#methane design companies in Los Angeles | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

beardedmrbean · 1 year

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At a Planning and Design Commission Meeting last week, associate city planner Laura Tuller disclosed that Sacramento will back off — at least for now — on enforcing what has been touted as a key policy in combating climate change.

“The city will not currently preclude mixed fuel development,” Tuller told the city council-appointed commission. during an update on the city’s building electrification strategy.

Her statement referred to enforcing an ordinance passed by the council that would, with some exceptions, ban natural gas hookups in new construction projects starting in 2023.

Methane from natural gas is a potent contributor to greenhouse gases and climate change. State and local leaders in California have identified what is called “building decarbonization” — relying on cleaner electric power — as a crucial way to achieve its zero carbon emissions goal by 2045.

Tuller explained that the decision to pause enforcement is the result of a recent court ruling. Other cities such as San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz have made the same determination.

In April, The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the City of Berkeley’s building electrification ordinance in a lawsuit backed by the Sacramento-based California Restaurant Association. The court said that the city had stepped on the federal government’s role regulating energy markets.

The ruling has, for the moment, put a chill on what building decarbonization advocates say is a sensible movement. Prior to the Berkeley ruling, 76 cities from Los Angeles to Sacramento had passed electrification ordinances banning natural gas hookups in new construction. Sacramento leaders say they can’t enforce the gas ban until they see what happens with the City of Berkeley’s appeal of the decision.

State policymakers are similarly nervous about the implications of the Berkeley ruling.

A Sacramento Bee investigation earlier this month found that donations to CRA and its foundation from SoCalGas, the nation’s largest gas utility, soared after CRA launched its lawsuit.

Critics of SoCalGas as well as the California Public Advocate’s Office, which is an independent state watchdog arm of the California Public Utilities Commission, have accused SoCalGas of financially backing the Berkeley lawsuit with millions of dollars.

“It strains credibility to suggest that the utility did not fund research that supported the California Restaurant Association’s litigation,” the watchdog said in a filing this month.

The restaurant association has vigorously denied any coordination with Southern California Gas Co. on the lawsuit. The CRA said its motivation for the lawsuit was purely to protect new restaurants who prefer using gas, especially Chinese restaurants that prefer gas-powered woks.

SoCalGas has vehemently denied that it in any way funded the CRA’s lawsuit.

The recent Bee investigation noted that contributions to the CRA and its foundation from SoCalGas and its parent company Sempra grew from $174,594 in years 2015 to 2018 to $1.8 million from 2019 to 2022 — a tenfold increase.

The original Sacramento electrification ordinance passed in 2021 and went into effect, albeit briefly, on Jan. 1. Restaurants, however, were exempted until 2026. But through its role as members of a technical advisory panel advising the city, the CRA along with two allies connected to Chinese restaurants, argued the gas ban was culturally insensitive to the tradition of wok cooking.

Several Asian chefs that The Bee spoke to, including celebrity chef Martin Yan, pointed out that induction wok cooking is becoming more common in Asia, and that the industry needs to do its part to combat climate change. Many chefs believe cooking with electric-powered induction woks —although more expensive — is better than cooking with gas-powered woks, especially when environmental and health effects are considered.

At the technical advisory panel’s recommendation, in November 2022, the city council adopted “infeasibility waiver guidelines” that included a key clause;: If the business was found to make a legitimate claim that precluding them from using natural gas would “prohibit socio-cultural traditions that communities practice,” they could be exempted.

“I was shocked when I read that. It just felt like this secret gutting,” Rosie Yacoub an activist with the climate group 350 Sacramento told The Bee. She added, “What does that even mean? It seems like anyone could make that case.”

At a City Council meeting on Tuesday, Mayor Darrel Steinberg and City Council member Katie Valenzuela said that The Bee investigation raised questions about the city’s conflict of interest policy for advisory groups like the technically advisory panel, though stopped short of any specific suggestions for reforming the process.

Charlie Spatz, research manager at the Energy and Policy Institute, said that the conflict of interest issue raised thorny questions.

“The question here is whether the utility money was motivating or influencing the restaurant association’s engagement with the city council,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with restaurants engaging in electrification policy, but it’s important to remember that gas utilities are spreading disinformation to restaurants with the goal of blocking electrification policy.

“It’s a bad faith campaign designed to drive unfounded fear in the restaurant industry and it only serves the interests of gas utilities.”

That disinformation, Spatz and others note, centers on what they believe are dubious studies that try to undermine research such as that performed by Stanford University that concludes gas cooking can be harmful without proper ventilation.

There are signs that even if the Berkeley decision is not overturned, market conditions at least in Sacramento, which has through SMUD some of the lowest electric rates in California, are pushing new construction to be all-electric.

A tool that the city links to called Xerohome appears to typically show cost savings in utility bills of $600-$1,100 annually when homeowners opt for modern all-electric appliances.

Brian Hanly, President of Next Generation Capital, says his company has increasingly opted for all-electric developments in Sacramento, including the 21-unit development, Icon @14C, which was completed in 2020.

“We were a bit afraid of the consumer response in the beginning,” Hanly told The Bee. He added, “It’s above my pay grade to understand the environmental ramifications between natural gas and electric, but we’ve had a positive experience.”

#nunyas news

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mostlysignssomeportents · 3 years

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Let's eat all the cicadas!

Brood 17 - the unbelievable large swarm of 17-year cicadas - is already emerging in parts of America. This summer, Americans in the brood's path will experience a plague(ish) of locusts(ish), as the skies darken and the roads run slick with bug-guts.

Writing for Wired, Kate Knibbs brings us the cuisine of Bun Lai1, a renowned chef who has pioneered "sustainable sushi" and is now foraging in DC for early B-17 bugs to turn into chow: pizza, paella, and sushi.

https://www.wired.com/story/eating-cicadas-brood-x/

In much of the world, eating bugs is no big deal, and not just novelties like chocolate ants: think of chapulin tacos, the Oaxacan grasshopper delicacies. These are a serious seasonal delight in LA, and I can personally attest to their deliciousness.

https://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-eat-your-crickets-los-angeles-chapulin-capital-20130709-story.html

The most exciting thing about eating bugs is not in the fact that they're bugs, but rather in that they are considered a pest and a problem, which we can turn into a delicacy. Bugs (including "pests") are high protein, low-carbon, and abundant.

If you pay attention to the climate emergency, it's hard to avoid the nagging sense that every time you eat, you're contributing to the planet's destruction. Food's got a heck of a carbon footprint, especially farmed food, *especially* farmed *meat*.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/06/methane-diet/#3kg-per-day

Which is why the idea of eating pests and invasive species is so exciting. It's not just the idea that you're eating "guiltless" food, it's the weird sense that maybe we can turn the destructive power of the capitalism machine on things we want to get rid of.

Capitalism, after all, is true star of Nick Bostrom's thought-experiment of a paperclip-manufacturing AI that optimizes and optimizes itself.

https://nickbostrom.com/ethics/ai.html

It barrels on and on until it turns the entire universe into paperclips. The "slow AIs" of shareholder capitalist enterprises pursue profit to the destruction of their environments, workforces, customers and societies:

https://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/index2.html

It's a cruel irony that our asset bubbles are always fueled by destruction of something we need (like a breathable atmosphere and a planet that isn't on fire), rather than, say, the destruction of invasive species or pandemic viruses or similar.

https://boingboing.net/2021/05/10/power-plant-using-whole-output-to-mine-crypto.html

Wouldn't it be great if, instead of a foie gras-eating fad, we had a *kudzu*-eating fad, one that saw all the kudzu in the American south harvested to feed the rapacious kudzu-barons' vast kudzu empires? (Kudzu cookery exists, but has not caught fire).

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/indiana/stories-in-indiana/kudzu-invasive-species/

The closest thing to this that I've encountered in the wild are the delicious lionfish tacos in the scuba towns in Roatan, Honduras, where invasive lionfish (possibly descended from aquarium escapees) are destroying the reef ecosystem.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/ecosystems/impacts-invasive-lionfish

To be clear, lionfish taste good! But also, the experience of lionfish is doubly delicious because you know you're creating a market for scuba guides and fishermen to hunt lionfish, and if this drives them to extinction, that'd be a *good* thing for the planet!

This idea - driving a social phenomenon with markets - surfaces from time to time in science fiction. In Damon Knight's 1992 comic masterpiece WHY DO BIRDS?, an ad-agency is recruited to convince the entire human race to climb into a box (!).

https://memex.craphound.com/2018/12/28/why-do-birds-damon-knights-amazing-underappreciated-science-fiction-novel-about-putting-all-of-humanity-in-a-box/

The agency hits on a winning strategy: they announce that only rich people are *allowed* in the box and that box-berth prices are sky-high.

Soon, plutes are clamoring for spots, while the rest of the world demands climb-into-the-box equity to end being-in-a-box inequality.

Eight years later, Bruce Sterling proposed something similar to deal with climate change, in his brilliant 2000 Viridian Design Manifesto, which called on ecologists to rethink ecological measures as exclusive luxuries.

http://www.viridiandesign.org/manifesto.html

The idea wasn't to actually make ecologically sound living into the exclusive purview of the wealthy, but rather to make ecological living into something both status-defining *and* aspirational, creating demand across the board for sustainable technology.

But markets have a failure mode, that paperclip tragedy mode, which is that they are purely instrumental, driven to maximize their victory conditions irrespective of whether these become detached from their underlying goals.

Universal Paperclips are a subspecies of Monkey's Paws, in other words, a "be careful what you wish for" parable.

SF's got you covered here, too, as in Harry Harrison's "Make Room! Make Room!" (turned into the movie Soylent Green), where the invasive species we devour to save the planet is…us. (BTW, the Tor edition of the novel has a stupendous cover).

