Navigating Translation Services in San Diego

Settled along the pleasant shore of Southern California, San Diego is a city known for its staggering scenes, social variety, and flourishing economy. As a blend of societies and a center for business, training, and the travel industry, San Diego has turned into a microcosm of globalization. In this blog, we'll investigate the essential job that translation services play in San Diego, working with powerful correspondence across dialects and overcoming any barrier between its assorted networks.

A Worldwide Center Point of Variety

San Diego's social texture is woven with strings from around the world. From the clamoring roads of Little Italy to the energetic neighborhoods of City Levels, the city is home to a rich embroidery of dialects and societies. With a solid presence of global companies, scholarly establishments, and army installations, the interest in proficient translation services has flooded to oblige the requirements of the two inhabitants and organizations. These administrations act as the crucial connection that permits San Diego's multicultural populace to interface, team up, and flourish.

Key Translation Services in San Diego

The interpretation scene in San Diego is pretty much as different as its populace, offering a wide exhibit of administrations that take care of different areas and enterprises:

Business and Lawful Interpretation: San Diego's strong economy is filled with plenty of organizations going from new businesses to worldwide enterprises. Translation services help with authoritative record interpretation, contracts, promoting materials, and business correspondence, guaranteeing that organizations can really draw in accomplices, clients, and clients around the world.

Instructive Interpretation: San Diego's eminent colleges and instructive foundations draw in understudies and researchers from across the globe. Translation services work with the enlistment cycle, scholastic correspondence, and the interpretation of exploration materials, making instruction available to non-local English speakers.

The travel industry and Friendliness Interpretation: With its shocking sea shores, top-notch attractions, and all year wonderful environment, San Diego is a famous traveler objective. Translation services assist with making the city inviting and available to worldwide guests by giving deciphered guides, guides, and signage.

Medical Services and Clinical Interpretation: San Diego's medical care area serves a different patient populace, large numbers of whom may not communicate in English as their essential language. Clinical translation services guarantee exact correspondence between medical services suppliers and patients, empowering viable therapy and care.

Social Awareness and Exactness

Viable interpretation in San Diego goes past simple phonetic transformation. It requires a profound comprehension of social subtleties, informal articulations, and normal practices. Proficient interpreters in the city have the aptitude to guarantee that deciphered substance passes on exact data as well as resounds socially with the target group.

Embracing Innovation

Like a lot of California, San Diego is no more peculiar to mechanical development. Translation services in the city are consolidating progressions, for example, machine interpretation and man-made consciousness to improve productivity and smooth out the interpretation cycle. Notwithstanding, human interpreters stay fundamental for keeping up with setting, tone, and social genuineness.

End

Translation services in San Diego assume an essential part in encouraging associations, separating language obstructions, and advancing social trade. As the city keeps on developing as a worldwide player in different areas, the interest in precise and socially touchy correspondence will just develop. Whether it's helping worldwide undertakings, enhancing instructive encounters, or working with consistent medical care connections, translation services in San Diego stand as a demonstration of the city's obligation to inclusivity, variety, and viable worldwide correspondence.

Hotel renovation company near me

San Diego's hotel revenue has been increasing, much like it has throughout the state. Like the rest of California, Los Angeles has seen a surge in the number of luxury and mid-range hotels. A general contractor in San Diego who is well-versed in hospitality and tourism works in the industry. The foundation of San Diego's economy is the hotel sector hotel remodeling company near me Our primary concentration is the greater San Diego area. We travel directly through the center of San Diego.

For the remodeling project to be successful, you must be well-versed with the workings of the hotel industry and the owner's objectives. If the company you choose is inexperienced, issues could occur. Your chances of success will rise significantly if you don't take off your disguise. Look around if they are unable to suggest any decent motels in the region. Some of the applicants seem dissatisfied with their current jobs, based on their appearance. Individuals of great distinction from all over the globe vie for admission to these restricted groups. A lot is probably going to happen.

Hotel renovation company near me

We are a dependable option for any international hotel chain due to our versatility. We ought to be more equipped to seize opportunities now that we have this plan in place. This service provider is equivalent to many others. Everything is handled by us, including insurance claims, maintenance, and building. Numerous instances in various settings demonstrate their usefulness. It would be useless to try to enumerate what we have accomplished. The diligence and expertise of its staff members have allowed Greython Construction to establish a stellar reputation. When all things are taken into account, the results of their efforts are likewise impressive. Our team has years of expertise and considerable training, so you can be confident that every guest will be treated with the highest respect and care while they are here. Our team is prepared to handle any issue that may arise during hotel construction or renovation. A lot of businesses, big and small, have made improvements to their properties, which has increased demand for hotel services. Their distinct perspectives could be useful for both conventional and unconventional methods to hotel maintenance. They switch between the two environments with ease. An increasing number of hotels are either in the planning phases or are currently under construction in order to meet the rising demand. A crucial component is the high demand for their services from the public and private sectors. Consider this: five-star hotels are widely available. An experienced builder or renovator of hotels would be a great asset to the group. When things go wrong, it's critical to draw on the wealth of wisdom that comes with age. This is primarily due to their remarkable ability to transition between several tasks. It's definitely possible to broaden one's skills to suit various circumstances.

For those who want to relax, the Greython Hotel is the ideal location. Please stop by if you're ever feeling depressed. Perhaps this is the perfect place for you. This style of elegant dinner is ideal for the Greython's dining rooms.

The project managers of the hotel have declared that they intend to complete the upgrades prior to the start of the busiest season. Please get in touch with us if you need any more information on the construction of a hotel or similar establishment. In order for the business to thrive, this has to be in place. The degree of a company's perseverance determines how successful it is in the building industry. The staff at the hotel and visitors will be updated on the changes because of Greython's background in corporate administration. We have combed the company's database for suggestions because we are adaptable and ready to seize new chances as the project progresses. This is due to the fact that we have experience working with clients from a wide range of industries. We can dedicate more time to achieving our long-term goals now that we are jobless. We've been able to seize amazing opportunities and take on challenging projects because to our vast knowledge and experience. A considerable increase in output necessitates constancy. We stand by our guarantee that our approach will give you excellent service. It is essential to uphold the trust of the building's original occupants, builders, and architects at all times. Without your unwavering support, we would not have succeeded. It cannot be great for our business if you accept these terms.

Hotel owners in the future will find great value in our extensive building knowledge, imaginative vision, and meticulous project management abilities. The hospitality industry will be ecstatic about this. It is now possible to keep an eye on the hotel industry's growth. Hotel partners can collaborate with us to easily access cutting-edge features. Offering customers more lodging options is good for the business's financial line. The hotel sector is about to undergo a radical transformation. In light of the tourism industry's explosive growth, strengthening ties with it makes sense. There's a flashback as part of the present lobby refurbishment. Renovating the lobby's walls, ceiling, carpets, and lighting could greatly enhance its visual appeal. It's possible that the energy in the foyer permeates the entire building. The improvements to the entrance door will make it easy for visitors to enter and exit the house.

5 need for financial planning in Oregon in 2024

When we talk about the picture perfect landscapes of the state of Oregon, where the beautiful abundant forest meet the coastline of the state, it creates a region of chance to grow and for unforeseen challenges thus it is a necessity for you to be prepared for any circumstances.

Thus North Star Reserves has got you a comprehensive blog on 5 need for financial planning in Oregon in 2024 which will help you to get in-depth knowledge to know more keep on reading till the end.

Navigating Economic Volatility:

Like many other economies, Oregon's economy also undergoes fluctuations that are driven by multiple factors, such as industry patterns, market shifts, global events, and national events. Whether it is Portland's meticulous technology sector or the Willamette Valley's agricultural expanses, any economic instability will affect people's livelihoods. Thus, the need for a well-devised financial strategy will enable individuals to navigate uncertainties and capitalize on opportunities, no matter what the changes in the economic dynamics.

Preparing for Retirement:

As one of the significant generations, which is the baby boomer generation, is transitioning into the retirement phase, the younger generations, or the millennial’s and Generation Z, are preparing to strategize their future. You have a secured future and ensured retirement plans. Thus, financial residents automatically plan to generate guaranteed financial stability during their last years or years of retirement. The way you could do so is by investing in different prospects that align with your retirement objectives, which will be different for every individual. You should engage in enough proactive planning regarding your finances to establish a foundation for your secured retirement lifestyle or you can look up to invest in top financial plan by north start reserve in Utah.

Mitigating Housing Challenges:

The hurdles that are possible in Oregon's housing market are not hidden by anyone escalating costs and the demand levels vary every single time. Whether you decide to own a house or want to rent a house in a city such as Portland financial planning is a necessity that works as an aid for affordability and the mortgage choices and to decide how you want to and your housing security. Many Jews and effective financial planning equip you with the insights that helps you to make informed decisions regarding housing which ensures a long-term in the dynamic real estate landscape. You can look for top condo reserve fund study in California that will help you to give insight about the same.

Addressing Healthcare Costs:

Due to the emphasis on quality healthcare accessibility, healthcare costs can create a substantial financial strain on an individual. Thus the need for different insurance premiums is needed. Your healthcare expenses can affect financial stability across every life phase. Thus, you can engage in proactive financial planning by claiming various health insurance plans, forecasting medical expenditures, and taking advantage of tax advantages in the health saving accounts to considerably reduce or lower financial burden of healthcare, although the economic burden of healthcare makes you a better navigator for the financial challenges associated with healthcare expenses in the landscape.

Investing in Education:

Oregon boasts excellent educational environments and prestigious universities, highlighting the significance of personal growth and learning. You cannot think that you will handle tuition fees without proper financial planning.  You need to navigate these challenges beforehand by integrating education funding, which must include a prior expense of tuition fees, living costs, and higher education costs. This management helps you secure your child's education for long-term financial well-being.

Conclusion

As we summarize we can say financial planning is not a luxury, but a vital necessity for individuals and families in Oregon. Whether one is dealing with economic uncertainties, planning for retirement, managing healthcare costs, addressing housing challenges, investing in education, mitigating risk, or preserving wealth, a well-crafted financial plan serves as a guiding compass helping them achieve their financial goals. By embracing proactive need for financial planning in Oregon, Oregonians can navigate life's journey with confidence and resilience, securing their future amid the stunning landscapes and vibrant communities of the Pacific Northwest.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 7 steps of financial planning?

The seven steps that are involved in financial planning are establish goals, assess risk, analyze cash flow, protect your assets, evaluate your investment strategy, consider estate planning, implement and monitor your decisions, and your choice for financial fitness.

What are the 5 key areas of financial planning?

The five key areas of successful financial planning are saving, investing, financial protection, tax planning, and retirement planning to live a life of abundance with peace of mind.

What are the 4 elements of financial planning?

The four key elements in financial planning are managing your income and expenses to save for future goals assessment of your assets and debts buying adequate insurance coverage and strategic investment to build wealth.

Santorine: Republicans Do Differ, But Foundations Are the Same

I was recently asked how local Republicans differ with those in other geographic areas and on the federal level, and it’s such a great question because there’s no simple answer. I took some time and read parts of the platforms of the statewide Republican committees in about a dozen states, plus the Republican National Committee. With the exception of the RNC’s platform, which is a 67-page document. I was looking for order - what the states platform stressed, and the order in which planks of the platform said a lot about what was on the minds of those who put together the platforms. The state and national platform will occasionally receive small changes and amplifications, but the RNC is still running with their 2016 platform, and West Virginia has had the same platform since 2024. The process for changing the platform is tedious at best, and if extreme positions are going to be taken, the platform meeting is where they will become evident. The RNC synopsis of their platform is: Republicans believe in liberty, economic prosperity, preserving American values and traditions, and restoring the American dream for every citizen of this great nation. As a party, we support policies that seek to achieve those goals. Our platform is centered on stimulating economic growth for all Americans, protecting constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms, ensuring the integrity of our elections, and maintaining our national security. We are working to preserve America's greatness for our children and grandchildren. The Republican Party's legacy -- we were originally founded in 1854 for the purpose of ending slavery -- compels us to patriotically defend America's values. As the left attempts to destroy what makes America great, the Republican Party is standing in the breach to defend our nation and way of life. My synopsis would be: Liberty Limited Government Prosperity American Exceptionalism The American Dream It is not too much of a stretch to say that is consistent across most of the states for which I reviewed their party platform. I lumped states into categories - Red states with an energy sector; Red states without an energy sector; Blue states trying not to have an energy sector; and Blue states that don’t have an energy sector. Remember, the goal here is to explain the difference between Republicans in these 50 states. Red States with an energy sector - all of the Republican platforms in these states had a plank that included “Energy and the Environment” or something similar. Red states without an energy sector would fail to address the energy plank, but nearly all had an environmental plank of some form, especially since many of the Democrats policies aim to reduce America’s competitiveness by throttling our economy through energy policy. They know that bureaucrats do an awful job of picking economic winners and losers. Just look at the red ink flowing from Detroit’s big three on electric vehicle. Blue states trying not to have an energy sector will usually try to sidestep the negative impact of green rules. I think Pennsylvania is a good example. Three cities run the whole thing, and they could not be more different - Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. The mess they have made of their energy sector is astounding. California’s Republican platform stresses economic freedom, and just about begs for relief from their bloated and overgrown bureaucracy. It’s probably the most different from the other states I considered. They were also the softest on some of the social issues (like Abortion and School Choice) of any of the states I reviewed. I know people who are involved with the party in San Diego. I carry the minute books for the Ohio County Republican Executive Committee in a bag one of them gave me. They are focused on the illegals, and how unfettered illegal immigration (asylum seekers?) is bankrupting schools, counties and law enforcement. They are fighting the insanity coming out of their state capital in Sacramento. Yes, they know we are firing the good fight for energy here, but their border crossing and electioneering (some counties in California allows non-citizens to vote, allegedly on just local issues, but that seems to be a very slippery slope). All politics are local so there will be local and regional differences, but they are subtle discrepancies. No, we are not all the same, but we are similar enough to all fit under the big tent that is the Republican Party. The Republican Oath sums in up very nicely: The Republican Oath I believe that the proper function of government is to do for the people those things that have to be done but cannot be done, or cannot be done as well by individuals, and that the most effective government is government closest to the people. I believe that good government is based on the individual and that each person's ability, dignity, freedom and responsibility must be honored and recognized. I believe that free enterprise and the encouragement of individual initiative and incentive have given this nation an economic system second to none. I believe that sound money policy should be our goal. I believe in equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, age, sex or national origin. I believe that persons with disabilities should be afforded equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity as well. I believe we must retain those principles worth retaining, yet always be receptive to new ideas with an outlook broad enough to accommodate thoughtful change and varying points of view. I believe that Americans value and should preserve their feeling of national strength and pride, and at the same time share with people everywhere a desire for peace and freedom and the extension of human rights throughout the world. Finally, I believe that the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating these ideals into positive and successful principles of government. Read the full article

Food Scene in Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles is a city known for its diverse food scene, offering various cuisines from various cultures. The city is at the forefront of food trends, popularizing new and innovative dishes, and has numerous restaurants, food trucks, and street vendors. LA is also known for its focus on healthy and organic eating, offering vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. It's true that the culinary scene is thriving, with many top chefs opening restaurants in the city. The shopping and entertainment scene in Los Angeles is unparalleled, offering iconic destinations, trendsetting fashion, world-class entertainment, cultural attractions, and year-round events. The city is home to world-class venues like the Dolby Theatre, Hollywood Bowl, and Staples Center, which host concerts, performances, and sporting events. Additionally, LA has a rich cultural heritage, with museums, galleries, and historical sites offering unique entertainment experiences. With a busy events calendar, LA is a vibrant and exciting place to be.

