#and redesigned the trees a billion times

[ellraiser]

awake / asleep

[nwalthall]

 I am always shocked that anyone would want to hurt these birds. And of course, the truth is, no one really does. No one hunts them; no one eats them. The death of a bird as beautiful as this must surely be an unintended consequence of some other action, the denial of habitat, the need to cut down some trees in Brackenridge Park, to rid a tourist attraction like the San Antonio Zoo of the stench of bird shit on a hot day in July, to clear some land, build some new houses, a school, a church. And on and on. The New York Times reported in 2019 that the number of birds in the United States and Canada has declined by 3 billion, or 29 percent, over the last half century. The article quotes Hillary Young, a conservation biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara: “The sheer scale of the bird decline meant that stopping it would require immense effort, said Dr. Young.’Habitats must be defended, chemicals restricted, buildings redesigned. We’re overusing the world, so it’s affecting everything,’ she said.” Which is why a flock of extraordinarily beautiful egrets find themselves here, in a public park, surrounded by 1.5 million poeple and a lot of asphalt. It’s not like it makes sense for them to set up house in the middle of a town that finds them a huge inconvenience. They are HERE because we are “overusing the world,” busily taking away every other THERE they might comfortably inhabit without invconveniencing us. And the process is inexorable. The birds always go straight to the bottom of the list, relative to economic development, job creation, urban renewal, housing development, office development, new shops, malls, commercial real estate, roads, economic growth, GDP. Everyone loves the birds until they have a good reason to kill them, and there is always a “good” reason. You would deny a person a job, for A BIRD? Actually, I wouldn’t, but I would insist upon an imaginative reconsideration of whether the job and the bird could in fact coexist. Absent that, the job gets created and the bird, along with God knows how many other species, loses its habitat. The egrets in Brackenridge Park are a warning to us, a persistent sign of our own failure when it comes to the stewardship of the world we inhabit. That might be the real reason we want them out of sight. Elizabeth Kolbert has written that “having freed ourselves from the constraints of evolution, humans nevertheless remain dependent on the earth’s biological and geochemical systems. By disrupting these systems—cutting down tropical rainforests, altering the composition of the atmosphere, acidifying the oceans—we’re putting our own survival in danger.” How well is our own species going to fare on a planet that consists only of us and townhouses? That’s the question the egrets are putting to us, in a language that we long ago lost the ability to read. 

[olko71]

New Post has been published on All about business online

New Post has been published on https://yaroreviews.info/2023/10/king-charles-iii-new-coins-designed-to-help-children-to-count

King Charles III new coins designed to help children to count

Getty Images

By Kevin Peachey

Cost of living correspondent

Large numbers on an entirely redesigned set of UK coins will help children to identify figures and learn to count, The Royal Mint has said.

The coins will enter circulation by the end of the year, marking the new reign of King Charles III and celebrating his love of the natural world.

The tails side of every coin from the 1p to the £2 will feature the country’s flora and fauna.

Old coins can still be used, with the new set struck in response to demand.

Rebecca Morgan, director at the Mint, told the BBC: “The large numbers will be very appealing to children who are learning to count and about the use of money.

“Also the animals and everything you see on these coins will appeal to children. They are great conversation starters.”

Animals ranging from the red squirrel to the capercaillie grouse are depicted on the new designs. The King’s now-familiar portrait will be on the front of each coin – many for the first time.

Although cash use – and especially the popularity of coins – has been in decline in recent years, the Mint says heritage and need mean this change is still required.

“We know a large proportion of the country are still heavily reliant on cash,” Ms Morgan said.

“It is also tradition to mark the moment of a monarch coming to the throne with a new set of coinage, so it is important that we carry on that tradition.”

Getty Images

The BBC was given an advance viewing of the new coins, the size and shape of which remain unchanged.

Although there have been commemorative coins circulating featuring King Charles, these new designs – officially known as definitives – mark the final chapter of the King’s transition onto coinage.

Definitive coins feature the standard designs seen on the majority of official currency. These designs stay the same for years or even decades.

The previous set featured a shield formation and was introduced under Queen Elizabeth II in 2008, and will still dominate the 29 billion coins in circulation in the UK for some time yet.

The reverse, or tails side, of the new coins will be the matter of most interest to collectors and for quizmasters. They are designed to show the importance, and precariousness, of the natural world:

1p: A hazel dormouse, which has seen its population halve since 2007

2p: A red squirrel, which is expected to blend into the colour of the copper coin

5p: An oak tree leaf, signifying its role as a rich habitat for biodiversity in woodland areas and an association with monarchy of the past

10p: The capercaillie – the world’s largest grouse – found in a small part of Scotland and threatened with extinction

20p: A puffin

50p: The Atlantic salmon, which is at threat from river pollution and habitat loss

£1: Bees

£2: National flowers – a rose for England, a daffodil for Wales, a thistle for Scotland and a shamrock for Northern Ireland

PA Media

Kevin Clancy, director of the Royal Mint Museum, said: “People who remember pre-decimal coins might recall the wren farthing, or the thrift design on the 12-sided thrupence, but it wasn’t lots of natural world.

“What is different about these coins is that they are all about the natural world.”

There are also links to history and the changing of the monarchy.

Cash payments rise for first time in 10 years

Charles joins first Easter coins ceremony as King

Three interlocking Cs feature on the coins, representing the third King Charles, and taking its inspiration from the cypher of Charles II.

The edge inscription of the new £2 coin was chosen by the new King Charles and reads: “In servitio omnium”, which means: “In the service of all”.

It was taken from his inaugural speech in September last year.

The coins follow centuries of tradition with the monarch now facing left – the opposite way to his predecessor. Profiles are alternated between left and right for successive monarchs. As with previous British kings, and unlike the Queen, he wears no crown.

The Royal Mint is based in Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales.

New banknotes featuring the image of King Charles are being printed in their millions but will not enter circulation until the middle of next year – some months after the coins.

New notes will replace damaged or worn older ones, but their introduction is slow because machines such as self-service tills need to recognise the new image.

Related Topics

Money

Personal finance

Coins

Cost of living

King Charles III

The Royal Mint

More on this story

King Charles banknotes printed – but not ready yet

7 April

Cash payments rise for first time in 10 years

14 September

King Charles 50p coins struck for the first time

28 October 2022

Charles joins first Easter coins ceremony as King

6 April

[earaercircular]

From 10,000 litres of water to zero: the denim industry is transforming

Nanobubbles, ozone or laser. The future of denim fashion is already present thanks to disruptive technologies and more efficient production models aimed at making its manufacturing a more environmentally friendly process.

Jeans are the most democratic and iconic garment in our wardrobe: each year, according to the UN, around 5 billion jeans are made. A fad that needs no explanation: they are comfortable, resistant and so agile that they have managed to evade all borders, slipping into the strict codes of the office or, judging by the latest catwalks, also of Haute Couture. But is sustainability among its benefits? The industry has spent years focused on its transformation, developing more efficient technologies and processes to take advantage of the properties of denim fabric and minimise the use of water and chemicals in its manufacture and finishing. Its big challenges.