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765318855

Alas, the actual situation is more Make Room! Make Room! than Viridian. Our carbon offsets are a market for lemons, useless performances of conservation what will always be cheaper - and thus more successful in the market - than the real deal.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/12/fairy-use-tale/#greenwashing

And nothing epitomizes the hollowness of the eco-luxury market like Tesla, a company that is only profitable because it sells carbon offsets that keep the SUV market alive - a company whose longterm stability involves bitcoin holdings with the carbon footprint of 1.8m cars.

https://news.yahoo.com/tesla-bitcoin-emissions-carbon-footprint-co2-bank-of-america-153636398.html

Still, I would happily eat some Brood 17 I-can't-believe-its-not-foie-gras.

Header image: Toby Hudson (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AustralianMuseum_cicada_specimen_11.JPG

CC BY-SA: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/au/deed.en

Kudzu image: Natalie Maynor https://www.flickr.com/photos/nataliemaynor/296950248/

CC BY: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

#pluralistic

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suffragettecity100 · 5 years

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History Doesn’t Happen in a Vacuum

37. History Doesn’t Happen in a Vacuum

This post is a mini-break from the suffrage timeline in order to tie it into other things happening in the world. The suffrage movement during the second half of the fight from 1885-1920 takes place in a completely different world than the first half 1848 (Seneca Falls) to 1885.

America is over 100 years old and up and coming on the world stage but it’s not a full world power yet. The population jumped 30% from 1870-1880 mostly because of immigration. In 1880 there are 38 states and 12 territories and District of Columbia. By 1890 the population grew another 25% to reach almost 63 million people. There are 44 states and 6 territories and District of Columbia.

This sample decade illustrates how much was happening in the world at the time. This was the first decade to have a lot of things made out of the recently invented first plastic called celluloid (which was and still is dangerously flammable). During the decade things like harnessing of electricity, the first gasoline and diesel engines, the introduction of telephones, telegraphs, and motion picture cameras change the world in ways that still resonate with us today.

1880

Construction begins on the Panama Canal. (It has many delays and takes 24 years to finish.)

The first issue of “Science” is published with backing from Thomas Edison.

Electricity is cutting edge technology and is far from perfected.

City of Wabash, Indiana lays claim to being the first city to have electric lights.

Broadway lit by electricity.

Helen Keller is born.

1881

Booker T. Washington opens the Tuskegee Institute for African Americans to train as teachers.

Sioux Chief Sitting Bull surrenders to United States troops at Fort Buford, Montana.

Barnum and Bailey Circus debuts in New York City.

The American Red Cross is founded by Clara Barton.

1882

Standard Oil Company Trust incorporates and is owned by one man, John D. Rockefeller, who now controls 90% of the U.S. oil refineries. (Kerosene is the top product at this time; gasoline has no practical use yet but Standard Oil employs scientists to find new uses for petroleum products.)

First significant anti-immigration law, the Chinese Exclusion Act, is passed.

1883

Time zones are created in the U.S.

Buffalo Bill Cody starts his Wild West Show to preserve a way of life that is already going extinct.

The “Civil Rights Cases,” a group of five Supreme Court cases, legalize discrimination and segregation until the 1964 Civil Rights Act. (They did not use the term, “separate but equal,” in the rulings, but that is the common summary of the cases. The 1896 case of Plessy v Ferguson reaffirms this idea.)

Jan Matzeliger of Lynn, MA, patents the Shoe Lasting Machine. (The machine could produce 700 shoes a day compared to 50 by hand. Mass-produced shoes are more affordable.)

Susan Hayhearst becomes the first woman to get a pharmacy degree in the United States.

1884

Corn Flakes patented by the Kellogg brothers who were also experimenting with healthy lifestyles.

First skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building, is built in Chicago. (It has 10 stories and uses new building material, steel, from the recently created Carnegie Steel Company.)

First roller coaster opens in Coney Island, NY.

Eleanor Roosevelt is born.

1885

American Telephone and Telegraph is created by Alexander Graham Bell.

Washington Monument is completed.

Rudolph Diesel patents first diesel engine in France.

Sarah E. Goode, inventor of a hideaway bed, is the first female African-American to receive a patent.

Hill Valley Courthouse and Clock Tower are built. #moviefan

Alice Paul, next generation suffrage leader, is born.

1886

First coca-cola is sold.

The Statue of Liberty is dedicated.

Karl Benz received the first patent for an automobile in Germany.

Edison and Tesla are rivals in the battle for electrical currents (Direct vs. Alternating) involving J.P. Morgan and George Westinghouse (GE Corporation) as financial backers.

First trainload of oranges leave Los Angeles to be shipped to the east coast.

After 30 years of fighting for his people, Apache Chief Geronimo surrenders to U.S. Government troops signalling the end of the Indian Wars in the Southwest.

Sigmund Freud opens his first practice in Vienna, Austria.

1887

The Dawes Act breaks up Native American tribal lands to sell to non-native settlers.

White Chapel murders taking place in London (Jack the Ripper).

19 year old Ghandi is beginning a career as a lawyer in London.

Susanna Madora Salter elected first female mayor in the U.S. (Argonia, Kansas).

Yellow River floods in China, one of the deadliest natural disasters in history. Two million people are killed.

Georgia O’Keefe is born.

1888

Edison files patent for first “optical phonograph” i.e. movie camera.

George Eastman introduces the affordable and easy to use Kodak box camera.

First practical inflatable tire invented by John Boyd Dunlap.

U.S. Department of Labor is created.

Van Gogh cuts off his ear after an argument with fellow painter Paul Gaugin.

Edith Eleanor McLean is the first baby to use an incubator at State Emigrant Hospital, NY.

1889

North and South Dakota, Montana, and Washington (state) are admitted to statehood.

Eiffel Tower opens in France.

“Wall Street Journal” newspaper begins publication.

Nintendo is founded in Japan as a playing card company. #Gamer

Intrepid female reporter Nellie Bly starts her around the world trip in 72 days, completes it in 1890.

1890

Idaho and Wyoming admitted as states.

Alice Sanger becomes first female White House staffer.

Arthur Conan Doyle publishes first Sherlock Holmes story, “A Study in Scarlet.”

Ellis Island opens as an immigration station.

Mississippi installs the first “literacy tests” to disenfranchise African-American voters. (Illiterate white voters are exempt because they are descended from previously registered voters.)

Bonus: Melville Bissel invented the first carpet sweeper for his wife Anna. It was a non-electric roller type but it worked wonderfully. He patented it in 1876. They started making them and selling them door to door. In 1883 they opened their first factory. When Melville died in 1889, Anna took over and became the first female corporate CEO!

2nd Bonus: a year after the decade in 1891 John Crapper improves the design of the flushable toilet. He didn’t invent the toilet; he invented the siphon device that stopped the methane gas from accumulating and being potentially explosive in the plumbing. (Speaking on behalf of most women, SuffragetteCity100 LOVES indoor flushable toilets, so we had to include this an an important invention to civilization even though it’s not a woman inventor.)

This week’s song pick:

“Down by the Riverside” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe https://youtu.be/4xzr_GBa8qk

#FightForThe19th #SuffragetteCity100

Episode 37 Sources

https://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1880.html

https://worldhistoryproject.org (years 1880-1890)

http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/events/1880_1890.htm

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Civil-Rights-Cases

https://www.onthisday.com/events/date (1880-1890)

http://www.vacuumcleanerhistory.com/vacuum-cleaner-development/carpet-sweeper-history/

Events were double checked by searching each one individually but the source list would be far too long. Google any specific item for more information. This is meant as a broad overview of a decade to put suffrage in context of everyday things, events, and people that would be familiar to a wide range of the general public.

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cleaninggreasetrap · 2 years

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Keep Septic Tank Properly Clean with The Help of Professional Septic Tank Pumping Company

If you're looking forward to your next septic cleanout appointment, you might be wondering why the septic tanks cleaners stressed the need for this routine septic tank cleanout. While a perfectly functioning septic system is certainly a relief, regular septic cleaning services are the most important preventative maintenance activity you can take to ensure your system's long-term viability. Here are three advantages to scheduling a septic tank pumping service with a septic tank company near me on a regular basis:

septic tank pumping company Los Angeles CA

Get Rid of Sludge - Solid waste builds up in your septic tank over time. While your tank is designed to handle a particular amount of waste, if it is not emptied on a regular basis, it might overflow, putting you in danger of a septic backup. A septic tank service near me removes the sludge from your tank, ensuring that you don't exceed the recommended capacity.

Examine Your System – Another advantage of septic tank cleaning near me is that your septic specialist may readily inspect the rest of your septic system. In reality, a septic clean out is advised on a regular basis, and septic pumping is the ideal time to evaluate all of the system's components for appropriate operation and wear and tear.

Protect Your Tank – Finally, local septic pumping services are the most effective strategy to protect your tank and address any damage early on. Cleaning out your tank with the help of septic tank pumping companies will reveal any early symptoms of cracks or deterioration that could hinder your system from performing at its optimum.

Wrapping Up

The most important reason to get septic pumping near me is for your safety. Although the concept of septic tank cleaning is simple, you should never attempt to access, clean, or enter a septic tank on your own. As bacteria and microorganisms consume solid waste, numerous gases, including methane, arise as byproducts. Methane gas is extremely flammable and can be ignited by a variety of sources, including static electricity. Furthermore, many of the fumes produced inside the septic tank are harmful if ingested. Hiring septic tank cleaners can prevent such mess as they offer top-notch septic tank pumping services. Looking for a local septic tank pumping company? Check out the link to get in touch with the best septic pump service- https://www.allinsanitation.com/septic-tank-pumping-and-cleaning/

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ssowarby18ahsgov-blog · 6 years

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The 3 P Assessment: Parties, Political Interest Groups, and PACs

Republican Party:

The Republican Party believes that CO2 shouldn’t count as an air pollutant under the Clean Air Act, and forbids the EPA from regulating it. They also wish to restore Congress the authority to set the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The Republican Party rejects the agendas of both the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. They also view much of the data on climate change as a political tool, not scientific fact. Republicans value economic growth, even at the expense of the environment. I disagree with this position because it fails to recognize the severity of global warming and the effects of CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions.

