News roundup for Tue, Jul 05, 2022 – The Prepared

In short:

• The next recession might not be as severe as the Great Financial Crisis, but it could last longer
• Australia is flooding again and 30,000 Sydney residents were under evacuation notice
• California will require plastic manufacturers to pay for recycling

Economy, supply chain

Latest predictions: The next recession might not be as severe as the ‘07-’09 Great Financial Crisis, but it could last longer:

Opinion: If there’s a recession, don’t count on the government to come to the rescue with stimulus checks and boosted unemployment benefits. I assume the author is talking about federal assistance because individual states are already planning tax rebates/inflation relief checks.

Here are tips that can help you get rid of medical debt—or avoid it altogether.

The US is closing off the possibility of new oil and gas leases in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans but is allowing new leases in both the Gulf of Mexico and the Cook Inlet in Alaska. On one hand, we need to scale back drilling to fight climate change, on the other, the administration is trying to address rising gas prices so this move could be an attempt at compromise. Something to note is that, however, it takes years between the time a drilling lease is issued and when gasoline flows to gas stations.

Chilli peppers, coffee, wine: how the climate crisis is causing food shortages.

Climate change, environment, extreme weather

Southern China was hit by Typhoon Chaba, the first typhoon of the year. Forecasters warn of high disaster risks in Guangdong, the country’s most populous province. It is expected that extreme weather will continue in China through August, partly due to climate change. Hainan upgraded its emergency response to Level II on Saturday. The island’s railway service was suspended, and more than 400 flights were canceled. In Hong Kong, dozens of people are missing from an engineering ship that broke in two:

Dramatic video shows Hong Kong rescuers pulling sailors from a sinking ship in the South China Sea.

At least three people from the crew of 30 have been brought to safety, officials said. https://t.co/AZXVdjKhFX pic.twitter.com/ruw7PDmzdC

— ABC News (@ABC) July 2, 2022

Due to “life-threatening” floods, 30,000 Sydney residents are under evacuation notice. Australia is experiencing its fourth round of flooding in less than a year. The flooding has been one of the worst extreme weather events for the country’s biggest city in 18 months.

The water level of Lake Mead keeps dropping, exposing a WWII-era boat. Originally 185ft (56m) below the surface, the Higgins landing craft is now half-submerged.

Drought is creating climate conditions that are so extreme that California’s landscape could change profoundly and permanently, according to scientists. Some believe that the conditions in the US and elsewhere are remarkably similar to those that killed ancient civilizations like the Pueblos, the Maya, and even Mesopotamia. Climate change and carbon emissions are accelerating California’s transformation, creating not only longer and more severe droughts, but also hotter ones. It’s a process known as aridification, and many say it’s here to stay. The problem could be solved by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Opinion: A water strategy for the parched West: Have cities pay farmers to install more efficient irrigation systems. Congress was recently warned that seven Colorado River basin states – Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming – need to reduce their diversions from the Colorado River by 2 million to 4 million acre-feet in 2022. The acre-foot is enough water to cover an acre of land with a foot of water – about 325,000 gallons. States need to focus on the region’s biggest water user: agriculture. 80% of water used in the Colorado River Basin goes to farmers.

Four counties in North Texas issued disaster declarations banning fireworks due to drought. 75% of the state is currently under a burn ban.

California will require plastic manufacturers to pay for recycling and make sure single-use items are compostable or recyclable by 2032. Packaging manufacturers will bear the costs of recycling infrastructure, recycling plants, and collection and sorting facilities, instead of taxpayers, who currently pay for them. The first producer-responsibility laws in the country were passed last summer in Maine and Oregon.

India banned single-use plastic items. Plastic bags are now exempt from the ban, but the government has asked manufacturers and importers to raise the thickness to promote reuse.

Two tonnes of CO2 will be removed annually by an Australian direct air capture (DAC) company. The prototype is solar-powered and tent-sized. This is the first time an Australian company has secured a deal to remove CO2 using DAC technology. By 2027, AspiraDAC plans to deploy 180 of the machines to capture and store 500 tonnes of CO2.

Monkeypox

According to a study of 54 patients in the UK, monkeypox patients have very different symptoms than those previously reported. Patients reported less fever and fatigue and more skin lesions in their genital and anal areas than is typical for monkeypox. A review of case definitions is needed to avoid cases being overlooked, particularly since monkeypox can “mimic” (look like?) other common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like herpes and syphilis.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the virus is spreading to new provinces. MXP has been prevalent in the Congo Basin rainforests since the 70s but i’s now found in mountains and savannas. There may be more animal groups spreading the virus than we thought. It’s not clear which animals carry the virus, but in the past, rodents seemed to be the most affected. Scientists are testing different animals in the region to better understand transmission chains. Global health experts say diseases will jump from animals to humans as populations expand into previously uninhabited regions. DRC’s lack of testing capacity complicates investigations. While monkeypox has a long history in the DRC, health leaders worry a wider spread will add to malaria and typhoid outbreaks.

The rest

North Korea said they will boost their military to counter the US, South Korea, and Japan’s pact. According to their southern neighbors, the country is ready for its first nuclear test in five years.

Opinion: 6 historical threat patterns suggest that cyberwar could be inevitable.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been confirmed in 30 US states, four Canadian provinces, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and South Korea. Once an infection is in wild populations, there’s no stopping it. There’s no cure and no way to test live animals. As the disease progresses, deer become more vulnerable to other diseases, less able to defend themselves, and more likely to be hit by cars. An infected deer can usually survive for 18 months to two years. CWD has never been detected in humans, but several lab experiments have shown that the prion could be transferred to other mammals. CDC warns against eating meat from infected animals.

Elastomeric respirators are a less-known, sustainable, and cost-effective alternative to N95s. They are mostly made in the US and filter out more than 99% of pathogens. The downsides: they need to be disinfected, and communication might be muffled.