«Among the main actions of the industry to avoid these impacts is the use of organic cotton. Many brands are even joining the wave of regenerative cotton and, of course, one type of material”, says Gema Gómez, director and founder of the Slow Fashion Next[1], a fashion and sustainability training platform, highlighting the weight that fabric has in its environmental footprint. Studies, such as the one prepared by the French Agency for the Environment and Energy Control (Ademe)[2], calculate that around 10,000 litres of water are used to obtain 1 jeans, of which close to 60% comes from the high water footprint of conventional cotton crops. «Here it is important to make a distinction: when we talk about sustainability it is not only about what we do, but how we do it. It is true that cotton is a thirsty fibre, but it is not the same if it is grown with irrigation, as it happens with other crops, if it is grown with rainwater, if it is mixed with other types of food crops, or if it is sold It is destined to financially support the farming communities” [3], points out the expert.

Recycled fibres are also beginning to be the norm in its composition. As the environmentalist Núria Nubiola, founder of Infinit Denim[4], points out: "The good thing about denim is that it is a strong and durable material that works very well for recycling." This small Barcelona firm reinvents garments through upcycling and, with the remains of the redesign process, they create a new biodegradable thread. Committing to use this, they have managed to reduce carbon emissions by 70% and amortize the water footprint of the fabric. " We take advantage of the remains of that cut to make the shredded, but the resulting thread is not 100% denim," warns the expert who, through innovation projects, has studied its benefits together with cellulosic fibres such as kapok (from a tree whose large fruits contain soft, light and silky fibres that look like cotton), EcoVero[5] (a type of viscose made with sustainable wood from controlled sources) or hemp. The result is a resistant and versatile yarn that allows you to make both denim and knitted or knitted garments.

From water consumption to the age of air

Although much of the environmental impact of a garment depends on the choice of fabric, the industry has been working for some time to completely change the way jeans are manufactured with disruptive technologies and more efficient models, focused on reducing the consumption of water and chemical substances. Since its founding in 1994, the Valencian software company Jeanologia[6] has focused on inefficient finishing processes, developing a laser marking system that removes the indigo dye from jeans through evaporation. "It replaces the sandblasting technique, potassium permanganate spraying and other manual applications that are harmful to health and the environment," says its marketing director, Carmen Silla, such as pumice-stone washing, which jeopardises the durability of the tissue. She assures that with this technology they have managed to considerably reduce both their water footprint and operating costs. Designers can create a digital file with the desired styles, enter it into the system, and within seconds, the laser transfers it onto the garment. "We make sustainable production scalable, without losing the quality and appearance of the product, obtaining an authentic replica of vintage looks." In fact, they have more than 3,000 lasers installed around the world, 30% of the world's denim production.

From the Valencian company they usually joke that they inaugurated the era of air in the finishing of garments. The explanation can be found inside their famous washing machines, which use ozone instead of water. "Our G2 ozone technology, instead of carrying out a traditional wash with water, washes into the atmosphere. In other words, this technology takes the air from the atmosphere, extracts the oxygen and transforms it into ozone gas, which acts as an oxidant to age the garments naturally”. Silla assures that this method, together with E-Flow technology, has managed to reduce water by 80% and chemicals by 70%. "Until then, the traditional method of transporting chemicals to the garment was through water. However, E-Flow creates nano-air bubbles, a cloud of moisture that transports the chemicals into the textile material without any waste and with a minimal amount of water." Yet another example of how technological innovation can become a great ally of sustainability.

More sustainable dyes

In this search to eradicate the most polluting processes in the manufacture of our clothes, the other aspect in which great advances have been realised, has been in the garment dyeing process. As Gema Gómez explains, in the 70s the composition of denim underwent several changes. On the one hand, natural fibres were mixed with synthetic fibres such as elastane, which, although they improve their elasticity, also put the recycling of the garment to the test. On the other, "they went from natural indigo dye to synthetic, whose ingredients come from petroleum," says the expert, who is committed to the recovery of dyes of vegetable origin. This is the case of the American company Stony Greek Colours,[7] which works with local farms in the production of regenerative rotating crops of indigo, the plant from which the iconic blue of jeans is obtained; or the company Colorifix[8], which manufactures dyes from molasses, a by-product of sugar, with which they make the most of the exploitation of this crop.

Also the image of those blue water tanks is beginning to be a thing of the past. Contrary to the conventional method, which consists of immersing the threads in a series of chemical dyes that give it colour while preventing oxidation, the Valencian company Tejidos Royo[9] presented Dry Indigo dyeing technology in 2018. It is a foam formula, with a nitrogen cover that protects the colour, dyeing the yarn without using a drop of water in the process, reducing the amount of chemicals by 89%, energy consumption by 65% and, consequently, reducing wastewater to zero. Every year the company donates one million litres of drinking water to an NGO, the amount that it has managed to save with this innovative tool.

Counted washes

At this point, we only have to answer what we can do for our jeans. The firms appeal to take advantage of the properties of denim – it is an antibacterial fabric, quite resistant to stains and odours – and limit its washing to only when strictly necessary. "Not only does it help to preserve them, since each wash wears out the fabrics and dyes," says Núria Nubiola, from Infinit denim. «Studies have been carried out on the environmental footprint of jeans and, based on their useful life, which was around eight years, if you washed them every time you put them on, there was more impact on that consumption than on the production". We can reduce visits to the washing machine, airing them after use or cleaning only the stains with a brush and soap. Because sustainability is a shared duty and time is the most sustainable way to give our jeans a personal and unique finish.

Choosing more sustainable jeans

Focus on its composition. Choose jeans with natural fibres from certified organic crops or from recycling, in this way you will ensure that the fabrics have been developed in a more respectful way with the environment. Bet on circular designs. It is increasingly easy to find mono-material jeans on the market – the closer it is to 100%, the greater its recyclability – and circular designs, with minimal trimmings and fibre-friendly finishes, which make it easier to make the most of the fabric. Yes to timeless jeans. The chosen colour and the right fit are two important elements to take into account when looking for a piece that ends up being a good basic that will mock the passage of time in our wardrobe. Also allow time to give it that vintage and worn finish. Fix and reinvent. Thanks to its resistance, denim is upcycling's best friend: a way of turning old jeans into the most groundbreaking item in the wardrobe.

