Fifty years from the end of Nigeria's civil war three people on the losing side reflect on its impact.
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Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Zeroing in on decarbonization
To avoid the most destructive consequences of climate change, the world’s electric energy systems must stop producing carbon by 2050. It seems like an overwhelming technological, political, and economic challenge — but not to Nestor Sepulveda.
“My work has shown me that we do have the means to tackle the problem, and we can start now,” he says. “I am optimistic.”
Sepulveda’s research, first as a master’s student and now as a doctoral candidate in the MIT Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE), involves complex simulations that describe potential pathways to decarbonization. In work published last year in the journal Joule, Sepulveda and his co-authors made a powerful case for using a mix of renewable and “firm” electricity sources, such as nuclear energy, as the least costly, and most likely, route to a low- or no-carbon grid.
These insights, which flow from a unique computational framework blending optimization and data science, operations research, and policy methodologies, have attracted interest from The New York Times and The Economist, as well as from such notable players in the energy arena as Bill Gates. For Sepulveda, the attention could not come at a more vital moment.
“Right now, people are at extremes: on the one hand worrying that steps to address climate change might weaken the economy, and on the other advocating a Green New Deal to transform the economy that depends solely on solar, wind, and battery storage,” he says. “I think my data-based work can help bridge the gap and enable people to find a middle point where they can have a conversation.”
An optimization tool
The computational model Sepulveda is developing to generate this data, the centerpiece of his dissertation research, was sparked by classroom experiences at the start of his NSE master’s degree.
“In courses like Nuclear Technology and Society [22.16], which covered the benefits and risks of nuclear energy, I saw that some people believed the solution for climate change was definitely nuclear, while others said it was wind or solar,” he says. “I began wondering how to determine the value of different technologies.”
Recognizing that “absolutes exist in people’s minds, but not in reality,” Sepulveda sought to develop a tool that might yield an optimal solution to the decarbonization question. His inaugural effort in modeling focused on weighing the advantages of utilizing advanced nuclear reactor designs against exclusive use of existing light-water reactor technology in the decarbonization effort.
“I showed that in spite of their increased costs, advanced reactors proved more valuable to achieving the low-carbon transition than conventional reactor technology alone,” he says. This research formed the basis of Sepulveda’s master’s thesis in 2016, for a degree spanning NSE and the Technology and Policy Program. It also informed the MIT Energy Initiative’s report, “The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World.”
The right stuff
Sepulveda comes to the climate challenge armed with a lifelong commitment to service, an appetite for problem-solving, and grit. Born in Santiago, he enlisted in the Chilean navy, completing his high school and college education at the national naval academy.
“Chile has natural disasters every year, and the defense forces are the ones that jump in to help people, which I found really attractive,” he says. He opted for the most difficult academic specialty, electrical engineering, over combat and weaponry. Early in his career, the climate change issue struck him, he says, and for his senior project, he designed a ship powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
After he graduated, the Chilean navy rewarded his performance with major responsibilities in the fleet, including outfitting a $100 million amphibious ship intended for moving marines and for providing emergency relief services. But Sepulveda was anxious to focus fully on sustainable energy, and petitioned the navy to allow him to pursue a master’s at MIT in 2014.
It was while conducting research for this degree that Sepulveda confronted a life-altering health crisis: a heart defect that led to open-heart surgery. “People told me to take time off and wait another year to finish my degree,” he recalls. Instead, he decided to press on: “I was deep into ideas about decarbonization, which I found really fulfilling.”
After graduating in 2016, he returned to naval life in Chile, but “couldn’t stop thinking about the potential of informing energy policy around the world and making a long-lasting impact,” he says. “Every day, looking in the mirror, I saw the big scar on my chest that reminded me to do something bigger with my life, or at least try.”
Convinced that he could play a significant role in addressing the critical carbon problem if he continued his MIT education, Sepulveda successfully petitioned naval superiors to sanction his return to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Simulating the energy transition
Since resuming studies here in 2018, Sepulveda has wasted little time. He is focused on refining his modeling tool to play out the potential impacts and costs of increasingly complex energy technology scenarios on achieving deep decarbonization. This has meant rapidly acquiring knowledge in fields such as economics, math, and law.