One-Bedroom Apartments near Culver City

The Parker is the best choice for a one-bedroom apartment near Culver City. This city is situated in a walkable neighborhood hub for LA's best offerings, including award-winning bars, restaurants, and museums. This one-bedroom apartment provides dynamic spaces for great inspiration and collaboration. You'll discover a curated area to gather and share ideas at this apartment. Whether taking in the sunset on the rooftop deck, entertaining friends around the pool, or watching a classic in the outdoor cinema, our amenities are designed to keep you inspired. The club lounge and tech-enabled coworking space offer a very comfortable environment for working on projects or socializing with friends, featuring fireplaces, communal or private seating areas, and charging stations.

Petersen Automotive Museum

The Petersen Automotive Museum offers over 300 vehicles on display, covering the history of automobiles, automotive engineering, and car design. Visitors can take a general tour, a behind-the-scenes tour, or a tour of the Vault, which houses some of the museum's rarest cars. The museum also hosts various events throughout the year, including car shows, concerts, and educational programs. To get involved, visitors can volunteer, become a member, or donate to the museum. Some recommended exhibits include the Vault, which houses rare and exotic cars not publicly displayed. The Hollywood Dream Machines Gallery showcases cars featured in movies and television shows; the Concept Cars Gallery features cars still in the design phase; and the Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation Gallery showcases the work of the museum's Foundation. The museum also provides opportunities for visitors to get involved in various ways, such as volunteering, becoming a member, or donating.

Los Angeles workers walk off the job for 24 hours.

Thousands of Los Angeles city employees, including sanitation workers, engineers, and traffic officers, walked off for a 24-hour strike on Tuesday, alleging unfair labor practices. The strike is part of SEIU Local 721, which claims that the city has failed to bargain in good faith and has engaged in labor practices that restrict employee and union rights. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass stated that city workers are vital to services for millions of Angelenos and the local economy. The strike is the latest to overtake the nation's second-largest city in recent months, following strikes by Hollywood writers, actors, hotel workers, school staff, and a contract dispute at Southern California ports. Read more.

Link to maps

Petersen Automotive Museum 6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036, United States Head south on S Fairfax Ave toward Warner Dr 0.3 mi Turn right onto W Olympic Blvd Pass by Carl's Jr (on the left) 0.1 mi Turn left onto Hi Point St 0.5 mi Turn right Destination will be on the right 154 ft The Parker Apartments 5935 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035, United States

https://www.accuweather.com/en/business/it-comes-up-on-you-fast-scorching-heat-is-crushing-american-businesses/1563234

While the true economic impact has yet to be tabulated for this weather event — the nature of excessive heat, its varying effects and sizable reach make that a tall order — recent studies have shown that extreme heat could cost the United States $100 billion annually from the productivity loss alone. If left unchecked, it could sap away one-sixth of global economic activity by the year 2100.

Hmm.

Workers, especially those who work outdoors, are less productive, Lafakis added. Moody’s Analytics estimates that chronic physical risk from heat stress could reduce worldwide GDP by up to 17.6% by 2100. “The way that heat hits us, our thinking gets slowed down, our concentration is really tough, our hand-eye coordination is off, we’re tired, we make mistakes,” said Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center at the Atlantic Council, which in 2021 released a report analyzing the potential $100 billion in productivity losses. The losses are steepest in sectors such as agriculture and construction, but no industry or business is immune, she said. Even if an employee works in an air-conditioned environment, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are afforded the same luxury at home, she said, adding that disruptions in sleep could lead to exhaustion and poor performance the following day. “The heat is accelerating so quickly that our self-perceptions of risk are not keeping pace,” she said. “And so that also means as an employer, our perceptions of our workers’ risks are not keeping pace either.”

HMM...

Excessive heat has long been an issue that outdoor-specific industries have to manage; however, the increasingly extreme nature of these events will increasingly be a drag on businesses and the economy, said Joshua Graff Zivin, an economist and University of California San Diego professor who has studied heat’s effect on workers. “You think about the kind of heat we’re seeing now, and there’s not an early enough time to start to make this work,” Graff Zivin said. That leads to diminished hours worked and, ultimately, to less output, he said. “This might be the first time in modern US history where we might see a small dip for quarterly GDP, if not annual,” he said. “It’s not crazy to imagine this quarter’s GDP is going to look a little bit different.”

So, do you think this might finally make the government take climate change seriously...?

...Naaaah.

Are fashion brands major in sustainability?

In its July 2021 record, the not-for-profit Transforming Markets Foundation highlighted that as several as 59 percent of all green claims by European and UK fashion brand names are misleading and can be greenwashing. Recently, H&M was heavily criticised for its 'false' insurance claims that more than half of its items are lasting however they were really not. The brand name was additionally sued and also dragged to the court for its 'greenwashing' effort as they supposedly adjusted Higg Index. After that there is Shein which is encountering around the world backlash for its dishonest practices in the supply chain, yet it gains more revenues than what H&M and Zara collectively gain in the United States!

As horrific as it seems, other brand names too are accused of talking something they do not exercise and yet they show up lasting fashion in various methods-- outright deceptiveness, refined marketing, and often as enthusiastic insurance claims without complete openness around the real impacts! In its July 2021 report, the not-for-profit Changing Markets Structure highlighted that as many as 59 percent of all environment-friendly cases by European as well as UK-style brand names are deceptive and can be greenwashing.

Greenwashing remains in its prime-- all many thanks to brand names' (for this reason customers') love for quick style as well as synthetics!

Arguably, fast style is the most significant offender harming style's sustainability efforts. There is a portion of end customers who think that their investment in choices does not matter, and that their item intake does not make a difference. ​ However, actually, trend-driven overconsumption is inspired by low-price/cheap products that are improperly constructed (more than likely breaching honest production standards) to satisfy tight setting you back. These garments, nearly certainly lasting much less than a period, wind up in landfill or are shipped offshore to emerging markets and establishing economies where they are thrown out as ecological contamination. As a desperate effort to quell a brand-new generation of aware customers, brand names greenwash their 'footprint' in their attempt to market the item or the brand.

The repercussions of the brand's supply chains are significant and durable as they typically make use of man-made products as well as chemicals. Brands should pay attention to selecting custom swimwear manufacturers from source materials so that they can meet environmental requirements when producing products and meet their environmental marketing strategies in the swimwear market. The CEH, a non-profit customer advocacy group, focused on revealing the existence of poisonous chemicals in consumer products, just recently did testing on a range of prominent top-quality sporting activities bras and athleticwear that disclosed high levels of BPA, a chemical compound that's used to make sure types of plastic and can bring about hazardous health and wellness impacts such as bronchial asthma, cardio condition as well as weight problems.

The sporting activities bras marketed by brands like Athleta, PINK, Asics, The North Face, Brooks, Done In Activity, Nike, and also FILA were all evaluated for BPA in the previous 6 months, and also the outcomes showed the clothing might subject users to approximately 22 times the secure limit of BPA, based upon standards set in California, according to the Center for Environmental Health And Wellness.

Just how do brands stand apart in various records on the sustainability front?

In the recent Remake Style Responsibility Report 2022, Remake-- a worldwide advocacy organization battling for reasonable pay as well as climate justice in the clothing industry-- assessed 58 large style businesses in 2022 including Chanel, J.Crew, and Allbirds on their journey to intersectional social and also environmental sustainability and unpacked its crucial findings which suggest towards a worrying circumstance, though some positives exist also!

Strong guarantees on environment modification, yet progress has been limited Just 3 businesses (5 percent)-- Burberry, Everlane, and also H&M Group-- fulfilled all 4 of Remake's environment standards: disclosure of complete exhausts; short-term 1.5 ℃ pathway-aligned Scientific research Based Targets; ambitious long-term net-zero targets; and also a reduction in their overall greenhouse gas emissions. As firms reveal their full supply chain discharges, the range of the trouble is clear: Inditex's (Zara's) annual emissions are equivalent, for instance, to consuming 39 million barrels of oil. The myth of circularity has been revealed but no firm has truly accepted degrowth. A 3rd of the assessed companies are lowering their product packaging waste as well as 20 percent currently supply upcycling or fixing services. Despite a rise in resale platforms as well as some fixing campaigns, there has not been a transition away from straight production. The business proceeds to co-opt for consumer interest in circularity-- like Shein's brand-new resale system-- to greenwash. While no firm can reveal a general decrease in production, some business like Everlane, Nike, and also Patagonia did decrease their use of virgin plastics like polyester. Living salaries stay evasive, yet some businesses are taking much more responsibility for the wages of their workers. Style is constructed on poverty pay, and also that hasn't altered this year. That claimed, a few companies can show that a few of their employees are gaining reasonable pay, and the infrastructure to elevate incomes is ending up being much more robust. Four companies (7 percent) published some progress in the direction of a living wage in their supply chains in enhancement to revealing the technique they utilize to evaluate a living wage: Hanesbrands Inc., Patagonia, Ralph Lauren, and also Improvement. Five companies (9 percent)-- Burberry, Kering (Gucci, Balenciaga), Marks & Spencer, PUMA as well as Reformation-- published partial details showing that a few of their straight staff members, such as business employees or retail employees, worked wage. One firm-- Ganni-- took on a Purchaser Code of Conduct, a kind of contract for the acquisition of products that commits firms to do their part to uphold reasonable commercial methods, such as paying reasonable rates for items completely, and also on the schedule.

Despite some progression, the number of style brand names bringing a shift in their supply chain stays just under 10 percent.

Renay Wells, Style Effect Professional from Australia informed Clothing Resources that a lot of brands that claim to be sustainable consider the usage of 'recycled' manufacture as the only requirement to claim sustainability. They do rarely take into consideration implications and also the influence of their supply chain. "A lot of brands would certainly not give doubt to the ethical repercussions of their production practices. The wish for profit, high margins, and also rapid production far surpasses their insurance claims of sustainability," commented Renay.

Will the situation change?

The apparel industry has been discussing the adverse impacts of rapid fashion on the environment for a long period now but the consumption of fast style is just boosting with time. It's true that a lot of the lasting style items aren't economical and also do not come as size-inclusive. In countries like Brazil and also Mexico, for circumstances, a lot of people acquire from Shein because they think it is a means to being composed of a particular fashion pattern at inexpensive costs, as well as the brand name really has inclusive dimensions. Sustainable clothes are a lot more expensive for apparent factors, yet there are truly no reasons to not be size-inclusive.

Not just Shein-- which is taken into consideration as a serial offender of sustainability efforts-- many other prominent brand names just as are in charge of enhancing greenwashing attempts. It is extremely vital to educate customers that quick style is impactful for the world and creates enormous environmental pollution!

There is one straight solution to this-- it's since the completion goal of a brand is to market its items in the customer market and also gain earnings. While it is important to have a manufacturer that produces sustainable products, brands should also have some responsibility to focus on environmentally friendly products and seek out an activewear manufacturer. If supply chain is improved, sustainable measures are applied, openness is created, technologies in product are done and correct incomes are offered to workers, after that a brand needs to invest more which eventually leads to walking in product's market prices. Are customers ready to pay this hiked cost for an item?

If they are looking for affordable items, a brand, whose service design deals with quick style idea, merely can not opt for all these prior procedures to develop a sustainable supply chain because it sustains significant expense. This is why altering customers' behaviors as well as their investing ability on high-priced items is critical as that will certainly give area to more lasting products in the market.

Air pollution can amplify negative effects of climate change, new study finds

https://sciencespies.com/environment/air-pollution-can-amplify-negative-effects-of-climate-change-new-study-finds/

Air pollution can amplify negative effects of climate change, new study finds

The impacts of air pollution on human health, economies, and agriculture differ drastically depending on where on the planet the pollutants are emitted, according to a new study that could potentially incentivize certain countries to cut climate-changing emissions.

Led by The University of Texas at Austin and the University of California San Diego, the study, which was published Sept. 23 in Science Advances, is the first to simulate how aerosol pollution affects both climate and air quality for locations around the globe.

Aerosols are tiny solid particles and liquid droplets that contribute to smog and are emitted from industrial factories, power plants and vehicle tailpipes. They impact human health, agricultural and economic productivity in unique global patterns when compared with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which are the focus of efforts to mitigate climate change.

Although CO2 and aerosols are often emitted at the same time during the combustion of fuel, the two substances behave differently in Earth’s atmosphere, said co-lead author Geeta Persad, an assistant professor at the UT Austin Jackson School of Geosciences.

“Carbon dioxide has the same impact on climate no matter who emits it,” said Persad. “But for these aerosol pollutants, they tend to stay concentrated near where they’re emitted, so the effect that they have on the climate system is very patchy and very dependent on where they’re coming from.”

The researchers found that, depending on where they are emitted, aerosols can worsen the social costs of carbon — an estimate of the economic costs greenhouse gasses have on society — by as much as 66%. The scientists looked at eight key regions: Brazil, China, East Africa, Western Europe, India, Indonesia, United States and South Africa.

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“This research highlights how the harmful effects of our emissions are generally underestimated,” said Jennifer Burney, co-lead author and the Marshall Saunders Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Global Climate Policy and Research at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy. “CO2 is making the planet warmer, but it also gets emitted with a bunch of other compounds that impact people and plants directly and cause climate changes in their own right.”

The work, which was supported by the National Science Foundation, represents a collaboration between Persad and Burney, who are physical scientists, and a group of economists and public health experts. Co-authors include Marshall Burke, Eran Bendavid, and Sam Heft-Neal at Stanford University and Jonathan Proctor at Harvard University.

Aerosols can directly affect human health and the climate independently of CO2. They are associated with negative health impacts when inhaled, and can affect the climate by influencing temperature, precipitation patterns and how much sunlight reaches the Earth’s surface.

To study aerosols’ influence in comparison to CO2, the team created a set of climate simulations using the Community Earth System Model version 1 developed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. They ran simulations in which each of the eight regions produced identical aerosol emissions and mapped how temperature, precipitation, and surface air quality were affected across the globe. Then they connected this data with known relationships between climate and air quality and infant mortality, crop productivity, and gross domestic product across the eight regions. In a final step, they compared the total societal costs of these aerosol-driven impacts against the societal costs of co-emitted CO2 in each of the eight regions, and produced global maps of the combined effects of aerosols and CO2. The researchers said the study is a big step forward from previous work, which either only estimated the air quality impacts of aerosols or didn’t consider their diverse global climate effects.