Source

S-Moda, De 10.000 litros de agua a cero: la industria del denim se transforma (como la Rosalía), in: El País,21-7-2023, - https://smoda.elpais.com/moda/de-10-000-litros-de-agua-a-cero-la-industria-del-denim-se-transforma-como-la-rosalia/

[1] Since 2011 we have been helping Fashion professionals and companies to become the solution that the sector needs as a strategic challenge through training and consulting. https://slowfashionnext.com/

[2] The Agence de la transition écologique. (ADEME, Agency for ecological transition) is a public agency under the joint authority of the Ministry for an Ecological Transition and the Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation. At ADEME - The French Agency for Ecological Transition’s role is to mobilise citizens, economic actors and territories towards a fairer, more harmonious, low carbon and resource-efficient society. At every level, their expertise and forecasting capacities serve to guide and inform public policies. https://www.ademe.fr/en/about-ademe

[3] Read also : https://www.tumblr.com/earaercircular/715379082096951296/the-type-of-cotton-matters-betting-on-more?source=share

[4] Infinit Denim was born out of a need. An internal call to transform the fashion industry and to do it from its origin: the material. A team of women united to do what appears to be the most reasonable thing: to take advantage of the fibers and fabrics contained in the garments we have already worn to create them an ew. It is as simple as imitating what nature has been doing since its beginnings: introducing "dead" materials into a new cycle, transforming them into "nutrients". https://infinitdenim.com/en/sobre-nosotras/

[5] EcoVero is the sustainable version of viscose. Conventional viscose is very harmful to the environment: the wood for the fibers is often planted as a monoculture (e.g. eucalyptus), which requires a lot of water. Many toxic chemicals are used in the processing. EcoVero is the most environmentally friendly viscose available. EcoVero is certified with the EU Ecolabel because it meets high environmental standards throughout its life cycle: from raw material extraction to production, distribution and waste disposal.

[6] https://www.jeanologia.com/about-us/

[7] Natural indigo has an established history in textiles and its traditional production methods went largely unchallenged until roughly 100 years ago with the introduction of unsafe synthetic dyes. Synthetic indigo, derived from harmful chemicals (like Benzene, Formaldehyde, and Cyanide), began replacing the natural dyes that had been in use for centuries. Until now, plant-based alternatives could not provide consistent performance to remain the primary market color solution. Today, customers can use Stony Creek Colors' completely plant-based solutions to harness the restorative beauty of nature and combat persistent industry challenges. https://www.stonycreekcolors.com/pages/who-we-are

[8] Colorifix minimises the environmental impact of industrial dyeing by replacing chemistry with biology at every step in the process, from the creation of the dyes to their fixation into fabrics. https://colorifix.com/colorifix-solutions/

[9] Tejidos Royo is a Spanish company founded in 1903 and leader in the textile industry in Europe. Our international calling and vast marketing network allows us to export fabrics to clients in over 30 countries. Vertical business model: Spinning, Indigo dyeing, Weaving, Piece dyeing, Special finishes. https://www.tejidosroyo.com/en/aboutus

[kuche7]

How to choose the best material for a modular kitchen?

Kitchens are one of the most frequented spaces in the entire home. They are no longer seen as a place to prepare meals or feast. It is the heart of the home, where family and friends dine, rest, and socialize. With all the predecided tasks, choosing the suitable base material for the kitchen becomes essential. However, before deciding on a base material, one must first determine the type of kitchen that best meets every kitchen requirement. There are several kitchen choices available in the market. The newest and most popular option are modular kitchens.

What is the difference between a traditional and modular kitchen?

When we choose a modular kitchen, we choose quality. As they are factory-built, they undergo rigorous quality assurance before coming out as a finished product. There are fewer chances of error in terms of sizes and finishes. Traditional carpenter-built kitchens fail to ensure such precise quality and oversee meticulous details.

Stainless steel is undoubtedly the finest base material for modular kitchens. Indian modular kitchens are available in many materials. One can find wooden modular kitchens, plywood or hardboard modular kitchens, stainless steel modular kitchens, etc. Compared to other materials, stainless steel as a base material will serve us with significant advantages.

Why is stainless steel the best choice for modular kitchens?

Stainless steel is a popular choice because of its extraordinary advantages. As it is an advanced base material, it also allows you a broader scope for customization. Stainless steel is an alloy of the most robust metals, i.e. iron and chromium. This makes it the strongest material to exist on earth. The stronger is the base material; the more durable your kitchen will be. Modular kitchens made of this metal are built to last a lifetime. Traditional wooden kitchens lack those qualities.

When we look for an ideal kitchen, we take into account a variety of external factors such as strength, durability, style, sustainability, anti-rust, and many more. A perfect base material must contain all these qualities. As stainless steel is a flourishing material, many are unaware of its distinctive attributes. Let's read further to find out whether or not stainless steel is a good choice for your kitchen.

In this article, you will find answers to all the following questions. Feel free to jump on any of these topics to find answers to your questions directly.

Is stainless steel an eco-friendly material?

Which is the most durable material for a modular kitchen?

Which is the strongest material for kitchens?

Is stainless steel a corrosion-free material?

Which is a weather-proof material for kitchens?

Which is the best brand for stainless steel modular kitchens?

1. Are stainless steel kitchens eco-friendly?

With every advancing second, we unknowingly cause an enormous amount of harm to our mother nature. Nearly 3.7 billion trees are sacrificed to make a wooden kitchen every year. On the other hand, not a single tree is taken down to make your stainless steel modular kitchens. It is the most environmentally-friendly kitchen material to exist on the planet. Stainless steel retains its original robust qualities even after being recycled multiple times. Hence, you can always redesign your stainless steel modular kitchen.

Tip: To raise one step further, choose 304 Food Grade stainless steel for your modular kitchen.

2. Which is the most durable material for a modular kitchen?

The most durable modular kitchens are made with the strongest material. They are firm, robust, stylish, and durable at the same time. Compared to modern stainless steel modular kitchens, traditional wooden kitchens lack this level of customization. The efficiency is hampered if the kitchens are not long-lasting. As stainless steel is the most robust alloy on earth, it automatically produces durable modular kitchens.

Tip: With the durable quality of stainless steel, you can make your kitchen last a lifetime.

3. Which is the strongest material for kitchens?

Your kitchen is an emotion you pass down through your generations. Only the most durable materials withstand this test of time. Stainless steel is an iron-chromium alloy. As a result, it possesses the best characteristics of both metals. This ultimately makes it an ideal material for your modular kitchens. Stainless steel retains its original robust qualities even after being recycled multiple times. Years shall pass, but your modular kitchen will remain brand new. Every time you renovate, you have a new kitchen all to yourself.

Tip: Every kitchen is a legacy. Make it last longer with the help of stainless steel modular kitchens.

4. Are stainless steel kitchens corrosion-free?

Your modular kitchen can achieve maximum hygiene only when free from pests, termites, bacteria, and germs. The base material of your kitchen must not allow or attract any pathogens into the kitchen. Termite infestations are common in wood and its byproducts after a few years of usage. This hampers the health of the user. As the kitchen is a wet area, the furniture must also be anti-corrosive and anti-microbiological. Stainless steel repels rust, termites, and other bacteria. It helps maintain the necessary hygiene level in and around the kitchens.

Tip: Edibles should be free from all pathogens. Help your kitchen achieve the best hygiene with stainless steel modular kitchens.

5. Are stainless steel kitchens weather-proof?

The best kitchens prevent harsh weather from entering your house. Premium material does not swell in the presence of excess water or burn in the event of a fire. Traditional wooden kitchens cannot provide this level of credibility. On the other hand, modular kitchens are subjected to stringent quality checks to ensure maximum protection against harsh weather conditions. In any case, the external weather should not cause any harm to your kitchen interiors.

