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Tokyo, Japan CNN —Move over, boomers and older millennials – Japan’s young people are stepping into office. Most members of Japan’s parliament are aged 50 to 70 – and are 75% male, according to data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Making headlines is Ryosuke Takashima who, at 26 years old, is Japan’s youngest-ever mayor, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK. Shin the Hiratsuka YouTuber, who was elected to the Hiratsuka city council. Ayaka Nasuno, 25, is another Gen Z politician making her debut after winning the highest share of votes for the Kawasaki City Council earlier this month.

☆ I'm an Air Force mechanic. It's a very stressful job, but I love it — here are the best and worst parts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Paul Krantz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Raymond Pendergraph has served all over the world as an E6 technical sergeant in the US Air Force. My dad was in the military, so moving around and living on Air Force bases was part of my life growing up. My first duty station was at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. International assignments brought me to South Korea, Japan, and ItalyI spent a year working on Osan Air Base in South Korea. In the military, working hours really depend on your positionPeople working in administration or finance have pretty standard, set schedules.

☆ These are the 10 worst places to live in the U.S. if you want clean air
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Celia Fernandez | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

You might be surprised to learn that the place with the most polluted air in the U.S. isn't a big city, but a small town in California. This month, The Guardian released an analysis in conjunction with a group of researchers from several institutions, including the University of Washington, to rank the neighborhoods across the contiguous U.S. that have the worst air pollution. Julian Marshall, professor of environmental engineering at the University of Washington, told The Guardian that the analysis shows that neighborhoods with the worst air quality were predominantly Black and Hispanic. "What we're seeing here is segregation," Marshall said. "You have segregation of people and segregation of pollution."

☆ How the Turkey earthquake caused thousands of aftershocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

10,000 tremors How Turkey has been rattled by aftershocks since the Feb. 6 earthquakeThousands of earthquakes struck southern Turkey in the weeks after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 6, killing more than 50,000 people in Turkey and northwest Syria. Chart shows about ten thousand earthquakes that have been recorded in southern Turkey since a 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred on February 6. The Turkey quake also triggered a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that caused a separate rupture in the Earth’s surface, which in turn caused thousands of aftershocks. Domino effect Seismologists define aftershocks as temblors triggered by a large earthquake, close in time and location. Chart shows aftershocks that occurred in 24 hours after the 6.4 magnitude earthquake in southern Turkey within 30 kilometers around the city of Antakya.

☆ I'm an EPA worker who's responded to more than 100 toxic spills and chemical fires, and I'll never forget one that got my adrenaline going
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Kelly worked on disasters like the BP oil spill and lead drinking-water crisis in Flint, Michigan. I'm one of the 220 emergency responders that the EPA has across the country who's on call when there's a major oil spill or chemical fire, like after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. There are also smaller events, like fires at oil refineries and paper mills and hazardous waste left behind by mines. EPA on-scene coordinators sample air, water, and buildings for toxic chemicals to determine public-health risks. Brian KellyThe EPA issues an enforcement order to the companies responsible for a spill or fire to take over the cleanup.

☆ Just How Good for the Planet Is That Big Electric Pickup Truck?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +11 min

But as electric vehicles have bulked up, they have also faced new questions over their environmental and safety impacts. Less emissions per mile More emissions per mile Electric vehicles Vehicle SIZE, BY WEIGHT: Heavier vehicles tend to have higher emissions. Take the Ford F-150 pickup truck compared with the electric F-150 Lighting. The same beeswarm chart as in the previous graphic, but Ford F-150 Lightning and Ford F-150 gas-powered models are highlighted. Larger batteries have also added significant weight to many big electric vehicles, anywhere from hundreds to thousands of pounds.

☆ CDC is talking to airlines about wastewater testing in planes. New reports support that strategy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Aria-Bendix-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Aria Bendix | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The U.S. has been monitoring for the coronavirus in wastewater since the CDC launched its National Wastewater Surveillance System in September 2020. But that testing mainly involves wastewater from households or buildings, not samples from airports or planes. Previous Covid-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool, and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option," CDC press officer Scott Pauley told NBC News. Politico first reported that the agency is considering airplane wastewater testing. As of October, more than 1,250 sites were conducting wastewater testing across the U.S.

“One of the worst things you can hear from your child is them screaming ‘I don’t want to die! Residents across the state are just beginning to understand the full extent of the damage, especially in marginalized communities, as they recover from the deluge. But instead of work, Naranjo and other farmworkers are faced with some 20,000 flooded farmland in Salinas, according to early estimates from the Monterey County Farm Bureau, a nonprofit association of farmers and ranchers. When asked if he would return to work soon, Naranjo answered: “I don’t know.”Cars driving through a flooded roadway in Planada, Calif., on Jan. 10. “In my head, I thought if it was that bad, someone would come tell us, but no one ever did.

☆ Ancient Roman concrete was incredibly strong — scientists may have just figured out why
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ancient Roman concrete is incredibly durable, even more so than modern concrete. One team may have cracked the mystery — focusing on tiny white flecks once seen as imperfections. These scientists suggest the secret is in white flecks found in the concrete called "lime clasts." Courtesy of the researchersLime clasts — the white flecks — are quite brittle, and that's a good thing. They made up concrete blocks, one using the powdered lime and one using a more modern version of the concrete that did not.