“The navy gave me discipline, and MIT gave me flexibility of mind — how to look at problems from different angles,” he says.
With mentors and collaborators such as Associate Provost and Japan Steel Industry Professor Richard Lester and MIT Sloan School of Management professors Juan Pablo Vielma and Christopher Knittel, Sepulveda has been tweaking his models. His simulations, which can involve more than 1,000 scenarios, factor in existing and emerging technologies, uncertainties such as the possible emergence of fusion energy, and different regional constraints, to identify optimal investment strategies for low-carbon systems and to determine what pathways generate the most cost-effective solutions.
“The idea isn’t to say we need this many solar farms or nuclear plants, but to look at the trends and value the future impact of technologies for climate change, so we can focus money on those with the highest impact, and generate policies that push harder on those,” he says.
Sepulveda hopes his models won’t just lead the way to decarbonization, but do so in a way that minimizes social costs. “I come from a developing nation, where there are other problems like health care and education, so my goal is to achieve a pathway that leaves resources to address these other issues.”
As he refines his computations with the help of MIT’s massive computing clusters, Sepulveda has been building a life in the United States. He has found a vibrant Chilean community at MIT and discovered local opportunities for venturing out on the water, such as summer sailing on the Charles.
After graduation, he plans to leverage his modeling tool for the public benefit, through direct interactions with policy makers (U.S. congressional staffers have already begun to reach out to him), and with businesses looking to bend their strategies toward a zero-carbon future.
It is a future that weighs even more heavily on him these days: Sepulveda is expecting his first child. “Right now, we’re buying stuff for the baby, but my mind keeps going into algorithmic mode,” he says. “I’m so immersed in decarbonization that I sometimes dream about it.”
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Cory Booker gets support from girlfriend Rosario Dawson after he exits 2020 race
Monday morning Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker announced his decision to drop out as a candidate in the Democratic presidential race, and now his girlfriend actress Rosario Dawson is coming forward to show support for her man.
According to the Daily Mail, just hours after the announcement the “Jane the Virgin” star took to Twitter to gush over her partner’s noble efforts and serving as an inspiration.
READ MORE: Sen. Cory Booker announces end to presidential campaign with no clear path to victory
Cory, you continue to inspire me everyday. On this journey you and your remarkable team have represented the best in us and I know you will continue to. Thank you. I see you. I love you. https://t.co/b5sWCw88g0
— Rosario Dawson (@rosariodawson) January 13, 2020
“It was a difficult decision to make, but I got in this race to win, and I’ve always said I wouldn’t continue if there was no longer a path to victory,” Booker said in a statement to supporters on Monday. This not only tightens the race amongst the 12 remaining Democratic candidates, but it also makes former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick the only Black candidate still standing. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang is the only other person of color in the Democratic race.
READ MORE: Dave Chappelle joins the ‘Yang Gang’; places his support behind Andrew Yang
Booker and Dawson first met back in 2017 while attending a fundraiser for former Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous. They were both in other relationships at the time, but Booker, 50, aid he eventually mustered up the courage to get Dawson’s phone number and the rest is history.
During a CNN town hall last March Booker called Dawson, 40, an “incredible girlfriend”, and last September she echoed his sentiments by gushing, “I’m in love! I am absolutely in love, and it is so exciting,” while at the Toronto Film Festival.
The post Cory Booker gets support from girlfriend Rosario Dawson after he exits 2020 race appeared first on TheGrio.
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No shame in his game: Yung Joc confirms he’s a rideshare driver
Is Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta star Yung Joc really working as a rideshare driver? Apparently so, and his reasons why may surprise you.
According to Complex, the former rapper turned reality star was recently spotted working as a driver and rather than skirting the issue, he confronted it head-on and then confirmed that really was him.
READ MORE: Yung Joc says he wasn’t a victim of the ‘Bad Boy’ curse
This week Joc shared a video on Instagram of himself driving around what appeared to be a customer. Critics seemed dismayed by the admission while others praised him for making an honest living.
“I just felt like it was an easy way to get some easy money downtown, I meet people,” he explained during the video.