Tip: Safeguard your kitchens against unpredictable weather by choosing a stainless steel modular kitchen.

Stainless steel does hold some intriguing qualities. But does every grade of stainless steel adhere to these qualities? Which grade is the ideal choice for your kitchen?

Stainless steel comes in many different grades. Each grade has a different purpose. However, as mentioned above, one must only move ahead with 304 Food-grade stainless steel for a modular kitchen. This grade is specially crafted to endure harsh weather, reduce noise, and maintain a high level of sanitation, among other things. It possesses anti-microbial properties that keep any form of infestation at bay. It also produces solid and durable kitchens that last for an eternity. While deciding on a kitchen, make no mistake but choose only the 304 Food-Grade of Stainless Steel.

6. Which is the best brand for stainless steel modular kitchens?

You can hunt for companies specializing in 304 stainless steel modular kitchens. Most companies just provide modular kitchens. Whereas, Kuche7 meticulously customizes each modular kitchen in the 304 Food-grade. With in-house production, each kitchen is equipped with high-quality shutters, accessories, counters, among other things. Choose from an exciting range of finishes and have them customized in your favorite color for your modular kitchen. You can also experience a lifetime warranty on all the stainless steel interior solutions.

If you're still undecided, pay a visit to Kuche7's experience center to touch and feel the quality of the products. Engage in conversions with the expert designers and witness a hands-on experience of your modular kitchen.

If you found this article useful, you may be interested in Knowing more about The Ergonomics of Indian Kitchens.

[fahrni]

Saturday Morning Coffee

This morning I started putting together the notes from this week prior to writing the intro. I had so much content there’s no way I could share it all.

We have Ukraine, the continued effort by the GOP to destroy our nation, and the continued domination of the news by Elon Musk.

I got my COVID bivalent vaccine earlier in the week. I felt crummy the day after but have been fine since.

Next week I’ll be onsite at WillowTree meeting with my all remote group. Wish me luck. Last time we had this event I got COVID. I told my boss if that happened again I was never attending another one. He was OK with that. 😄

Enjoy your coffee and the links. ☕️

Wired: “A CUP OF coffee in the morning is not just about the caffeine (though that’s certainly important). It’s the ritual that starts the day. There’s the sound of beans grinding, the toasted smell of brewing coffee—even waiting for your brew to finish is a part of the fun. It’s a way to let yourself know that it’s time to start creeping toward wakefulness, like the sun peeking over the horizon in an old-timey Folgers commercial—all fuzzy and warm and full of promise.”

The first link had to be about coffee, right? I had to do it first! Charlottesville own Grit is mentioned. It’s my favorite local shop.

Meson Stars: “A toaster-sized instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover is ‘reliably’ converting carbon dioxide to oxygen on Mars at about the same rate as a small tree on Earth, a new study has revealed.”

YAY SCIENCE! 🥳

I will warn you, this whole terraforming idea can go really sideways.

Six Colors: “I get it. The iPad Pro isn’t ready for a complete hardware redesign, nor did Apple want to redesign the Magic Keyboard this year. But the result is that the leading iPad is missing innovations that the cheap iPad offers. It’s weird.”

I didn’t pay attention to the Apple announcement this week, but I can see how this would be extremely confusing.

What do you mean the low end model is better than the Pro model?

Puck.news: “Where we last left the Twitter saga, our reluctant hero Elon Musk had essentially made the difficult decision that he’d be better off forking over another $20 billion of his own cash rather than continue to fight Twitter in court and still end up paying a fine in the billions of dollars—perhaps double-digit billions—and have only a bunch of lawsuits to show for it.”

This guy. I’ll say it again. For being such a genius this was a dumb move.

Then again, he may make fools of us all. We can only hope. 🤔

I don’t doubt that Twitter might be a bit overstaffed, but this seems more like an intentional act of destroying the company. https://t.co/rJvsdihDnc

— Jeff 🇺🇦 (@Darchmare) October 21, 2022

Engadget: “On one hand, Musk has told prospective investors that he plans to axe 75 percent of the Twitter’s 7,500-member staff upon completion of the deal, a move that would likely cripple the site’s operations and kneecap its ability to moderate content and ensure users’ security.”

Yeah! Let’s buy a company for $54.20 a share — it’s not worth nearly that much — and promptly run it in the ground.

Where is everybody going next? I’m still recommending Mastodon or Micro.blog.

Chris Coyier: _“If you publish stuff on the web, you’re outputting HTML at URLs for people to read. And it’s good form to provide an RSS feed as well (maybe JSON if you’re hip). That’s 2-3 formats for your content out of the gate, which is effort, but hey, that’s the job as a publisher: get your content out to as many people as possible. If syndicating into another format is where people are, it’s likely worth doing.”_

Of course I’m biased but having an RSS or JSON Feed is important to the syndication of your weblog or web site.

Also, dear podcasters large and small, please add an RSS option to the list of places folks can get your podcast and make sure folks know it. Thank you.

Reuters: “Oct 17 (Reuters) - Parlement Technologies, the parent company of social media app Parler, said on Monday that it will be acquired by rapper Kanye West, who legally changed his name to simply Ye last year.”

Not to be outdone by his good buddy Elon Musk, Kanye West has been conned into purchasing white supremacist and conspiracist stronghold, Parler.

How long until it disappears?

Vice: “But either way, 5.7 million is a lot, and one of the elements managing it is an operating system that fell into obscurity a quarter-century ago: IBM’s OS/2.”

This is extremely cool. I know there are a lot of OS/2 fans in the world, lord knows I ran into a lot of them during my time at Visio. They’re rabid! 😄

I need to know more about this now and it’s nice to see a reliable system continue to do what it was intended to do.

If it were written today it would probably be some JavaScript monstrosity.

Musk is dangerous. He has a very potent platform (even without owning Twitter) and is using it actively harm US & Western interests and support those of a brutal war criminal. Should he gain control of Twitter, the consequence for discourse/politics in the US will be v. damaging. https://t.co/fX0dvGAcCK

— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) October 17, 2022

Politico: “In the early days of Russia’s war on Ukraine, Hill warned in an interview with POLITICO that what Putin was trying to do was not only seize Ukraine but destroy the current world order. And she recognized from the start that Putin would use the threat of nuclear conflict to try to get his way.”

Ah, yes, more Musk, the fragrance that lingers. Not only is he trying to destroy Twitter he’s trying to bring about the destruction of Ukraine and Democracy and set himself up to be ruler of the world.

Scary.

Jack Black makes a young man’s day. Jack Black is the best of us… pic.twitter.com/K7svV4XezU

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) October 17, 2022

[bizzit]

5 Reasons Why A Smart Digital Business Card Is The Smart Choice

 As a token of mutual respect for networking, standard cards have travelled across millions, even billions of hands to date. With technology and business models advancing at a rapid pace, this significant component of networking too, has taken on a new shape and size. The digital business card allows you to share your contact information and more with a single tap on a smartphone. By using the NFC technology or by scanning the QR code.