Democrat Party:

The Democratic Party believes that climate change is an urgent threat, and therefore are working to reduce CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. They also hope to be completely reliant on clean-energy by 2050. They also plan on honoring the agreements made in the Paris Climate Accord. Democrats believe that carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases should be priced to reflect their negative externalities, and to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy. I agree with this position because it recognizes the urgency of climate change and is trying to combat this problem by reducing CO2 emissions.

Libertarian Party:

While the Libertarian Party does not directly address CO2 and greenhouse gases, they do mention that the free market and property rights will stimulate changes necessary to protect the environment. They also say that thus far, the government has handled environmental conservation very poorly. The Libertarian Party does not support the government’s decisions to subsidize particular forms of energy. I partially agree with the Libertarian view. I think that the government shouldn’t be subsidizing coal because it makes clean-energy unable to compete. Subsidizing coal also encourages the use of fossil fuels and the release of CO2. However, the Libertarian Party does not take a clear stance on the environmental issues our country faces and how they will solve them.

Green Party:

The Green party has a huge focus on environmental problems like CO2 emissions, the greenhouse effect, and climate change. They clearly state how they plan to protect the Clean Air Act and make stricter regulations on greenhouse gases and other air pollutants that cause urban smog, acid rain, and ozone depletion. The Green Party wishes to eliminate the use of fossil fuels by switching to renewable energy sources. I agree with the Green Party’s stance on environmental issues, especially climate change and CO2 emissions. I think that this party has the most activism and passion for environmental sustainability.

Peace and Freedom Party:

The Peace and Freedom party briefly mentions their goals to promote conservation and develop solar and other renewable energy to replace nuclear power and fossil fuels. By doing this, they would reduce CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions. I agree that the U.S. should be switching to clean-energy; however, the Peace and Freedom Party doesn’t emphasize global warming as a priority and seems to have other focuses.

Overall, I identify with the Democrat Party the most. They seem to have rational solutions based on scientific facts. Democrats emphasize the importance and urgency of the issue, while still remaining realistic and balanced. I also like the Green Party’s strong stance on CO2 and greenhouse gases. However, I identify more closely with the overall goals and perspectives of the Democrats.

National Interest Group: Southern Alliance for Clean Energy Action Fund

SACE Action Fund is a non-partisan and non-profit organization striving to make global warming solutions a top priority for Southern elected leaders. This group identifies and highlights important energy and global warming-related legislation and votes in Congress. The group believes in making clean-energy solutions, unlocking renewable energy sources, educating the public on the issue of climate change, reducing pollution, and increasing accountability in the South. The SACE Action Fund was a leader in the No on 1 fall 2016 campaign designed to oppose Amendment 1 on Florida’s ballot. This amendment sought to prevent the spread of solar power, and maintain traditional energy sources. This interest group is located in Knoxville, TN and focuses on activism in Southern states, so this is not an event I can attend. There are opportunities to volunteer with the Floridians for Solar Choice- a citizen-led coalition seeking to open Florida’s solar market so that more homes and businesses can utilize solar energy. An interesting fact- this interest group supports the “Yes on 4 Campaign” that provides tax cuts for homeowners and companies that install solar equipment.

State Interest Group: Environment California

Environment California is a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization that draws on 30 years of success in tackling CA’s top environmental problems. This group wishes to see California’s elected officials making policy changes that help combat climate change. They do this through research reports, news conferences, interviews with reporters, op-ed pieces, letters to the editor, blogs and more. Environment California prioritizes clean air, clean water, open spaces, renewable energy, and preserving the environment for future generations. This interest group is located in Los Angeles CA. To get involved, you can apply for a job or internship with Environment California anytime. They also encourage writing a letter/reaching out to local officials to seek political action. An interesting fact- Environment California values bees and is working to bring back lost bee populations and figure out why they are rapidly disappearing.

Both interest groups are working towards a similar cause. The SACE Action Fund is more targeted towards specific political actions, while Environment California is broader. SACE targets environmentalists in the South, while Environment California targets residents of a particular state. However, SACE has been inactive this last year, so Environment California is probably more successful since they are still active and looking to expand their workforce.

PAC (Political Action Committee): Arch Coal

Arch Coal is a leading natural resource company that produces high-quality metallurgical and thermal coal, used to manufacture steel and generate electricity. This PAC supports the use of fossil fuels. They have raised $180,512, spent $141,000, and have $113,406 in cash on hand. 90% of their budget is spent on Republicans, while only 10% is spent on Democrats. Some donors are John Eaves, Douglas Freeland, and Deck Sloane. These men all work for coal companies, so they most likely don’t care about renewable energy or CO2 emissions.

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lawrencedienerthings · 4 years

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The pandemic is battering oil-state economies COVID-19 reverberates across the energy world.

Colorado News https://coloradomedia.co

Long before New Mexico or Wyoming identified any cases of COVID-19, even before residents began hoarding eggs and sacks of flour, state budgets were feeling the impact of the disease.

In mid-January, when the epidemic was still mostly confined to China, officials there put huge cities on lockdown in order to stem the spread. Hundreds of flights into and out of the nation were canceled, and urban streets stood empty of cars. China’s burgeoning thirst for oil diminished, sending global crude prices into a downward spiral.

And when oil prices fall, it hurts states like New Mexico, which relies on oil and gas royalties and taxes for more than one-third of its general fund. “An unexpected drop in oil prices would send the state’s energy revenues into a tailspin,” New Mexico’s Legislative Finance Committee warned last August. Even the committee’s worst-case scenario, however, didn’t look this bad. Now, with COVID-19 spanning the globe, every sector of the economy is feeling the pain — with the exception, perhaps, of toilet paper manufacturers and bean farmers. But energy-dependent states and communities will be among the hardest hit.

At the end of December, the U.S. benchmark price for a barrel of oil was $62. By mid-March, as folks worldwide stopped flying and driving, it had dipped to around $20, before falling into negative territory, and then leveling off around $10 in April.

The drilling rigs — and the abundant jobs that once came with them — are disappearing; major oil companies are announcing deep cuts in drilling and capital expenditures for the rest of the year, and smaller, debt-saddled companies will be driven into the ground.

COVID-19 and related shocks to the economy are reverberating through the energy world in other ways. Shelter-in-place orders and the rise in people working from home have changed the way Americans consume electricity: Demand decreased nationwide by 10% in March. As airlines ground flights, demand for jet fuel wanes. And people just aren’t driving that much, despite falling gasoline prices, now that they have orders to stay home and few places to go to, anyway.

The slowdown will bring a few temporary benefits: The reduction in drilling will give landscapes and wildlife a rest and result in lower methane emissions. In Los Angeles, the ebb in traffic has already brought significantly cleaner air. And the continued decline in burning coal for electricity has reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

But the long-term environmental implications may not be so rosy. In the wake of recession, governments typically try to jumpstart the economy with stimulus packages to corporations, economic incentives for oil companies, and regulatory rollbacks to spur consumption and production. The low interest rates and other fiscal policies that followed the last global financial crisis helped drive the energy boom of the decade that followed. And the Trump administration has not held back in its giveaways to industry. The Environmental Protection Agency is already using the outbreak as an excuse to ease environmental regulations and enforcement, and even with all the nation’s restrictions, the Interior Department continues to issue new oil and gas leases at rock-bottom prices.

The impacts on energy state coffers will unfold over the coming weeks and months. But the shock to working folk from every economic sector has come swiftly. During the third week of March, more than 3 million Americans filed for unemployment — more than 10 times the claims from a year prior.

Infographic design by Luna Anna Archey. Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, California Independent System Operator, Baker-Hughes, Unacast, FlightRadar24, Wyoming Department of Revenue, Carbon Footprint, International Air Transport Association, OAG.

Originally posted by Jonathan Thompson on High Country News on April 23, 2020. High Country News publishes independent journalism for people who care about the West.

from https://ift.tt/2KGoPi8 https://ift.tt/2YduvIu

#Straight News

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johnboothus · 5 years

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We Asked 10 Cheesemongers: What Will Be the Cheese Trends of 2020?

It’s unlikely that pristine cheese boards, gooey raclette, and oozy grilled cheese sandwiches will lose much traction in 2020. But, what new sorts of cheesy trends do we have to look forward to at the beginning of this new decade? We asked 10 cheesemongers to find out.

