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☆ Explainer: What the world's nature-rich nations want out of a global conservation deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File PhotoMONTREAL, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Tangled expanses of Amazon rainforest, high mountains of the Himalayas, and cloud-shrouded forests are just some of the unique landscapes contained within the world's most nature-rich nations. Governments are trying to work out a new global agreement to guide conservation and wildlife protection through 2030 at a U.N. summit in Montreal this week. Of the nearly 200 countries assembled, five are considered to be among the world's most biodiverse nations — measured in the number of unique species. That's more than a third of all the world’s flowering plants, and more than half of all bird and mammal species on Earth. Here's what some of the world's most nature-rich nations want to happen at the talks.

☆ New York and L.A. meet CDC criteria for masking in public. How much will masks help this winter?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Aria-Bendix-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Aria Bendix | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The Philadelphia school district announced Wednesday that students and staff will be required to wear masks indoors for two weeks in January in an effort to slow transmission after the holidays. The New York City Department of Education issued a letter this week strongly encouraging students and staff to wear a well-fitting mask indoors. After three years of Covid, however, experts recognized that few people are inclined to wear masks as often as they had previously while in public spaces. But Luby said he still wears a mask in public, even when others around him do not. “I find myself in that situation a lot — I’m the only person in the room wearing a mask," he said.

☆ Financial executives and Texas Republicans spar over climate actions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Ross Kerber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Financial executives and Texas state senators clashed over company concerns for climate change at a hearing on Thursday, a rare in-person confrontation as Republicans ramp up attacks on the use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investing. Texas Republicans at the hearing, which was webcast, questioned whether the participation of BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) and State Street Corp (STT.N) in industry efforts to cut emissions put too much pressure on portfolio companies. Even as they take heat from energy-producing U.S. states, asset managers have faced pressure from climate activists and Democrats to take more environmental action. With some $8 trillion under management, BlackRock has been singled out by Texas for alleged over-pressuring of its important energy sector. A number of State Street funds were also designated.

☆ BlackRock executive and Texas Republicans spar over climate actions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Ross Kerber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 15 (Reuters) - A BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) executive and Texas state senators sparred over the firm's membership in an investment group aiming to limit climate change at a hearing on Thursday. Republicans at the hearing, which was webcast, questioned if BlackRock's membership in the Climate Action 100+ committed it to putting too much pressure on portfolio companies to take steps to reduce emissions. BlackRock Senior Managing Director Dalia Blass said the firm had maintained its independence within the group. “We have one bias, and that's to get the best risk-adjusted returns for our clients," Blass said. Reporting by Ross Kerber Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Our ancestors may have evolved to walk upright in trees rather than on the ground, new study suggests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Humans’ ability to walk upright on two legs may have evolved in trees, rather than on the ground, according to scientists studying wild chimpanzees in Tanzania. Rhianna Drummond-Clarke/AAASThe team recorded every time that the chimpanzees were upright, and whether it occurred while they were on the ground or in the trees. In addition, more than 85% of the times that the chimpanzees walked upright occurred in the trees, rather than on the ground. “A long-held assumption has been: Less trees means more time on the ground, more time on the ground means more time upright,” Piel said. Rhianna Drummond-Clarke/AAASThe next question for researchers is why the Issa Valley chimpanzees spend more time in trees despite being around fewer trees than other chimpanzee communities, Piel said.

☆ An unexpected force may be speeding up glacier melt across the globe: colorful algae blooms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Now he sees bright pink and red algae blooms every year. Dr. Matt DaveyScientists like Maréchal think these algae blooms are getting larger and more frequent as rising global temperatures melt glaciers worldwide. Glacier algae seems to be booming, but scientists have a lot to learnResearcher Matt Davey samples snow algae at Lagoon Island, Antarctica. Ice algae and snow algae are different types of microorganisms, and different fields of study, but they both affect glaciers. A strip of "blood snow" filled with red algae cuts across a dark bloom of purple algae in Greenland.

