News roundup for Fri, Jun 24, 2022 – The Prepared

In short

• The US Supreme Court struck down a New York law that restricted conceal carry
• Russia could cut off gas supplies to Europe completely this winter
• The US could still see temperatures in the 100s this week, mostly in the East and South

Economy, gas, supply chain

The Fed admits that the US faces the possibility of a recession, but it does not expect a ‘hard landing.’ Here are three insights from the Fed’s latest economic snapshot:

Ocean carriers control inflation with hidden and mind-boggling fees for shipping products. These fees may be illegal and violate the Shipping Act. And a shortage of new cargo ships has pushed shipping rates for aging container ships to record heights. Companies are taking advantage of the boom by securing long-term leases lasting three to four years, which means consumers could continue to pay the high prices until hundreds of new ships are delivered.

Uber in Phoenix might increase ride prices to help their drivers with high gas costs. Some rideshare drivers decided to wrap their cars in ads to help them keep their revenue up. Other trades affected by high gas prices are lawn care companies. Here’s why Biden is stuck on gas prices.

A nationwide survey found that three-quarters of Americans have had to deal with extreme weather in the past five years, and many have long-term financial problems.

A social enterprise in Cornwall, UK released a Community Food Support Map that shows locals where they can find and pick wild food for free. And here’s a list of apps that help connect people with restaurants and food store surpluses at a reduced price (p.s. it seems that the first one on the list, FoodForAll, might not be working anymore). Up to this point, I only knew of Too Good To Go which unfortunately does not have participating restaurants in my area.

The Energy Star program identifies more efficient products. Learn here how it can help save money.

In order to combat period poverty, some cities are implementing programs offering free menstruation products.

Energy

Germany triggered level 2, or ‘alarm’ phase, of its three-stage emergency gas plan. In this phase, Germany can fall back on coal power, but also pass on higher prices to customers which could help lower demand. Gazprom cut Nord Stream 1 flows by 40% last week, and experts say it’s just a matter of time before Russia cuts off gas supplies to Europe completely:

The @IEA has warned Europe🌍must prepare immediately for the complete severance of Russian🇷🇺 #gas🔥 exports this winter, urging governments to take measures to cut demand & keep ageing #nuclear power stations open https://t.co/8LWplnZspt #EnergyCrisis

— Carbon Tracker (@CarbonBubble) June 22, 2022

China and India are increasing coal production in order to prevent power outages.

A carbon dioxide battery enables renewable energy to be stored at utility scale on the grid at half the cost. The key to this demo is utilizing equipment that is readily available from a global supply chain, demonstrating that the rapid deployment of CO2 batteries can be done without bottlenecks. A full-scale 20MW-200MWh plant should be ready by the end of 2023.

Climate, extreme weather

As summer officially starts, 65 million Americans can expect highs over 100° this week. The latest heat wave has tied or broken a dozen high-temperature records across Eastern US. Here’s our guide on how to deal with extreme heat.

The CDC released a Heat and Health tracker:

Just in time for summer! CDC’s Heat & Health Tracker has new local, timely data & info to help you plan for & respond to #ExtremeHeat events. https://t.co/kNWyej5Hks pic.twitter.com/aouUfNThLb

— CDC (@CDCgov) June 23, 2022

The US Forest Service paused its prescribed burns until mid-August after a few of them got out of hand and turned into wildfires. Using goats instead might help?

California is considering buying out water rights from farmers. The move would allow the state to purchase enough water to cover one acre with one foot of water and it would not pose a threat to agriculture, which uses 35 million acre-feet annually.

Lessons learned by hospitals in Colorado’s Marshall Fire have already been used in other disasters.

The owner of seven Lousiana nursing homes has been arrested after residents died in a botched hurricane evacuation. Do any of you have relatives in a nursing home? If yes, do you know what are their policies with regard to emergencies, evacuations, etc?

The rest

The US Supreme Court struck down a New York law that restricted conceal carry in a 6-3 ruling. The ruling could affect the states that are currently working on passing more stringent gun laws. Also, a bipartisan gun reform package passed the Senate by a vote of 65-33. House approval is anticipated.

Hundreds of cormorants washed up dead on Martha’s Vineyard island—avian flu is suspected. Residents are urged not to touch the dead birds and to keep dogs on leashes. This strain of avian flu has been infecting wild mammals that feed on them and is especially dangerous to young foxes. Warm weather could help kill the virus off.

A woman got stuck in a cold river and was saved after calling 911 from her Apple Watch. Apple Watch has an SOS feature that allows users to call emergency services by holding the side button for a few seconds.