“Sustainable packaging. I think as purveyors, we don’t tend to think about packaging in the same way as our customers; we’re wrapping in cheese paper or selling pre-packaged items because that’s all built into what we do. [Our customers] are asking if they can bring in beeswax wraps, reusable containers, and if they should be buying cheese paper/cheese bags for at-home use to avoid wrapping in cling film. It’s a neat shift to see as more people choose greener alternatives — a good example for all of us to follow!” —Maarit Tymchyshyn, Lead Monger, The Cheesemongers Fromagerie, Winnipeg, Canada

“With Rogue River Blue winning this year at the World Cheese Awards and the current tariff situation with imported cheeses, I think we are really poised to see a golden age in American artisan cheeses. Consumer knowledge has increased and because of that, ‘American cheese’ doesn’t have the same negative connotation it used to.” —Scout Henderson, Cheese Buyer, Whole Foods, Charleston, SC

“Big data will impact cheese distribution. The romance and saleability of [the] specialty cheese market has attracted engineers seeking to improve the flow of cheese to market. I expect to see investments in reusable packaging that increase speed of loading, reduces warehouse (handling) costs, and waste.” —Jeffery Mitchell, Owner, Culpeper Cheese Company, Culpepper, VA

“I think we’ll see cheesemakers focusing on sustainability as farms face more and more issues from climate change and cheesemakers advertising the steps they are taking to preserve the environment. This includes converting whey into a soil regenerator like Arethusa Farms, methane recycling like Point Reyes, and carbon sequestering from no-till grazing like Shellburne Farms. 2020 is the year consumers can learn cheese is a process, not just a product!” —Julia Gross, Cheesemonger-at-Large, Chicago, IL

“As cheese and its inherent beauty continues to gain traction on social media, it will be ever-important for education to be the defining factor in cheese influence. Design and aesthetic are, like in any business, core to creating engagement and interest, but do not replace the services of an educated monger.” —Caitlin O’Neill, Head of Retail & Food Service, Cowgirl Creamery, Point Reyes Station, CA

“I think a couple trends for 2020 are going to be continuing that Insta cheese board wave, Japanese cheeses as they start to be exported to the rest of the world and into American counters, as well as a surge in support for domestic cheeses as the threat of increasing tariffs and potential war increases.” —Michelle Vieira, Columbus, Blogger, Columbus Curd Nerd, Columbus, OH

“I am seeing a rise in fermentation festivals, going back to the roots of food preservations. We host a number of events with local breweries, cideries, distilleries, wineries and showcasing handcrafted pickles, jellies, fruit spreads, breads, etc. Small business foodies are banding together!” —Melodie Picard, Owner of The Oregon Cheese Cave, Phoenix, OR

“In 2019 at the World Cheese Awards in Bergamo, Italy, Japanese cheeses took 15 awards out of 30 entered, including a No. 10 spot of Best in the World. In 2020, I predict we will see Japan bringing their cheesemakers into the limelight for these extraordinary awards.” —Sheri Allen, Owner of Artisanal Touch Events, Salt Lake City, UT

“An expansion of prepacked snack packs of salami and cheese, nuts, etc.; prepacked cheese board kits to put together at home, and home delivery of same.” —Marge Porter, Sales Rep/Cheese Specialist, Great Ciao, Inc., Minneapolis, MN

“I’ve worked behind a cheese counter for almost eight years and I quickly grew used to hearing customers say ‘just no stinky cheese, please’ until recently. I think 2020 will be the year that robust, washed-rind cheeses will really get to shine. I think the general public is starting to get less freaked by the funk and have become more excited to try them. There are so many amazing washed-rinds right now, especially being made by American artisanal producers, and it’s been really exciting to see them grow in popularity.” —Alyssa Trulson, Head Cheesemonger, Milkfarm, Los Angeles, CA

The article We Asked 10 Cheesemongers: What Will Be the Cheese Trends of 2020? appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/top-cheese-trends-2020/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/we-asked-10-cheesemongers-what-will-be-the-cheese-trends-of-2020

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isaiahrippinus · 5 years

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We Asked 10 Cheesemongers: What Will Be the Cheese Trends of 2020?

The article We Asked 10 Cheesemongers: What Will Be the Cheese Trends of 2020? appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/top-cheese-trends-2020/ source https://vinology1.tumblr.com/post/190496512514

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wineanddinosaur · 5 years

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We Asked 10 Cheesemongers: What Will Be the Cheese Trends of 2020?

The article We Asked 10 Cheesemongers: What Will Be the Cheese Trends of 2020? appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/top-cheese-trends-2020/

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firstusaenvironmental · 3 years

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Best Environmental Engineering Consultants

Hiring environmental engineering consultants will be helpful every step of the way. It can help you stay compliant and sort through the paperwork. Stay organized and take care of some of that paperwork for you. Connect us now for more details!

#environmental engineering consultants #phase 1 environmental site assessment companies near me #environmental engineers near me #environmental engineering firms near me #Removal Underground Storage tank (UST)#environmental site assessment #phase 1 environmental site assessment cost #phase i and phase ii environmental site assessments #environmental site assessment companies near me #Asbestos and lead testing #Asbestos abatement #methane mitigation report #methane design companies in Los Angeles #remediation dry cleaners (VOC)#remodel Gas Stations #certified soil and groundwater remediation companies #construction management services

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urbanstarzmedia · 3 years

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Urban oil wells linked to asthma and other health problems in Los Angeles 6/2/21

Tag# oil wells When California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a goal to phase out oil drilling statewide by 2045, he focused on its impact on climate change. But oil drilling is also a health problem, particularly in Los Angeles, where thousands of oil wells still dot the city. These wells can emit toxic chemicals such as benzene and other irritants into the air, often just feet from homes, schools and parks. As environmental health researchers, we study the impacts of oil drilling on surrounding communities. Our research shows that people living near these urban oil operations suffer higher rates of asthma than average, as well as wheezing, eye irritation and sore throats. In some cases, the impact on residents’ lungs is worse than living beside a highway or being exposed to secondhand smoke every day.

LA was once an oil town with forests of derricks

Over a century ago, before Hollywood, the first industry to boom in Los Angeles was oil. Oil was abundant and flowed close to the surface. In early 20th-century California, sparse laws governed mineral extraction, and rights to oil accrued to those who could pull it out of the ground first. This ushered in a period of rampant drilling, with wells and associated machinery crisscrossing the landscape. By the mid-1920s, Los Angeles was one of the largest oil-exporting regions in the world.

A 1924 photo shows the oil derricks on Signal Hill. Water and Power Museum Archive

The view across The Pike amusement park and downtown Long Beach, California, in 1940 shows a forest of oil derricks in the background. Water and Power Museum Archive Oil rigs were so pervasive across the region that the Los Angeles Times described them in 1930 as “trees in a forest.” Working-class communities were initially supportive of the industry because it promised jobs but later pushed back as their neighborhoods witnessed explosions and oil spills, along with longer-term damage to land, water and human health. Tensions over land use, extraction rights and subsequent drops in oil prices due to overproduction eventually resulted in curbs on drilling and a long-standing practice of oil companies’ voluntary “self-regulation,” such as noise-reduction technologies. The industry began touting these voluntary approaches to deflect governmental regulation. Increasingly, oil companies disguised their activities with approaches such as operating inside buildings, building tall walls and designing islands off Long Beach and other sites to blend in with the landscape. Oil drilling was hidden in plain sight.

boulder weekly Today there are over 20,000 active, idle or abandoned wells spread across a county of 10 million people. About one-third of residents live less than a mile from an active well site, some right next door. Since the 2000s, the advance of extractive technologies to access harder-to-reach deposits has led to a resurgence of oil extraction activities. As extraction in some neighborhoods has ramped up, people living in South Los Angeles and other neighborhoods in oil fields have noticed frequent odors, nosebleeds and headaches.

Closer to urban oil drilling, poorer lung function

The City of Los Angeles currently requires no buffers or setbacks between oil extraction and homes. Approximately 75% of active oil or gas wells are located within 500 meters (1,640 feet) of “sensitive land uses,” such as homes, schools, child care facilities, parks or senior residential facilities. Despite that proximity and over a century of oil drilling in Los Angeles, there have been few studies on how it affects residents’ health. We have been working with community health workers to gauge the impact oil wells are having on residents, particularly on its historically Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Oil drilling in Los Angeles. The first step was a door-to-door survey of 813 neighbors from 203 households near wells in Las Cienegas oilfield, just south and west of downtown. We found that asthma was significantly more common among people living near South Los Angeles oil wells than among residents of Los Angeles County as a whole. Nearly half the people we spoke with, 45%, didn’t know oil wells were operating nearby, and 63% didn’t know how to contact local regulatory authorities to report odors or environmental hazards. Next, we measured lung function of 747 long-term residents, ages 10 to 85, living near two drilling sites. Poor lung capacity, measured as the amount of air a person can exhale after taking a deep breath, and lung strength, how strongly the person can exhale, and are both predictors of health problems including respiratory disease, death from cardiovascular problems and early death in general. We found that the closer someone lived to an active or recently idle well site, the poorer that person’s lung function, even after adjusting for such other risk factors as smoking, asthma and living near a freeway. This research demonstrates a significant relationship between living near oil wells and worsened lung health. People living up to 1,000 meters (0.6 miles) downwind of a well site showed lower lung function on average than those living farther away and upwind. The effect on their lungs’ capacity and strength was similar to impacts of living near a freeway or, for women, being exposed to secondhand smoke. Using a community monitoring network in South Los Angeles, we were able to distinguish oil-related pollution in neighborhoods near wells. We found short-term spikes of air pollutants and methane, a potent greenhouse gas, at monitors less than 500 meters, about one-third of a mile, from oil sites. When oil production at a site stopped, we observed significant reductions in such toxins as benzene, toluene and n-hexane in the air in adjacent neighborhoods. These chemicals are known irritants, carcinogens and reproductive toxins. They are also associated with dizziness, headaches, fatigue, tremors and respiratory system irritation, including difficulty breathing and, at higher levels, impaired lung function.

Vulnerable communities at risk

Many of the dozens of active oil wells in South Los Angeles are in historically Black and Hispanic communities that have been marginalized for decades. These neighborhoods are already considered among the most highly polluted, with the most vulnerable residents in the state.

A state app called well finder locates active oil wells, including in Los Angeles County. State of California But while the governor declared that “California needs to move beyond oil,” his current timeline would allow oil wells to continue operating for the next two decades. A variety of policies, including buffers, phaseouts and emissions controls, will need to be considered to protect public health and accelerate the transition to cleaner energy sources. Urban oil wells linked to asthma and other health problems in Los Angeles-AUTHORS:

Jill Johnston, Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California and Bhavna Shamasunder, Associate Professor of Environmental Health, Occidental College This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

For More California news VISIT For more Health News Visit Here Check out more food ideas on Cali.FM For more Entertainment News visit HERE Check out more great contributor stories, HERE The Daily Blackness-Black News HERE Read the full article

#OILWELLS

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mastcomm · 5 years

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Nothing Says ‘I Love You’ Like Secondhand Roses

Roses on Valentine’s Day don’t seem like such a kind gesture when you think about them getting shipped to the city on cargo planes from Ecuador, or decomposing in landfills and converting to methane gas.