The outcome paints a varied and complicated picture. Emissions from some regions produce climate and air quality effects that range from two to more than 10 times as strong as others and social costs that sometimes affect neighboring regions more than the region that produced the aerosol emissions. For example, in Europe local emissions result in four times as many infant deaths outside Europe as within.

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But the researchers note that aerosol emissions are always bad for both the emitter and the planet overall.

“While we might think about aerosols, which cool the climate, as having the silver lining of counteracting CO2-driven warming, when we look at all these effects in combination, we find that no region experiences overall local benefits or generates overall global benefits by emitting aerosols,” said Persad.

Researchers also said the findings create potentially new motivations for countries to cut emissions — and to care about other countries cutting emissions. For example, the study found that adding aerosol costs to CO2 costs could double China’s incentive to mitigate emissions. And it switches the impact of local emissions in Europe from a net local benefit to a net cost. The study also shows that some emerging economies, like East African nations and India, might be motivated to collaborate on emission cuts since they are strongly impacted by each other’s emissions.

The framework developed in this study can also be applied to maximize societal benefits from current mitigation strategies being considered by policy makers. For example, the researchers applied it to the “fair-share” approach laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement in which all countries target the same per-capita CO2 emissions. They found the approach, while beneficial for climate stability, does not improve the mortality and crop impacts from combined aerosol and CO2 emissions because it focuses mitigation in regions that already have fairly low aerosol impacts, like the U.S. and Europe.

“By expanding societal cost calculations to include the geographically-resolved societal impacts of co-emitted aerosols, we’re showing that the incentive for individual countries to mitigate and collaborate on mitigation is much higher than if we only think about greenhouse gases,” Burney said.

#Environment

Education

Achievement, discipline: San Diego Unified candidates weigh in on Latino parents’ top concerns

As the San Diego Unified school board elections come to an end Tuesday, Latino parents are hopeful that the district’s next leaders will work hard to close the achievement gap and address discipline policies that have led to suspension rates that are higher for their children than others. They also want to know that children are being taught history in a culturally responsible way.

When asked by inewsource about those concerns, four candidates seeking seats on the board weighed in with their ideas, most agreeing that they are valid concerns but sometimes differing on ways to address them.

On Tuesday, voters will make their final selections for two seats on the school board.

This year, voters for the first time elect school board candidates who will represent their sub-district instead of the district at large. The change, approved in a 2020 ballot measure, is meant to increase diverse representation on the school board and improve the playing field for candidates with less funding and name recognition.

Shana Hazan, a former Chicago public school teacher and parent, and Godwin Higa, an adjunct social psychology professor at Alliant International University and former principal and educator, are competing to represent San Diego Unified’s northeastern Sub-District B, encompassing neighborhoods from Serra Mesa and Kearny Mesa to San Carlos which lie within the boundaries of Canyon Hills High School and Henry High School.

Cody Petterson and Becca William are competing for the district’s coastal Sub-District C, which includes University City, La Jolla and Point Loma high school areas. Petterson is an anthropology lecturer at UC San Diego and a senior policy adviser of Land Use, Environment and Tribal Affairs in the office of San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer.

Williams is a charter school founder and former classroom teacher in Texas.

Whoever wins will join three other district trustees in representing California’s second largest school district, where nearly half of the more than 114,000 students are Latino.

Closing the achievement gap

Among many issues facing Latino students in the district, the achievement gap is a top concern for parents, inewsource found.

Hispanic or Latino students in general education at San Diego Unified had the lowest graduation rate (85%) of any racial or ethnic group during the 2020-21 school year, and they had the second lowest graduation rate (61%) in special education, according to state data. The data combines Hispanic and Latino students in the same category and does not indicate whether students identify with specific racial categories.

Being at risk of not graduating isn’t a problem that appears out of the blue when a student reaches high school; said Happy Feliz Aston, a San Diego Unified parent of two Latinx children with special needs. Childhood literacy can predict a student’s chance of graduating, she said.

Research supports her concerns.

Individuals who don’t read proficiently by the third grade are four times more likely to not receive a high school diploma than proficient readers, a 2011 study by the Annie E. Casey foundation found.

Aston said she finds the issue concerning because education can determine someone’s life trajectory, and our economy will also eventually depend on students who grow up and join the workforce.

“What does our city, our county, our state or country look like if we have all of these individuals who don’t achieve at that same level and for whom interventions, at least so far, don’t appear to be moving the needle” she said.

“Interventions need to be put into place when that child is seven and not when that child is 17,” said Aston, who wants to see schools offer more opportunities for gifted and special education students. Aston started paying attention to the district’s decisions after Patrick Henry High School canceled some honors classes.

Some students face food insecurity, transportation challenges, or disabilities and it’s important that schools are staffed to provide interventions to help those students succeed, she said.

Academic achievement is also concerning to Madga, a San Diego Unified parent who asked to go by her first name due to her immigration status. She says her daughter struggled with English and math during the pandemic when she was in first grade.

“There was a time when I got frustrated because the teacher told me Samantha is like a little girl in Kindergarten, and when they tell you something like that, it’s discouraging. … I saw that my daughter wasn’t prepared to go onto second grade,” she said in Spanish.

Samantha isn’t alone in struggling with English and math. Overall, about 38% of Hispanic or Latino students in the district met or exceeded the standard for English Language Arts compared to nearly 72% of white students in the 2021-22 school year, according to the state’s Smarter Balanced standardized test scores. In math, only about 24% of the district’s Hispanic or Latino students met or exceeded the standard compared to about 62% of white students.

Hispanic or Latino students were scoring higher in English and math before the pandemic, when about 43% of them met or exceeded the English standard and nearly 32% met or surpassed the math standard in the 2018-19 school year.

Candidates running for school board have varying plans for addressing the achievement gap, and tests aren’t the only way to define it, they say. *Reposted article from inewsource by Andrea Figueroa Briseño, November 4, 2022

2024 POSSIBLE ELECTION CANDIDATES (DEMOCRAT)

Potential Democratic Presidential Candidate, Current Job Graduated/Degree Education Location ####-####: Qualification *Voted in Support Of -Supports RED FLAG <~> -What They Did

Stacey Abrams, 2018 gubernatorial candidate Bachelor's Spelman College, 1995 Graduate University of Texas, Austin, 1998 Law Yale Law School, 1999 -High-Quality Day Care -Universal Pre-K -Excellent Public Schools -Affordable Higher Education -Strengthen Small Businesses -Workplace Equality -Help Poverty Stricken Americans -Affordable Healthcare -Criminal Justice Reform -Protect Environment -LGBTQ+ Ally -Support Veterans -Support Military -Keep Guns Out of Wrong Hands -Support Domestic Violence Survivors -Protect Voting Rights -Affordable Housing

Michael Bennet, U.S. senator from Colorado Bachelor's Wesleyan University Law Yale Law School 2009-Present: U.S. Senator from Colorado 2005-2009: Superintendent, Denver Public Schools 2003-2005: Chief of staff to mayor of Denver 1997-2003: Managing director, Anschutz Investment Co. 1997: Special assistant U.S. attorney, Conn. 1995-1997: Counsel to U.S. deputy attorney general *Block border wall *Renew PATRIOT Act *Convict Trump of abuse of office *Convict Trump of contempt of Congress *End military actions against Iran *Against banning abortion after 20 weeks *Provide federal aid for coronavirus *Renew FISA surveillance law -Pro Immigrant -Agriculture Plans -College Affordability -Job Creation -Pro Education for Minors

Andy Beshear, governor of Kentucky <1> High school Henry Clay High School Bachelor's Vanderbilt University Law University of Virginia School of Law -Strengthening Public Education -Affordable Healthcare -Wage Growth -Pensions -Against Corruption -College Affordability -Criminal Justice Reform -Pro Diversity -Equal Pay -Legalize Betting and Online Casinos -Job Training -Marriage Equality -Medical Marijuana -Reproductive Rights -Anti Opioid Distribution -Voting Rights -Heroin Treatment -Anti Child Abuse -Protect Seniors -Protect Jobs MULTIPLE LAWSUITS MADE AGAINST HIM <~> -Modifications to Education Board Memberships -Boards of Trustees Abolishments -Education Budget Cuts

Cory Booker, U.S. senator from New Jersey 2013-Present: U.S. Senator from New Jersey 2006-2013: Mayor of Newark, New Jersey 1998-2002: Newark City Council 1997: Graduated from Yale Law School with a J.D. 1994: Graduated from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar 1992: Graduated from Stanford University with an M.A. 1991: Graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. *Block border wall *Convict Trump of abuse of office *Convict Trump of contempt of Congress *End military action against Iran *Against banning abortion after 20 weeks *Provide federal aid for coronavirus *Renew FISA surveillance law

Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend Bachelor's Harvard University Graduate Pembroke College, Oxford 2021-Present: U.S. secretary of transportation 2019-2020: Democratic presidential candidate 2012-2020: Mayor of South Bend, Indiana 2009-2017: Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve 2007-2010: Consultant at McKinsey & Company -Support Black Communities

Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York <2> High school Archbishop Molloy High School, 1975 Bachelor's Fordham University, 1979 Law Albany Law School, 1982 -Civil Rights -Criminal Justice Reform -Gun Safety -Women's Equality -LGBTQ+ Community -Educational Opportunity for All -Expand Healthcare -Protect Environment -Repair/Rebuild Infrastructure -Stronger Middle Class -Against Income Inequality CALL FOR IMPEACHMENT MADE AGAINST HIM <~> -Five women claimed sexual assault <~>

Kamala Harris, U.S. senator from California Bachelor's Howard University, 1986 Law University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 1989 2021-Present: Vice president of the United States 2017-2021: U.S. senator from California 2011-2016: Attorney general of California 2004-2011: District attorney of San Francisco 1990-1998: Deputy district attorney, Alameda County, Calif. *Block border wall *Renew PATRIOT Act *Convict Trump of abuse of office *Convict Trump of contempt of Congress *End military action against Iran *Against banning abortion after 20 weeks *Provide federal aid for coronavirus *Renew FISA surveillance *Criminal justice reform -Civil Rights -Equality for All -Protect Environment -Expand Higher Education

Jay Inslee, governor of Washington High school Ingraham High School, Washington Bachelor's University of Washington Law Willamette University School of Law Other Stanford University 2013-present: Governor of Washington 1999-2012: U.S. House of Representatives, Washington's 1st Congressional District 1997-1998: Regional director, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1996: Unsuccessful run for Governor of Washington 1993-1995: U.S. House of Representatives, Washington's 4th Congressional District 1988-1992: Washington House of Representatives 1976-1984: City prosecutor, Selah, Washington -Better Paying Jobs -Expand Middle Class -Improve Education -Improve Transportation -Healthcare Expansion

Joe Kennedy, U.S. representative from Massachusetts Bachelor's Stanford University Law Harvard Law School 2013-Present: U.S. Representative from Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District 2011-2012: Assistant District Attorney, Middlesex County 2004-2006: U.S. Peace Corps *Terminate border wall *Re-impose federal net neutrality rules *Expand restrictions on online campaign ads *Regulate foreign involvement in campaigns *Federal approval before states can change voting practices *Impeach Trump for abuse of power *Impeach Trump for obstruction of justice *Direct Trump to end hostilities against Iran *Against renewing foreign surveillance authorization *Federal aid for coronavirus -Small Business Support -Job Creation -Balance Budget -Renewable Energy -Healthcare Reform -Improve Education -Social Justice -Women's Rights

Amy Klobuchar, U.S. senator from Minnesota Bachelor's Yale University Law University of Chicago Law School 2007-Present: U.S. Senator from Minnesota 1999-2006: Hennepin County Attorney Partner at Dorsey & Whitney and Gray Plant Mooty law firms *Block border wall *Against budget caps on federal spending *Convict Trump of abuse of office *Convict Trump of contempt of Congress *End military actions against Iran *Provide federal aid for coronavirus *Renew FISA surveillance

Michelle Lujan Grisham, governor of New Mexico High school St. Michael's High School Bachelor's University of New Mexico Law University of New Mexico 2019-present: Governor of New Mexico 2013-2019: U.S. Representative from New Mexico's 1st Congressional District 2010-2012: Member of the Bernalillo County board of commissioners 2004-2007: New Mexico secretary of health 2002-2004: New Mexico secretary of aging and long-term services 1991-2002: Director of the New Mexico state agency on aging -Improve Education -Improve Healthcare -Support Veterans -Support Seniors -Legal Medical Cannabis -LGBTQ+ -Improve Economy -Create Jobs -Increase Police -Public Safety -Anti Gun Legislation -Agriculture -Support Indigenous -Clean Energy -Improve Higher Education -Women's Rights -Fiscal Responsibilities -Improve Schools

Gavin Newsom, governor of California Bachelor's Santa Clara University, 1989 *LGBTQ+ *Healthcare access *Legalize marijuana *Background checks on ammunition purchases -Defend Immigrant Communities -Women's Rights -LGBTQ+ -Criminal Justice Reform -Gun Safety -Support Veterans -Support Military -Healthcare Access -Support Mental Health Treatment -Support Communities of Color -Protect Animals and Wildlife -Eliminate Child Poverty -Financial Foundation for College -Expanding Access to Higher Education -Increase Access to Affordable Housing -Universal Healthcare -Improve Education -Support Small Business -Grow Jobs Through Fiscal Responsibility -Economic Growth -Renewable Energy -Build Infrastructure -Improve Education -Improve Access to STEM Education -Attract and Retain Quality Teachers -Affordable Higher Education -Combat Climate Change -Improve Water Supply -Clean Air -Affordable Housing -Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts -Workforce Housing -Housing Production -Protect Tenants -Address Homelessness

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, U.S. representative from New York Bachelor's Boston University College of Arts & Sciences, 2011 -Support Immigrants -Medicare For All -Housing As a Human Right -Federal Jobs Guarantee -Criminal Justice Reform -End Private Prisons -Immigration Justice -Abolish ICE -Renewable Fuel -Supports Climate Change Reform -Higher Education For All -Women's Rights -LGBTQ+ -Support Seniors

J.B. Pritzker, governor of Illinois Bachelor's Duke University Law Northwestern University -Protect Net Neutrality -Women's Rights -Economic Inclusion -Protect Seniors -Protect Immigrant Families -Protect Environment -Legalize Marijuana -Anti Gun Violence -LGBTQ+ -Raise Wages -Youth Mental Health -Mental Health -Treatment For Opioids Over Incarceration -Economic Stability -Support Veterans -Justice Reform -Expand Stable Housing -Expand Healthcare -Domestic Violence Prevention -Early Childhood Education -Increase Jobs

Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan Bachelor's Michigan State University, 1993 Law Michigan State University, Detroit College of Law, 1998 -Fix Roads -Affordable Healthcare -Cleaner Drinking Water -Hold Government Accountable -Skill Training For Jobs -Improve Education -Decrease Poverty -Repeal Retirement Tax -Women's Rights -Support Veterans -Expand Treatment For Addiction

FEEL FREE TO ADD ON TO THIS POST! I’M ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW INFORMATION AND WILL TRY TO KEEP IT UPDATED!

