billions

20Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

As Nations Pour Billions Into Autonomous Weapons Research – UN Fails To Agree On ‘Killer Robot’ Ban

UN fails to agree on ‘killer robot’ ban as nations pour billions into autonomous weapons research. Autonomous weapon systems – commonly known as killer robots – may have killed human beings for the first time ever last year, according to a recent United Nations Security Council report on the Libyan civil war. History could well identify this as the starting point of the next major arms race, one that has the potential to be humanity’s final one. The United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons debated the question of banning autonomous weapons at its once-every-five-years review meeting in Geneva Dec. 13-17, 2021, but didn’t reach consensus on a ban. Established in 1983, the convention has been updated regularly to restrict some of the world’s cruelest conventional weapons, i...

Congress Infrastructure Bill Promises Billions For Bridge Repair

26May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Congress Infrastructure Bill Promises Billions For Bridge Repair

Guangqing Chi, Penn State; Davin Holen, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Heather Randell, Penn State; Megan Mucioki, Penn State, and Rebecca Napolitano, Penn State America’s bridges are in rough shape. Of the nearly 620,000 bridges over roads, rivers and other waterways across the U.S., more than 43,500 of them, about 7%, are considered “structurally deficient.” In Alaska, bridges face a unique and growing set of problems as the planet warms. Permafrost, the frozen ground beneath large parts of the state, is thawing with the changing climate, and that’s shifting the soil and everything on it. Bridges are also increasingly crucial for rural residents who can no longer trust the stability of the rivers’ ice in spring and fall. The infrastructure bill passed by Congress on Nov. 5 and heade...

Hurricane Season Threatens Billions Of Chickens

16Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS, ENVIRONMENT

Hurricane Season Threatens Billions Of Chickens

Hurricanes can have devastating consequences for both residents and businesses in their path. And one sector that’s particularly exposed is the broiler chicken industry. CC BY-SA Virtually all of the breasts or legs you eat at home or in a restaurant come from broilers, the name given to chickens bred and raised for meat production. Sometimes you’ll hear chickens called fryers, roasters and Cornish game hens, but generally these all refer to broilers harvested at specific ages and weights. The U.S. produced 9.18 billion broilers in 2019, more than any country in the world. It’s also the second-biggest exporter of poultry. Yet over half, or 5.1 billion, are at risk for six months of every year – from June 1 to Nov. 30 – of getting wiped out by a hurricane. Six of the top 10 broiler-produ...

It Will Take Time, A Broad Commitment, And Billions Of Dollars To Restore California’s Forests And Reduce Wildfire Risks

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism, VIDEO REELS

It Will Take Time, A Broad Commitment, And Billions Of Dollars To Restore California’s Forests And Reduce Wildfire Risks

As California contends with its worst wildfire season in history, it’s more evident than ever that land management practices in the state’s forested mountains need major changes. A mixed-conifer forest in the central Sierra Nevada after restoration, with unthinned forest in the background. Roger Bales, CC BY-ND Many of California’s 33 million acres of forests face widespread threats stemming from past management choices. Today the U.S. Forest Service estimates that of the 20 million acres it manages in California, 6-9 million acres need to be restored. Forest restoration basically means removing the less fire-resistant smaller trees and returning to a forest with larger trees that are widely spaced. These stewardship projects require partnerships across the many interests who benefit fro...

Coronavirus bailouts will cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars – unlike past corporate rescues that actually made money for the US Treasury

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, Journalism

Coronavirus bailouts will cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars – unlike past corporate rescues that actually made money for the US Treasury

The U.S. government has now pledged almost US$3 trillion to save the economy and Americans from the coronavirus recession. Most of that is aimed at individual Americans in the form of additional unemployment insurance or the so-called economic impact checks. About $1.2 trillion – and counting – represent bailouts for American companies, large and small. And more than 60% of that is in the form of grants or other financial assistance that will likely become grants – funds that will not be recovered by taxpayers. The Congressional Budget Office estimated on April 23 that the company-related coronavirus bailouts, excluding the fourth one just signed into law, will ultimately cost more than $400 billion over 10 years. Given that most of the latest bailout, worth $484 billion, will most likel...

Diabetes: A global epidemic costing billions

15Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Diabetes: A global epidemic costing billions

On World Diabetes Day, data shows the disease's incidence is declining in the United States, but rising globally. It's a disease that kills someone every eight seconds, and costs the globe over a trillion dollars every year. Diabetes is a chronic condition that strikes when the pancreas, an organ that is part of the digestive system, no longer produces sufficient insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels. Complications with the hormone can lead to various forms of diabetes, now at epidemic levels around the world. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1.5 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed annually in the US alone. To lower that toll, the CDC has spent millions on prevention and education ca...