So what’s a climate-conscious romantic to do?

Consider the case of Leatal Cohen, an idealistic young florist and the owner of Pic and Petal. She was hired by a man who wished to propose to his girlfriend while surrounded by hundreds of flowers. Yes, it would be beautiful and lavish. But wasteful, too. Could she temper it somehow?

“You know when you cook food, and there are leftovers, and they just go into the garbage?” Ms. Cohen said. “It just doesn’t feel good, even though you know it was enjoyed.”

So, a few hours after the newly engaged couple’s fairy tale moment, Ms. Cohen asked Aviva and Arielle Vogelstein, sisters and the founders of ReVased, which repurposes and resells slightly used floral arrangements, to dismantle and transport the 350 proposal flowers to Ms. Cohen’s apartment in Downtown Brooklyn.

There, the Vogelstein sisters paid Ms. Cohen a few hours work to help them sort through the anemone, ranunculus, delphinium, privet berry, pear flower blossom, hydrangea and garden roses, as they figured out how to create new arrangements. Some would be going to subscribers who receive a delivery once a month for $29. The rest would be donated to a Lincoln Square neighborhood center.

ReVased customers “don’t know exactly which flowers they are going to get,” said Aviva Vogelstein, who quit her job this month as a lawyer to work for the company full time. “That makes it exciting.”

Office space, scooters, and now, floral arrangements: The sharing economy has trickled down to the flower industry, with more companies across the city committed to either extending the temporary joy flowers bring or to reusing or composting them more responsibly.

After all, flowers are big business, and there’s room for growth. This year, for Valentine’s Day alone, Americans are expected to spend $2.3 billion on flowers, up from $1.9 billion last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

In a city like New York, where special events happen on a daily basis and cut flowers are in demand year-round, it was only a matter of time before eco-minded entrepreneurs saw an opportunity.

“Valentine’s Day is an incredibly wasteful holiday in terms of its environmental impact, but if you’re looking at the year as a whole, events are way worse,” said Liza Lubell, 37, who runs Peartree Flowers, which specializes in large installations.

A typical large event like a wedding or gala can produce up to 100 bags of flowers, Ms. Lubell said. “It’s not just centerpieces on a table anymore,” she continued. “The whole ceiling could be filled with flowers.”

So Ms. Lubell created a second company, Garbage Goddess, which provides eco-cleanup services for events in New York City, the Hamptons, the Hudson Valley and soon, Los Angeles. “We try to find alternative homes for everything,” she said. “We look at recycling as our last resort.” Her goal is to have less than two bags of garbage for each event.

Often, Garbage Goddess will donate event flowers to textile designers like Cara Piazza, who uses the flowers to make natural dyes in her Brooklyn studio.

“One bouquet from a wedding will get you a scarf and a kimono,” Ms. Piazza said. “I will get nine massive garbage bags full of flowers from events that will last me a month.”

“Flower repurposing is one of the biggest things happening in the events industry right now,” said Nicki Fleischner, the founder of Plan with Purpose, a website that showcases ethically-minded event vendors. “There are more companies coming out of the woodwork all the time.”

“Flower repurposing is one of the biggest things happening in the events industry right now.”Credit…Brittainy Newman/The New York Times

Jennifer Grove, an event planner, started Repeat Roses in 2014. Her company will pick up flowers after an event, restyle them, and transport them to a local nonprofit, like the Dwelling Place, a women’s homeless shelter and a regular recipient. When the flowers wilt, the company will deliver them to a composting facility. “To date we’ve diverted 197,137 pounds of waste from landfills,” Ms. Grove said earlier this month.

But Ms. Grove’s services aren’t cheap. Flower handling fees start at $1,750. This might explain the company’s heavy celebrity following.

Last Sunday, for example, Repeat Roses transported 590 pounds of florals from the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills to the nearby Ronald McDonald House and the East Los Angeles Women’s Center. And last February, it collected flowers from Meghan Markle’s baby shower at the Mark Hotel on the Upper East Side and took them to local charities, including the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge. The flowers were later composted.

Of course, people could also forgo flowers altogether, said Elizabeth Balkan, director of the food waste program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “We are not going to compost our way out of the flower issue, because there is still an enormous amount of resources used to create them,” she said.

In other words, why did the Duchess of Sussex, a self-proclaimed environmental advocate, have 389 pounds of flowers as part of her baby shower in the first place?

Because people love them, so to cancel them is unrealistic, said Jenny Flax, an event planner who has convinced many of her clients to use Repeat Roses for bar and bat mitzvahs. “People want to use flowers, but you can help them see how the amount of waste is alarming and what they can do to help.”

Ms. Balkan, like Ms. Cohen of Pic and Petal, compared rotting flowers to food waste. “A loaf of edible bread that has gone moldy and is composted, that is not a win,” she said. “That bread shouldn’t have gone moldy. It should have been frozen or given to a friend or used to make bread crumbs.”

Individuals who receive flowers can do their part as well, Ms. Balkan said. “Press them, repurpose them, turn them into soap,” she said. Or refuse them altogether. “I’ve seen people give potted plants or herbs as gifts.”

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martin9395 · 5 years

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Treatment Systems At Medication Therapy Centers

Drug obsession is actually one of the primary concerns and also severe discomfort disease that individuals are fighting with around the entire world. There are thousands of folks who obtain addicted to it annually as well as thousands of all of them pass away given that they are actually certainly not capable to obtain suitable drug treatment in their particular state. Folks that are actually addicted to any sort of kind of drugs consistently locate themselves in their qualified as effectively as individual life. One of the bitter facts about the medication addiction is actually that folks are not restricted to street medicines as well as switching towards the prescribed drugs. At first of substance addiction they merely take prescribed medicines so as to get quick relief from their pain as well as anxiety. In beginning this drugs functions as an electricity booster yet the frequent and also regular use this drugs produces them addicts. Within this article, right here are actually some vital and also appealing facts regarding the medication dependency and therapy center which will absolutely aid you in discovering an efficient one depending on to your requirements Los Angeles.

Besides these, medicine substance addiction is certainly not restricted to the grownups and much older folks but also to the adolescents as well as younger creations. This has been actually confirmed in the recent poll which is actually conducted through a reputed drug procedure facility that lots of person that enrolled in the centers for rehab are actually primarily people of below twenty to twenty-five years as reviewed to the grownups or much older age folks. Commonly, it has been discovered that there are actually great deals of individuals leave the centers in between the rehab programs given that they are certainly not delighted with the setting or even locations provided due to the facilities. Therefore, it becomes necessary for the abusers along with their member of the family to find a suitable treatment as well as obtain them signed up. Just before, confessing them any kind of rehab plans don't forget to check the loyalty factor or even results rate of that center. Loyalty factor could be defined as the variety of people enlisted for the medication therapy to the amounts of folks finished that treatment programs one method center cost.

Many of the alcohol and drug procedure center offers detoxing as the very first and also primary method of handling individual. In this particular one full week treatment plans, poisonous substances particles are actually removed from the physical body of an addict with the aid of several medicines. Throughout this therapy programs, person shows a variety of drawback indicators which must be actually taken care of meticulously typically there is consistently a greater possibilities of relapses. The moment the client is actually purified these therapy centers with help from expert provides a variety of procedure programs such inpatient therapy courses, outpatient procedure plans and quick stay treatment systems. Hing on the attributes of dependence they help in deciding on rehab courses also they modified these programs depending on to the necessities of the individual. If an abuser is experiencing intense dependence after that they provide inpatient medication procedure strategies where they need to stay in the non commercial setting in order to obtain ideal procedure around the clock under the eye of clinical administrators. And outpatient procedure programs are actually suited for those who possess light add-on or even undergone the long method of therapy plans earlier Los Angeles.

Drug Treatment Center FAQs

The main purpose of a drug therapy center is to lessen the stigma of medication addiction by means of education and also community outreach. The facility supplies exceptional treatment as well as therapy for drug abuser. It offers physiological, mental, as well as metaphysical help to the patients center cost.

What are actually the various kinds of drug procedure facilities?

There are actually lots of types of medicine therapy focuses to suit the requirements and also issues of drug user. The usual styles include hospital, inpatient, long-lasting, as well as short-term medicine procedure centers. Furthermore, there are detox, rapid detox, halfway home, wilderness, and sober residing properties.

What procedure methods are actually brought out in a drug procedure center?

The therapies supplied will vary hing on the features of the clients.

Primarily, there are actually 4 major treatment methods. They are bio-physical methods, detoxing recovery, personality customization, methadone centers, and rehab programs using 12-step rehabilitation design. The treatment likewise consists of behavioral therapy, medications, or even their blends.

What sorts of services are actually provided at drug treatment facilities?

Medication procedure centers provide both inpatient and also outpatient solutions. Individual and also team counseling treatments are actually delivered. Some medicine treatment focuses conduct neighborhood appointments and also curricula on drug dependence and healing. Area companies are also provided.

Which types of obsessions are treated?

A selection of drug obsessions consisting of drug, cocaine, methane, oxycontin, hydrocodone, liquor, codeine, demerol, opium, ultram, painkiller, lortab, percocet, as well as other prescribed procedure obsessions. They are effectively managed in medication therapy centers.

What are the different sorts of systems used at medication therapy facilities?

Apart coming from the first procedure system, the medicine treatment facilities offer household courses, healing plannings, aftercare courses, medicine education and learning systems, and also religious support systems to the medication addicts and also their families.

Perform drug therapy facilities deliver aftercare services?

