Millions of US Homes Are So Overheated They Open Windows In The Winter. Why?
"Nineteenth-century technology is finally being phased out in New York City, but its past is deeply entwined with American history".
Source: Guardian, 11/07/2023
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Some Houses Being Built To Stand Up To Hurricanes And Cut Emissions, Too
"When Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle five years ago, it left boats, cars and trucks piled up to the windows of Bonny Paulson’s home in the tiny coastal community of Mexico Beach, Florida, even though the house rests on pillars 14 feet above the ground. But Paulson’s home, with a rounded shape that looks something like a ship, shrugged off Category 5 winds that might otherwise have collapsed it."
Source: AP, 11/07/2023"A Food Historian’s Hunt For Ingredients Vanishing From US Plates"
"In her new book, Endangered Eating, Sarah Lohman chronicles disappearing foods – and why they need protecting".
"The American buff goose. Amish deer tongue lettuce. The Nancy Hall sweet potato. The mulefoot hog. When food historian Sarah Lohman stumbled on these fantastical-sounding ingredients in a database of vanishing foods called the Ark of Taste, she set off on a journey across the United States to discover more ingredients and traditions that had been abandoned in the annals of history.
Source: Guardian, 11/07/2023"House GOP Approves Cutting EPA Budget By Nearly 40 Percent"
"House Republicans approved legislation Friday that would slash nearly 40 percent of the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The funding bill, passed by a 213-203 vote, cuts 39 percent of the EPA’s budget and would be the smallest budget the agency has had in three decades."
Source: The Hill, 11/06/2023"World Bank Poised To Host Climate Loss And Damage Fund, Despite Concerns"
"Countries moved a step closer on Saturday to getting a fund off the ground to help poor states damaged by climate disasters, despite reservations from developing nations and the United States."
Source: Reuters, 11/06/2023"Toxic Pesticides Are Sprayed Next to Thousands of US Schools"
"As many as 2 million children attend elementary schools near farms where pesticides are likely applied, as federal legislators aim to gut state and local health protections."
Source: Inside Climate News, 11/06/2023"Battle Brewing Over Proposed US Laws To Protect Pesticide Companies"
"Even as juries decide against a herbicide maker, proposed industry-backed measures would limit lawsuits and local use restrictions".
Source: Guardian, 11/06/2023"First US Rule for Tire Chemical Part of Broader EPA Effort"
"Companies that make or import a chemical commonly used to make tires will have to submit unpublished health and safety studies under a rule the EPA expects to finalize by the end of next year."
Source: Bloomberg Environment, 11/06/2023Cover Crops Help The Climate And Environment, But Most Farmers Say No
"Called cover crops, they top the list of tasks U.S. farmers are told will build healthy soil, help the environment and fight climate change. Yet after years of incentives and encouragement, Midwest farmers planted cover crops on only about 7% of their land in 2021."
Source: AP, 11/06/2023Planned Deer Slaughter On Catalina Island Sparks Protest Among Residents
"News had barely broken of plans to eradicate thousands of nonnative mule deer on Santa Catalina Island before conservation biologist Lauren Dennhardt found herself the target of enraged Avalon residents."
Source: LA Times, 11/06/2023"A Climate Change Success Story? Look at Hoboken."
"This flood-prone city on the Hudson River has bundled water-absorbing infrastructure into benefits residents asked for, like parks and safer streets."
Source: NYTimes, 11/06/2023"How Microsoft Is Making A Mess Of The News After Replacing Staff With AI"
"False claims that President Joe Biden fell asleep during a moment of silence for victims of the Maui wildfire. A conspiracy theory that the latest surge in Covid-19 cases is being orchestrated by the Democratic Party ahead of the election. An obituary for a late NBA player that described him as “useless.” These false and bizarre stories aren’t showing up on some far-flung corner of the internet — they’re being published by Microsoft."
Source: CNN, 11/06/2023Californians Bet Farming Agave For Spirits Holds Key To Weathering Drought
"Leo Ortega started growing spiky blue agave plants on the arid hillsides around his Southern California home because his wife liked the way they looked. A decade later, his property is now dotted with thousands of what he and others hope is a promising new crop for the state following years of punishing drought and a push to scale back on groundwater pumping."
Source: AP, 11/06/2023"Court Tosses EPA Ban On Pesticide Linked To Brain Damage In Kids"
"A federal appeals court on Thursday is tossing the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ban on a pesticide that has been linked to brain damage in children."
Source: The Hill, 11/03/2023"Access Denied: Trying To Get Into Canada’s ‘Premier’ Pro-Coal Gathering"
"I was feeling hopeful when I made my way to the Coal Association of Canada’s conference registration desk at the Sheraton Wall Centre in downtown Vancouver last week. The association had denied my media request to attend the conference but didn’t share their decision-making process or reasoning. I thought an in-person conversation would help clarify any concerns and hoped it was an oversight."
Source: The Narwhal, 11/03/2023