According to a screenshot he subsequently shared, the service he is signed up with is called Pull Up N Go, a rideshare app similar to both Uber and Lyft.
READ MORE: Yung Joc explains why he was spotted wearing a gown
Just saw that yung joc video , Clowning people for making an honest living always been 🌽
— Chey Will (@CheyenneDaMan) January 13, 2020
“Anybody need a ride,” he wrote. “I know they gonna hate but somebody wanna get wasted and get to their destination safe and sound. Download the app and I just might #PullUpNGo.”
Given that the app just launched many are speculating that he isn’t really a driver and is instead posting clips as a stunt to promote the service for a fee.
“A clip showing Yung Joc driving for an unknown ride-share app just surfaced on the internet. This is a genius publicity stunt and the person who sent the video to the blogs is probably in on it,” wrote one suspicious fan. “Any doubt that this is a publicity stunt is cleared by Joc plugging the app on IG.”
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Fighting Legal Complexity: How Sen. Warren’s Bankruptcy Plan Defends Civil Rights
One of the dark realities of the American democracy is that we don’t have equal protection under the law. We have equal protection under the law if you can afford a lawyer. We’ve made our legal forms and processes so complex that most people must pay expensive fees to lawyers to understand and access their basic civil legal rights.
One area where this problem is clear is in consumer bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is a powerful tool that helps families who face financial shocks relieve their debt, improve their credit, and stop wage garnishment. Then-Professor Elizabeth Warren’s influential research from when she first entered bankruptcy law found over 90% of bankruptcies are caused by medical problems, layoffs, and family break-ups. Unfortunately, today’s bankruptcy system requires someone to fill and print out 23 separate forms and understand terms like “unsecured nonpriority debt.” This complexity means the legal fees in Chapter 7 bankruptcy cost $1200 on average. Millions of low- and middle-income families who can’t afford this fee are priced out of their right to a second chance.
The needless legal complexity within our bankruptcy system is a civil rights injustice. Today’s forms are a modern-day version of the literacy tests that used to stop black and brown people from being able to vote. In turn, these “literacy tests” create expensive legal fees that stop black and brown people from filing bankruptcy. These fees are a reincarnation of poll taxes.
Complex legal paperwork is often a tool of the rich and powerful to oppress the marginalized, poor, and vulnerable. This is true in bankruptcy, but also several other areas of the law that pertain to life, liberty, and property.
This week, now-Senator Warren released a robust plan to simplify our bankruptcy system, making it more accessible for families who are currently too broke to file. Her bold solutions to decrease the amount of paperwork, eliminate ineffective credit counseling requirements, and combine two chapters of bankruptcy will help millions of families re-enter our economy. Debt has devastating downstream effects on society that include homelessness, hunger, and poverty. Senator Warren’s plan will help stop these problems before they happen.
I know this because I’ve seen firsthand what Americans are capable of when they get a second chance. In 2016, I started Upsolve, a nonprofit to help families file bankruptcy at scale, using a free online web app. Today, we’re the largest nonprofit bankruptcy provider in America, and we’ve relieved over $100 million in debt for remarkable individuals like Alisa Pratt from the Bronx.
In 2016, Alisa was trapped in debt, which forced her to skip meals, clean her clothes in her sink, and overcome depression. One of the main reasons Alisa fell into debt was that her former partner took out a car loan in her name before they split up. Since filing for bankruptcy, Alisa has turned around her life. She founded a girl’s dance team that’s performed around the world, including the Cannes Film Festival, started a new job at a leading nonprofit in the Bronx, and received the Robin Hood Foundation Heroes Award to a 500-person standing ovation in New York City. Senator Warren’s strengthens the safety net for Alisa and amazing people like her.
Senator Warren’s plan is groundbreaking because it uses our bankruptcy system to highlight the Access to Justice Crisis in America, a civil rights issue that has gone largely unnoticed by the general public. Unlike in the criminal justice system, low- and middle-income individuals have no right to any free legal representation in the civil justice system. This includes people who are evicted from their homes, physically abused by their spouses, or trapped in debt and in need of bankruptcy. Over three in four civil legal problems reported by low-income Americans receive inadequate or no legal help.