A fabulous #ACSP2020 keynote panel on decolonizing planning!

Decolonizing Planning: Indigenous Perspectives from Settler States Thur Nov 5, 2020

This keynote panel brings three leading scholars in Indigenous planning who have studied the contexts of three contemporary settler-states (Canada, the US and New Zealand) to engage ACSP attendees in a timely discussion about whether a decolonial planning is possible and, if so, what it might mean for the academic and professional planning communities. It is a chance to discuss the history of planning in relation to colonization and spatialized oppression, and what kind of barriers and opportunities we face when planning more equitable futures.

In recent years, several planning scholars and practitioners have pointed to the urgent need to decolonize planning, recognizing that the historic roots of mainstream planning are inseparable from colonial projects of land acquisition, social control and dispossession of Indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups in settler countries. Others, question whether a decolonization of planning is even possible, and whether such a project would actually go as far as addressing the foundational    question of land restitution. After all, despite discourses about reconciliation that have begun to permeate planning circles, the colonial genealogy of planning still shapes the institutions, legal and economic regimes, understandings of land and property rights, resource management schemes, and Indigenous/non-Indigenous relations under which planning operates today. Current waves of Indigenous resistance and government reprisal regarding the planning of massive energy projects and pipelines on Indigenous lands to feed urban centres and economic growth in Canada, the US, and in other jurisdictions, clearly illustrate these inherent tensions. While the call for a decolonial planning is fundamentally a plea for Indigenous sovereignty, it is also a question of how to transform planning epistemologies to exist alongside pre-existing forms of Indigenous planning and traditional knowledge. It is also a question about the potential and limits of what planning can do to redress historical injustices.

As challenges surrounding racial inequity and social inequality, the environment, technology, housing, and the economy continue to grow more complex, there is a need and a responsibility to examine critically our current methodologies and epistemologies. Planning schools can be one such space to understand how reconciliation must be more than just tokenism and what are the structural changes required within academia to change the ideology of planning.

Heather Dorries, Moderator Heather Dorries is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning and Centre for Indigenous Studies at the University of Toronto. Trained as a planner, her research focuses on the relationship between urban planning and settler colonialism. She is currently revising her book manuscript Planning the End of the World: Indigenist Planning Theory and the Art of Refusal, which demonstrates how Indigenous knowledge systems can inform resurgent forms of planning and urbanism. She is a co-editor of the collection Settler City Limits: Indigenous Resurgence and Settler Colonial Violence in the Urban Prairie West (University of Manitoba Press, 2019). She is of Anishinaabe ancestry and originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Laura Harjo Laura Harjo is a Mvskoke scholar and an associate professor teaching Indigenous Planning, Community Development, and Indigenous Feminisms. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Southern California in geography, while also tracking through the American Studies and Ethnicity doctoral program. Thus her training and scholarly inquiry are at the intersection of geography and critical ethnic studies with “community” as an analytic focus. Harjo’s research and teaching centers on three areas: imbuing complexity to Indigenous space, and place; Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives and anti-violence; and community-based knowledge production. She is the author of Spiral to the Stars: Mvskoke Tools of Futurity (University of Arizona Press, 2019), which employs Mvskoke epistemologies, and Indigenous feminisms to grapple with a community praxis of futurity.

Hirini Matunga Hirini Matunga is Professor of Maori and Indigenous Development and Professor of Indigenous Planning at Lincoln University. He graduated in Town Planning in 1983 and has practised as a planner – specialising in Maori Planning issues at all levels of government in New Zealand including local, regional and central. In the process he has worked with many Maori tribal, rural and urban communities, along with teaching and research in Maori planning, policy and resource management for well over 30 years. His contributions have also extended across a range of international indigenous planning contexts, including contributions to theorizing indigenous planning, discourse on indigenous architecture, decolonizing cities and urban space, and ethical approaches to indigenous heritage management et al.  In 2015 New Zealand’s Minister for Maori Development presented him with the New Zealand Planning Institutes - Papa Pounamu Award for Outstanding Service to Maori Environmental Planning and Resource Management.  He is of Ngai Tahu, Ngati Porou, Rongowhakaata and Ngati Kahungunu, tribal descent.

Deborah McGregor McGregor is the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice, an Associate Professor at York University’s Osgoode Hall and cross-appointed with the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change. Her research is focused on Indigenous knowledge systems and their various applications in diverse contexts including water and environmental governance, environmental justice, climate justice, and sustainable planning. McGregor is Anishinaabe from Whitefish River First Nation, Birch Island, Ontario. Over the years, she has achieved international recognition through her creative and innovative approach using digital and social media to reach Indigenous communities and the public. Her work has been shared through the IEJ project website  https://iejproject.info.yorku.ca  and UKRI International Collaboration on Indigenous research https://www.indigenous.ncrm.ac.uk/

Political Interest Groups and PACs Assessment

Race Forward

The Race Forward website is a place where people can go to educate themselves with current racial injustices, race and the economy, governing and racial equity and media and narrative shifts. The site also allows donations to prevent racial injustice moving FORWARD.

-  Community Accountability: which considers nearby organizations responsible for gaining ground with instruments like Racial Equity Impact Assessments and cycles like participatory planning to guarantee that administration chiefs are held to a norm of progress rather than just offering empty talk to racial value objectives.

-  Culture Shift: which calls for more prominent straightforwardness and weakness from institutional accomplices, and which focuses the qualities, needs and social variety of the network.

-  Authentic Partnership for Real Solutions: in which institutional accomplices are grounded in the main drivers of the difficulties that network individuals face, so as to legitimately participate in the collective advancement of arrangements.

-  Race Forward released Building the We: Healing-Informed Governing for Racial Equity, which featured the progressing work pioneers from across various areas were doing to address mounting racial and monetary pressures in Salinas.

- Following the release of Building the We: the BHC Collaborative discovered that end racial value holes will adopt an environment strategy that works across areas for better arrangement, trust-building and program execution.

Authentic Partnership for Real Solutions: in which institutional accomplices are grounded in the main drivers of the difficulties that network individuals face, so as to legitimately participate in the collective advancement of arrangements.

Race Forward released Building the We: Healing-Informed Governing for Racial Equity, which featured the progressing work pioneers from across various areas were doing to address mounting racial and monetary pressures in Salinas.

 Following the release of Building the We: the BHC Collaborative discovered that end racial value holes will adopt an environment strategy that works across areas for better arrangement, trust-building and program execution.

 A critical component of the groups policy includes recognizing race-express, foundational answers for progressing financial value and improving results for laborers of shading.

The group roots in Oakland, California. They have buildings where people can visit in Oakland and New York. They also have provided members phone numbers and email addresses for more questions.

There aren’t necessarily volunteer opportunities, however, there are dates in December to practice racial injustice training. The training will “strengthen participants' collective analysis of power while providing useful tools and framework to shift power within groups, institutions and other formations seeking to advance racial justice in this time.”

I found it interesting that the Race Forward group provides those who desire training of…

- Racial Justice Values & Vision

- Key Concepts: Different Dimensions of Racism / Structural Racism

- Implicit Bias and Systems Analysis

- Opportunities to Advance Racial Justice

Black PAC

The Black Pac position focuses on getting all African-Americans engaged in voting. To engage African-American voters: the group will educate, register, and mobilize Black voters to hold their elected representatives accountable.

They have raised $23,545,438 and spent $22,171,970 on independent expenditures.

 According to the PAC link, the Black PAC group has not spent any of its budget on the republicans and democrats. This surprises me considering the election is so soon.

 Some of the donors are included below, many of which come from New York and the Bay Area where the Race Forward buildings are located. These donors have helped tremendously, to end racial injustice, with their costly donations.

- Michael Bloomberg

- James Murdoch

- Louis Eisenberg

- Peter Mensch

- Constance Heller

Special Ops

A week ago a friend went to see Jesus.  March 14, it was his birthday, he turned 48 that day.  He had 7 children, although one was already in heaven waiting for him.  I’ve wanted to share some thoughts about this man for a week but I wasn’t able.  I couldn’t do it.  I struggled to believe that this had really happened.  I’ve never met a man like him before.  For over a decade his career was in ministry but truth be known his whole life had been dedicated to ministry.  He was incredible with names, faces, authors’ names and book names.  I do not believe he could meet anyone active in ministry in the US and not find a connection through a mutual friend within a matter of minutes.  It seemed almost like he knew or had met everyone.  And if you met him and he could help you, he would.  He became a part of the ministry that I lead in 2013.  We were in a place of transition and the foundation that had been built over 12 years seemed to be directly on top of a fault line.  He graciously and patiently walked us through this season of change, walked our board through this season of change, he was the constant that we all could look to for facts, not emotions, prayers, not judgement, and encouragement rather than criticism.  Honestly, I credit him with our ministry being here today, with a legacy of serving tens of thousands in three countries.  By the end of 2016 our organization was gaining momentum again, our leadership was strong, our board was strong and God was lining up the next assignment for him.  He and I talked often about careers and stability and I know that he deeply desired to provide a stable environment for his family, part of him longed for the mundane 9-5 but God had created him for a different life.  He was made with an ability to tolerate the unknown, an ability to instill calm in the face of a storm (even for his family), I truly believe that he was in a sense one of God’s “special ops” guys.  Always in a place at just the right time, always with a God ordained mission, and always recognizing when the mission was complete and excited to look to the next one.  That’s exactly what took him to California the week of March 9, God had another mission for him.  It would have appeared that his mission was to be serving another underserved people group in a remote corner of the world.  That wasn’t how the week unfolded.  An aneurysm at lunch on Friday was more than his body could handle and by Saturday he was with Jesus, on his birthday.  Was that once again one of God’s missions?  I’d rather think not.  I’d rather think that unexpected and untimely deaths must be part of the consequences of living in a fallen world that is plagued with disease and sin and sometimes things happen.  And many of those things we will not understand this side of heaven.  While the entire country was coming to grips with a virus that would be changing their lives my friend, my brother in Christ, Rob Harvey was going through a transformation from the physical to the spiritual, leaving the broken for the perfect, and hearing his Lord say, “well done my faithful servant.”  Rob Harvey was a great man, a true one of a kind.  The last text I got from him, just a few months ago, was to say, “I’m praying for you.”  And I know he was.  He was praying for a lot of us.  Rob’s wife, Mary, and their six children are now learning a new normal, that has nothing to do with a virus.  And their new normal comes at a time when our country and our economy have been flipped upside down.  Your prayers for them would be a blessing and if you find it in your heart a financial gift to help them through this tough time would be a tremendous encouragement.  I can’t think of a more deserving family.  I can’t think of a better way to honor this good man than by serving his family the way he served so many of us.  Visit their Go Fund Me page !

The Devastating Impact of AB5 on People with Disabilities and Their Families

This month, sweeping economic changes to the way Independent Contractors are able to conduct business became chiseled into law in California. Despite protests from hundreds of thousands of California’s tax-paying citizens, Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher, author of AB5 which codified the Dynamex ruling of 2018, was unrelenting in her stance that the majority of freelancers without business licenses should legally be classified as employees. There were carve-outs in the law, however, they are primarily arbitrary, absurd, and not reflective of how Independent Contractors actually work. The law caused financial devastation for a substantial segment of California’s population, including people with disabilities who are working or who have worked, and their families. This article provides and in-depth look at the challenges they face, and explains why a business to business exemption is not possible in a majority of cases, and is ableist and discriminatory.

Working While Disabled

For people with congenital disabilities or those acquired from an accident or illness, facing the social, financial, and health-related barriers to traditional employment can be devastating. According to the Department of Labor, the percentage of disabled people who work is only 19 percent. For many of them, education and training do not level the playing field, as employers are often resistant to making offers of employment to candidates who they fear may need adaptations to the work environment, miss excessive amounts of work due to health issues, or require extra time to complete tasks. While their concerns can be completely unjustified, employment biases are still a reality people with disabilities face. Working as an Independent Contractor circumvents these issues and allows individuals to acquire work based on their unique skills, talents, and abilities—not on an arbitrary body standard that they cannot meet. It also allows them the freedom and flexibility to choose the type and volume of work that will not exacerbate health issues. While this may mean less income initially, they often end up with a better quality of life and more disposable income because they do not have to incur additional work-related expenses or health issues.

Working independently from a home office also has other less-obvious benefits for those with disabilities, including:

Less physical and emotional stress which can cause further decline of health, or create co-morbid conditions such as high-blood pressure.

Less wear and tear on their bodies which, for people with life-long mobility impairments, can help stave-off post-impairment syndrome (severe arthritic changes that further degrade health and mobility).

Elimination of the significant challenges of getting to and from work, particularly for those with vision impairment, epilepsy, or a disability that prevents driving such as Hemiplegia.

The Cost of Disability

Being disabled, or having a disabled family member can cause a significant financial strain on families that can be offset with some paid part-time work. The following statistics were taken from the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Lifetime costs for the following common disabilities are:

·       $921,000 (persons with Cerebral Palsy)

·       $383,000 (persons with hearing loss)

·       $601,000 (persons with vision impairment)

Additionally, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation estimates the annual cost of living with a spinal cord injury at $42,000 to $184,000 per year. The figures for Multiple Sclerosis are even more daunting: an estimated lifetime cost of 4 Million Dollars.

If you, or a loved one has a disability, you know that if you/they are on SSDI, thousands of dollars of medical, dental, durable medical equipment, and pharmaceutical expenses per year are not covered and are the responsibility of the patient and his or her family. The Medicare website estimates out-of-pocket costs to be approximately between 7-8K annually for a healthy retired person. For a person with a disability who has hefty drug co-pays or needs uncovered durable medical equipment such as a lift in order to take a shower, help with activities of daily living, or who requires surgery for any reason, those costs are significantly higher.

While a fraction of people with disabilities can get extra help from another entitlement program, SSI, this is extremely difficult to qualify for, particularly if you have worked for a number of years, and have more than 2K in assets (not including the home you live in or a vehicle). The conundrum is that if you have a disability, you need savings for emergencies. For example, if a needed piece of DME like a wheelchair breaks, the approval process for a new one can take months leaving the disabled person home or even bed-bound during the wait. If one is disabled and has a working spouse, the odds of qualifying for help are almost non-existent, as the monthly income limit is $1,175 for a couple—barely enough to cover rent in most California locations.

On SSDI and Disabled

In order for someone with a disability to qualify for SSDI he or she must have earnings over a set amount for at least 40 quarters, and meet detailed medical criteria. Many applicants to the program must wait years to have their cases heard before an Administrative Law Judge who will analyze medical records and statements from Doctors and other medical professionals. Someone with, for example, mild Cerebral Palsy, who was an independent ambulator in their youth, in their late 40s and 50s may have declined physically from post-impairment syndrome that requires them to use a walker or wheelchair, impacts the use of their hands, and causes them significant pain which must be treated with muscle relaxants. Likewise, someone who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in his twenties may be quadriplegic in his 40s. In any case of someone receiving SSDI, he or she has experienced a significant decline in function that impairs the ability to work.

