Форпост

The future limitation of certain types of minerals due to reduced availability and monopolization of their production requires international legal principles to forecast and respond to international environmental policy. 1. Introduction

After the US President Mr. Bush declared in 2003 that the world has entered the era of hydrogen economy, hydrogen has become a geopolitical resource for politicians to devalue the world’s hydrocarbon potential. Is this true and what could happen to the world economy with such a policy?

From the point of view of a naturalist in the field of minerals, I can point out that there is a misconception in society regarding the understanding of the role of the state in the uncertainties of today’s economy. That is, the belief that the government, under difficult geopolitical conditions, will not look for ”ideal” options for the development of the economy, but will be guided by the fact that it should play the leading role in a mobilising economy, where the importance of government is predominant.

Without carbon, there would be no life: we ourselves are made of carbon, what we eat is made of carbon, and pretty much everything around us is built on carbon. Although carbon dioxide, water vapor and methane absorb infrared radiation, containing the thermal energy of the sunlight and trapping it in the atmosphere, we actually know very little about the ozone layer and its actual role in the carbon cycle; and in shaping the Earth’s climate.

On 8 February, Russia celebrates Russian Science Day. Today is not so much a holiday as an occasion to talk about its prospects, and the potential of scientists engaged in fundamental and applied research. Is it fully exploited? Do young people go into science? Will they be able to ensure a generational change in the future and maintain our country’s place among the undisputed leaders in technological development?

The level of political relations between our country and the Western world has dropped almost to a critical point. Sanctions, a lack of constructive dialogue and insulting remarks about our head of state seem to make a return to mutually respectful discussion less and less realistic. Is this really the most important matter right now? After all, apart from politics, there is also culture, science and, of course, economics…

OPEC projected that global oil consumption would fall by around 10% to 90 million b/d in 2020. The reason: the coronavirus pandemic, which led to quarantine restrictions, and consequently reduced road traffic as well as air traffic. But that does not mean we have passed the peak of demand. Experts believe that in 2021 it will increase to 96 million barrels, and a new historical high will be recorded as early as 2022.

One of the trendiest topics today in the concepts of the coming world order is alternative energy sources and, as the flagship of this trend, hydrogen energy. For the sake of making way for new types of energy carriers, Europe is even planning to impose a special tax on goods that emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere during their production. If this idea is implemented, Russian exporters will lose between 3 and 4.8 billion dollars a year. The Russian Ministry of Energy, which has prepared a roadmap for the development of hydrogen energy in Russia, is also on track.

Russian schoolchildren are taking their United State Examination (USE) in July. As before, this format of final exams has attracted a lot of criticism, and many of them are fair enough. The main complaint is that in the current conditions gaining knowledge is no longer the goal of high school students. They’re no longer ’geared’ to learning in general, but to passing the test.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Great Britain in Russia Laurie Bristow paid a working visit to Saint-Petersburg Mining University.