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☆ Opinion | Seeking Technological Solutions to the Climate Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Carbon capture and storage” and “direct air capture” may sound like pleasant, productive endeavors. But the truth is, they are indeed a wasteful distraction, doing more harm than good. Recent analysis from Food & Water Watch indicates that direct air capture is both preposterously expensive and ultimately pointless. Powering a direct air capture operation via traditional methods would create over three times more carbon emissions than it actually captured. Meanwhile, diverting wind and solar energy to run carbon capture facilities would be like using clean water to power a desalination plant — a wasteful loop of stagnation.

Organizations: & Water Watch

☆ My 3-year-old son drowned in a backyard pool. I wish I'd known these 7 swim safety tips.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Kelly Burch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementMy son was on life support for two weeksMy friend gave Yori CPR, and then I stepped in. Black children like Yori are more than 2.5 times more likely than their white peers to drown. AdvertisementChezik Tsunoda still allows her three living sons to swim, but has taught them water safety. When someone is drowning, reach toward them, throw them a flotation device, but — unless it's a very small child — don't go to them. Stick with swim lessonsJust weeks before Yori drowned, he tried swimming lessons and hated them.

Persons: Chezik, Yori, Tsunoda, —, Yori's, Tim Gbunblee, tucking, hadn't, aren't, I'd Organizations: Service Locations: Washington, —

WASHINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday it will extend for up to 90 days a trial program that allows six U.S. pork plants to operate faster processing-line speeds while collecting data on how the speeds affect meatpacking workers. Some activist groups like Food & Water Watch had opposed the program as a risk to food safety. A judge in 2021 invalidated that rule after the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union, which represents many meatpacking workers, sued the USDA over worker safety concerns. Plants in the trial were also assigned to collect data on how line speeds affect workers and share it with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago and Leah Douglas in Washington; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tyson, JBS's, UFCW, Tom Polansek, Leah Douglas, Bernadette Baum Organizations: U.S . Department of Agriculture, Tyson, JBS SA, Water Watch, JBS's Swift Pork Company, Companies, United Food, Commercial Workers, U.S . Occupational Safety, Health Administration, U.S . Senate, Thomson Locations: Nebraska, Illinois, U.S, Chicago, Washington

[1/2] The Kroger supermarket chain's headquarters is shown in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., June 28, 2018. Bonta said the decision has not been made, but added: "Right now there's not a lot of reason not to sue." In September, the companies announced a plan to sell more than 400 grocery stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers in an effort to get regulatory approval for the deal. A Kroger spokesperson said only non-unionized retailers, like Walmart and Amazon, will benefit if the merger is blocked. Research from the University of Southern California in 2021 found one in three neighborhoods in 30 populous U.S. cities had inadequate access to needed pharmacy services.

Persons: Lisa Baertlein, Rob Bonta, Bonta, Lina Khan, Diane Bartz, Leslie Adler, Bill Berkrot, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Kroger, REUTERS, Rights, Albertsons, S Wholesale Grocers, Walmart, U.S, Water Watch, Federal Trade, FTC, University of Southern, Thomson Locations: Cincinnati , Ohio, U.S, California, America, Food, Washington, University of Southern California

☆ California Is Free of Extreme Drought Conditions for the First Time in 3 Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Nikita Richardson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In recent years, the prospect of heavy rains might have sounded good to many people living in California, where drought and wildfires have been the main worries. That was not the case on this weekend, as Hurricane Hilary moved north from the coast of Baja California in Mexico and threatened to dump six to 10 inches of rain on the region. After three of the driest years in California history, much of the state is currently free of drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Storms fueled by “atmospheric rivers” this winter led to flooding and destruction across the state, but they also relieved severe drought conditions across wide swaths of the state, including Los Angeles and San Diego Counties, both of which were in Hilary’s path. Heavy winter rain, as well as record amounts of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains, also has filled many of the state’s reservoirs well above historical averages, according to California Water Watch, a daily tracker maintained by the California Department of Water Resources.