Yes, most therapy facilities provide on-going aftercare solutions to drug preys. These solutions are actually mainly created to aid the people to attain long-lasting success in hammering their dependence. Aftercare courses are actually linked with group treatments, education lessons, as well as counseling center cost.

Drug Treatment Centers For Drug Abusers

Contrasted to many years ago, there are actually right now much more treatment alternatives for drug abusers. Community health companies as well as medication treatment facilities may be actually found in most cities as well as communities today. Other hospital companies are actually also on call to deliver help.

There are actually likewise an amount of self-help groups that supply help to medication consumers, and some of these is actually Narcotics Anonymous. This optional organization was developed largely to aid drug abusers change or even damage their routines. It should not be actually hard to find a section of Narcotics Anonymous in your area. You can examine the neighborhood web pages at the face of your local telephone book.

It is actually a huge comfort that there are actually such associations that might have the capacity to assist drug addict reside a relatively regular life during treatment. Narcotics Anonymous is a community-based self-help group designed on Alcoholics Anonymous, the organization generated to help in the simple recuperation of liquor abusers.

A lot of medication abusers worry the effects of drawback; they look for assistance only when they are actually ill or even have possessed a comb with the law. Typically, as well, they find help when they are incapable to obtain their normal items of the medication. This makes them come under relapse. While their cooperation is actually significant in the excellence of therapy, appropriate therapy and support and treatment systems should additionally remain in spot. This is actually exactly the reason for the creation of Narcotics Anonymous.

While there may be actually no reliable standard operating procedure or system that may assist medication abusers, the systems of Narcotics Anonymous are primarily designed to deal with those that misuse narcotics, marijuana, or even other medicines. In simple fact, numerous people choose to have their treatment in such organizations since the prices right here are actually comparably less than in some healthcare facilities.

The organization's systems consist of extensive treatment treatments and also everyday talks for an amount of full weeks. Nonetheless, a full week of medical facility therapy might be demanded for persistent as well as intense drug abusers. This is actually essential for each detoxification and also procedure of negative effects. A more four-week stay in a distinct rehabilitation center generally complies with the hospital procedure.

After undertaking procedure in either outpatient or even inpatient care, patients are actually definitely urged to get involved in the plans specified by Narcotics Anonymous on a long-lasting basis. The cause for this is actually that receiving curative therapy with peers has proved to become the most effective way of handling a propensity to give back to substance abuse.

Prescribed Drug Treatment

In the final numerous years, prescribed medicine obsession has come to be more prevalent for a variety of explanations. One is actually the high supply of these drugs together with the wrong opinion that any medications that a medical professional suggests could possibly not end up being an addition problem. The three sorts of prescription medicines that may become addictive consist of energizers, painkillers, as well as sedatives. Many times it only takes a few weeks of taking a prescription medicine and then going off them to discover that you may require qualified prescribed medicine therapy. Although they are secure when absorbed specific dosages and also tracked by the doctor some may be routine creating, create a higher amount of altruism, as well as produce serious dependency on all of them.

When mosting likely to an inpatient therapy center you will possess your therapy program developed based upon your requirements. As you proceed the program will certainly transform to demonstrate this. You will additionally comply with frequently along with your medical professional alongside various other medical careers as they aid you obtain off the prescribed drugs.

The majority of prescribed medication treatments include

- Inpatient care where you are going to possess twenty-four hour accessibility to treatment and also a place to keep up until your treatment is actually ended up, which is actually usually thirty to ninety times. Listed below you will certainly receive hands-on care.

- Outpatient treatment after you have actually completed with inpatient treatment, which is where you will check out the prescribed drug treatment hospital facility either day-to-day or even several opportunities a full week to get procedure, which consists of treatment as well as counseling sessions.

The 1st portion of prescription drug therapy is cleansing where you will certainly be gradually discouraged off the medicines and also addressed for any kind of withdrawal symptoms.

Pain reliever prescribed drug treatment

For these prescription drugs you will be given one of 3 medicines to aid alleviate your withdrawal symptoms. Buprenorphine or even Methadone can easily be actually proceeded as servicing approaches additionally. How much time you will use all of them as upkeep drugs would certainly rely on just how serious your dependence is actually. They might also make use of clonidine but not as an upkeep medication.

Energizer prescription medicine therapy

For the desires you are going to be actually managed with anti-craving representatives and for depressive symptoms they are going to address you along with antidepressants. Occasionally individuals endure from extreme unbalanced impacts and if you are actually after that they will certainly be actually treated along with neuroleptics.

Sedative prescribed drug procedure

Commonly they will little by little wean you off barbiturates while in the plan given that the drawback indicators could be extreme, even deadly. This is why if you are addicted to sedatives you ought to look for inpatient procedure so you can possess twenty-four hr hands-on supervision. At times it may be actually needed to be actually offered various other medications yet it relies on your necessities during the course of drawback.

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mikemortgage · 6 years

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Why Toyota is doubling down on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for its future

When Ontario Premier Doug Ford cancelled the province’s incentives for consumers who bought electric vehicles in July, executives at Toyota Canada weren’t upset.

“I wasn’t a big fan of the incentives,” vice-president of corporate strategy Stephen Beatty said in an interview with the Financial Post.

“If you build up consumer demand solely based on how many thousands of dollars the government can give you to encourage you to buy a car, that to me doesn’t sound like a terribly sustainable business model.”

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Mexico says it's getting close to a U.S. deal on autos content rules at NAFTA

Toyota has argued that a one-size-fits-all approach focusing on the sale of zero-emission vehicles — particularly on the sale of electric cars — misses the mark when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

In fact, while many automakers are following Telsa’s footsteps and investing heavily in launching new battery electric vehicles, Toyota has taken a different approach. The Japanese automaker is doubling down on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles — still a zero-emission electric vehicle, but one that is powered by the most abundant element on earth.

Battery electric cars may get much of the spotlight, but KMPG’s Global Automotive Executive Survey 2018 found that auto industry leaders believe fuel cell technology will lead the way in terms of attracting significant investment. According to the survey, 52 per cent of respondents ranked fuel cell electric vehicles as “the most important automotive key trend up to 2025.”

While Toyota is also investing substantially in battery technologies, such as its plug-in hybrid Prius Prime, they are leading the way when it comes to bringing hydrogen fuel cell technology to the masses, said Matthew Klippenstein, an industry watcher and principal at Electron Communications.

“Toyota is confident that hydrogen fuel cells have a prominent role to play in a zero-emission transportation future,” Klippenstein said. “The technology is there and once they get higher volumes, the (lower) cost will be there too.”

Toyota has been investing in hydrogen since the 1990s and introduced the Mirai, its first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, in 2014. The Mirai is an zero-emission electric vehicle that runs on compressed hydrogen gas and emits water. The car’s fuel cell creates electricity to power the car through the combination of oxygen from the intake system, and hydrogen from the tank.

The Mirai is Toyota’s first a hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered vehicle in whose future the carmaker is investing heavily.

Both battery and fuel cell vehicles have similar ranges, but there is a major difference in how they are refuelled. Refuelling the Mirai at one of the few hydrogen stations in the world takes just a few minutes — a speedy time-frame that is not possible with today’s battery technology.

Toyota is hoping the Mirai can find mass appeal in the market where it has so far struggled, due in part because of high costs and a lack of fuel infrastructure.

In May, the Japanese automaker announced plans to expand production of the Mirai from 3,000 last year to at least 30,000 by 2020. This week, the company unveiled its second iteration of a hydrogen fuel cell Class 8 truck that boasts a range of about 500 kilometres. The truck will be transporting goods in and around the Port of Long Beach and Los Angeles beginning in the fall.

Klippenstein believes that part of the appeal of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for Toyota is the shifting market demand, particularly in North America, towards SUVs and trucks.

“As cars get larger and as consumers demand more range, more energy, more ability to do stuff, then hydrogen fuel cells look much better than batteries, even despite the goals of the next generation of batteries,” he said.

“And that is why the automakers still see hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as having value.”

Toyota is not the only automaker looking to hydrogen. According to a report by market research firm Research and Markets, at least 11 automakers are eyeing a 2021 rollout of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, including Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Mercedez-Benz and BMW.

Jackie Birdsall, a senior engineer with Toyota’s fuel cell hybrid vehicle group, says the Mirai is just one aspect of the company’s broader electrification plan — but one that fits consumer demand in the near term. Battery electric vehicles, she says, makes most sense for “lower range, smaller vehicles for customers who prefer to charge at home, whereas fuel cells can be longer, range, with quick refuelling times and in larger vehicles.”

“We have really high hopes for this technology,” Birdsall says.

There are, of course, significant challenges when it comes to hydrogen fuel cell cars. Both Beatty and Birdsall quickly cite infrastructure as the most substantial obstacle facing automakers interested in the technology.

“Hydrogen is a mass produced commodity, but the dispensers to actually take that industrial gas and put it into vehicles doesn’t exist, nor is there really a market for it at this point,” Birdsall said.

California leads the way when it comes to fuelling infrastructure, with 35 retail stations across the state according to the California Fuel Cell Partnership, but around the world stations are sparse. Shell and Hydrogen Technology and Energy Corporation (HTEC) opened its first retail hydrogen fuel station in Vancouver in June, and there are plans to open two more in the city.

Another challenge remains overcoming range anxiety.

Birdsall has spent several years travelling the world and putting the Mirai through a range of extreme tests. For example, in 2013, she and a team of Toyota engineers travelled to Yellowknife, N.W.T. to see how the vehicle would hold up in freezing cold conditions. Her team has fired guns at the carbon-fibre-wrapped, polymer-lined tank that holds the hydrogen fuel to test for leaks, and left it smouldering on a bonfire to see how it would react to high levels of heat. Birdsall said there was an “extreme amount” of testing done to make sure the Mirai is safe.