This does not mean that the disabled individual cannot work at all. In fact, the Social Security Administration allows for individuals to do a small amount of work. It sets caps on what can be earned per month (for 2020, the amount is $1200). If the disabled individual earns above this amount for nine non-consecutive months or more, he or she is found to be engaging in Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA).

The AB5 Business License Exemption

Gonzalez has proposed a work-around for Independent Contractors: a business license. A business contracting with another business can be exempt from AB5. According to her, even being a Sole-proprietor meets the requirements of the law. For people with disabilities on SSDI, this “option” will threaten needed benefits including healthcare. Owning a business obliterates the SGA rules when it comes to SSDI because one can be found to be non-disabled based on combined income earned, and the extra unpaid time spent running the business (see the regulations). This can cause benefits to cease, regardless of income generated.

More so, many companies who continue to work with California freelancers are requiring that they have an S-corp or LLC. While this is understandable, as these companies are trying to protect themselves, it does not bode well for people with disabilities and their families. The cost of the license itself is also prohibitive for family members who may be Independent Contractors-- $800 per year for an LLC., for example.

Family and Spousal Caregivers

According to the Family Caregiver Alliance, 43.5 million caregivers have provided care to an adult or child in the last twelve months, with 32.5 million of them providing care to an adult age 50 or older. The estimated economic value of the unpaid services they provide is 470 billion dollars annually. Seventy-five percent of all caregivers are female, with an average age of 49.2 years.

Family and spousal caregivers are often forced to balance their time between paid work and caregiving duties. Many have to leave the traditional workplace environment early due to the care needs of their loved ones. It is this group that most benefits from the flexibility that Independent Contract work permits. It should not, under any circumstances, be further burdened by needing to incorporate in order to work.

Gig-economy Businesses That Benefit People with Disabilities

There are many online businesses that make life with a disability easier. Some of the basic conveniences that an able-bodied person can take for granted like grocery shopping, driving to doctor’s appointments, or picking up prescriptions can be a strain for people with disabilities. With the average cost of an agency-vetted personal care assistant at 26 dollars per hour or more, and most agencies requiring a four-hour or more minimum, gig-economy businesses can provide needed services at a fraction of the cost. Uber, for example, charges the same rates for WAV (wheelchair equipped vans) and ASSIST (extra help for people who need it) as they do for standard UBERX. Instant Cart provides grocery shopping services at a nominal cost (they will even put the groceries away). Postmates will make pharmacy runs for a few dollars. Because of AB5 rules and corresponding litigation, rates for services like these have increased, with people with disabilities being among those footing the bill.

When a Law Becomes Punitive

Gonzalez, in a recent interview with KUSI repeatedly stressed that Independent Contractors without business licenses, as well as businesses who contracted with them were working outside of the law since Dynamex. She neglected to mention Independent Contractors pay taxes according to IRS regulations, and are overwhelmingly choosing contract work over being employees. If Dynamex and its codifications, AB5, are in opposition to California citizens earning an honest living, then they should be repealed. This country has endured plenty of bad laws that victimized and segregated citizens—among them Jim Crow laws—and those public servants who who voted for and uphold AB5 are continuing this bigoted, harmful history.

How Republicans Are ‘Weaponizing’ Public Office Against Climate Action

https://sciencespies.com/environment/how-republicans-are-weaponizing-public-office-against-climate-action/

How Republicans Are ‘Weaponizing’ Public Office Against Climate Action

A Times investigation revealed a coordinated effort by state treasurers to use government muscle and public funds to punish companies trying to reduce greenhouse gases.

Nearly two dozen Republican state treasurers around the country are working to thwart climate action on state and federal levels, fighting regulations that would make clear the economic risks posed by a warming world, lobbying against climate-minded nominees to key federal posts and using the tax dollars they control to punish companies that want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Over the past year, treasurers in nearly half the United States have been coordinating tactics and talking points, meeting in private and cheering each other in public as part of a well-funded campaign to protect the fossil fuel companies that bolster their local economies.

Last week, Riley Moore, the treasurer of West Virginia, announced that several major banks — including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo — would be barred from government contracts with his state because they are reducing their investments in coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel.

Mr. Moore and the treasurers of Louisiana and Arkansas have pulled more than $700 million out of BlackRock, the world’s largest investment manager, over objections that the firm is too focused on environmental issues. At the same time, the treasurers of Utah and Idaho are pressuring the private sector to drop climate action and other causes they label as “woke.”

And treasurers from Pennsylvania, Arizona and Oklahoma joined a larger campaign to thwart the nominations of federal regulators who wanted to require that banks, funds and companies disclose the financial risks posed by a warming planet.

At the nexus of these efforts is the State Financial Officers Foundation, a little-known nonprofit organization based in Shawnee, Kan., that once focused on cybersecurity, borrowing costs and managing debt loads, among other routine issues.

Then President Biden took office, promising to speed the country’s transition away from oil, gas and coal, the burning of which is dangerously heating the planet.

The foundation began pushing Republican state treasurers, who are mostly elected officials and who are responsible for managing their state’s finances, to use their power to promote oil and gas interests and to stymie Mr. Biden’s climate agenda, records show.

The New York Times reviewed thousands of pages of internal emails and documents obtained through public records requests by Documented, a watchdog group, that shed light on the treasurers’ efforts since January 2021.

At conferences, on weekly calls, and with a steady stream of emails, the foundation hosted representatives from the oil industry and funneled research and talking points from conservative groups to the state treasurers, who have channeled the private groups’ goals into public policy.

The Heritage Foundation, the Heartland Institute and the American Petroleum Institute are among the conservative groups with ties to the fossil fuel industry that have been working with the State Financial Officers Foundation and the treasurers to shape their national strategy.

Many Democratic state treasurers support efforts to combat climate change and want banks and investment firms to be clear about risks posed to returns for retirees and others. Democratic lawmakers in California and New Jersey are working on legislation that would require their state pension systems to divest from fossil fuels. But Democrats have not mounted anything like the national campaign being orchestrated by the State Financial Officers Foundation.

The Republican treasurers skirt the fact that global warming is an economic menace that is damaging industries like agriculture and causing extreme weather that devastates communities and costs taxpayers billions in recovery and rebuilding. Instead, they frame efforts to reduce emissions as a threat to employment and revenue, and have turned climate science into another front in the culture wars.

“This is a departure from their traditional roles,” said Robert Butkin, the former Oklahoma treasurer and a professor at the University of Tulsa. “There used to be a strong nonpartisan and bipartisan ethic among treasurers, but you’ve seen a lot of that erode over the past several years.”

‘Politically motivated’

Mr. Moore’s office pulled $20 million out of BlackRock funds after the asset management firm’s chief executive, Larry Fink, called for action climate change.Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

In November, as major banks and corporations at a global summit in Glasgow were promising to take climate action, the Republican state treasurers were huddling at a State Financial Officers Foundation conference in Orlando, Fla., talking about ways to stop them.

At the meeting, the group’s chief executive, Derek Kreifels, made a presentation about a new law that had been signed by Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, a Republican. It prohibited state agencies from investing in businesses that have cut ties with fossil fuel companies.

The Biden Administration’s Environmental Agenda

President Biden is pushing stronger regulations, but faces a narrow path to achieving his goals in the fight against global warming.

A Surprise Deal: Senator Joe Manchin III, who had been the main holdout on the Democrats’ expansive social policy, climate and tax agenda, said he would support a domestic spending package that would include the most ambitious climate action ever taken by Congress.

Extreme Heat: President Biden said that he would expand existing federal programs to help Americans cope with the extreme heat wrought by climate change, stopping short of declaring a national emergency.

Supreme Court Ruling: By limiting the Environmental Protection agency’s ability to regulate carbon emissions, the court made it much harder for the president to achieve his climate goals.

Within weeks, Mr. Moore was working with legislators in West Virginia to write a similar bill, which became law in March. While Texas officials have been slow to enforce their law, Mr. Moore was quick to put it into action.

Last week, he notified five major financial institutions — Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley — that they are barred from doing business with West Virginia because they have intentionally wound down their dealings with coal companies.

“If a bank, for instance, decides to say they have a no-lending policy as relates to thermal coal, well, then we’ll find a bank that doesn’t have that policy,” Mr. Moore said in an interview.

Mr. Moore went on to offer a classic denial of the overwhelming scientific consensus that the continued burning of oil, gas and coal will lead to planetary catastrophe.

“The climate has been changing in the world since Earth was created,” Mr. Moore said. “Whether these greenhouse gas emissions are contributing to the warming of the globe, I’m not sure I necessarily agree with that.”

The banks targeted by Mr. Moore say they are not boycotting the fossil fuel industry. All of them still do substantial business with oil and gas companies, but in the long run, they say, moving away from fossil fuels makes economic sense. West Virginia, for example, is the second-largest coal-producing state in the country, but production has declined significantly during the past two decades.

“He’s trying to counter pressure that’s coming from progressives on the left,” said Loren Allen, general counsel of the West Virginia Bankers Association, which lobbied against the new law celebrated by Mr. Moore. “Our banks are tied up in the center of a battle that no one can really win.”

Mr. Kreifels declined an interview but said in a statement that concerns over issues like climate change were “putting politics over profits, and likely reducing shareholder value.”

Kentucky, Tennessee and Oklahoma have passed similar laws this year. “Kentucky joins our growing coalition of states that have taken concrete steps to push back against the woke capitalists who are trying to destroy our energy industries,” Mr. Moore said in a news release praising the moves by the states.

Republican lawmakers in more than a dozen other states, including New York, Oregon and Virginia, are trying to advance similar legislation.

The Harrison Power Station, a coal-fired plant in Haywood, W.Va. Banks contend that divesting from fossil fuels makes economic sense. Brian Snyder/Reuters

The laws could cost taxpayers. A recent study found that Texas cities, where some financial institutions have voluntarily left the market because of laws targeting companies that embrace environmental, social and governance priorities, collectively known as E.S.G., are likely to incur up to $532 million in higher interest costs in less than a year because of the legislation.

“These officials are using the public finance market to make political statements,” said Daniel Garrett, a finance professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the authors of the study. “They can use these laws as a carrot or stick as they desire, but the costs can be potentially quite large.”

The treasurers are increasingly going after individual financial institutions.

In addition to the banks targeted by Mr. Moore, the treasurers of Utah and Idaho are criticizing plans by S&P Global, the ratings agency, to integrate climate risk into its credit ratings of states. And BlackRock, which manages some $10 trillion, has been the target of withing attacks for its stance on environmental issues.

Larry Fink, the BlackRock chief executive, has been outspoken in his desire to steer away from fossil fuels and toward what he considers a more sustainable, greener economy.

“Every government, company, and shareholder must confront climate change,” Mr. Fink wrote in a public letter in 2020 in which he described the integration of climate risk into investment decisions as “a fundamental reshaping of finance.”

In response, Mr. Moore’s office stopped using BlackRock to help manage West Virginia’s operating funds, withdrawing about $20 million.

“Larry Fink has stated it very clearly that he thinks capitalism has the power to shape society,” Mr. Moore said. “But my state doesn’t want the same shape of society that Larry Fink does.”

Other treasurers followed suit. In March, the Arkansas treasurer, Dennis Milligan, pulled $125 million from BlackRock. And in April, the treasurer of Louisiana, John Schroder, emailed Mr. Moore and Marlo Oaks, the Utah treasurer, and boasted about withdrawing more than $600 million from BlackRock accounts. Mr. Schroder said he had also blocked Citibank, Bank of America and JPMorgan from almost $1 billion in bond financing.

“That’s excellent, John!!!” Mr. Moore replied, according to emails reviewed by the Times. “Great work!!!”

BlackRock declined to comment.

Mr. Milligan, the Arkansas treasurer, emailed a statement in which he said, “I feel a strong sense of responsibility to do my part in not allowing the liberal ‘woke’ agenda to disadvantage the very people I was elected to serve.” Mr. Schroder and Mr. Oaks declined requests for interviews.

Withdrawals by a few states represent a tiny slice of BlackRock’s business. But inside banks and investment firms, there is mounting concern that the state bans could spread to pension funds, which account for nearly $4 trillion in investments across the country.

“We already have lot of divisions in this country,” said Noah Friend, the former general counsel for the Kentucky treasurer. “I don’t like the idea that if you’re a Republican you have to bank with this company and if you’re Democrat you have bank with that company. Everything becomes this politicized decision about who you do business with.”

‘A coordinated attack’

Julie Ellsworth, the Idaho treasurer, asked the State Financial Officers Foundation to distribute a memo that misrepresented the position of banks on environmental, social and governance issues.Keith Ridler/Associated Press

Behind the treasurers and the State Financial Officers Foundation is a complex web of conservative groups linked to the fossil fuel industry, as well as some of the biggest names on Wall Street.

In March, Julie Ellsworth, the Idaho treasurer, asked Mr. Kreifels to distribute a memo about the fossil fuel boycott bills to other state treasurers, according to the emails.

The memo had been prepared using research from the Heartland Institute, a think tank with a history of denying climate science, and it misrepresented how banks and other financial institutions were implementing their E.S.G. strategies.

“If you’re a small-business owner with a gasoline powered car, you’re eventually going to be phased out of banks’ portfolios, unless you switch to electric vehicles, of course,” the memo said in a section about how banks would use E.S.G. to force businesses to change. “Similarly, if you want to buy a house in the future that runs on natural gas, you, too, won’t be able to get a mortgage until you put solar panels on the roof.”

No banks have proposed such measures. Ms. Ellsworth declined to comment.

The Heartland Institute has also worked to amplify the treasurers’ message and connect them with influential conservative media personalities including Glenn Beck, records show.

Other groups supporting the treasurers’ efforts include the Heritage Foundation, a think tank that has long opposed action to combat climate change and that has received substantial funding from the oil billionaires Charles G. Koch and David H. Koch.

The State Financial Officers Foundation this year hired CRC Advisors, a conservative strategy firm that was founded by Leonard Leo, who has led a multiyear effort to stack federal courts with judges who oppose climate action. In recent months, CRC Advisors has helped coordinate media responses for treasurers, including Mr. Oaks of Utah, according to emails reviewed by the Times.

And the State Financial Officers Foundation shares many ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, a conservative group with longstanding ties to the Koch brothers.

The American Legislative Exchange Council chief executive, Lisa Nelson, is on the State Financial Officers Foundation board, and ALEC’s chief economist, Jonathan Williams, is a senior policy adviser to the foundation.

Last July, the State Financial Officers Foundation hosted a conference in conjunction with ALEC, and the two groups have even shared blocks of discounted hotel rooms for their event. Mr. Moore and Mr. Kreifels were among the treasurers attending ALEC’s annual meeting in Atlanta last week.

“The State Financial Officers Foundation is a key node in a network of political groups waging a coordinated attack on climate policy,” said Jesse Coleman, a senior researcher at Documented, the watchdog organization that obtained the emails. The group is working “to weaponize state treasurers’ offices against federal appointees, regulations, and corporate policies that address climate change,” he said.