Some facts about business cards:

Almost 88% of all the cards end up being thrown away within the first week itself. Using a digital business card gives out a unique image of your brand.

According to a report from the Statistic Brain Research Institute, 72% of people judge a company or person based on the quality of their business cards. 

Now that we know the purpose and function of a digital business card, let us deep dive into the 5 reasons why a digital business card is the smart choice. For businessmen, entrepreneurs and everyone else in business today.

1. Easy Contact Management

If you are someone that travels extensively for business, you probably agree that maintaining a repository of paper business cards is a toilsome practice. Plus, looking manually for that one card through a heap of thousands of other cards is something you’d want to save yourself the horror of! Having a digital business card not only saves you time and energy, but it also makes your otherwise lengthy procedure of sifting through a tonne of paper-based data easier.

2. Distinguished Style Statement

Apart from the ease in your contact management, a digital business card will give you the upper hand in creating an impressive style statement. This can be crucial for your existing and potential clients. In a world of diminishing attention spans and reliance on technology, this tool can work like an X-factor for establishing your position in the expansive market of today.

To add to this, digital business cards are eco-friendly and eliminate the need to cut tree for its paper. So, you’re also investing in good environmental practice by directly contributing to the prevention of deforestation!

3. Contactless Sharing

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the global scenario surrounding the world of business has changed drastically. Maintaining social distance has taken the front seat, and the personal touch of shaking hands and sharing paper loyalty cards to strengthen business bonds has been done away with. The NFC and QR Code options on the digital business card have revitalised the personalised approach in doing business. Hence, promoting contactless data sharing while maintaining guidelines is enabled by this unique business tool.  

4. Attach Media

Unlike paper business cards, a digital business card can have multiple media embedded in it. Businesses can add videos, links to their blogs, website, social media profiles, contact details, Google Maps, WhatsApp integration, and much more.

In this sense, the digital business card becomes dynamic. Also, the client receiving your business card has a credible impression of you. It helps you have all the necessary information centered in one place. With the incorporation of all these essential tools, customers will not be required to take extra steps to reach out to you, thus making their journey smoother and richer.

5. Easily Customisable

Want to edit or customise your business card? Well, imagine the drudgery to re-do your paper business cards all over again. Reprinting the bulk and circulating them to your network. Sounds a bit too sluggish, doesn’t it?

The digital business card on the other hand, gives you all the agency to edit, customise and change any detail. You do not have to redesign and reprint a new set of cards, which ends up in saving a considerable chunk of your capital.  

Considering these five reasons, investing in a digital business card proves to be a wise decision any new-age business person or entrepreneur can take. It is driving change in the overall professional ecosystem. It is also promoting a novel way by which every professional can embrace an enhanced offering of tech and innovation. Be it from the creative space or the finance domain.

In an economy of competitive change-makers, the digital business card allows you to claim a distinct approach to the way you network and grow. Pack in rich features and contact information and you’re already a step ahead in making a lasting impression in your customer’s mind.

A digital business card, compatible with NFC-enabled smartphones and QR Code-scannable.

To summarise, a digital business card is a scannable business card that enables your clients to access your key contact information. It can be used by tapping the card on an NFC-enabled smartphone too, which then redirects the user to a hoard of your details.

The digital business card is easily customisable and promotes contactless sharing of valuable information. It has several options to attach media and helps you voice out a distinguished style statement by being eco-friendly. It is a state-of-the-art product in terms of innovation, and makes for an impressive contact management tool. 

If you feel like the digital business card is a more effective alternative to the traditional paper card, check out Bizzit – a contemporary and stylish business card. One that epitomises connectivity and ease like none other in this domain!

[triforceguide-archive]

thinking abt how elika was supposed to have white hair

[ausp-icium]

Since it is rare I am satisfied with my first design, I have redesigned Eso the Rain Friend

Who is actually sort of Rain Friend Fairy! He comes from something like a nature-energy fairy dimension, Ephemera. I thought of a bunch of thoughts for the nature of his existence, since @unluckiest-cats-trashpile is also developing Thoughts for the Void, the dimension Cassius (friend to Eso) is from.

Eso is a will formed from billions of esphers of an alternate dimension, Ephemera. This dimension is closely associated with natural forces, such as wind, rain, rivers, trees, earth, etc. It is populated by countless whispering wills known as esphers, each attuning to the natural energies that bridge the physical plane with their own. When multiple espers attune to the same force, they gather together and link their wills, forming a sort of hive mind and becoming exponentially more powerful. These links may be transient or long-lasting. Occasionally, they bleed out into the physical plane, leading to some sightings of “fairies,” “will-o-wisps,” “spirits,” etc. Most remain rooted in Ephemera. An entity of cohesive will is known as an ephemeral. 

Ephemerals usually have an ever-changing form due to ever-changing resident esphers. Some maintain a relatively consistent form, but it is rare to manifest a solid body in the physical plane. Those that do can change their physical form by dematerializing and rematerializing. 

Eso is a very unusual case, in that every espher formed a (more or less) unbreakable bond, and in crossing over to the physical plane, he manifested his own body and became a single, united entity. He can still feel his siblings on the other side of existence, but he finds the physical plane fascinating, in contrast to his eternity as separated, whispering wills.

Esphers are sustained by natural energy - in order to survive, they need to attune to natural energies. In doing so, they amplify those natural forces, leading to effects in nature, either big or small. For example, a light mist might be amplified into a deep fog by espers that attune to water vapor. Or a charged rainstorm becoming a nest of thunder.

If the natural forces are destroyed, corrupted, cut off, or siphoned away, possibly by human intervention, the esphers starve and just... fade from existence.

Eso is can make all the energy he needs, unless pollution or whatever is corrupting it. If he becomes unable to sustain himself, he just becomes weaker and weaker until the bond nature returns to the norm of most ephemerals, and beyond that, he would disperse into the billions of esphers, each having echoes of his memory.

If he reformed, he'd have to spend a lot of time piecing everything back together.

[powerviolent-blog]

Making Billions at the Dollar General (Part 4)

Maybe the greatest benefit came camouflaged as a difficulty, when archrival Dollar Tree beat Dollar General in an offering war for the flimsier performing Family Dollar. That 2015 obtaining has genuinely hampered Dollar Tree. The joined organization has 15,300 stores, nearly the same number of as Dollar General, yet its development has moderated as it redesigns many Family Dollar areas. Dollar Tree as of late brought a $2.7 billion record identified with the merger.

Every one of these elements put Dollar General in the shaft position in the race to serve family units acquiring somewhere in the range of $50,000 and $75,000 per year. Those are the quickest developing piece of its customer base, J.P. Morgan as of late assessed. Dollar General alludes to its most incessant customers, those with the least yearly salaries, as "BFFs," or closest companions perpetually, while mid-level customers are "companions." The following level up, the one J.P. Morgan recognized as the quickest cultivators, are "acquain­tances," and Dollar General might want to know them much better.