New Delhi CNN —At the Bhalswa landfill in northwest Delhi, a steady flow of jeeps zigzag up the trash heap to dump more garbage on a pile now over 62 meters (203 feet) high. India creates more methane from landfill sites than any other country, according to GHGSat, which monitors methane via satellites. Ragpickers at the Bhalswa landfill site on April 28, 2022, in New Delhi, India. In May, CNN commissioned two accredited labs to test the ground water around the Bhalswa landfill. And according to the results, ground water within at least a 500-meter (1,600-foot) radius around the waste site is contaminated.

LISBON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Portugal wants to speed up investments in green hydrogen projects, which are essential to decarbonize the economy, and will end mandatory environmental assessments for them in March 2023, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said. Portugal expects to become a major producer and exporter of green hydrogen with 70 private investors or groups planning to spend 10 billion euros ($10.51 billion). Environmentalists have criticized the so-called Simplex package as it may have impacts on nature and the well-being of populations. Portugal's largest utility EDP (EDP.LS) and oil and gas company Galp Energia (GALP.LS) are both planning to build green hydrogen plants in the industrial hub of Sines. The three main glass producers and two biggest cement makers, together accounting for 10% of the country's industrial carbon emissions, also joined a new consortium to launch a green hydrogen plant.

The effort, known as the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative, was launched in late 2020 to encourage fund firms to reach net zero emission targets by 2050 and limit the rise in global temperatures. As of Nov. 9, NZAM counted 291 signatories representing some $66 trillion in assets under management. As recently as May Vanguard was touting commitments it had made in line with NZAM's goals. Vanguard said the change "will not affect our commitment to helping our investors navigate the risks that climate change can pose to their long-term returns." "Vanguard was never serious about implementing its net zero commitment" Cuvelier said in a statement.

☆ Oldest DNA sheds light on a 2 million-year-old ecosystem that has no modern parallel
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A core of ice age sediment from northern Greenland has yielded the world’s oldest sequences of DNA. They then compared the DNA fragments with existing libraries of DNA collected from both extinct and living animals, plants and microorganisms. It was super exciting when we recovered the DNA (to see) that very, very different ecosystem. They found no DNA from carnivores but believe predators — such as bears, wolves or even saber-toothed tigers — must have been present in the ecosystem. Further study of environmental DNA from this time period could help scientists understand how various organisms might adapt to climate change.

☆ Factbox: Conservation targets proposed for halting nature loss
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

REUTERS/Dan Koeck/File PhotoMONTREAL, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Countries negotiating a global deal to halt nature loss are considering 24 potential conservation targets during this month's U.N. biodiversity summit in Montreal. TARGET 3 - PROTECTED AREASUnder this central goal known as the "30-by-30" target, countries would agree to protect at least 30% of their land and sea territories by 2030. TARGET 14 - POLICYThis target proposes including biodiversity and conservation in national policies, regulations, planning, and poverty eradication strategies, as well in environmental impact assessments. TARGET 16 - SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTIONHere, negotiators seek to suggest or require national policies, laws or regulations that would encourage consumers to make sustainable choices. TARGET 21 - EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION AND INCLUSIONThis settled target aims to make sure that conservation strategies represent all genders and indigenous communities.

CNN —Peruvian lawmakers have voted to oust President Pedro Castillo, dramatically escalating Wednesday’s political crisis that began hours earlier when Castillo attempted to dissolve the legislative body and install an emergency government. A majority of 101 lawmakers in the 130-person congress later voted to impeach Castillo, with the body announcing that Vice President Dina Boluarte will be sworn in as the new President of Peru. Francisco Morales, the president of Peru’s Constitutional Court, urged Boluarte to assume the presidency in a speech prior to the congressional vote. Lawmakers stand inside Congress on the day of their planned impeachment vote on President Pedro Castillo in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. The complaint allows congress to carry out its own investigation against the president.