As a nonprofit organization, the State Financial Officers Foundation is not legally required to disclose its funders. A partial list of the organization’s financial supporters on its website shows that it gets funding from not only conservative groups but also from some of the biggest companies in the world, many of which say they are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. They include JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Visa, Mastercard, Fidelity, Federated Hermes and SAP — all of which have publicly embraced E.S.G. principles.

Most of the sponsors declined to comment, and many of their contributions were relatively small. In a statement, Beth Richek, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman, acknowledged the bank’s support for the group. “While we may not agree with every position they take, our mutual engagement is important for our company, employees, and customers,” she said.

Blocking federal appointees

Saule Omarova, President Biden’s first nominee lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, withdrew after treasurers portrayed her as a “radical extremist.”Sarahbeth Maney/The New York Times

Mr. Biden came to office with a vision: the entire federal government would be focused on reducing the country’s emissions, with new rules implemented across federal agencies staffed by political appointees who embraced the effort.

Among the obstacles Mr. Biden didn’t anticipate were the state treasurers.

An early sign of turbulence came in May 2021, when 15 treasurers sent a letter to John Kerry, Mr. Biden’s climate envoy, raising concerns about what they said was the administration’s hostility toward the oil and gas industry.

“Reckless attacks on the fossil fuel industry ultimately cut off paychecks for workers and take food off the table for hard-working middle-class families,” the letter read.

By the end of the year, the treasurers were publicly lobbying against a bevy of proposed rules and nominees.

Among their first targets was Saule Omarova, Mr. Biden’s nominee for comptroller of the currency. Ms. Omarova was heavily criticized by Republican senators, some moderate Democrats and the banking industry for her desire to limit speculative trading by banks and to open the Federal Reserve to retail banking.

But she drew the ire of the treasurers for saying that if fossil fuel companies went bankrupt it would help fight climate change. The State Financial Officers Foundation issued a letter signed by more than 20 financial officers calling her a “radical extremist.”

When Ms. Omarova withdrew her nomination in December, Mr. Kreifels sent an email to the treasurers congratulating them. “It’s an honor to work along side you all,” he said in an email titled “VICTORY!”.

Two months later, the treasurers focused on another nominee: Sarah Bloom Raskin, whom Mr. Biden had nominated to be the Federal Reserve’s head of bank oversight. Ms. Raskin, a former Federal Reserve and Treasury official, has argued that financial regulators should police climate risks more diligently.

Mr. Kreifels urged the treasurers to speak out against Ms. Raskin, describing her as an “anti-energy climate change alarmist.”

In emails to state treasurers, the foundation provided draft tweets and other messaging strategies. “We must make as much noise about this as possible” Mr. Kreifels wrote. “Make this THE ‘kitchen table’ issue in your state for the week.”

Like Ms. Omarova, Ms. Raskin withdrew her nomination. “Sarah was subject to baseless attacks from industry and conservative interest groups,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.

The treasurers have also set their sights on new federal rules and regulations intended to strengthen the government’s ability to act on climate change.

Late last year, the State Financial Officers Foundation worked with the Heritage Foundation to respond to proposals from the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a government panel assigned to minimize risk in the financial sector, on ways to reduce the threats posed by climate change, records show.

And soon after that, Mr. Oaks, the Utah treasurer, drafted a letter opposing a potential Department of Labor rule that would allow retirement plans to consider risks from global warming in their investment strategy. Mr. Kreifels distributed the draft to the foundation’s members, and more than a dozen treasurers signed the final letter. The Department of Labor has not decided whether to implement the rule.

This year, the treasurers targeted the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. After the agency proposed a rule to require banks to consider climate-related financial risk, executives from the Heritage Foundation sent Mr. Kreifels and Mr. Oaks a memo outlining their opposition. Within weeks, dozens of state treasurers and attorneys general from Republican-led states submitted comments objecting to the proposed rule.

“This special concern for and attention to climate-related risks is irrational,” one comment read.

And in May, Mr. Kreifels organized a call with the treasurers to discuss regulations proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission that would require companies to publicly disclose climate risks to investors. The featured guest was a representative from the American Petroleum Institute, the lobbying arm of the fossil fuel industry.

The next month, the State Financial Officers Foundation sent a 20-page letter signed by more than a dozen treasurers, calling the S.E.C.’s proposed rule, which has not yet been enacted, “irrational climate exceptionalism, elevating climate issues to a place of prominence in disclosures that they do not deserve.”

#Environment

How to save the Amazon rainforest

The aim of this post is not only to explain the current situation of the Amazon rainforest and in general of the main inter-tropical rainforests. I want to describe a project that I think could be able to stop or contain the destruction of an entire ecosystem. If you want to read the proposed project without further introduction, you can skip this part and go straight to the section “The Project”; however, it is highly recommended to read these previous sections and in particular the section “A Focus” to understand the roots of the problems that this project aims to solve: civil exploitation and roads. If there is an interest to collaborate and get involved, read the section “Epilogue”. During the post, it will be provided a to date picture of the Amazon rainforest, the main protagonists, the role of “indigenous” people and why in most of the cases the cost/productive efficience of the damaging of the forest is not efficient and convenient at all and couldn’t ever compete with the same activities elsewhere. Will be also given a distinction between industrial and civil exploitation: both of them are important to be understood, distinguished and highlighted because, in different ways, they are both dangerous and critical. The main solution proposed is aimed to face the civil exploitation. This post is intended to be first step for the foundation of a non-profit (or partial non-profit) company aimed to make a difference in the fight against the climate change. In my opinion, the solutions again big challenges like this should be real, practical, studied with a scientific approach to the problem: protesting and waiting for someone else to do something, protesting requiring an action without proposing an action and without proposing solutions for modern problems is not a solution and never will be. This book is a first step because it aims to introduce the project to as many people as possible, looking for enthusiasts, volunteers and organizations that aim to do the good to join this kind of “open source” project and “open source” company. Introducing this article, I also want to assert that, in my opinion, the only way to do something for the environment (or for the people, in general for any problematic situation) is through the technology, the innovation and the economy. Without at least one of these, any proposed solution is almost always intended for failure or for short period effects. Our world is run by economy and this is a fact, that’s why it would be absurd to not consider it: if you don’t provide an efficient replacement to the businesses that are now exploiting the environment, you will find out that it is nearly impossible to succeed, have a long lasting effect and be happily accepted by the local communities and the local governments. That’s why you can’t pretend people to leave their jobs for the environment without giving them an alternative and that’s why itis so difficult to make the local and state governments protect the rainforest. Economy can find an alternative and make possible an overall agreement that makes convenient protect the environment for everyone (local people, local communities, local governments, state governments). On the other side, nowadays we have the means to make any idea and plan efficient thanks to the present technology and its fast innovative potential. That’s why it would be unthinkable to make anything without the help of it. From control, to interactive security, to efficiency optimization, to fast emergency action and problem solving, to social presence and sensibilization, to global and community involvement, to logistics and distribution intelligence for the products, to advertise the successes and convince the communities on the edge of the Amazon rainforest to join the project and convert their exploiting based economies to a sustainable circular and more profitable economy. Any project to improve the world should always consider the nature of the humankind. The most important thing is that if there is nothing to eat or any possibility to improve their lives, people will not consider any ideal or any pro-environment activity and if they do, it will be just for the circumstances and for a temporary earning (for example if you pay a former woodcutter to take tourists in Amazon tours, but you pay him just a little more than what he earned as woodcutter, he will not cut trees only because taking tourists around is easier, not because in this way the forest will remain conserved, so when there are not enough tourists, he will become again a woodcutter; a good project shall give welfare to an entire community as long as education means, only then the meaning and the importance of the project and the conservation can be fully understood. It is really similar talking about the relation between the project and the local goverments: if the income and the production are enough to replace the current state of things, the goverments will stop boosting traditional explotation and will not impede an equally or more profitable change. The description of the current rainforests situation will focus on the Amazon rainforest situation describing general aspects and current damaging situations, in particular about Ecuador rainforest (since I elaborated this travelling through the edges of that country rainforest and since I particularly saw the changes there during the last decade and lived the situations and the changes being half Ecuatorian from mother; being also half European and having lived most in Europe and having travelled a lot around the world, helped me to see things from another point of view). An year of Ups and Downs for the Amazon rainforest 2019 (year in which this book has begun to be written) has been an highlighted year for the Amazon rainforest. There have been significant victories and important losses for the environment. As always, the losses always score a more significant importance in the world we live in as most of  them produce permanent scars, while the victories sometimes are not forever-lasting or forever-remembered or simply even worldwide known (sometimes a good action or good idea doen’t have the proper space on the news and sometimes it is not considered at all, giving preference to bad news that can reach a bigger audience; it is also the case of the topic of this book that has been scarcely heard and understood by news channels and even by the environmental organizations, and this is deeply paradoxical and difficult to accept). Among the victories in 2019, it is a duty to remember the Waorani victory against the Ecuatorian government that could prevent the auction of half a million acres from being earmarked for oil drilling and also disrupting the contemplated auctioning of 16 oil blocks that cover over 7 million acres of indigenous territory by providing an invaluable legal precedent for other indigenous nations across the Ecuadorian Amazon. The Waorani are a native population of the Amazonian Region of Ecuador (Napo, Orellana, and Pastaza Provinces) who have marked differences from other ethnic groups from Ecuador (in the past they are also been known as “Auca”, a pejorative exonym used by the neighboring Quechua native people). They comprise almost 4,000 inhabitants and speak the Huaorani language, a linguistic isolate that is not known to be related to any other language. Their ancestral lands are located between the Curaray and Napo rivers, about 50 miles (80 km) south of El Coca. These homelands are always been threatened by oil exploration and illegal logging practices. Until now, Waorani people were able to protect their culture and lands from both indigenous enemies and settlers. Some Waorani communities decided to reject all contact with the outside-rainforest world and continue to move inside the forest, living on what it gives to them. “Waorani” means “We are people”. The Waorani victory marked an important success for the conservation, but also because of the fact that made everyone conscious that if even a little group of people could defend such a big land, a bigger group of people could do much more. This is not the only victory for the environment this year, however as said the losses are much louder than little and temporary victories. Among the good actions made in these years are valid to be remembered and thanked all the organizations that encourage alternative and sustainable local economies with solidal trades and “community” tourism: their victories are the successes of these projects (some are related to the direct exportation of local products like chocolate, coffee and tea produced with an eye to the conservation; some boost local manifacture and give it value, opening to the communities a global and careful market; some take tourists to the communities, which are asked to follow conservation standards for their lands). If I had to list all the losses that this year has seen, I would need an entire book; even worse if I had to list the ones of this decade or of the last 20 years. Apart from painful, a detailed description would be too long to be made. This year saw an unprecedented size wildfires destruction across the Amazon rainforest, even though the wildfires problem, due to raising temperatures, exceedingly dryness and human interests and negligence, have been a worldwide issue: Australia has been the most affected area of the world, where millions of animals died, an entire ecosystem annihilated, along with people dispersed and their homes completely destroyed, up to the date when this book has been written the fires have not been stopped and the disaster is getting everyday bigger and bigger; then also California has been devastated by wildfires. The human negligence is always the core reason of the intensification of this climate circumstances that make it easy for a situation to get worse. However, human negligence has not only an indirect responsability on the problem, but sometimes also a direct one: some people make illegal wildfires, some people throw lighted cigarettes on dry bushes but the main human-caused reason that induce wildfires is the following and is the main one in the Amazon rainforest: people set fire to lots on the edge of the rainforest to clear the land for cattle and/or agriculture (most of the agriculture aiming to feed the cattle too), this practice has been intensifying during the last three decades and generally intended to limited areas of land, but the circumstances of drought, heat waves and wind in these last years made the fires losing control and extend themselves to huge and terrible sizes.

One of the main problems of this “method” is that the land is immediately used and is given no possibility to the forest to grow again, unlike accidental or natural fires.

A Focus The Amazon rainforest (similar to other rainforests and areas around the world) is very rich of natural resources. The main natural resources are mainly oil, gold and silver (in the African Congo River basin rainforest for example there is less oil but there are diamonds and Coltan). The wood has always been considered a natural resource and times ago been consistently used, but nowadays it is not the main cause of the deforestation in the Amazon rainforest; the wood is a natural resource that could be thought as “retail” exploited: only some kind of trees are considered “good, valuable and useful” and there are not large areas with just one kind of tree and there are thousands of tree species, as a consequence when a “good” tree wood is required, one tree is taken out from the forest; the tree or the bunch of trees could be 100, 200 or 400 meters inside the rainforest: to take it/them everything on the way is destroyed and a line across the forest is deforested. But there are some other natural resources that are less considered but are the most important to be protected to be able to protect the environment. The water and the land. The Amazon rainforest is sometimes thought like a kind of “no one land” by settlers; also local governments think the same and that’s why “give” lands to whom wants to exploit and use them or encourage people to occupy territories on the edge of the rainforest. The water is obviously fundamental for any process: from industry to agriculture any process needs water, a lot of water; the rainforest has a lot of it: it rains frequently (it is to be noted that the more the Amazon rainforest is destroyed, the less clouds will be generated over land and the less it will rain; even worse if you also consider the worsening, over-heating and drought climate change effect), there are large and numerous rivers and the aquifer layer is quite close to surface. These two natural resources make it easy to understand why so much land is easily cleared for cattle, agriculture and mining. Obviously the territory of the Amazon rainforest is not all the same; there are places where is more difficult to clear or work a land for agriculture due to the presence of hills or short mountain ranges, making them more protected from agriculture exploitation (but absolutely not from mining), but in general most of the territories are easy to enter and clear completely (even easier after a wildfire).