As a business recommendation, selling ground hamburger and tomatoes is intrinsically more hazardous than selling corn chips and solidified burritos. Produce and crisp meat ruin; representatives need to watch out for them and hurl them on the off chance that they turn sour. "You're discussing a dimension of supervision that is a lot higher," says Craig Johnson, the retail expert. That can mean higher work costs that eat into the famously slender crisp sustenance edges.

Regardless of that problem, new sustenance could be the way to Dollar General's next development stage—particularly on the off chance that it makes both "BFFs" and "colleagues" visit all the more regularly. "The key is to have [customers] get an additional thing that they would not have previously," says Moody's investigator Mickey Chadha. Customers burn through $13 on the normal dollar-store visit, as per Nielsen, contrasted and $40 at a major box store like Walmart. Dollar General doesn't have the item choice to trade stores for standard sustenance runs, however catching only one more buy for every visit bigly affects income.

The organization as of now has proof that nourishment pays. It says that at customary Dollar General stores that include a lot of iceboxes—a sign that they're growing their sustenance choices—deals ordinarily increment 10% to 15% in the principal year. Dollar General sells produce at 450 of its stores, incorporating a couple of dozen of every a small scale market group that it propelled in 2003. It'll include such things at an extra 200 stores this year, a modest division of its armada yet a major enough research facility to test whether sustenance goads more prominent dedication.

In the background, the organization is finding a way to ensure its nourishment stock is as firmly overseen as the remainder of its lineup. Among other real activities, it is trying a chilly storeroom in Pennsylvania that is only for transitory sustenance in its own stores. The thought is to remove costs from the framework, abstain from being out of supply of famous items, and have "power over our predetermination," says boss vendor Jason Reiser. Dollar General could conceivably twofold its net revenue on milk, for instance, by getting it to coolers prior, decreasing waste.

Dollar General will never be Whole Foods. At a store in Hendersonville, Tenn., the most costly wine is a Barefoot Moscato, at $13.10 a container. Be that as it may, its new sustenance contributions incorporate a significant number of the optimistic trappings that increasingly well-off customers like. The chain is presenting "better for you" items at more stores, including sustenances promoted under its own "Great and Smart" mark, close by name brands like Annie's, Nature Valley, and Kashi. The stores that sell organic products, in the mean time, present them in shockingly welcoming showcases, in containers that seem as though they're made of wood—and uncover themselves as plastic just when you draw near enough to contact them.

Customers meandering through downtown Raleigh, Nashville, or Philadelphia as of late may have discovered a little, ­modern-looking retail facade under a "DGX" sign. These stores are another Dollar General trial: They're put in downtown areas, and they stress items like caffeinated beverages and snatch and-go sandwiches in a procedure went for more youthful customers. Ten more DGX stores will open this year; they'll be another front in Dollar General's opposition with Dollar Tree, which is better settled in the urban regions Dollar General wants.

Yet, even at these stores, Dollar General isn't on a very basic level changing its formula for progress. There might be sushi, shimmering California wine, and Lego sets, yet a significant part of the choice at DGX is still evaluated at $1 or less. These are fundamental, practically basic things: four moves of tissue for $1, for instance, or a $1 chicken pot pie that, for all its potential wholesome downsides, still indicates a supper. They're likewise updates that Dollar General's center business still relies upon the support of customers absent much space for extravagance. "One dollar isn't a motivation value point; it is a 'traverse the-month' value point," says Reiser, the central shipper.

Indeed, even Dollar General's tech mirrors this reality. A developing number of stores have cost checking scanners sprinkled through the passageways. The thought is to enable customers to monitor their sums, in case they get to the money register and acknowledge they don't have enough cash. "They don't generally have that additional dollar in their spending limit," says one official; the exact opposite thing the organization needs to do is humiliate them at checkout.

[vijaywankhede]

Replace your old Business cards with advanced Digital Business cards!

Throw your Business cards! Yes you heard it right! Because it's Time to Replace your old Business cards with advanced Digital Business cards!

Hello from Mr. Vijay Wankhede!

Mr. Vijay Wankhede- an entrepreneur, business consultant, writer, speaker and investor has come again this time with the Introduction of Digital Business Cards and Importance of Digital Business card's for your Business. Read the blog and know why you should replace your Traditional paper Business Cards with Digital Business card's.

Digital business cards (also called as electronic business cards or virtual business cards ) are an online means of sharing your contact and personal information to your clients. There are no constraints with digital cards—you can add as much information or as little information to your digital visiting card. With your normal contact information (like name, company name, phone number and email ) you can also boost your card with a photo o ra logo or video, or social media profiles, and more things.

There are so many reasons why you should go for virtual business cards. Here are a few benefits of digital visiting card.

Environment-friendly: A Survey shows that most of the printed cards handed out to the client's are thrown out in less than a week. Every year almost 60-80 billion cards are printed out of which approximately80% cards are thrown. This can be stopped by replacing printed cards with Digital Visiting cards. This can also contribute to environment as it Save Trees and Save Environment.

Easy Updation: Another advantage of a Digital Visiting card is that it can be easily updated. On the other hand with Printed cards, need Redesigning and Reprinting which makes them expensive for small businesses. Digital Visiting card allows the user to automatically update the changes like contact information, addresses, or other important informations.

Easy Access: You can get easy access through Digital visiting cards they can easily be shared to others from your Smartphone anytime, anywhere. Because of the Digital India Campaign, everyone is entering into Digital World and with this everyone can easily access the Digital cards.

Inexpensive: Digital cards are one time investment they do not require to be printed and designed, unlike paper cards. So, Digital Visiting cards are far cheaper if not inexpensive than paper cards.

Create great First impression: Digital Visiting cards allow the users to even attach videos and links. This creates a very good First Impression for your clients.

Time- Saving: Digital Business card saves a lot of time. With Digital cards you don't have to look for a physical business card that might be somewhere else when needed. In earlier days people used to attend get-to-gathers for the collection of business cards of the renowned businessman. But now same thing can be done sitting at your home or work place, which can save time.

Hope this would be helpful for you to understand the importance of Digital visiting cards. If you are looking for replacing your old Physical business card with Latest Digital Business card you place your order from the most reliable and trusted Website YoPro. Place your order, get your Digital Business Cards, refer to your friends and earn a good amount of commission. YoPro company comes with a Reference scheme which will give you cashback with every reference.

So what are you waiting for place your order right now!

[susarch-kwt]

The total land of Kuwait is 17,820 km2, and the agricultural area in percentage is about 8% in 2018, which I assume is less or the same level now. We have seen many protests recently in some of the green lands that the Kuwaiti government was about to remove. Fortunately, one of them has been preserved.

Why the vegetation and green lands are essential? We are experiencing a heavy dust storm currently in Kuwait. The vegetations help to reduce the amount of these storms as they work as a defence system for the country. Studies illustrate that having vegetation and green lands can help in reducing the occurrence of these storms.

I know some of you will ask how the vegetation can reduce the severity of the dust storms. The answer is simple; trees can block the wind or reduce its velocity, which reduces the storms.

