia's Kunene region – mean that nowadays, helicopters are increasingly used for the translocation of rhinos, explains Robin Radcliffe, associate professor of wildlife and conservation medicine at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Conservationists "really only consider slinging" as a solution when the capture or release site is inaccessible by road, he says, or when slinging significantly cuts down on transport time. In Rusch's experience, researchers and conservationists employ two main helicopters to transport black rhinos: the Airbus AS350 Astar and the UH1-H Huey. The Airbus AS350 Astar, nicknamed the "Squirrel," has been used since 2021, says Rusch. This helicopter is small, cost-effective and readily available in South Africa, she adds. UH1-H Hueys, on the other hand, are designed for lifting large loads. Famously used during the Vietnam War, some of these "iconic helicopters" still exhibit bullet hole patches and floor installations for mounted gun covers, says Rusch. Nowadays, these military-grade helicopters – complete with windows under the cockpit so the pilot can see the ground below – are valuable for civilians in firefighting and rhino conservation. "The Hueys' blades have a unique flap – they really slap the air," Rusch says. "That was the sound soldiers in the Vietnam war wanted to hear, feeling that relief of someone rescuing them." The Huey – made famous by Hollywood films including Apocalypse Now, Platoon and Full Metal Jacket – has become synonymous with the Vietnam War and provided close heliborne support to US soldiers, evacuating the wounded and the dead. The fateful twist of using a machine of war to save lives is not lost on the conservationists who fly in the helicopters. "Ironically, in the 80s, helicopters were used by some poachers to kill rhinos," says Radcliffe. "The fact that helicopters are now being used to save them is a wonderful example of conservation." Translocation is one of the most valuable tools of rhino conservation, he adds. WWF's Black Rhino Range Expansion Project has 18 project sites, with over 400 black rhinos spread across the site, making up 15% of all black rhinos in South Africa, says Rusch. "Really none of this would be possible without helicopters, both in terms of darting and transferring rhinos out of inaccessible areas," she says. Radcliffe's team, which partnered with Namibia's government, pioneered the netless, slinging method of moving rhinos upside down under a helicopter. In 2021, Radcliffe and his colleagues won an Ig Nobel Prize – an award satirising the Nobel Prize given to "research that makes people laugh and then think" – for their work on hanging black rhino upside down. BRREP WWF As the opioid used reduces the rhinos' blood oxygen levels, it's all the more crucial to determine which flight position is best for breathing. Before settling on the upside-down position, Radcliffe and his fellow researchers tried laying the flying rhinos on boards tethered to the helicopter, which wasn't aerodynamic as the board caused excess swaying in mid-air, says Radcliffe. Then, his team tested rhinos in nets, which "aerodynamically worked a bit better, but still wasn't ideal". The net's positioning compromised the rhino's breathing. Plus, the net's metal frame added considerable weight and required even more ground personnel to place the rhinos into the net, "which defeated the purpose of having a quick and efficient transport method", explained Radcliffe. Airborne inversion is the safest option, says Radcliffe. The anatomy of the rhino means it is, remarkably, able to breathe comfortably upside down, Radcliffe says. Hanging by their legs, the weight and build of rhinos allow them to extend their head and neck downwards, straightening the spine. Also, a "safer, smoother flight" occurs because the rhino horn acts as a "tail feather or wind vane," reducing the risk of spinning. "The great thing about lifting the rhinos upside down by their feet is that they're aerodynamic themselves," says Radcliffe. While the image of an upside-down rhino may initially seem "cruel", the rhino's well-being is always "paramount" before, during and after the 10-30 minutes of airborne time, says Rusch. "The rhino is constantly under supervision of experienced veterinarians and pilots, who can tell if the rhino is comfortable or straining," she says. Nonetheless, conservation is not without some cost. Helicopter-use creates air and noise pollution. "In a perfect world we'd have a zero-carbon footprint," says Radcliffe. "But we, as humans, are obligated to make a concerted effort to save species like the rhinoceros. They are in serious decline, not because of normal ecological processes, but because of our own actions." Rhinos have existed for 50 million years and fossil evidence indicates that there were once upwards of 150 rhino species. Now there are five. "I don't want to tell my grandchildren that we did have rhinos when I was growing up, but they're no longer here because humans poached them and destroyed their habitat," says Radcliffe. More like this: • The rhino that became a conservation icon • Elephants hate bees – here's why that's good news for Kenyan farmers • How a million kilometres of invisible borders are harming wildlife Slowly but surely, helicopters are making a difference. Thirty years ago, the black rhino population in Kunene, in the north-west of Namibia, was depleted, explains Radcliffe. However, in 2010, Namibia's first rhino airlift has allowed these animals to return to the region. Due to the impassable, vast mountain ranges in the region, the airlift allowed the introduction of rhinos into areas that otherwise would have