It is important to make an important distinction between industrial and civil exploitation. For industrial exploitation I mean the exploitation leaded by big industries and companies whose permission to work in the Amazon rainforest is directly discussed and approved by the government of the country, so it’s a kind of “high-level” bargaining between them. Sometimes this negotiation is even reserved and hard to be stopped or even hard to be known in advance by people. Generally this kind of exploitation oil and gas, industrial legal mining and energy production (like the big hydroelectric power plants and their water reservoirs built in the Brazil Amazon rainforest). An exception takes place in Brazil where in some agriculture is an industrial exploitation: agriculture to produce hydrocarbons and extensive agriculture for exportation (like soy exported to China). The industrial exploitation is obviously one of the main actors of the rainforest damaging. It is hard to be stopped, or even controlled from outside: most of the times the plants are military guarded and if any problem comes out inside the plant or in the process, the corruption towards local politicians and newspapers will say nothing for years. The scars made to the rainforest by this kind of exploitation are mostly permanent and sometimes irreversible. The accidents have been countless and they are both accidental and due to human negligence (maybe were not made the security and safety proceedings that should have been taken, or an accident has been hided for too long): oil leaks can be a big threat for the environment and for the people (to be remembered the disaster caused by the voluntary negligence of Chevron/Texaco in the region of Sucumbios, Ecuador, not respecting the safety enviromental standard voluntarily, spilling millions of gallons of oil and chemical on the ground and the rivers between the 70s and the 90s, burning all the gas under the ground instead of putting them back as usually made to reduce the environment impact, being named the Amazon Cernobyl that hurt consistently the ecosystem), but also the road and the facilities built to get to the plant; however the biggest threat for the natural environment are the accidents linked to mining like leak of refinement or disposal processes chemicals (to be remembered the accident in 2015 on the Rio Doce in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais in which a wall of some pools of chemical disposal broke and the chemicals entered in the river, killikg literally everything on its way to the ocean; it happened again at the beginning of 2019 again in Minas Gerais where died also more than 150 people) and the complete destruction of hills, mountains and entire pieces of lands opened and caved. These industrial plants are extremely profitable for their companies and for the governments, that’s why are very difficult to stop. It is only possible to avoid them to be built or if impossible it should be a duty to, at least, pretend that this plants are going to be sustainable (as much as possible) and safe for the environment (these two must be conditions and are possible now because the nowadays technology makes it possible and gives no excuses to accidents, fails or insufficient safety measures). For civil exploitation I mean any other exploitation not mentioned above. Specifically, it is guided by civilians as individuals or as little or medium size societies or farms. Sometimes this exploitation is also made by part of local and native communities. Generally, we can classify this exploitation in three groups: legal, illegal and not legally defined. All three, in my opinion, are equally dangerous and problematic. The legal ones are the agriculture with a permission to deforest or buying the land, the cattle breeding, the construction of houses, waterparks, urbanizations and hotels, the woodcut with permission, the hunting and fishing with permission, the woodcut with permission and the mining of sand and stones for construction with permission. The illegal ones are woodcut in natural reserves without a permission, gold, silver and copper mining (private mining is maybe one of the most and periodic polluting process because is made by individuals who have poor means to work mainly the gold; being completely illegal it is largely persecuted, so the miners settle in temporary housing, temporary camps, are armed from head to toe and use toxic and cheap chemicals to work the gold, releasing then them directly into the rivers), the farming and the processing of drugs, the hunting and poaching in a natural reserve, the poaching of protected species, the fishing with unethical means like explosives. The “not legally defined” group of activities is a group of activities that would anywhere else considered illegal, but on the Amazon rainforest edges are mostly unpunished, uncontrolled, accepted and legalized after they are done; they are: agriculture occupying and deforesting a land without asking permission (for example after a fire, that has been probably set by the same farmers), cattle breeding on the land earned through occupation and fire, the costruction of houses without a permission, the hunting and poaching in a part of the rainforest that is not natural reserve or that is on its edge, woodcut in a part of the rainforest that is not natural reserve or that is on its edge. It is to be understood that there is a so big not legally defined range of activities because there is the need for local population to have some kind of income and do not know how expensive and dangerous it can be for themselves, there is the aim of local administration (and sometimes state governments, but not always) to encourage the local economic growth and prevent the areas to be left and lose population. Even though the most dangerous and toxic activity (apart from the drugs farming and processing, of course, that it is also a difficult to be fighted one and it is a big issue that is not intended to be discussed in this text) is the private mining (also because is as dangerous as the drugs farming for the sorrounding communities, since the miners do not hesitate to use violence), the most damaging for the Amazon rainforest activity among these is the agriculture because occupies and uses the biggest territory among the listed activies, because the agriculture essence is linked to the ongoing occupation of land and the massive usage of water that are the same essence of the rainforest (and of course the agriculture and the rainforest cannot exist at the same time on the same land), because the land is cleared for agriculture and cattle breeding/ranching through the most destructive existing way (that cannot be controlled and that gives no possibility to any vegetal or animal species to survive or re-born), because there is no possibility for any resource exploited to restore itself, because the change of local environment and vegetation (from dense tree and bush vegetation to medium-low tall seasonal plants, like from forest to corn field or soy plantation) changes the climate of region (forests help to “generate” clouds that discharge rain on the forest, but also generate humidity that is taken far away by currents: this generates a climate both over the forest and far away where the humidity is taken, without forest the climate changes in both places with heavy consequences), because the large quantity of water used for agriculture is returned to the environment not with the same quality but full of chemicals (whose utilization could maybe be limited anywhere else but not in places so far and isolated from big cities and where there is a “not legally defined” range of action for anyone who wants to act improperly without facing any legal consequences). Most of the agriculture is lead by cattle breeding. We can assume agriculture and cattle breeding as “farming”, also because as just said most of agriculture is required for cattle breeding with the “pasto” (as the plants grown are called in Spanish speaking coutries) or corn or soy. Cattle breeding is exploiting the rainforest through agriculture but also with the “old manner”: huge pieces of lands are partially cleared and cattle is let it go around to feed itself (cattle ranching). Counting the water usage connected with agriculture, the water needed to clean the used facilities and the water drank, cattle breeding uses huge amounts of water for cattle: an average milk cow consumes 200 liters per day, an average meat bovine 50 liters per day. It is easy to understand how impactful it can be on a natural water-based ecosystem.

The civil exploitation is dangerous because can be has many protagonists as many live on the Amazon rainforest edge and as many have enough money to invest there, but also because it is guided by the need of some people to survive or to improve their lives (that’s why I insist that is very important to be understood and that’s why a solution should involve all the protagonists and their needs and cannot mean a recession in local (for ”local” meaning in some cases local communities or cities or provinces and in other cases states) economy, but must be a growth and must be good under any social aspect, must teach the local economy that a sustainable way is possible and must boost the local commitment with the results). One other reason of the size of the civil exploitation is that is virtually as big as many people has to survive or wants to improve their life: nearly all people in those regions can be described like that. It is important also to be understood that the people involved in this kind of damaging has generally (apart from some ill case) no bad and mischievous intentions: the rainforest is seen as a resource that is legit to exploit, there is no other point of view. Even the local natives deeply indirectly think it, but they live this process with a deeper connection and respect for the environment. This aspect of deeper connection is in part dangerous in the protection of the environment. While on one hand make them guardians of the rainforest from external exploitation, on the other hand some of them (not everyone) mixes modern technologies with ancient sustenance traditions and habits, I’ll make some examples. For example, decades ago they went to monkey-hunting with bows and arrows and blowguns, limiting the preys killed to 5-6 maximum (which was the maximum they could do with their hunting tools). Now some of them use fragmentation bullets and expanding bullets rifles to hunt monkeys (but it is just an example, much more are the animals hunted) and are killed as many animals as they can (more than 5-6 and more than the number of preys really needed, sometimes up to 20 monkeys at time, an entire monkey family) because they consider any prey that can be captured as a gift from the rainforest and have to be taken. It wouldn’t be wrong but it is if we consider that most of the rainforest animals are threatened by other circumstances like poaching, loss and contamination of the habitat: this logic does nothing but worsening the problem, also considering that the communities that still hunt are getting bigger (so will need more and more preys). Ancient techniques of hunting need a big patience, experience and give the opportunity to the animals (or at least to give to some members of the group of animals) to escape, rifles using fragmentation and expanding bullets don’t. From this point of view, it would be even more ecological for them to consume modern conventional food. The usage of modern weapons gives also the opportunity to remove radically potential menaces like local predators (like jaguars or snakes) and animals getting too close to homes (similar to the local communities decisions taken in another part of the world by Aborigen leaders in the Australian lands “APY Lands – Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara” that at the beginning of 2020 decided to kill more than 10.000 wild camels in 5 days because “they demand too much water and to look for it come too close to homes”: this decision came in a moment of emergency for Australia, that due to drought and fires lost about 1 billion of wildlife animals, and seems ridiculous to kill more wild animals with the main motivation that they just look for water). Another example is the use of land for conventional agriculture, not an aspect of local traditions. Some members of the communities are attracted by quick and easy earnings and clear the land for cattle breeding, cattle breeding cultivations (as previously said known as “pasto”) and corn. Generally are used one to two hectares of land. The modern technologies used, for example, are tractors. What comes to be highlighted is that one hectare produces just from 80 to 200 $ per cutivation cycle, every 2-3 months on average: a low earning even for developing countries. The profit becomes even shorter when big farmers sell at lower prices. So one could understand that the environment is destroyed for nothing.

Even worse if you consider that most of the “individual” exploiters’ production is very small comparing to the big land owners and to the production in different areas of the same country, making the individuals’ provision to the country economy insignificant: for example in Ecuador and Colombia (and in the past in Venezuela) extensive agriculture on the coastline territories is much more relevant than the one that is carried on accross the rainforest, it even fixes the price for the products and make the Amazon regions’ product sometimes non-profitable; furthermore, in some Amazon rainforest areas the ground is not a plain and makes the application of extensive methods difficult, contrarily to the coastline landscape. This example is very relevant taking in consideration the countries on the Western edge of the rainforest and in some central an Southern areas of the Brazilian rainforest; however, in Brazil the situation is quite different since a huge part of the country’s rainforest is in a plain.  

These problems, along with excessive plastic usage and wrong recollect and disposal and along with wood and animal sale to the cities, of course are not the main forest-destroyers and are guided by a local search of continuity with traditions without refusing or fully understanding modern technology and products. Despite of these tradition-contamination that is not fully understood and fought by communities, the local communities on the edge and inside of the rainforest are the first line in the fight against the rainforest exploitation, mainly against the industrial explotation, and this has to be noted. With a better aid toward these communities we all could protect the environment in a better way.

Now we will discuss more about the civil exploitation method, in particular the agriculture (to be complete in the description, the most common plantations in the Amazon rainforest region are: banana, cocoa, coffee bean, soy, corn, sugar cane, oil palm, tea and ”pasto”. They are all affordable to most of the medium class population), that along the cattle ranching are the main protagonists of the rainforest damaging (sometimes agriculture and cattle breeding/ranching can be considered as two aspects of the same “farming” exploitation problem).

The roads It is important to understand how the exploitation is began and expanded. The most common way to clear the land for agriculture is, as previously discussed, by fire: it is set fire to a limited part of forest, then smoothed the ground and the agriculture process can start. Often, the fire goes out of control and much more of the environment is destroyed with terrible consequences as we are experiencing during the last years. But this actuation is not carried on across all the Amazon rainforest region, it is used mainly in Brazil, on the Southern and Eastern edges of the rainforest and in isolated areas (not close to main cities).

So, talking in general, the beginning of agriculture exploitation (but of course also cattle breeding and construction) is driven and boosted by roads. Even after fires in Brazil. If Ihad to say what is the biggest menace for the rainforest, I would say it is a road.

Once a road is built, the disaster begins. On the edges of the road people start to exploit rainforest because of obvious logistics advantages: it is easier to access, to take there vehicles, materials, people and tools, to extend facilities and to take products or natural resources out of there. The road has always been a condition to human presence and exploitation of a territory, this is so important to understand how fast and large a civil exploitation can be. From the road, the territory is occupied perpendicularly towards the rainforest. Then, it is occupied more and more, until when a new road towards the occupied inner land, perpendicularly to the initial road and as long as the occupied territory.

Due to efficiency and convenience, a road is built perpendicularly to the second road and parallel to the first one: any land still not exploited between the first and the third road has all the easiness to be exploited, but also the land on the “outside” side of the third road (towards the virgin forest) and the cycle starts again. Apart of activities like agriculture or cattle breeding, also private mining and construction (like urbanizations, hotels, resorts and the other activities workers lodging) are reasons why a road can be built and added to the dense web of paths.

Most of the roads are built by individuals who need them for their activities, then, generally, the local administration help to pave the roads. In some cases the local governements build roads “ex-novo” to match an economic growth plan, encouraging then people to settle there. A road is basic for local business and regional sustenance, but if it and the environment in which it is put in are not managed properly and sustainably, it will be a kind of “expanding infection” for the rainforest. To have some example, you can simply look through Google Earth at any place on the edge of the Amazon rainforest and you will see the penetration of human activity into untouched forest through the roads. If you have the opportunity to cross the Amazon regions on the road, while staying on the road, you will mostly have the sensation that you are not in a rainforest but you could be anywhere else.

If something has to be done to protect the Amazon rainforest, it will have to take in consideration the road problem and (as said before) the local economy sustenance.