“With the history of hydrogen, people often think of Hindenburg,” she said. “It’s going to take some time to educate the consumer to all of the means that we’ve taken and all of the engineering design work that has gone into ensuring the integrity of this system.”

Still, not everyone is on board with this type of electric vehicle.

Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, has been a vocal critic of hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicles.

Many skeptics point to previous hype about hydrogen fuel technology that has never materialized in the market. Tesla’s Elon Musk has been an outspoken critic of the technology over the years, dismissing it as “extremely silly” and “terrible.” At an Automotive World News Congress in Detroit in 2015, Musk gave the example of using solar panels to convert energy into hydrogen, and said running a fuel cell would be half as efficient as charging a battery pack directly.

“It’s terrible. Why would you do that? It makes no sense,” Musk said at the time.

“If you’re going to pick an energy storage mechanism, hydrogen is an incredibly dumb one to pick. You should just pick methane, that’s much much easier, or propane… There’s no reason for us to have this debate.”

Beatty is blunt in his response to such criticism.

“People who tell you that battery electric vehicles will solve all problems haven’t lived in cold, remote locations,” he said. “Nor have they lived in places where the grid is still powered by hydrocarbons. Nor have they lived in places where the mechanisms to support electrification aren’t in place.”

In addition to the questions of efficiency, many have pointed to the fact that a majority of hydrogen fuel that is currently mass produced is made using steamed methane or formation of national gas. Ultimately, Birdsall says, “we’d like to get away from any kind of use of natural gas.” She points to Toyota’s trucking program at the Port of Long Beach, which is using agricultural waste to create hydrogen.

Beatty sees an opportunity in Canada for hydrogen fuel, particularly in provinces that often have a surplus of electricity. He argues that hydrogen could be a good use of that surplus, and can improve efficiencies during off-peak hours. For example, he points to electricity that is being produced at night that doesn’t get used. Beatty said that energy could instead be turned into hydrogen fuel and stored for later use.

“It’s pretty clear that what we need to be doing is to find a way to store that energy surplus,” Beatty said.

A 2017 report from McKinsey, a global consulting group, said that while hydrogen and batteries are portrayed as competing technologies, “the relative strengths and weaknesses of these technologies, however, suggest they should play complementary roles.” The report says that because battery-electric vehicles are more efficient with smaller loads, the technology is ideal for light vehicles that travel shorter distances. Hydrogen can store more energy with less weight, making that technology more ideal for heavy loads and long ranges.

Toyota is doing that at the Port of Long Beach with its heavy duty truck that uses two Mirai fuel cell stacks.

It’s also plans on entering the Canadian market soon. Beatty said the company will deliver 50 Mirai vehicles to Quebec in December for use in government fleets.

“I think the arguments for hydrogen are pretty clear, but you don’t have to take Toyota’s word for it,” Beatty said. “Talk to the other car companies that are pursuing it as part of their strategy. We just happen to be sort of the standard bearers for it. But we’re certainly not alone.”

• Email: [email protected] | Twitter: alicjawithaj

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ramialkarmi · 6 years

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SpaceX just got approval to build Mars spaceships in Los Angeles from the city's mayor

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti gave his annual "State of the City" speech on Monday.

During the speech, Garcetti announced that SpaceX will build Big Falcon Rocket ships for Mars in the Port of Los Angeles.

SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, applied for permission to build a 200,000-square-foot factory at the site, called Berth 240.

It seems inevitable the rocket company will win approval and begin construction on its Mars spaceships.

It's hard to imagine where in Los Angeles, a crowded city of four million people, that you might build a spacecraft taller than the Statue of Liberty and capable of colonizing Mars.

But during an annual speech on Monday, Mayor Eric Garcetti said SpaceX, the rocket company founded by tech mogul Elon Musk, is about to do just that.

"If this year has taught us anything, it is to think big — to go after something unreachable. We have the confidence to look up to the stars, and the guts to realize our dreams," Garcetti said during a live broadcast.

"Today, I am pleased to officially announce that SpaceX will start production development of the Big Falcon Rocket in the Port of Los Angeles. This is a vehicle that holds the promise of taking humanity even deeper into the cosmos than ever before."

The Big Falcon Rocket or (as Musk likes to call it) the Big F---ing Rocket, is a two-part launch vehicle designed to carry 100 people and 150 tons of cargo into space.

A 19-story booster on the bottom will help rocket a 16-story spaceship on top into orbit, according to the most recent designs shared by Musk.

The vehicle is designed to burn liquid methane, since the fuel could be manufactured on many planets and moons in the solar system, including Mars.

What's more, it's intended to be fully reusable and quickly refuel-able.

If Musk and SpaceX succeed in building it, it could upend the entire rocket industry on Earth due to its presumable low cost (much like the relatively low cost of booking a flight around the world inside a reusable jet airplane).

What Garcetti's approval means for SpaceX

SpaceX manufactures most of its rocket parts at the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, California, which is within LA city limits.

But the scale of BFR demanded by Musk was other-worldy — end to end, a completed rocketship may stretch more than 348 feet tall — so SpaceX began scouting a new location, and one that wouldn't be too far from thousands of employees.

Public documents show SpaceX ultimately asked for permission to lease a site called Berth 240 at the Port of Los Angeles, which is about 14 miles south of Hawthorne.

SpaceX needs approval from the port's Board of Harbor Commissioners, though, because it wants to build a 200,000-square-foot Mars rocketship factory on a historic site. (The berth was used after World War II to build Victory ships that helped bring US soldiers home.)

Computer renderings of the building's design suggest the company will load spaceship and booster segments onto barges and ship them to Texas, where SpaceX has both a launchpad and rocket-testing-and-development facility.

Although the board has yet to issue its ruling, Garcetti's seal of approval seems to dispel any doubt that SpaceX has secured permission, especially with SpaceX's pending influx of half a billion dollars.

"This isn't just about reaching into the heavens," Garcetti said. "It's about creating jobs right here on Earth."

SpaceX appears ready to build ships for Mars

SpaceX doesn't appear to be waiting for the board's imminent approval.

The company has erected a roughly 20,000-square-foot tent on a berth that SpaceX already leases from the port. And inside, according to an image shared by Musk and photos obtained by Teslarati, the company is amassing tools to build carbon-fiber-composite frames for the BFR.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to Business Insider's questions about the machinery, its purpose, and the schedule for BFR fabrication.

But Musk has said publicly his company has started work on the BFR's spaceship — what he considers the most challenging piece to build — and start "short hopper flights" by early 2019 in McGregor, Texas.

Assuming the spaceship doesn't explode during initial testing, SpaceX will begin work on the booster.

Musk said late last year that his "aspirational" timeline for a first BFR launch to Mars will happen 2022, followed by the first crewed mission in 2024.

But Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president, said at the 2018 TED conference on Wednesday that she "might out-vision Elon" with her goals for the BFR.

"Mars is fine, but it's a fixer-upper planet," Shotwell said. "I want to find people, or whatever they call themselves, in another solar system."

SEE ALSO: SpaceX's list of competitors is growing — here are 9 futuristic rockets in the pipeline for the new space race

DON'T MISS: SpaceX's biggest rival has a 'genius' plan to cut its rocket-launch costs by more than 70%

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: There's a place at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean where hundreds of giant spacecraft go to die

