Situation Report

Spiking Health Problems in U.S. Millennials May Make Them Poorer

Sun, 2019-11-10 08:13 — Kathy Gilbeaux

CLICK HERE - REPORT - Blue Cross Blue Shield - The Economic Consequences of Millennial Health

bloomberg.com - by Emma Court - November 6, 2019

More millennials in the U.S. are suffering from chronic health problems, potentially restraining the lifetime economic potential of a generation of young adults.

A spike in conditions like depression, hypertension and high cholesterol among younger people could increase health-care costs and lower incomes in coming years, according to a report Wednesday from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, a federation of 36 independent companies that together provide coverage for 1 in 3 Americans.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Climate Crisis: 11,000 Scientists Warn of ‘Untold Suffering’

Wed, 2019-11-06 08:44 — Kathy Gilbeaux

A man uses a garden hose to try to save his home from wildfire in Granada Hills, California, on 11 October 2019. Photograph: Michael Owen Baker/AP

CLICK HERE - World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency

Statement sets out ‘vital signs’ as indicators of magnitude of the climate emergency - Most countries’ climate plans ‘totally inadequate’ – experts

theguardian.com - by Damian Carrington - November 5, 2019

The world’s people face “untold suffering due to the climate crisis” unless there are major transformations to global society, according to a stark warning from more than 11,000 scientists.

“We declare clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency,” it states. “To secure a sustainable future, we must change how we live. [This] entails major transformations in the ways our global society functions and interacts with natural ecosystems.”

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Tough Summer for the Power Grid. But the Microgrids are Working

Tue, 2019-10-29 06:33 — Kathy Gilbeaux

The Ameren microgrid. S&C Electric

microgridknowledge.com - by Elisa Wood - August 2, 2019

Severe heat and storms across the US this summer have strained the electric grid and caused extensive power outages. But the microgrids are working.

Consider the following examples . . .

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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How More Organic Farming Could Worsen Global Warming

Sat, 2019-10-26 10:28 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Left: For decades, the conventional wisdom surrounding organic farming has been that it produces crops that are healthier and better for the environment as a whole. A new study out this week challenges this narrative. Photo by REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil

CLICK HERE - STUDY - The greenhouse gas impacts of converting food production in England and Wales to organic methods

pbs.org - by Courtney Vinopal - October 23, 2019

. . . a new study out this week predicts that a wholesale shift to organic farming could increase net greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 21 percent . . .

. . . Organic farming typically produces lower crop yields due to factors such as the lower potency fertilizers used in the soil, which are limited to natural sources such as beans and other legume . . .

. . . Proponents of organic farming acknowledge the issue of low crop yields raised by the Cranfield Study, but maintain that farmers can still find ways to reduce their carbon footprint by focusing on “regenerative practices.”

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231 Mayors Call on Congress to Extend the Solar Investment Tax Credit

Wed, 2019-10-23 08:07 — Kathy Gilbeaux

CLICK HERE - LETTER - Mayors Support the Solar Investment Tax Credit (7 page .PDF document)

solarnovus.com - 22 October 2019

A bipartisan group of 231 mayors from Tacoma, Wash to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. sent a letter to Congress today urging them to pass the Renewable Energy Extension Act (HR 3961/S. 2289), a five-year extension of the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC).

“More than 200 mayors from 39 states are stepping up to defend the ITC,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “Mayors are increasingly turning to solar energy to fight the effects of climate change and generate millions of dollars of private investment in their cities.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

CLICK HERE - HR 3961

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Climate Crisis Raises Risk of More Ebola Outbreaks

Wed, 2019-10-16 09:46 — Kathy Gilbeaux

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Impacts of environmental and socio-economic factors on emergence and epidemic potential of Ebola in Africa

cnn.com - by Jen Christensen - October 15, 2019

The climate crisis is going to raise the risk that Ebola will spread farther and reach areas previously unaffected by the virus, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications . . .

. . . In west and central Africa, where outbreaks have traditionally clustered, outbreaks would happen more frequently and spread farther, via airlines, to previously unaffected areas, the researchers suggested. Using the current network of airline flights in their model, the study suggests that there is a high risk of Ebola spreading to China, Russia, India, Europe and the United States.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLES WITHIN THE LINKS BELOW . . .

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FDA Allows Marketing of First Rapid Diagnostic Test for Detecting Ebola Virus Antigens

Tue, 2019-10-15 03:31 — Kathy Gilbeaux

fda.gov - October 10, 2019

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed marketing of a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) to detect Ebola virus antigens (proteins) in human blood from certain living individuals and samples from certain recently deceased individuals suspected to have died from Ebola (cadaveric oral fluid). The OraQuick Ebola Rapid Antigen Test is the first rapid diagnostic test the FDA has allowed to be marketed in the U.S. for the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). The test provides a rapid, presumptive diagnosis that must be confirmed.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

ALSO SEE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WITHIN THE LINKS BELOW . . .

OraQuick Ebola Rapid Antigen Test (8 page .PDF document)
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_docs/pdf19/DEN190025.pdf

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Hurricane Dorian - News and Information Resources

Thu, 2019-10-10 13:00 — Kathy Gilbeaux

AN EXPANDING LIST OF NEWS AND INFORMATION RESOURCES RELATED TO HURRICANE DORIAN . . .

CLICK HERE - NOAA - Watches, Warnings or Advisories for Florida

CLICK HERE - Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM)

CLICK HERE - FDEM - Emergency Info

CLICK HERE - FDEM - Open Shelters

CLICK HERE - Orange County Shelters

CLICK HERE - Red Cross - Find Open Shelters

CLICK HERE - Housing - Airbnb - Hurricane Dorian - Southeastern United States

CLICK HERE - Ready.gov - Hurricanes - Preparedness

CLICK HERE - CDC - Preparing for a Hurricane or Tropical Storm

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500,000 in California Are Without Electricity in Planned Shutdown

Thu, 2019-10-10 08:04 — Kathy Gilbeaux

A map on the website of Pacific Gas & Electric showing locations impacted by the blackout on Wednesday morning. The purple icons represent areas where the power was shut off preemptively. Credit pgecurrents.com

CLICK HERE - PG&E - Outage Map

Pacific Gas & Electric is cutting electricity as a precaution against sparking wildfires in high-wind conditions.

nytimes.com - by Thomas Fuller - October 9, 2019

A deliberate power outage that spanned large parts of Northern California on Wednesday sent hundreds of thousands of people scrambling for gasoline and other essentials as strong, gusty winds and months of dry weather put the state on alert for wildfires.

The state’s largest power utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, said it had cut power to 500,000 customers soon after midnight. A second round of cuts affecting 250,000 more customers in the hills surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area had been scheduled for noon but was delayed. . . .

. . . Once the two phases are complete, around 2.5 million people will be without electricity, according to one estimate.

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