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☆ Starbucks sued for allegedly using coffee from farms with rights abuses while touting its ‘ethical’ sourcing
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Kenzi Abou-Sabe | Adiel Kaplan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

A consumer advocacy group is suing Starbucks, the world's largest coffee brand, for false advertising, alleging that it sources coffee and tea from farms with human rights and labor abuses, while touting its commitment to ethical sourcing. "But it's pretty clear that there are significant human rights and labor abuses across Starbucks' supply chain." Practices, in 2004 to oversee its coffee sourcing in more than 30 countries. The verification program holds Starbucks coffee suppliers to more than 200 environmental, labor and quality standards. "I think it is really hard to have an ethical supply chain.

Persons: Sally Greenberg, Greenberg, Genevieve LeBaron, LeBaron Organizations: Starbucks, D.C, National Consumers League, NBC News, Brasil, SCS Global Services, Conservation International, Rainforest Alliance, Hershey, School of Public, Simon Fraser University, United Nations Locations: Washington, Guatemala, Kenya, Brazil

Breton also is co-chair of a government working group on charging infrastructure. "People seem to forget that the backbone of the infrastructure is not public charging, it's home charging," Breton said. 'SERIOUS CHALLENGE'Breton said that 30% of the cost of installing a home EV charging station in the U.S. is covered by a federal tax credit, while California residents can receive rebates for upgrading charging stations and electric panels. Most Canadians drive short distances to work, meaning that public charging is mainly necessary for longer-haul travellers, Breton said. Canada had 19 EVs per public charging point in 2022, while the number was 24 in the U.S., according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency.

Persons: Chris Helgren, Justin Trudeau's, Canada's, Daniel Breton, Breton, Brian Kingston, Kingston, Joanna Kyriazis, Rod Nickel, Denny Thomas, Paul Simao Organizations: Volkswagen, Canadian, REUTERS, Companies Parkland Corp, Justin Trudeau's Liberal, Infrastructure Bank, Parkland Corp, EV, Electric Mobility Canada, Natural Resources, International Energy Agency, Clean Energy Canada, Simon Fraser University, Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers ' Association, Thomson Locations: Toronto , Ontario, Canada, WINNIPEG , Manitoba, British Columbia, Canadian, Parkland, Breton, U.S, California, Natural Resources Canada, Paris, Vancouver, Ottawa, Winnipeg , Manitoba

☆ Study finds direct link between greenhouse gas emissions and polar bear survival
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Amarachi Orie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Polar bears live in 19 populations across the Arctic and are found in Canada, the United States, Russia, Greenland and Norway, according to conservation organization Polar Bears International. They found that the number of days polar bears were forced to go without food increased as greenhouse gas emissions accumulated. That allowed them to calculate the impact of cumulative emissions on the rate of polar bear survival. This would be about 60-plus gigatons over the 30-plus year life span of a polar bear in the southern Beaufort Sea. “They found that when we emit more carbon dioxide, it directly affects how many polar bear cubs can survive.

Persons: Steven Amstrup, Kt, Katharina M Miller, Amstrup, ”, Cecilia Bitz, Kirsten Zickfeld, Zickfeld, ” Amstrup Organizations: CNN —, Polar Bears, Kt Miller, Polar, University of Washington, University of Wyoming, ESA, US Department of Interior, Bears, CNN, Department, US Department of, Simon Fraser University Locations: Canada, United States, Russia, Greenland, Norway, Chukchi, Hudson Bay, Beaufort

☆ 'Data leverage' and the Harry Potter test: How much is a single book worth to a giant AI model?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

This month, serious AI researchers waded into this debate with 2 papers that seek to address various aspects of the situation. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Harry Potter testThen the researchers went deep into the weeds, using J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books to see if individual pieces of data influence AI model performance. The other datastore excluded all 7 Harry Potter books. Then they repeated the exercise, excluding the second Harry Potter book, then the third, and so on. Important legal benefitsHelping J.K. Rowling make even more money from her Harry Potter books was not the goal of the SILO study, though.

Persons: Nick Vincent, Vincent, what's, Benedict Evans, I've, I'm, Harry Potter, Rowling's Harry Potter, LLMs, there's, Rowling, Oren Etzoni, Etzioni Organizations: Morning, Simon Fraser University, University of Washington, UC Berkeley, Allen Institute, AI Locations: Vancouver, Google's, Seattle

☆ A business owner ditching the office explains how he came to trust his employees to work remotely so he could save money on rent
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The remote work debate is still raging, as firms try to get their workers back into the office. But one business owner says trusting workers to create their own best work arrangement is the best option. "There's the whole saying about working from home, 'shirking from home,' or working remotely, 'remotely working,'" Bloom said. That's why Eitzen is making remote work permanent. Are you a boss or worker trying to figure out how to keep remote work functional?

Persons: Sam Eitzen, Eitzen, I'm, you've, There's, they'd, Simon Fraser, Lucy Gilson, Nicholas Bloom, haven't, Bloom, that's, Chris Bailey, who's, Bailey, he's, It's Organizations: Service, Employers, Deloitte, Pepperdine University , University of New, Simon, Simon Fraser University, University of Calgary, Paul College of Business, University of New, Stanford University, Workers, jkaplan Locations: Wall, Silicon, Seattle, Pepperdine University , University of New Hampshire, University of New Hampshire, Spain, Italy

KINSHASA, March 24 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has appointed the country's former vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba, who was detained for over 10 years for war crimes, as the country's defence minister in a sweeping government reshuffle. The reshuffle, which was more extensive than observers had predicted, came ahead of an expected presidential election on Dec. 20, in which Tshisekedi is likely to seek a second term. "This a deeply political shuffle," said Jason Stearns, Director of the Congo Research Group and Professor at Canada's Simon Fraser University. Tshisekedi appointed Vital Kamerhe, his former chief of staff who was released from prison in Dec. 2021 following as embezzlement conviction, as economy minister. Bemba, a former rebel leader was arrested in 2008 by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by his troops in the Central African Republic between 2002 and 2003.

☆ Canada's drought-stricken British Columbia bracing for floods when rains return
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oct 13 (Reuters) - Canada's British Columbia province on Thursday warned residents to prepare for flooding when rains eventually return after a prolonged drought exacerbated by climate change that has raised concerns about long-term damage to ecosystems ranging from glaciers to salmon rivers. Vancouver, the largest city in British Columbia, received less than a sixth of its average rainfall in August and September and has received only 0.2 millimetres so far in October, according to Environment Canada. Salmon migrate from the ocean to rivers to spawn at this time of year, but this month social media pictures showed thousands of dead salmon in a dried-up stream in central British Columbia. While the dry fall is less damaging than the heat dome that engulfed British Columbia last summer, it is still not good for glaciers' long-term health, said Brian Menounos, a professor of geography at the University of Northern British Columbia. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Nia Williams in Revelstoke, British Columbia; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' actor Ryan Grantham sentenced to life in prison for killing his mother
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Minyvonne Burke Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Canadian actor Ryan Grantham was sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to killing his mother in March 2020. He will be eligible for parole after serving 14 years, a spokesperson for the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver said. Prosecutors said Grantham, who starred in "Riverdale" and "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," shot and killed his mother while she was playing piano at their home. Instead of committing these acts, Grantham drove to Vancouver police and admitted to killing his mother, the newspaper reported. Johnson said at the time of the murder, Grantham was dealing with untreated mental health challenges including a major depressive order.

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