Senator Warren presents a vision for America where everyone can access our legal system, regardless of whether they can afford an entrance fee. A simpler, more comprehensible system returns the law to the working families it’s supposed to protect. According to this vision, our rights will be more equal, our democracy more just, and our founding ideals more real.
This is an opinion piece that does not necessarily represent the views of BLACK ENTERPRISE.
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‘Dear White People’ Producer Effie T. Brown Named CEO Of Gamechanger
Producer Effie T. Brown has been named chief executive officer of the female-focused film financing fund company, Gamechanger, according to Deadline.
Gamechanger, which was launched in 2013, is the first film financing fund by and for women. Brown, who has produced Dear White People, Project Greenlight, and Real Women Have Curves, will help to broaden the fund’s scope to include projects by and about people of color, LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities. Gamechanger is also set to expand its reach to television and digital content that will enable it to buy, option, and develop intellectual property for television, streaming, and digital platforms.
“As a black female producer who’s been in the business for over 20 years, I know how hard it is to not only get into the room but to then secure financing when you have a culturally diverse or gender-specific point of view,” Brown tells Deadline. “I am beyond thrilled to join Gamechanger as CEO and help level the playing field by providing equity financing for production, development monies as well as strategic partnerships for people with disabilities, LGBTQ+, women, and people of color. What also makes us different is that the diversity of our content is as diverse as our investor pool. Our investors understand that it is going to take all of us pooling our monies together to ensure that these inclusive voices are given the opportunity to own their story from script to screen.”
“From the very beginning Gamechanger has been committed to reflecting the community we serve, which is why we are thrilled to have Effie on board as our CEO, along with new founders Brenda and Naja,” Founder Geralyn Dreyfous tells Broadway World. “Effie’s vision to expand our community of filmmakers, as well as our foray into television and digital development will truly take us to the next level.”
There are additional people added to the Gamechanger team. Producer Nina Yang Bongiovi (Fruitvale Station, Dope, Sorry to Bother You) and Arturo Barquet, EVP and chief financial officer of Global Production Operations at Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, have joined the fund as advisers; Jennifer Kushner, previously director of Artist Development at Film Independent, joins as chief content officer; and Brenda Robinson (Won’t You Be My Neighbor, Icarus) and Naja Pham Lockwood (Last Days in Vietnam, Gook) join the original founding team that includes Geralyn Dreyfous, Dan Cogan, and Wendy Ettinger.
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Reports suggest Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are ready to speak out
If the Royals are mad now, just wait until they hear that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly considering doing a tell-all interview.
READ MORE: Queen Elizabeth releases official statement on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s future
According to Harper’s Bazaar, journalist Tom Bradby said he has some inkling of what the couple would say if such an interview were to happen and that it wouldn’t “be pretty.” In The Sunday Times, Bradby also speculated why the couple stepped down from their full-time royal duties.
“The fallout began at the time of the wedding in 2018. Really damaging things were said and done,” Bradby said, according to Harper’s Bazaar. Bradby also said the relationship became problematic and turned bad “hard and early” and that a “few meaningful attempts” at turning things around didn’t work.
Last week, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said their decision to “step back” from their royal roles came after “many months” of reflection, according to Complex.
“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages,” the couple said, according to Complex.
The gossip tabloid, The Sun, went a step further, stating that any tell-all interview would be a “negotiating tactic” by the couple since they know the royals don’t want “their dirty laundry out in the open.”
“She and Harry feel the royals have been racist and sexist. Her people are actively exploring opportunities,” according to a royal source who reportedly spoke to The Sun.
READ MORE: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle trademarked 100+ items months before change in royal roles
According to the source, “Harry and Meghan’s people have been reaching out to all the big U.S. networks to explore the possibilities of a sit-down warts-and-all interview.” The source said Markle’s team has contacted Oprah Winfrey, ABC, NBC, and CBS.
The source added that the couple wants to “tell their side of the story” because Meghan “feels she’s been silenced and is no longer prepared to be muted,” according to The Sun.