Persons: Hilary Organizations: U.S . Drought, Los, San, San Diego Counties, California Water Watch, California Department of Water Resources Locations: California, Baja California, Mexico, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sierra Nevada

[1/2] Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER bulk carrier transits the expanded canal through Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal, on the outskirts of Panama City, Panama April 19, 2023. The Panama Canal Authority has reduced maximum ship weights and daily ship crossings in a bid to conserve water. Container ships are the most common users of the Panama Canal and transport more than 40% of consumer goods traded between Northeast Asia and the U.S. East Coast. Some shipping executives are bracing for more reductions later this year, noting that in 2020 a less severe drought prompted canal operators to reduce crossings to 27 per day. "The Panama Canal is just the latest example."

Persons: Aris Martinez, Max, Drew Lerner, Peter Sand, Steve Ferreira, STRI's Steven Paton, Paton, Brian Bourke, Lisa Baertlein, Marianna Parraga, Elida Moreno, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Deepa Babington Organizations: Monrovia NSU CHALLENGER, REUTERS, ANGELES, Evergreen Marine, Pacific, Panama Canal Authority, Northeast, U.S ., Smithsonian Tropical Research, El Nino, Central American, Canal Authority, SEKO Logistics, Thomson Locations: Cocoli, Panama, Panama City, HOUSTON, China, U.S, Northeast Asia, U.S . East Coast . U.S, United States, Chile, Brazil, Suez, Gatun Lake, El, U.S . East Coast, Los Angeles, Houston, Copenhagen

Research from the University of Southern California in 2021 found one in three neighborhoods in 30 populous U.S. cities were "pharmacy deserts." California Attorney General Rob Bonta has previously said he was "deeply concerned" about the proposed merger. "Post-transaction, Kroger will operate the pharmacies that are part of the Albertsons' stores that it acquires," the spokesperson said. Neither of the people who spoke with Reuters about pharmacy deserts knew if enforcers would file a lawsuit aimed at stopping the proposed transaction or when enforcers would decide what action to take on Kroger's plan to buy Albertsons. One source told the California attorney general's office that low income people were likely to lose access to pharmacy services, which include vaccinations, if the deal goes forward.

Persons: Kroger, Rob Bonta, Biden, Diane Bartz, Anna Driver Organizations: Albertsons, REUTERS, Rights, University of Southern, Reuters, Walmart, U.S, Kroger, Water Watch, Federal Trade Commission, Thomson Locations: Riverside , California, U.S, California, University of Southern California, Food

☆ New York poised to pass first statewide law banning natural gas in new buildings
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The law would likely take effect in 2026 for most new buildings under seven stories and in 2029 for larger buildings. The statewide ban would follow legislation passed by New York City in 2021 that bans natural gas hookups in new buildings by the end of this year. New York was the sixth-largest natural gas consumer among the states in 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. And in 2021, the residential sector — where three out of every five households use natural gas for heating — comprised over one-third of the natural gas delivered to New York residents, the agency found. "New York state is leading the way in ending America's devastating addiction to fossil fuels," said Food & Water Watch Northeast Region Director Alex Beauchamp.

ConocoPhillips had sought to build up to five drill sites, dozens of miles of roads, seven bridges and pipelines. The Interior Department approved the project with three drill pads after saying last month that it was concerned about the greenhouse gas impacts of Willow. Its Bureau of Land Management last month recommended a "preferred alternative" that includes three drill sites and less surface infrastructure than originally proposed. The decision comes after the Biden administration on Sunday announced new protections for Alaskan land and water. Environmental groups criticized the Biden administration, saying it was trying to have it "both way" on climate change.

Alaska's elected officials say the project will create hundreds of jobs and bring billions of dollars in revenue to state and federal coffers. The state relies heavily on revenue from oil production, but output there has declined dramatically from its peak in the 1980s. "I feel the people of Alaska have been heard," U.S. Representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat from Alaska, said on a call with reporters. The Interior Department approved the project with three drill pads after saying last month it was concerned about the greenhouse gas impacts of Willow. "This was the right decision for Alaska and our nation," ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Ryan Lance said in a statement.

☆ What would a Kroger-Albertsons merger mean for grocery prices?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A Kroger-Albertsons merger could reshape the grocery industry. The companies say they will divest hundreds of stores in areas where they overlap to win regulatory approval. Albertsons has higher prices than Kroger and other grocers, analysts say, and they predict Kroger will try to reduce Albertsons prices to be more competitive against discount chains like Aldi. Antitrust advocates say the merger would force out competition and concentrate power among the largest chains, driving up prices. A Kroger-Albertsons merger would spark a fresh wave of mergers and acquisitions as companies seek to keep up, analysts predict.

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