All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Despite Pledges to Cut Emissions, China Goes on a Coal Spree – Yale E360

Coal remains at the heart of China’s flourishing economy. In 2019, 58 percent of the country’s total energy consumption came from coal, which helps explain why China accounts for 28 percent of all global CO2 emissions. And China continues to build coal-fired power plants at a rate that outpaces the rest of the world combined. In 2020, China brought 38.4 gigawatts of new coal-fired power into operation, more than three times what was brought on line everywhere else.

Source: Despite Pledges to Cut Emissions, China Goes on a Coal Spree – Yale E360

New California Data Shows Covid Is Spreading in Workplaces | Labor Notes

Outbreaks are generally defined as at least three probable or confirmed Covid cases within 14 days. The CDPH summarizes these outbreaks this way:

  • Residential care facilities: 21.7%
  • Restaurants: 7.0%
  • Skilled nursing facilities: 4.2%
  • Hospitals: 3.9%
  • Grocery stores: 3.5%
  • Construction: 3.5%

That nearly 26 percent of these outbreaks took place in residential care and skilled nursing facilities, as horrifying as it is for both the residents and the workers in those facilities, should come as no surprise.

But it is truly shocking to see that there are nearly twice as many outbreaks in restaurants as in hospitals. In the words of Mark Rabine of Mission Local, “The virus loves restaurants.” This should give pause both to potential diners eager to enjoy a night out on the town and to restaurant workers whose bosses want them to get back to work.

Source: New California Data Shows Covid Is Spreading in Workplaces | Labor Notes

Trails of Renewal – Micro of the Macro

Over the course of 3 years, I visited many places known for their visual charm, where I hiked hundreds of miles. I encountered moose, buffalo, elk, bears, marmots, all kinds of birds & reptiles, deer, squirrels, and chipmunks. The sights, sounds, and smells of these explorations in Nature were rejuvenating. And the experiences I had will forever make me smile.

Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God. ~George Washington Carver

Source: Trails of Renewal – Micro of the Macro

EPA sued over streptomycin use on citrus trees | CIDRAP

Among the concerns are that the massive amounts of streptomycin sprayed on citrus trees will end up in soil and nearby waterways and promote the emergence of streptomycin-resistant pathogens. The groups also argue that use of both antibiotics has not solved the citrus greening problem, but has only slowed the spread of the disease.

“First off, medically important antibiotics are the foundation of modern medicine, and we should not be using them for purposes of anything other than treating illness,” Wellington said. “When you add on to it the fact that spraying medically important antibiotics on citrus trees will not actually solve the citrus industry’s problem, it’s completely insane.”

Source: EPA sued over streptomycin use on citrus trees | CIDRAP

California Supplier Recalls 1,600K Lbs of Imported Beef Products | Food Manufacturing

BC Food LA, LLC., a South El Monte, CA firm doing business as B & C Food Co., is recalling approximately 1,643 pounds of Chinese style hot pot base products containing beef tallow. The products were imported from the People’s Republic of China, a country ineligible to export beef to the United States, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced March 24.

The Chinese style hot pot base products were imported on or around June 24, 2020. The following products are subject to recall: [View Labels (PDF Only)]:

  • 10.5-oz. (300 g) Plastic vacuum wrapped packages containing a “Lee’s 52° Da Zhuang” Hot Pot Base and a best before date of 10/12/2021 on the label.
  • 10.5-oz. (300 g) Plastic vacuum wrapped packages containing a “Lee’s 45° Da Zhuang” Hot Pot Base and a best before date of 10/12/2021 on the label.
  • 10.5-oz. (300 g) Plastic vacuum wrapped packages containing a “Lee’s 36° Da Zhuang” Hot Pot Base and a best before date of 10/12/2021 on the label.

The product labels are written in the Chinese language. Refer to the label link here for additional product information. The products do not bear an establishment number nor a USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to retail locations in California, Nevada, and Oklahoma.

The problem was discovered when FSIS received an anonymous report of ineligible beef tallow products imported from China.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about a reaction should contact a healthcare provider.

FSIS is concerned that some product may be in consumers’ homes. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

Source: California Supplier Recalls 1,600K Lbs of Imported Beef Products | Food Manufacturing

COVID: Germany′s 3rd wave could be ′worse′ than last 2 | News | DW | 26.03.2021

There are “clear signs” that the third wave that Germany currently is in “could be even worse than the first two waves,” said RKI president Wieler.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Health Minister Spahn, Wieler appealed for people to reduce their social contacts over the Easter holidays.

Although 10% of the German population has now received a first dose of the vaccine, the gains from vaccinations are being eaten away by the high infection rate, he said.

Spahn also cautioned that the current trajectory of infections could overwhelm Germany’s hospitals in the next few weeks.

“At the moment, the figures are rising too fast and the variants are making the situation especially dangerous,” he said. “If this continues unchecked, we run the risk of our health system could reach its breaking point in April.”

Source: COVID: Germany′s 3rd wave could be ′worse′ than last 2 | News | DW | 26.03.2021

New York City Council ends qualified immunity for NYPD officers | TheHill

The qualified immunity measure was one of five measures adopted by the New York City Council aimed at police reforms.

The City Council also voted to allow the Civilian Complaint Review Board to investigate police with a history of bias and racial complaints, issue quarterly reports on traffic stops and to transfer the authority of granting and suspending press passes from the NYPD to the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. 

Source: New York City Council ends qualified immunity for NYPD officers | TheHill

Why Cuba Is Making Its Own COVID Vaccine : NPR

Developing a new vaccine usually takes a decade or more, but Eduardo Ojito, the head of the Cuban Center for Molecular Immunology, says the country should have enough doses of Soberana 2 to immunize the whole country by the end of summer. This is assuming the vaccine candidate sails through phase 3 trials and wins regulatory authorization.

“We are preparing to produce between one and two million doses each month,” Ojito says. Despite being in the midst of a foreign currency crisis that’s limited imports of vital raw materials for vaccine production, he says the country is on track to have 1 million doses available in April.

Cuba’s government is already talking about distributing the vaccine in Iran, Mexico and Venezuela. Officials say they hope to produce enough of the vaccine to be able to distribute in other parts of the world, too.

The big question: Does this island nation of 11 million people have the capacity to pull this off?

“Yes,” Helen Yaffe says definitively, “Cuba has the capacity.” Yaffe is a Cuba specialist at the University of Glasgow. She has written about the country’s pharmaceutical sector and its previous success developing its own vaccines.

Source: Why Cuba Is Making Its Own COVID Vaccine : Goats and Soda : NPR

Black Man Sues Chicago After 60 Police Stops in 15 Years

On Thursday, Cole filed a lawsuit against the city of Chicago stemming from his allegation that Chicago police officers have stopped him at least 60 times over the past 15 years, all due to a case of mistaken identity that no one in the system has seen it necessary to correct.

According to Cole, there appears to be an open-warrant in the police department’s database for someone who shares his name and his date of birth. As a result, since 2006 and as recently as December of last year, every time Cole drives a vehicle in the city he is at risk of being stopped and detained by police. Cole alleges in his lawsuit that during those encounters cops have verbally and physically assaulted him, punched him and pointed guns at him—but they have never ended up charging him. He says the mistaken arrests happen so frequently that when he is taken into police stations, other officers will point out to their colleagues that the warrant isn’t actually for him.

That hasn’t led police to update their database to reflect that he isn’t the Darren Cole they are looking for, however. The man who the warrant is meant for is reportedly wanted for driving on a suspended license.

Source: Black Man Sues Chicago After 60 Police Stops in 15 Years