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President Obama and First Lady Michelle have scored their first Oscar nomination
Barack and Michelle Obama’s first film under their Netflix agreement has been nominated for an Oscar in the best documentary feature category.
READ MORE: Michelle Obama announces new Instagram TV series
American Factory, which was released under the former president and first lady’s production company, Higher Ground. The documentary shows the impact on the community of Dayton, Ohio when a General Motors factory shuts down. The film “takes a deep dive into a post-industrial Ohio, where a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant and hires two thousand blue-collar Americans,” according to a Netflix press release.
“Glad to see American Factory’s Oscar nod for Best Documentary,” Barack Obama tweeted. “It’s the kind of story we don’t see often enough and it’s exactly what Michelle and I hope to achieve with Higher Ground. Congrats to the incredible filmmakers and entire team!”
Glad to see American Factory’s Oscar nod for Best Documentary. It’s the kind of story we don’t see often enough and it’s exactly what Michelle and I hope to achieve with Higher Ground. Congrats to the incredible filmmakers and entire team!
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 13, 2020
Filmmakers for “American Factory,” which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last year, include Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar. Competing in the same category are the following productions: The Cave, The Edge of Democracy, For Sama and Honeyland, according to CBS News.
“I couldn’t be happier that Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar, and all of the incredible people behind #AmericanFactory have been nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar,” Michelle Obama posted on Instagram, along with a photo of her and the former president with the filmmakers. “What Julia and Steve capture on film is at times painful, at times exhilarating, but always thoughtful and always real.”
READ MORE: Spike Lee and the Obamas to drop projects on Netflix in 2020
In 2018, the Obamas signed a multi-year agreement with Netflix to produce films and series through their Higher Ground production company, which was started “to harness the power of storytelling,” former President Obama said. The Obamas have seven projects in the works that deal with “issues of race and class, democracy and civil rights” and “will educate, connect, and inspire us all,” according to CBS.
The 92nd annual Oscars will air Feb. 9 on ABC.
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Trick Daddy on his mugshot going viral, ‘my feelings don’t hurt easily’
Trick Daddy said he doesn’t care if people laugh at his mugshot, he’s more concerned about living.
The Miami rapper was arrested on Saturday for possession of cocaine and an outstanding DUI warrant and when his mugshot was snapped, it showed an uneven hairline. But Trick, whose birth name is Maurice Young, said he suffers from Lupus and his hair loss is a side effect of the autoimmune disease.
READ MORE: Trina and Trick Daddy hitting the airwaves with new Miami morning radio show
“Let me get this right .. you lie on me .. make fun of the fact that I have lupus … and all this just for likes .. thank god im strong .. everything is funny until it hits close to home .. my feelings don’t hurt easily I’m too worried about waking up tomorrow,” Trick Daddy wrote on Facebook.
Trick Daddy, 45, was pulled over by Miami police after he reportedly ran red lights and hit signs, according to The Miami Herald. He “appeared to be asleep behind the wheel” when a police officer knocked on his window, The Herald reported. Trick Daddy allegedly told an officer he was drinking at a club and had downed about five drinks. Trick agreed to a field sobriety test, which police said he was unable to complete.
Back in 2009, Trick Daddy first publicly announced that he had Lupus. “I’m the type of person, I came from so far of a struggle that it don’t matter to me, I learned to turn my downsides into jokes and get around it,” he told XXL Magazine. “My mama had eleven children from ten different men. If she is strong enough to live with that I know I could live with this.”
In 2014, the rapper told The Breakfast Club that to deal with the disease, he self-medicates with cocaine and marijuana because it’s simpler and more cost-effective.
“When I smoke weed and coke, the worst thing that’s gonna happen to me is I’mma go to sleep or eat,” he said. “If I take Lupus medicine, I gotta take a pill for this pill, a pill for that pill … then I gotta go back to the doctor every Thursday and give them my money.”
READ MORE: Trick Daddy arrested in Florida on drug, weapons charges
After his Facebook post, many fans, friends and family members commented on their support for the rapper.