been beyond reach. Scientists, like Radcliffe, are committed to continually studying and honing these heli-moves, and they plan to incorporate emerging technologies such as drones and satellites into rhino conservation too. Radcliffe envisions that in the future, this innovative method of rhino conservation could even be applied to the rainforest environments of Indonesia, where Sumatran rhinos are critically endangered. And beyond rhino, the technique of lifting large ungulates – or large mammals with hooves – upside down has also been applied to other species such as elephants and some endangered antelope, Radcliffe adds. In the meantime, according to Rusch, South Africa's translocated rhinos seem to be thriving – grazing and breeding in their new homes. "You get to know the rhinos, their individualities, their personalities," says Rusch. "They get released on the other side, and then you get to watch these populations grow – from first to second to third-generation offspring." -- For essential climate news and hopeful developments to your inbox, sign up to the Future Earth newsletter, while The Essential List delivers a handpicked selection of features and insights twice a week. For more science, technology, environment and health stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's OpenAI bid, analyst says, is a 'distraction' and his political activity is weighing on Tesla stock
One Wall Street analyst believes Tesla CEO Elon Musk's gambit for OpenAI is a distraction for the company at a very important time. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shot down an unsolicited offer by a group of investors led by Elon Musk on Monday to purchase the nonprofit that heads up OpenAI for $97.4 billion. In a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that Musk purchased for $44 billion back in 2022, Altman wrote in response, "no thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want." Musk responded minutes later, calling Altman a "swindler." 'While TSLA has shifted focus to being a Physical AI play, we view Elon Musk's bid for Open AI as a distraction from TSLA's challenges. The bid comes at a 38% discount to Open AI's October 2024 capital raise,' Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch wrote in a note to investors. Tesla shares were down 7% on Tuesday. As Rusch notes, the Musk offer, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, would mark a significant reduction in OpenAI's valuation. According to CNBC, SoftBank plans to invest $40 billion in OpenAI at a valuation of $260 billion. Regardless of Musk's ploys to buy Open AI or try to 'mess' with it (as Altman said), Musk's behavior and lack of attention at Tesla could be a problem. 'We don't expect any meaningful discussions to develop,' Rusch said, though adding, 'we see increasing risks to Street estimates for TSLA as EV and AV competition intensifies.' Autonomous competition and technology breakthroughs could limit Tesla's profitability in the space, Rusch said. Look no further than Google's Waymo self-driving service expanding in the US for one example, or Chinese rival BYD's embrace of DeepSeek for its AI efforts involving autonomous driving. Speaking of BYD, competition heating up in China is also a big problem for Tesla. Rusch notes that BYD dropped the price of its entry-level model to below $10,000. Meanwhile, China's XPeng began offering 0% and free charging, putting more pressure on the Chinese domestic market. Then there is Musk himself and his very vocal political stances, as well as his growing position in the Trump administration as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. 'We view Mr. Musk's political activity and increased regionalization as a potential overhang on TSLA sell-through. We see the biggest risk in CA and the broader EU, where TSLA has seen ongoing declines since the start of 2023,' Rusch wrote, also highlighting softening January sales in China and the EU as a concern. In particular, Europe has been a sore spot for Tesla recently. Germany reported only 1,277 new Tesla vehicles registered in January, down nearly 60% from the same month in 2024 on the heels of Musk's courting of the far-right AfD party. January sales also fell 63% in France, 38% in Norway, and 12% in the UK. In the Netherlands, one of Tesla's biggest EU markets, a third of Tesla owners said they were considering selling their Tesla vehicle because of Musk's political opinions, per Dutch broadcaster EenVandaag. Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro also notes the Musk effect on Tesla sales is real. 'We have seen the net favorability rating of Tesla fade to close to its lowest level in existence of the data,' Gengaro said in a live interview on Yahoo Finance, noting that Musk's polarizing behavior with the Trump administration and his efficiency efforts were pulling Tesla's favorability rating lower. 'I think it is causing a big, big problem with the near-term sales, and just sort of the impact it has on people's willingness to buy a Tesla.' Last month Tesla said it delivered 495,930 vehicles globally in the fourth quarter of 2024, missing analyst estimates of around 510,400. For the year, Tesla delivered 1.78 million vehicles, a 1% drop from the prior year and marking the company's first year-over-year decline. Tesla does not break out its sales regionally. Rusch maintained his Perform rating on Tesla but does not currently have a price target on the stock. "[Musk's] public life risks alienating consumers and employees as the Trump administration tests the limits of its power," Rusch said. Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram. Sign in to access your portfolio