Let's make a comparison between two countries with roughly the same size of land Kuwait and Slovenia. In 2019, the GDP in Kuwait estimated to be about 134 billion US dollars; in the same year, Solvenia GDP estimated to be 54 billion US dollars which are about 2.5 times less. The agricultural land in that country is 30%, three times higher than in Kuwait, So you know what I mean.

Now, we have enough money to create green lands and increase the vegetation in the country, but what is stopping us from doing that?

Sources:

1- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.TOTL.K2?locations=KW

2- https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.AGRI.ZS?locations=SI

3- https://uneplive.unep.org/redesign/media/docs/assessments/global_assessment_of_sand_and_dust_storms.pdf

4- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267736434_Risk-based_Decision_Support_Tools_for_Groundwater_Protection_in_Kuwait

5- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area

[deanfosters]

ANCESTRY LAUNCHES NEW, GAME-CHANGING FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH TOOLS

Ancestry releases New, Game-Changing Family History Research Tools in Salt Lake City. It is such a special event that unites thousands of people who are curious, passionate, and excited to know about family history. We have shared your passion and introduced digitized content collections and cutting-edge history research tools to continue your personal discovery journey.

Historical records are the base of family history research, and Ancestry is prioritizing building the largest, most distinguished birth collection, death, marriage, census records, and more. Ancestry currently provides access to more than 5 billion BMD and census records, and this number is growing quickly worldwide. They have released over 1 million France census and 5 million Mexico Catholic records and Marriage, Birth, Death records and also have many US statewide projects on the way, from New York to Hawaii.

We are also focussing on providing access to military records to allow more discoveries than ever before. They have also released US WWII draft cards from seven different states, and the work at the National Archives in St. Louis is almost complete. By the early next year, the WWII draft cards full set will be available on Ancestry and Fold3.

Another work to advancing family history is innovation. We are very excited to launch the three of our most game-changing tools in collaboration with RootsTech to help solve research hurdles or challenges and provide you with the best possible family history research experience.

New & Improved DNA Matches

Ancestry has redesigned the DNA matches experience that will help you make more discoveries about your family history and ancestors. After launching the feature, you will be able to group, sort, and view your DNA matches anyway. The new feature includes custom labeling and color-coding that offers you more control over how you view and group the matches, new ways to filter your matches, or quick identification of your newest matches.

MyTreeTags

This feature allows you to add tags to your people in the family tree to specify whether your search on them is verified or confirmed. It also provides an option to record personal details, like never married.

Ancestry allows you to create your own custom tags to tag a person who immigrated from any place or location, like Denmark, or worked as a blacksmith. You can also use filters to search your tree to see everyone using the same tag. MyTreeTags is the way that Ancestry can help you save your time and enrich your ancestor profile.

ThruLines

You must have spent your valuable time determining how you are related to your DNA matches and are consistently trying to make your effort more efficient. ThruLines is a feature that shows you the common ancestors that they likely to connect with your DNA matches and provides you a clear picture of how you are all related to each other. If you link your public or private family tree to your AncestryDNA results, new pages or chapters of your family story will open.

Source: ANCESTRY LAUNCHES NEW, GAME-CHANGING FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH TOOLS

[thisdaynews]

REVEALED:Biden Pledges To Cut US Emissions By Half As Summit Lifts Climate Hopes

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/revealedbiden-pledges-to-cut-us-emissions-by-half-as-summit-lifts-climate-hopes/

REVEALED:Biden Pledges To Cut US Emissions By Half As Summit Lifts Climate Hopes

President Joe Biden on Thursday multiplied US desire on slicing ozone harming substance outflows, driving Japan and Canada at a highest point in making new responsibilities that carry the world nearer to restricting the most noticeably awful environmental change.

Returning the United States at the bleeding edge on environment, Biden told a virtual Earth Day culmination that the world’s biggest economy will cut outflows reprimanded for environmental change by 50 to 52 percent by 2030 contrasted and 2005 levels.

“The expense of inaction continues to mount. The United States isn’t pausing,” Biden told a two-day highest point of 40 pioneers including the leaders of adversaries China and Russia and Pope Francis.

“We need to venture up,” Biden said. “We need to make a move — we all.”

Biden’s initial and forceful ecological push denotes an uncommon shift from his archetype Donald Trump — yet immediately brought up issues on whether the United States can keep guarantees if another environment cynic president is chosen later on.

John Kerry, the previous secretary of state who has become Biden’s globe-jogging environment emissary, demanded that change will be lasting because of market influences regardless of what occurs in US races.

“No legislator — regardless of how demagogic or how intense or skilled they are — will be ready to change what that market is doing on the grounds that it will have moved, it will have had four years of entrenchment,” Kerry told journalists.

With Thursday’s vows, Kerry said the greater part the world’s economy has resolved to activity to keep the planet’s temperature inside 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-mechanical occasions, the desire set in the Paris Agreement to stay away from the most extreme impacts of environmental change.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who talked about environment a week ago when he was Biden’s first unfamiliar visitor, altogether raised the objectives of the world’s second biggest created economy to cutting discharges by 46% in 2030 contrasted and 2013.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, another early partner of Biden, supported desire of his energy-trading country to decreases of 40-45 percent under 2005 levels, contrasted and a previous objective of 30%.

“We should make a move now. Since there’s no immunization against a contaminated planet,” Trudeau said.

– ‘Distinct advantage’ –

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed the vows as a sign that “the tide is changing for environment activity” however encouraged prompt development.

The European Union this week affirmed its own eager objectives and previous alliance part Britain just before Biden’s highest point delivered the most extensive focuses of any significant economy with 78% cuts from 1990 levels by 2035.

English Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Biden’s promise “a distinct advantage.”

England in November will have an UN meeting in Glasgow that expects to redesign the Paris Agreement.

Kerry said the following a half year will be “totally criticial,” calling Glasgow “our last best desire to have the option to mix the world the correct way.”

Under the 2015 Paris accord, previous president Barack Obama said the United States would slice emanations by 26 to 28 percent by 2025 — an objective that Biden, his VP, has now significantly increased.

Be that as it may, Greta Thunburg, the significant 18-year-old environment champion, blamed legislators for still not understanding the size of the environment emergency as she highlighted proceeded with sponsorships for petroleum products.

“How long do you sincerely accept individuals in power like you will pull off it?” she told an Earth Day hearing in the US Congress by videolink.

In a smellier method of showing discontent, environment assailants moved pink handcarts to the White House to dump cow fertilizer as they depicted Biden’s arrangement with a decision appellation.

– Onus on China –

The White House’s impressive East Room was decked out with a fix of greenery for the virtual highest point, with Biden, Kerry and a large part of the US initiative participating.

In a concise glitch, Secretary of State Antony Blinken remove a recorded video from French President Emmanuel Macron to hear from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who seemed, by all accounts, to be fretful to offer his live comments.

Both Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed responsibilities to battling environmental change, consenting to take an interest in spite of high pressures with Biden’s three-month-old organization.

Xi repeated his vow a year ago that China — by a wide margin the world’s biggest producer — would go carbon unbiased by 2060.