“These days people find Everything funny and could be laughing with a whole body of cancer
Brewing and not even know it. Chile with age comes physical change and health problems! Most betta hope they live to see some of the things we did and saw! Maurice Young life happens live your best life and if that includes bonding out here and there so be it!!” wrote Yolanda S. Wilson.
“They talked about Jesus… Let the Haters Hate! I Love you Trick! …Praying for you” wrote a user with the Facebook name PrettyBlack Chyna.
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Black Family-Owned Firm Projects Revenues to Grow to $16 Million Within 5 Years. Here’s How
Armed with new projects in the pipeline and existing ones underway, Dallas-based Dikita Enterprises Inc.is on the fast-track for future revenue growth.
The civil engineering and consulting firm was started by Lucious Williams in 1979. Led today by his daughter, Eve Williams, the firm expects to grow annual revenue to more than $16 million in the next three to five years from about $5 million now. Calling itself the oldest African American and family-owned firm of its type in North Texas, Dikita mainly offers engineering, construction program management, transit planning, and other services to government entities.
All told, the firm swears it has designed and/or managed projects worth over $1 billion. That’s phenomenal given Lucious Williams sold his car for $6,000 and used the proceeds for startup capital. Initially located in Milwaukee, Dikita moved its headquarters to Dallas in 1983 to pursue DART and other larger municipal clients.
But the journey has not all been easy. Lucious has publicly stated the company has survived tough times—including three economic storms—because it learned early on to diversify. That has helped it avoid employee layoffs. “2001 was our worst year ever,” he states on Dikita’s website.
“It started out weak and then worsened when all of our airport contracts were frozen because of the September 11th terrorist attacks. We had to concentrate on other markets, like education, and public transit. Fortunately, my daughter and I had saved for lean times, and were able to continue to pay our employees while we only took one month’s salary that year.”
That difficult time taught Eve to learn a valuable lesson from her father: Set aside 25% of your paycheck in case you cannot pay yourself to help you survive. Eve was the firm’s chief financial officer for 27 years before becoming its president and CEO in 2010. Lucious, who ran the firm for more than 30 years, remains active as board chairman and government affairs officer.
“We have to do 130% more than our competitors to survive as a black company,” Williams said. “Our niche is being a small company that’s large enough to handle major construction projects and respected enough to complete them as designed within our community.”
Dikita, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2019, is now working on nine projects in Dallas and Fort Worth, where it has offices. Its largest upcoming project is serving as Owner Representative for Vehicle Engineering for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Dikita will oversee new rail car specifications and inspections as part of a five-year contract for the rail and bus transit system that begins in late 2020. Eve estimates her firm’s take will be about $4 million. DART serves the Dallas area.
Further, Dikita will handle quality assurance and inspection for the Texas Department of Transportation’s Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway 635, a $1.6 billion road construction project that begins next August. Eve figures the work will reap her firm $2.5 million over four years.
She also expects her firm to pick up $3.2 million as a program manager for the North Texas Tollway Authority, the operator of toll roads, bridges, and tunnels. Dikita’s current project with the authority will transition into a new four-year contract beginning in March 2020.
A growth driver for Dikita has been various projects it has maintained with long-time clients, particularly DART. One fresh contract that the firm began in October 2019 is with DART’s new Silver Line rail project. Dikita’s work includes providing design reviews and system integration for the 26-mile corridor stretching across northern Dallas suburbs. That project is expected to generate $3.5 million in the next five years.
A long-term niche project Dikita provides to clients is transit market research. The firm plans in January 2020 to begin collecting ridership data for DART, an ongoing service Dikita has been providing that client for over 30 years. That contact is expected to bring the firm $1.5 million by 2025.
Dikita has raked in more than $12 million providing market research services to DART since 1991.
“Without DART being that special client we would not be where we are today,”
Plus, Dikita was the first African American firm to ever serve as a program manager for the Dallas Independent School District after its successful 2015 $1.6 billion Bond Program. It was one of three firms to manage the construction and architectural work budget of $530 million to build new and expanded schools and classrooms.
Williams says a continuous challenge is winning prime contracts and attracting exceptionally talented employees.
“To remain successful, it’s important to provide your client with a new product they can be proud of not only the day of delivery but for years to come.”
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