SAO PAULO, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest fell in the 12 months through July, according to government data released on Wednesday, retreating from a 15-year high under outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro. The destruction declined 11% from a year earlier to 11,568 square kilometers (4,466 square miles), according to annual data from Brazilian space research agency Inpe. That was still more Amazon deforestation than any year from 2009 to 2020. Ane Alencar, science director at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute, said that there has been no change in Bolsonaro's policy of weakening environmental agencies to explain the drop in deforestation. Those months will instead be reflected in the first annual PRODES data released under Lula in 2023.

☆ Lula wants new Brazil police unit to tackle environmental crimes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Lisandra Paraguassu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASLIA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's incoming administration aims to create a new Federal Police unit focused on environmental crimes, the transition team's public security chief told Reuters. "There is now a specific complexity of environmental crimes, in which there is, a kind of combo of crimes in the Amazon. We no longer have isolated environmental crimes," he said. So the idea is a specialized unit for greater efficiency and greater articulation with neighboring countries"Currently, environmental crimes are tackled by the Federal Police's organized crime department, Dino said. Creating a new unit, he added, would be a "practical proposal, which shows a sense of priority for this environmental issue."

☆ A US plan to drop bombs from cargo planes hit another milestone, but the Air Force is still figuring out how it would use it in a war
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

US Air Force special operators launched a cruise missile from a cargo plane over Norway this month. The Air Force wants to have more planes that can launch long-range strikes, but there are logistical hurdles. US Air Force personnel load a Rapid Dragon deployment system on an MC-130J before a test in November 2021. Air Force Research Laboratory"The beauty of that capability is it doesn't require any aircraft modifications. We are intentionally trying to be provocative without being escalatory," said Melnicoff, Special Operations Command Europe's lead officer for Operation Atreus.

☆ Analysis: Vietnam's anti-graft crackdown chills supply chains, investment
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Francesco Guarascio | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"If you don't do anything, you cannot do a mistake," Walde said of the current licensing paralysis caused by the bureaucratic anxiety. Germany is the second-largest exporter of drugs to Vietnam after France, according to 2020 data. SUPPLY SHOCKSThe negative economic consequences of the crackdown come on top of other challenges that Vietnam and other countries in Asia face, namely a weakening local currency, global supply constraints and declining world demand. "The crackdown won't be able to root out the widespread corruption if implemented without complete transparency and rule of law," said Hop. Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; Additional reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Try this interval workout to avoid HIIT burnout or injuries
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Melanie Radzicki Mcmanus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Yet HIIT workouts require maximum exertion, which means they aren’t for every day — or necessarily for everyone. “But that might not be what you’re really doing.”You can perform HIIT workouts using body weight via circuits of exercises such as lunges. undrey/Adobe StockFull-body workout: Variable-intensity interval trainingA VIIT workout is the sweet spot between HIIT and HVIT sessions, Brock said, featuring intervals of hard, medium and low intensity. “Variable intensity workouts are great because they use the entire gauntlet,” Brock said, offering a more complete, full-body workout. If losing weight is your aim and you don’t have much time, the shorter, calorie-busting HIIT workouts may be the way to go.

☆ Maine Governor Janet Mills criticized Whole Foods after the grocery chain decided to stop selling the state's lobsters at its stores
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Whole Foods will no longer sell Maine lobster in its stores. The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative, which represents the Gulf of Maine fishery, also called the decision "disappointing" in a statement to Maine Public. Right whales can reach up to 52 feet in length and live up to 70 years. The main causes of unusual death for right whales include entanglements with fishing gear and collisions with ships. Representatives for Whole Foods, the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative, and the Marine Stewardship Council did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ The $113,000 Hummer EV is totally outrageous in every way — and that's what makes it such a good time
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The GMC Hummer EV is ridiculously large, astonishingly quick, and excessive in every way. GM lent me a Hummer EV Edition 1, which retails for around $113,000. First, the basicsThe 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1. The Hummer EV pickup launched in late 2021, and an SUV is on the way for 2023. What falls short: New Hummer, same problemsThe Hummer EV is wildly inefficient compared to its competitors, which is both unfortunate and on brand.