“China has resolved to move from carbon top to carbon lack of bias in a lot more limited period of time than what may take many created nations, and that requires remarkably hard endeavors from China,” Xi said.

He said China would “rigorously control” coal-controlled plants.

In any case, tree huggers have voiced alert at China’s lethargic speed of resigning coal, which is the dirtiest type of energy however politically delicate because of mining occupations.

– Moving rapidly –

Confronted with resistance from Trump’s Republican Party, Biden has tried to move rapidly on environment and has given his endeavors a role as an approach to make well-paying positions.

Biden has proposed a $2 trillion foundation bundle that remembers a significant concentration for greening the economy, remembering speculation for sustainable power, electric vehicles and public transportation.

Vehicles advance down the maturing 110 expressway toward downtown L.A. during the regularly scheduled drive on April 22, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. President Joe Biden vowed to cut U.S. ozone depleting substance discharges down the middle by 2030 at the Earth Day environment highest point. Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP

Biden additionally reported that the United States would twofold guide off Obama levels to the most unfortunate countries enduring the worst part of environmental change — another inversion from Trump, who remove all such subsidizing.

President Moon Jae-in reported that South Korea would at this point don’t finance coal-fueled plants abroad subsequent to sponsorship, alongside Japan and China, billions of dollars in messy tasks in Asia.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, one of Trump’s couple of worldwide partners on environment, sounded an appeasing note as he guaranteed carbon nonpartisanship by 2050 — 10 years sooner than recently reported.

He additionally promised to stop illicit deforestation by 2030 — an essential measure for the planet, as the Amazon sucks up carbon, however one that has been met with incredulity because of Bolsonaro’s union with industry.

An UN report before the end of last year said that the world was on course for warming of three degrees Celsius — a level at which the planet is estimate to see numerous ice sheets and ice covers dissolve, low-lying zones lowered and progressively serious dry seasons, floods and calamities that could trigger starvation and mass relocation.

[architectnews]

"The carbon footprint of our website will no longer be pushed to the back of our minds"

We were shocked to learn that Dezeen has been ranked last in a survey of websites' carbon emissions. We are determined to improve, says founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs.

We have a guilty secret. While Dezeen has long championed sustainable architecture and design, we've recently become aware that our own carbon footprint is pretty bad.

The internet is far from green: loading pages, watching videos, participating in Zoom calls and sending emails all require plenty of energy. In addition, the devices we use to access the web create pollution.

But with all the recent focus on environmental villains including flying and concrete, the internet has got off lightly, even though communications technology is on course to be a bigger carbon producer than any country apart from India, China and the USA by 2025.

At Dezeen, we have gradually become aware of the carbon cost of running a popular website.

For example, a single regular email produces four grammes of CO2e – carbon dioxide equivalent, which is the standard way of measuring carbon footprints.

We have gradually become aware of the carbon cost of running a popular website

If the email contains images that need to be loaded, the figure will be much higher. If, as we do, you send newsletters to tens of thousands of readers every day, that quickly adds up to a frightening amount.

We've been trying to reduce our carbon footprint by switching to renewable energy at our office, sourcing office supplies from sustainable suppliers and, for our Dezeen Day conference in 2019, striving to reduce our environmental impact by encouraging people to walk to the venue, banning single-use plastic and minimising the number of speakers we flew in from overseas.

At the conference, we worked with environmental consultant Sophie Thomas to calculate the event's carbon footprint. We subsequently offset the estimated eight tonnes of CO2 generated by the conference.

This figure included an estimate of the impact of email newsletters we sent about the conference but it didn't take into account the impact of uploading content – including videos and images – to Dezeen.

This was a blind spot.

Since then, global internet use has increased, particularly since the pandemic has forced people to become more reliant on digital communication, and its carbon footprint is growing.

Only a quarter of the internet is thought to be powered by renewable energy

Estimates vary, but Sustainable Web Design claims that "the internet currently produces approximately 3.8 per cent of global carbon emissions." That puts it way ahead of aviation, which accounts for around two per cent.

Meanwhile, only a quarter of the internet is thought to be powered by renewable energy.

This week, Formafantasma highlighted the issue by redesigning its own website to reduce emissions. The new site uses smaller images and standard fonts to reduce the power needed to load the site, which is now hosted on a platform powered by renewable energy.

Despite knowing all this, we were still shocked to read a report on Dezeen's carbon impact on EcoPing, a service that helps websites reduce their power consumption.

Dezeen "produces 19.32 grams of CO2 per page view; that's 10 times the average emissions produced," EcoPing claims. "That adds up to 2.1 billion grams of CO2 per year."

"You would need a forest with 96,600 mature trees to sequester this much CO2," it says.

"The same as flying one person 3,130 times from New York to Amsterdam. The same CO2 as making 29,932,394.37 cups of tea with milk."

Dezeen's biggest problem is its images. We have almost 750,000 of them in our archive

EcoPing ranked us last in a table of 25 high-traffic blogs, saying: "It boggles the mind really how bad this website is for the world and it's only the 3,500th most popular website!"

Ouch.

Even allowing for scaremongering (after all, EcoPing is trying to drum up business), this is not good.

We got in touch with EcoPing co-founder Dryden Williams to find out more. It turns out he's a huge fan of Dezeen, which is one reason why he included Dezeen in his blog ranking.

Another reason is that we openly publish our traffic stats each year. This information helped Williams compile his report.

Dezeen's biggest problem is its images. We have almost 750,000 of them in our archive, many of them large, high-resolution files.

This amazing visual resource is a big part of the reason why Dezeen is so popular. But each time a visitor loads an image, there is an energy impact both on Dezeen's servers (which are located all around the world) and on the device used to access the site.

"Images massively affect your [carbon] ranking," Williams told us. "Or perhaps it's more correct to say poorly optimised images do. It is very possible to have lots of images that don't have as much impact."

Williams pointed out improvements we could make including "thinking more sustainably about web design, cleaning up the code you write, to optimising your images correctly."

"Some small tweaks can make huge positive changes to improve your website carbon emissions," he said. "Shaving off a single kilobyte in a file that is loaded two million times reduces CO2 emissions by an estimated 2950kg per month."

We have a lot of work to do

This is the same amount of CO2 saved each month as five flights from Amsterdam to New York, Williams estimates.

It's not all bad. Williams notes approvingly that Dezeen uses StackPath to manage its global server network, ensuring that content is always stored as close to the user as possible ("less distance = less energy used to transfer it over the network," as he puts it).

But we have a lot of work to do. We've been in touch with our developers at Den Creative, who are working on a plan to reduce our impact (to be fair, they have been nagging us to work on our load speed for a while, not for environmental reasons but because it will improve the user experience).

The top priority is image optimisation (using new WebP formats) followed by an audit of third-party scripts on the site that slow things down and increase power consumption.

We are committed to being better. The carbon footprint of our website will no longer be pushed to the back of our minds. We will keep you posted on our progress.

The post "The carbon footprint of our website will no longer be pushed to the back of our minds" appeared first on Dezeen.