☆ End to storms is near but California braces for two more atmospheric rivers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] A road sign is seen next to a country highway on agricultural land amid flooding from the Salinas River, in Salinas, California, U.S., January 13, 2023. The latest storm, the season's eighth, is expected to begin dumping heavy rain on California from early on Saturday, the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center said. The ninth and final atmospheric river of the series is due to make landfall on Monday and last a couple of days. Among the waterways of concern, the Salinas River in northern California flooded roads and farmland on Friday, when 24,000 people were urged to evacuate. In southern California, officials will release water on Saturday from Lake Cachuma, which provides drinking water near Santa Barbara, as the chronically low lake has filled to capacity.

☆ Scientists chip away at how ancient Roman concrete stood test of time
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Roman concrete was introduced in the 3rd century BC, proving revolutionary. Many of these structures have endured for two millennia while modern concrete counterparts sometimes crumble in mere years or decades. Roman concrete contains white bits called "lime clasts," remnants of the lime used in the concrete. Some viewed the lime clasts, absent in modern concrete, as an accidental byproduct of sloppy preparation or poor-quality materials. Masic is a co-founder of a company called DMAT, based in the United States and Italy, that is commercializing concrete inspired by the ancient Roman version.

☆ Airlines can price climate change into your plane ticket. There are reasons to not buy it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Trevor Laurence Jockims | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

United Airlines , for example, has committed to net zero carbon by 2050 without any contribution from traditional carbon offsets. Southwest Airlines ' "Wanna offset carbon?" Consumer psychology and the environmentIt's not just about the dollar amount of the carbon offset purchase in the consumer psychology. If airline travelers want to stay environmentally conscious without paying carbon offset fees, Keyes recommends choosing cheaper airlines when traveling. "It's true that we all have a part to play in reducing carbon emissions.

This week's spill of 14,000 barrels in Kansas is sure to raise alarms over future pipeline development, as U.S. regulators had already increased scrutiny of pipeline construction due to previous Keystone spills in 2017 and 2019. The pipeline suffered few incidents in its early years, but since 2017, the number of spills increased after TC Energy received a special permit from the U.S. "I think a lot of scrutiny is going to be placed on the special permit," said Jane Kleeb, founder of Bold Alliance, an advocacy group that fought Keystone XL. John Stoody, vice-president of government relations at the Liquid Energy Pipeline Association said special permits come with numerous different operating conditions. "If anything there are complaints from industry about how lengthy the special permit process is.

☆ What Covid taught scientists and the public about the flu
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Caroline Hopkins | Nbc News Contributor Caroline Hopkins Is A Health | Science Journalist Who Covers Cancer Treatment For Precision Oncology News. She Is A Graduate Of The Columbia University Graduate School Of Journalism. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

Flu transmission can be stoppedThe 2020-2021 flu season — the first full flu season of the Covid pandemic — defied Tedros’ message. ‘Nonpharmaceutical interventions’ workBefore Covid, experts put limited stock in so-called nonpharmaceutical — that is, nonvaccination — strategies for preventing flu transmission. Although the airline case study taught the research community about airborne flu transmission, she said the general public’s appreciation for these risks has increased because of Covid. In that study, the researchers compared mild Covid infections with mild flu infections in mice and humans and found that the brain effects were similar around seven days post-infection. Asymptomatic flu infections may be underappreciatedThe Covid pandemic put a spotlight on the extent and risk of asymptomatic infections.

☆ What it feels like to visit a fusion company lab on a day when wildfire smoke cloaks the horizon
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

The Helion Energy building under construction to house their next generation fusion machine. For the employees of Helion Energy, building a fusion device is their job. Helion Energy's building under construction to house the seventh generation fusion machine on a day when wildfire smoke was not restricting visibility. On the one hand, I had a newfound sense of hope about the possibility of fusion energy. This is the Polaris Injector Test, where Helion Energy is building a component piece of the seventh generation fusion machine.

☆ Extreme weather could push food inflation even higher
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But as extreme weather events increase in frequency or become even more intense, the unpredictability is becoming more of an economic liability. “And those higher costs are being passed on to consumers.” The rise in food prices is one of the key factors fueling inflation, according to recent CPI data. Extreme weather also can negatively affect companies’ bottom lines, according to research from Paul Griffin, professor of management at UC Davis. Corn crops that died due to extreme heat and drought during a heatwave in Austin, Texas, on Monday, July 11, 2022. Still, the very prospect of more extreme weather could further sap away groundwater and limit the cultivation potential in the future, Smith said.

☆ Preparing for Category 6 hurricanes, a new facility will test winds of 200 mph and storm surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-02-07 | by ( Jennifer Gray | Cnn Meteorologist | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

Hide Caption 1 of 99 Photos: Hurricane Dorian Homes are in ruins one week after Dorian hit Marsh Harbour. Hide Caption 11 of 99 Photos: Hurricane Dorian Waves crash into boats in Halifax, Nova Scotia, as Hurricane Dorian approached on September 7. Hide Caption 27 of 99 Photos: Hurricane Dorian Emerald Isle employees work to clear a road after a tornado hit. Hide Caption 67 of 99 Photos: Hurricane Dorian Dorian left heavy damage at this resort in Hope Town, Bahamas. Hide Caption 74 of 99 Photos: Hurricane Dorian Palm trees blow in strong winds prior to Dorian's landfall in Freeport.

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