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sherristockman · 7 years

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Will McDonald’s Transition to Regenerative Agriculture? Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola For decades, food production has been all about efficiency and lowering cost. We now see what this approach has brought us — diminishing food quality, skyrocketing disease statistics and a faltering ecosystem. Regenerative agriculture that makes use of cover crops, no-till and herbivore grazing actually contributes to improved soil health and fertility. An interesting study that highlights the importance of grazing animals found that reindeer grazing on shrubs on the Arctic tundra actually help combat abnormal weather patterns on a global scale by increasing surface albedo, the amount of solar energy being reflected back into space.1 Overall, it’s become quite clear that regenerative agriculture is the only truly viable way forward, as factory farming is making everything worse. Indeed, around the world, farmers are waking up to the many adverse effects of industrialized agriculture. While chemicals and machines have allowed farms to expand and increase production, there’s growing awareness about how these strategies harm the soil, ecology and, ultimately, human health. According to data from the University of Michigan’s Global Change Program, a whopping 96 percent of the soil erosion in North America is caused by food production.2 Regenerative Agriculture Gets Influx of Investment Funds As a result of this awareness, a growing number of farmers are transitioning over to more sustainable and regenerative methods that do not rely so heavily on chemical and technological means. Impact investors are also flocking to sustainable agriculture, according to recent reports, convinced that this is where we’re ultimately headed. As noted by GreenBiz:3 “A growing number of investment companies in this realm are using capital to help ranchers switch to 100 percent grassfed beef production, connect small farms to communities with little access to fresh food and transition farmland used to grow commodity corn and soy to organic, regenerative systems. ‘There's total momentum right now around people rethinking about how their money is being put to work,’ said Kate Danaher, senior manager of social enterprise lending and integrated capital at RSF Social Finance. ‘Impact investing as a whole is growing very quickly, and my guess is that if you polled everyone interested, the most popular sector is sustainable food and ag.’ In fact, according to the Global Impact Investing Network's most recent survey,4 63 percent of impact investors said they were putting their dollars into food and agriculture, and impact investment in the sector has grown at an annual rate of 32.5 percent since 2013.” McDonald’s Takes Aim at Carbon Sequestration Restaurants are also starting to get on board, paying closer attention to the source of their ingredients and how the food was grown or raised. McDonald’s is one of the latest franchises to take the plunge into regenerative farming. Whether this is a greenwashing publicity stunt or an attempt to appease customer demand remains to be seen.According to a recent report by GreenBiz,5 the fast food giant is “embarking on a small but potentially significant project to measure and analyze the ability of cattle farming to sequester carbon in soil, using a style of grazing called adaptive multi-paddock — AMP, for short,” adding: “For years, a small number of farmers have used techniques such as conservation tillage, cover cropping and crop rotation to reduce soil loss and keep carbon in the soil, which can improve soil health and fertility and make land more productive. AMP is another tool in that toolkit. It involves moving cattle around grazing land for short durations in small, fenced-off areas called paddocks. Then giving paddocks long periods of time to rest, which catalyzes accelerated grass regrowth along with other flora and fauna. The method mimics the migrations of wild herd animals, such as elk, bison and deer, as they move from place to place.” Should the program turn out to be a success, it could significantly alter the way that all of McDonald’s ranchers raise their cattle. After the formation of a “global roundtable” of beef producers and processing facilities in 2013 to define the term “sustainable beef,” McDonald’s began implementing the standards last year through a pilot program involving nearly 150 beef operations in its Canadian supply chain. According to GreenBiz: “Just last month, Cargill, one of McDonald’s go-to beef suppliers, announced that its Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration pilot, by the end of 2018, will provide customers with beef ‘from operations that have been audited from 'birth to burger' using an industry-developed sustainability standard.’ The yearlong project will explore a variety of tracking technologies, such as DNA testing and blockchain, to design a process for producing verified sustainable beef ‘that is robust while still being practical, scalable and cost-effective,’ according to a Cargill press release.” The Carbon Story There are five main carbon sinks on the Earth: the atmosphere, oceans, forests, deep underground and in soil. Of these, soil is the best repository of carbon, as here it helps restore soil health and boost crop yields. Destructive farming practices such as tilling effectively release soil carbon into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, or into water by erosion. As noted by The New York Times:6 “Many scientists and farmers believe the emerging understanding of soil’s role in climate stability and agricultural productivity will prompt a paradigm shift in agriculture, triggering the abandonment of conventional practices like tillage, crop residue removal, mono-cropping, excessive grazing and blanket use of chemical fertilizer and pesticide. Even cattle, usually considered climate change culprits because they belch at least 25 gallons of methane a day, are being studied as a potential part of the climate change solution because of their role in naturally fertilizing soil and cycling nutrients.” Scientists Support Regenerative Agriculture A recent paper7 by James Hansen, a scientist and environmental activist, offers strong support for regenerative agriculture, urging farmers to take “steps to improve soil fertility and increase its carbon content”. According to Rattan Lal, director of Ohio State’s Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, soil can sequester carbon at a rate as high as 2.6 gigatons per year.8 And, as Lal told The New York Times, “Putting the carbon back in soil is not only mitigating climate change, but also improving human health, productivity, food security, nutrition security, water quality, air quality — everything. It’s a win-win-win option.” Healthy Eating Has Environmental Benefits Of the total global greenhouse gas emissions, an estimated 20 to 30 percent have been linked to food production and the transport of food. According to a recent study published in PNAS, if people living in 28 high-income nations followed government dietary recommendations, greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by as much as 25 percent. The amount of farmland required to produce food would also be reduced by 17 percent. How did they reach these conclusions? Los Angeles Times reports:9 “To come to this conclusion, Behrens turned to Exiobase, a massive input-output database that represents the entire world economy. It allowed him to track not only the environmental cost of growing and raising the various types of food we consume, but also the cost of the machinery involved in the production of that food, and the cost of getting it into our supermarkets and eventually onto our plates. The database also takes into account that some countries are more efficient at producing food than others … Behrens gathered data on the average diets of people living in 39 countries as well as the dietary recommendations put out by governments in those countries … [H]e kept the calorie counts of both diets the same, and only altered the percentage of the different food groups that people actually eat, and how much their governments suggest they eat.” Once all the data was fed back into the Exiobase, the results of each scenario could be compared. A majority of the reduction in emissions if people followed dietary recommendations was linked to a reduction in meat consumption. I’ve frequently noted that most Americans eat far more meat than is needed or indicated for optimal health, so there’s certainly room for a reduction there. Meanwhile, most eat nowhere near the recommended amount of vegetables. That said, current efforts to create a meatless society by transitioning over to meat substitutes created by various natural and unnatural means is not part of the answer. Not only are animal products an important part of a healthy diet, grazing livestock also serve a very important function in the landscape of regenerative farming. For a refresher, see my previous interview with Will Harris, owner of White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia. Five Principles to Growing Topsoil Another article well worth revisiting is my interview with Gabe Brown, whose regenerative North Dakota farm I visited this past July. In that interview, we discuss regenerative principles that can be applied just about anywhere, even if you live in the suburbs. Again, the major focus of regenerative farming is the building of high-quality topsoil and a healthy soil ecosystem, which in turn will allow you to grow bountiful, nutrient-dense food — all without the addition of synthetic chemicals. Here are five key principles for accomplishing this, whether you’re running a full-fledged farm or simply growing vegetables in your garden: 1. Avoid disturbing the soil microbiome with tillage, herbicides, pesticides and fungicides. The less mechanical disturbance the better. The same applies in your home garden. 2. Protect the soil’s surface with cover crops and cover crop residue. In your home garden, use mulch, wood chips or lawn clippings. You never want to leave soil bare, as bare soil will have a negative effect on soil biology and the water cycle. Cover crops and other forms of “soil armor,” such as wood chips, effectively prevent water evaporation and lowers the soil temperature, thereby nourishing and protecting the plants’ roots. Simply applying biomass will convert to soil in a few years. Ideally, the wood chips should be finely ground and ideally have some leaves in the mix to balance the carbon to nitrogen ratio, but even then it will take a few years for the chips to convert to soil with high levels of humates. Never plant directly into the chips, only below them. The chips and mulch help retain the moisture and decrease water requirements. My interview with Paul Gautschi, master arborist and gardener for more than half a century, goes into even more details. 3. Diversify. Having a diverse array of plant life is essential, and cover crops fulfill this requirement as well. Home gardens will also benefit from cover crops, helping to improve the soil, attract beneficial insects and capture more sunlight. 4. Maintain living roots in the ground as long as possible. Maintaining some kind of growth at all times is key. If you have a small vegetable garden, don’t leave it bare once you’ve harvested your veggies. Plant a cover crop in anticipation for the next season. 5. Integrate livestock and other animals, including insects. Flowering plants that attract pollinators and predator insects will naturally help ward off pests that might otherwise decimate your main crop. Meanwhile, grazing animals, be they goats or cattle, mimic the natural movement of wild animals across the landscape. Even just having a few free-range chickens can make a big difference on your property. Consider Growing Some of Your Own Food During World War II, 40 percent of the produce in the U.S. was grown in people’s backyards in so-called "victory gardens,” and this trend has started taking root once again. If you currently have a lot of lawn and ornamental plants, consider transitioning over to more edibles. You can grow a significant amount of food in a rather small space. In the video above, Gabe shows off his own small garden, which produces enough veggies for four families for an entire year. Even college students living in a dormitory and those who rent can grow sunflower seed sprouts or microgreens, or participate in a community garden if there’s one nearby. Growing your own food is a practical approach that creates a great deal of security. If you grow a large portion of the fresh food you eat, that’s hard-earned dollars you won’t have to spend at the grocery store. And you’ll have better quality food. Invest in a Healthier Food System Aside from growing some of your own food, another way to support the emergence of a healthier food system is to join a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program. As a CSA member, you basically buy a “share” of the vegetables the farm produces, and each week during growing season (usually May through October) you receive a weekly delivery of fresh food. Joining a CSA is a powerful investment in your local community and economy, as well as your own health. Thriving CSAs can help revitalize a community and allow residents to form strong bonds with the farmers who grow their food. It’s also really helpful for the farmer, who is able to collect money needed to seed, sow and harvest up-front. Alternatively, buy as much food as you can from your local farmers or farmers market. If you live in the U.S., the following organizations can help you locate farm-fresh foods: Demeter USA Demeter-USA.org provides a directory of certified Biodynamic farms and brands. This directory can also be found on BiodynamicFood.org. American Grassfed Association The goal of the American Grassfed Association is to promote the grass fed industry through government relations, research, concept marketing and public education. Their website also allows you to search for AGA approved producers certified according to strict standards that include being raised on a diet of 100 percent forage; raised on pasture and never confined to a feedlot; never treated with antibiotics or hormones; born and raised on American family farms. EatWild.com EatWild.com provides lists of farmers known to produce raw dairy products as well as grass fed beef and other farm-fresh produce (although not all are certified organic). Here you can also find information about local farmers markets, as well as local stores and restaurants that sell grass fed products. Weston A. Price Foundation Weston A. Price has local chapters in most states, and many of them are connected with buying clubs in which you can easily purchase organic foods, including grass fed raw dairy products like milk and butter. Grassfed Exchange The Grassfed Exchange has a listing of producers selling organic and grass fed meats across the U.S. Local Harvest This website will help you find farmers markets, family farms and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area where you can buy produce, grass fed meats and many other goodies. Farmers Markets A national listing of farmers markets. Eat Well Guide: Wholesome Food from Healthy Animals The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants, inns, hotels and online outlets in the United States and Canada. Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) CISA is dedicated to sustaining agriculture and promoting the products of small farms. FoodRoutes The FoodRoutes "Find Good Food" map can help you connect with local farmers to find the freshest, tastiest food possible. On their interactive map, you can find a listing for local farmers, CSAs and markets near you. The Cornucopia Institute The Cornucopia Institute maintains web-based tools rating all certified organic brands of eggs, dairy products and other commodities, based on their ethical sourcing and authentic farming practices separating CAFO "organic" production from authentic organic practices. RealMilk.com If you're still unsure of where to find raw milk, check out Raw-Milk-Facts.com and RealMilk.com. They can tell you what the status is for legality in your state, and provide a listing of raw dairy farms in your area. The Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund10 also provides a state-by-state review of raw milk laws.11 California residents can also find raw milk retailers using the store locator available at http://ift.tt/UJjPq1.

#VitalityPath

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