The Project This proposed project aims to find a solution to protect the Amazon rainforest environment from civil exploitation and to limit the effects of industrial exploitation. As said before, any modern solution must be designed considering modern tools: technology and economy. Technology is not only consistent things (like drone, etc...), but also social media, communication and network platform. Economy is not only the local economy or buy-sell/produce-sell processes, but also circular economy, crowdfunding, equity, big distribution organization, e-commerce and farmer to buyer system. As already said in the introduction, this project would aim to be a partial non-profit business: this means that the earnings made are mostly re-invested in expanding the areas involved in the project and in improving the process and the advertising to the world, but a part of the earnings would be divided in the local communities for community or region projects (like water facilities for people, education, disease prevention, women support, drugs use prevention, city stray animals protection (the stray dogs problem is huge around all the world, in South America the problem can be limited and solved with the education of the people and sterilization programs to prevent the expansion of the project) and people sensibilization and waste recollect and recycle) and among the local workers as a bonus salary. A substantial part of the profit should also be used to create a solar and wind energy production system; another smaller part to a wildlife protection system, a wildlife hospital and to projects to prevent and locate wildfires, poaching and illegal woodcut. Considering the community value social addition, this project could be considered fully no-profit, but the profit is not entirely going into the same aim of the association. The only way to make the project possible is that all the organizations get involved in the protection of the Amazon rainforest. This project is not a “multi-chance” project: cannot be launched and fail more than once per project-aimed territory (if it is launched in a specific area of the Amazon, it has to work in that occasion, any further launch could be dangerous for the validity of the project). It could be thought as a “one-time” project, not because it has a limited time validity but because it has to be able to start and develope enough after the launch. After developing enough, each local project should develope itself after the launch, never stopped and lauched again. The core of the project is to combine together native traditions, new technologies and know-how, global interest and sensibilization, local economic growth and respect for the environment. If any of these aspects is forgotten, then everything will fail or will be just temporary. It is also points to the fact that once the economic plan works out, local farmers and land owners will see convenience in it and will join the project voluntarily, turning their business into a sustainable and project standards converted one as a condition. The logic is this: if we give another income to local people, they will not have to exploit the forest to survive and if we can control and protect the edges of the roads in the Amazon rainforest, we can prevent the rest of the of the rainforest from being mass-exploited (or civil exploited, called also mass-exploitation because involves a virtually very big number of people). An industrial exploitation generally takes place in an inner rainforest, requiring, as a consequence, a road to reach the plant; this road is not be itself because encourages people to exploit its edges and develope activities there beginning the cycle already described. That’s why an industrial exploitation is not dangerous only by itself, but involves much more than the plant. The main idea is the following: buy all the lands next to the roads from 40 to 100 meters towards the remaining rainforest (meaning a land long as the road and wide 40 to 100 meters; 40 to 100 meters taken  perpendicularly to the road, perpendicularly to the road in any part of the road). This is the only way to protect further environment damage. It could appear a little bit impossible to be made, but it is just difficult and effort-demanding, not impossible.   The lands bought that still have virgin rainforest would be protected while owned, but the most important part is to recover those that have been exploited until when they are bought. These last mentioned lands () have to be restored in the following way: 75% of the inner (meaning the part of these lands pointing towards the virgin forest) former-exploited territory should be restored with trees that are typical of the rainforest area, the remaining 25% close to the road should be converted to a kind of “protection belt” between the road and the rainforest; in this area should be made all the activities to replace exploiting existing activities. This 25% of land is very important because it makes the whole project sustainable and gives to the local communities the possibility to have an economic growth while protecting the environment. This 25% of former exploited land should be productive through sustainability; the methods through which obtain results would be: - Tourism: creating eco-lodges in the cities or in the communities nearby and creating theme paths crossing the lands that are part of the project; with these paths could be given tourism attractiveness to these areas; some paths could be “themed” to specific topics like rainforest survival, vegetation acknowledgement, environment education, hiking and adventure expeditions. - The cultivation of high value “not known” (meaning that are not known very much in Western and global markets, but only known locally) fruits (to be noted fruits, so there is not “lack” of vegetation in any time and the natural cycles are respected; approximately 3000 fruits that grow in the rainforest that are edible); these cultivations would not be “mono-tree/mono-fruit trees” (meaning that there is not a single cultivation in the same pieces of land), but there would be two-three fruit tree in the same place; can be two/three different types of high trees, both palms and not palms, or high trees combined with medium/short trees; these trees would be the locally known ones, the traditions of native populations and communities should be the key for the success of the project: the nature treasures will save the same environment. There are almost unknown, or better saying just locally known, palm trees whose fruits can be easily turned into a special oil that is used by local women for their hair with incredible results. There are other fruits and seeds that are edible, tasty (for example the fruit called “pitihaya” that tastes like a mix of banana and kiwi) and others that have other notables qualities highly demanded in the Western market. Other trees that can be easily combined with each other and with inedited (for us) trees are coffee, cocoa and banana (for these three kind of trees mentioned should be made a clarification: coffee and cocoa should be guided by “special products manifacturing” meaning that should be offered coffee beans specially flavoured and chocolate with flavour mixed with local fruit essences; banana should be grown for the production of “unusual” products like marmalade or juices; this clarification has to be made because, as previously stated, these kind of agriculture sometimes leads to civil exploitation with terrible consequences, that’s why, if applicable, these three cultivations have to lead to a special value quality, not to quantity and that’s why the “applicability” should also and always be studied to see if using these three cultivations could lead to an “imitation” of local communities not involved in the project, leading to a worse civil exploitation). - Research and developement of new materials derivates of fruit skins and seeds to replace conventional plastic items (like bags, straws, forks, glasses). These activities should involve all the local communities and cities workers previously employed in exploiting activities: changing their point of view on the rainforest from just a resource to be used to survive to a resource to be protected to keep surviving is the first success of the project. The only production admitted is the low production (in the aspect of the quantity produced, comparing to the classical extensive agriculture that is nowadays carried on in those regions), but it has to generate high value products, superior than that of the common exploiting agriculture. The project could not stop here because the added value would be provided also by the global (even that also the Western market would be big and fruitful enough to provide an efficience and an economic sustainability to the whole project) market; the markets through which the products are sold should recognize the environment protection effort of these products and give them a special higher consideration place comparing to those produced with conventional agriculture exploitation; the highest goal that the producer-to-customer process could obtain is that the large retail chains gives absolute priority (or even purchase exclusivity) to the products that respect the project standards in terms of environment protection and respect, sustainability, local communities involvement, low carbon emission, the percentage of the profit used to finance green energy (and the use of it in the production process), hectares of virgin rainforest protected and hectares of rainforest restored: this behaviour of large retail chains could lead to volunteer partecipation of local farmers to the project (conditioned to the respect of the project standards). Since the main income of the project organization would be the added value given to the products, the products have to be new, natural and special, finding their roots in local traditions, but the real winning asset of the added value are to be given by the distributors and big chain retailers, both supermarkets and ecommerce platforms, which recognize the difference that this products can make in protecting the rainforest and, doing so, fighting the climate change.   Both the final customer and the distributors have to understand the difference that the products made through this project can do to the environment and that buying similar products that don’t comply with environment respect and protection verified standards can produce terrible consequences. As mentioned, the project would produce money to be mostly invested in the project expansion and improvement itself. However, the main problem is evident: where the launching capital would come from. As said, there is just one launch (meaning per specific area) and it would have to be definitive and solid. The modern technology and communication network and the modern economic tools must be the vehicles of the launch success. Social networks like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, “advertisement supporters” like Google, Yahoo and mass media like TV will be the ways for the needed advertisement to reach as many people as possible. The point of an advertisement campaign would mainly be reach as many people as possible that are far from the problem that this project is trying to solve: in most of the areas of the world you don’t see the destruction of the nature by man or by climate change in their everyday life (people in great cities, specially in Europe or North America for example); most of them would like to do something but see the problem far from them and the solutions impossible for them to be carried on directly; reaching everyone of them and involving them would make them part of the solution and virtually close to the problem. Advertisement would make them know they can be close, but the modern tool to make them live a project and its motivations is crowdfunding: Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Causes, Gofundme and others crowdfunding websites demonstrated how people apparently far from a topic can feel themselves so closely and deeply involved; the logic would be the same and it have to be made the most of all the classic crowdfunding websites. As already said, all the means useful for the launching success have to be used at their best. Obviously, also direct donations would be accepted with some locally made gift as thanksgiving (this would involve even more the donor or “backer” and an immediate return would give immediate help and acknowledge on the local economic potential to local communities). (When considered appropriate, the “hybrid no-profit” project organization could be taking in consideration the entry of equity funds for the growth and only in absence of other money resouces; this entry of equity funds should be decided case per case, only if the area doesn’t contain natural resources like oil and mining minerals (to avoid exploitation pressures on local communities), with no more than 25% of equity value for the organization and with an obliged exit of approximately 2 years with an interest maximum of 5% on the interest to be returned at the exit.)  Crowdfunding and donations collected money would be used for the purchase of the land next to the roads and the production machineries needed; this would make everyone of the backers and donor owner of a little piece of protected land: through this way of money collection, no one would be a donor or “shareholder” or “stakeholder” bigger than the others, avoiding any possible will of starting to exploit the protected land (this will could maybe driven by economic or social changes), making possible only to follow the organization regulations, giving no way to overtakes in the administration. As said before, also an Amazon typical gift would be shipped to backers and donors; they would also be invited to spend their holidays in the enviromental project that they contributed to create: they would live an ecotourism experience that would be less expensive (so the former backer tourist would save money) than that offered by the tour operators in their countries, but will impact positively on the project funding and on local communities; furthermore, the donor would see the project born and develope, give his/her contribution (not only with money but also with knowledge exchange) and the local people would see how important their contribution can be considered by people from the other part of the world. The other funding resources from where this project will start would be the local governements or administration donations: it has already been explained how the local governments try to encourage exploitation thinking it as the only way for economic growth, they have to be explained how this project can have a great positive impact on local occupation and, as a consequence, on local growth. This consciousness can lead the local governments and administrations to donate “unused” lands (both already exploited or not) making a difference in the project starting size and finding a possible solution to the local employment specialization (if the project is seen working and having good results as planned, it will be easily applied to bigger areas that would see secure employment not dependent from region politics or local economy (which is very unstable generally) but from larger and high demanding markets, that would be the dream of any local business and administration). With the ongoing project, the project sustenance and expansion funding would be provided by the products sold abroad, but this would not be the only one. One of the others funding resources has already been mentioned before and is the tourism; it was mentioned the donor/backer discounted tourism but it would be also open to all the other tourists; from adventure tourism to eco-local community-tourism to specific topic tourism to luxury tourism, tourism will be supremely important for the project: apart from the economic importance, it will be strategic also for letting the world know the project and its successes and developement to the world with real witnesses. The other additional income would come from volunteering projects: on the model of African wildife refuges the volunteers will pay housing, food and transportation (along with a little contribution to the project funding) on theirselves and will make experience contributing to make the project work (in different areas like wildlife animals study, protection, rehabilitation, stray dogs and cats rehabilitation and recover, vegetation study, fruit recollection, production, community education, market advertising, next project-involving areas study, tree planting, world relations).

CROWDFUNDING -> RAINFOREST PROTECTION -> PRODUCTION to MARKET (+ Tourism + volunteering projects + exclusivity distribution value) -> RAINFOREST PROTECTION and LOCAL ECONOMY GROWTH

The intended start date of the just described project is by the end of 2020, until then will be found possible parnerships with organizations working on the environment protection and talents willing to make it possible. Up to the date (beginning of 2020), still no organization has answered positively but the validity of the project will make it real and appealing to partnerships (has to be noted that most of the organizations working for the environment protection that have been contacted are aimed to the sole sensibilization and don’t try to experience direct action; in my opinion the protests and the words alone without proposing solution or without creating real and strong proposals are not making a positive difference in the environment fight that we  currently need). The first land purchases are expected on March 2021, the first tourist expedition on December 2020 and the first product to market on May 2021. These expected dates are just a forecast.

A quick Brainstorming on the project

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1mBAbGhlF-mRI9UgAYfqI4-xD2BS1iR5A

Climate change and human activities It is clear that the world climate has cycles that take it to be sometimes hotter, sometimes colder. But this cycles happen natural when the nature is left acting alone without any “interference” that can’t prevent it to find a new peaceful equilibrium. Human exploitation and industrial activities are an interference. This interference can make it very hard for nature itself to find easily a new equilibrium similar to the previous one. An equilibrium is always reached but the way through which it is reached can make a difference on the life that is adapted to exist with the previous equilibrium. The difficult path through which the nature stabilizes itself after overcoming the human interferences is traduced in what we are calling a violent climate change: we are accelerating changes, that would be normal in centuries, in a few decades; our activities are strongly boosting an already existing natural change. The nowadays climate change is deeply and quickly raising global temperatures, disclosing extreme meteorological events and weather conditions. Heat waves, intensifying metereological situations and raising temperatures are the first changes that are hitting the Amazon rainforest: stronger and longer drought seasons and hotter summers are really incisive in an ecosystem strongly dependents on abundance of rainfall water; even though these natural changes and events (so called even that they have been leaded by human activity accelerating cyclic changes) can have virtually terrible consequences, the main problem of these climate conditions is that they worsen the human activities that can lead to further environment damage: the fires are most important example (some of them are natural but most are started by man to clear the land for exploitation). The rainforest can play an important role for both fighting and worsening the climate change: it can absorb the carbon dioxide “breathing” but also produce it if it is burned. That’s why it is important to protect it and make it work as one of the largest carbon dioxide absorber and oxygen and humidity releaser. Our activities should develope without creating interferences with the nature, trying so to be as sustainables as possible, trying to find an alternative solution when the exploitation is seen as the only one and trying to contain the natural changes and events that can make their our actions even worse. The importance of Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest (also referred to as the ‘Lungs of the Planet') is the world's biggest rainforest, larger than the next two largest rainforests — in the Congo Basin and Indonesia — combined. The Amazon rainforest covers 7.8-8.2 million square km, more of the size of the forty-eight contiguous United States and covers some 40 percent of the South American continent. The Amazon is estimated to have 40,000 plant species and 390 billion individual trees and it is thought to have 2.5 million species of insects. The Amazon rainforest plays an important part in regulating the world’s oxygen and carbon cycles. Has long been thought to act as a carbon sink, meaning it readily absorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. If we lose the Amazon, we lose a crucial part of the world's life support system: the Amazon rainforest produces up to 20% of the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere, cycles water that regulates our weather, and hosts a wealth of undiscovered species with potential for new medicines. 25% of all western pharmaceuticals come from rainforest based ingredients, yet less than 1% of the trees and plants in the Amazon have ever been tested by scientists. Many plants around the world have medicinal qualities. Of the plants known to have anti-cancer properties, 70% are found in the rainforest. Amazon natives use rainforest plants regularly but 90% of the ones they use have not been studied by modern science. Tropical forests and woodlands (e.g. savannas) exchange vast amounts of water and energy with the atmosphere and are thought to be important in controlling local and regional climates. The Amazon rainforest plays a large role in rain patterns because the moisture that its vegetation traps and releases travels as clouds for thousands of miles. Water released by plants into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration (evaporation and plant transpiration) and to the ocean by the rivers, influences world climate and the circulation of ocean currents. This works as a feedback mechanism, as the process also sustains the regional climate on which it depends. 70 percent of South America's GDP is produced in areas that receive rainfall or water from the Amazon. The Amazon influences rainfall patterns as far away as the United States. Climate models show that the Amazon's moisture affects rainfall as far away as the US. If the Amazon were completely deforested, that would cut Texas rainfall by 25%, cut the Sierra Nevada snowpack in half, and reduce precipitation by up to 20% in the US coastal northwest. For that reason, large-scale deforestation in the Amazon can "pose a substantial risk to agriculture in key breadbaskets halfway around the world in parts of the US, India, and China," according to the WRI report. The Amazon may also play a role in ocean currents, since the Amazon River accounts for over 15% of all fresh water that enters the oceans. Changes in the ocean's balance of fresh water and salt water can slow down or speed up ocean currents, which regulate weather across the globe. But when trees are logged and the forest is burned, that carbon is released into the atmosphere at alarming rates. Recent research has suggested that these forests might actually be emitting more carbon dioxide when set fire than they’re able to absorbe. The Amazon rainforest has been burning for half of 2019: Brazil has seen more than 74,000 fires in 2019 ⁠— nearly double 2018's total of about 40,000 fires. The deforestation rate has increased 88 percent over the past year, while the number of fires has increased 84 percent compared to the same time in 2018, according to Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). Through July 2019 over 7,200 square miles of the Brazilian rainforest has burned—an aggregated area nearly the size of New Jersey. Humans have cut down nearly 20% of the Amazon in the last 50 years, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). If another 20% of the Amazon disappears, that could trigger a "dieback" scenario in which the forest would dry out and become a savannah. Furthermore, it's estimated that if the climate change were to increase the world's temperature by only 3 degrees Celsius then 75% of the Amazon would be destroyed. Last month, the Amazon saw record-breaking rates of deforestation, primarily due to infrastructure projects, logging, mining, and farming. Data from Brazilian satellites have indicated that about three football fields' worth of Amazonian trees are falling every minute. Epilogue The proposed project is thought to be open-source. The protection of the Amazon rainforest, the fight to climate change and the awareness of the importance of the nowadays natural weather equilibrium are not limited to ethnic groups (that sometimes identify themselves as only climate fighters while exploiting an environment in an equally dangerous way) and political parties (which is something that is too many times forced by public opinion) but are issues for everyone in the world. We all live in a world in which we have long been part of the problem, but we have to be part of the only solution. In my opinion, even that sensibilization and people involvement are always good (at least to raise awareness and politics attention), but the problems we are facing need solutions to be proposed and carried out, not only protests. The logic is the same of the project previously described, to change nowadays habits, alternatives have to be found. That’s why this project is open-source and open to anyone who have capabilities or even only the will to create a new hope for a new approach to the future cohabitation of the environment and us. For further collaborations and for anyone willing to work on the project described or anyone who has suggestions, here is the contact to write to: [email protected]