☆ Meet a 26-year-old who acquired $1 million in real estate properties starting with an $18,000 loan. He explains his strategy, and why beginners should purchase their first homes through FHA.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

James Walker III has acquired $1 million in real estate properties at 26 years old. Four years ago, he used with an $18,000 loan to buy his first FHA property for $350,000. "So you see that genesis of both real estate and entrepreneurship coming in my formative years through seeing my parents really go big in real estate," he said. With an FHA loan, the property must be the borrower's primary residence for at least a year. You build this up foundationally and you set yourself up for the day where real estate surpasses your primary income."

☆ New York is the first state to ban certain types of crypto mining—here's what to know
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

New York just became the first state to ban certain types of cryptocurrency mining in an effort to address environmental worries over the energy-intensive process. The new law temporarily freezes the issuance and renewal of air permits to companies that have transformed some of the state's oldest fossil fuel plants into cryptocurrency mining hubs. Mining crypto can produce harmful emissions by generating electricity through burning coal, natural gas and other fossil fuels. However, as companies flocked to the region, climate advocates began ringing the alarm over crypto mining's potential environmental harm. On a national level, U.S. crypto mining produced about 25 to 50 million metric tons of carbon pollution according to a White House report.

☆ Daylight Saving Time debate sheds light on growing racial inequities in sleep health
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the Sleep Research Society and other medical groups have advocated for ending the practice, calling for the adoption of a permanent standard time that would not involve shifting forward each spring and falling back each autumn. She authored a paper, published in September in the journal Sleep, detailing the potential health benefits of adopting a permanent standard time. Now, some sleep researchers worry about the potential effects that continuing to change standard time twice each year may have on sleep health inequities. “Fortunately, sleep health is largely modifiable.”As for the inequities seen in sleep health, it’s not that White adults don’t also experience a lack of sleep and its health consequences – but people of color appear to disproportionately experience them more, and that’s believed to be largely due to social systems in the United States. Improving sleep health has been a national objective in the federal government’s past two Healthy People programs, noted Caraballo-Cordovez, who is not involved in the programs.

☆ Photos: See How NASA Trains Its Astronauts to Go to the Moon
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Since 1959, more than 350 people have become NASA astronauts. Since NASA announced its first class of astronauts in 1959, more than 350 people have become astronauts. An astronaut nurse takes a blood sample from NASA astronaut John Glenn in 1961. NASAEarly on, NASA used a large machine called a human centrifuge to test gravitational stress on astronauts training to go to the moon for the first time. As more humans ventured into space, NASA began to understand the mental burden of space travel.

☆ My company has had success with a 4-day work week. Here are 6 lessons we'd share with other businesses considering it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Earlier this year, more than 70 companies in the UK began one of the largest-ever trials of a 4-day work week. Here, Ursell shares several key lessons he'd tell other companies considering a shortened work week. Preparation is vitalWe started talking about a four-day week more than four years ago. We also spoke to companies that were doing a four-day week and took their advice. The four-day week isn't a compressed work schedule but rather reduced hours, with the objective of being more productive, happier, and more focused.

Lee County suffered none of the state’s 123 Irma deaths. That experience influenced many people’s decisions not to flee Hurricane Ian. “Hurricane Ian is going to be the strongest outreach messaging for southwest Florida ever,” said Gleason, the Charlotte County spokesman. “When you live through it, then that message sinks in deep and forever.”A view of the Matanzas Pass side of Estero Island, home to Fort Myers Beach, Fla. Fort Myers Beach is expected to take years to rebuild. Thomas Simonetti for NBC NewsMichael Yost's two closest friends in Fort Myers Beach drowned in Hurricane Ian.

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