Economics

Some financial pledges to fight climate change went to strange projects

Thu, 2023-06-01 11:17 — mike kraft

A pledge to fight climate change is sending money to strange places Rich countries promised $100 billion a year to reduce the effects of global warming. Reuters found large sums went to a coal plant, a hotel and chocolate shops. Reuters

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Although a coal plant, a hotel, chocolate stores, a movie and an airport expansion don’t seem like efforts to combat global warming, nothing prevented the governments that funded them from reporting them as such to the United Nations and counting them toward their giving total.

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How dispute over raising the U.S. debt limit could reduce spending of some coronavirus relief funds

Fri, 2023-05-26 11:41 — mike kraft

How raising the nation's debt limit could reduce spending of some coronavirus relief funds Proposals to raise the nation's debt limit include spending cuts to coronavirus relief funds that haven't been used. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that $30 billion of “unobligated” pandemic funds could be canceled as part of a debt-limit deal. That could include leftover funds for vaccines, public health initiatives and a program that provides wireless internet access for students. But the Treasury Department says the cuts would have little effect on $350 billion of aid for state and local governments.

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Recap: What goes away when the U.S. Covid health emergency ends this week

Tue, 2023-05-09 09:57 — mike kraft

What goes away when the Covid health emergency ends this week The state of emergency is over and that will affect everything from from free vaccines and tests to food assistance programs. POLITICO

The Covid-19 public health emergency ends Thursday and with it a host of pandemic-era rules and waivers that many Americans have come to take for granted.

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Overview of how the end of the national Covid emergency will affect Americans

Thu, 2023-05-04 10:35 — mike kraft

What the end of the covid public health emergency means for you Here’s how major health policies will be affected when the covid public health emergency ends on on May 11. Washington Post

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As this long emergency period expires, experts say, the biggest impact for consumers will be the end of free coronavirus tests — both at-home tests and those performed by clinicians and analyzed by commercial labs — with broad implications for people’s ability to get timely covid diagnoses, prevent disease transmission and track the virus.

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After COVID and drug shortages, EU revamps drug laws

Thu, 2023-04-27 10:09 — mike kraft

Explainer: After COVID and drug shortages, EU revamps drug laws The EU is revamping laws governing the 136 billion euro ($148 billion) pharmaceuticals industry aimed at reviving investment and boosting access to affordable drugs at a time when health budgets have been drained by the costs of treating COVID-19. Maggie Fick Reuters

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Administration Recommends $562M Investment to Make U.S. Communities More Resilient to Climate Impacts

Mon, 2023-04-24 10:18 — mike kraft

Biden-Harris Administration Recommends $562M Investment to Make Communities Resilient to Climate Impacts - HS Today The funding for nearly 150 projects across 30 coastal states and territories is designed to make communities and the economy more resilient to climate change.

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World's 2022 weather problems reached record levels--UN weather agency

Fri, 2023-04-21 11:04 — mike kraft

UN's weather agency: 2022 was nasty, deadly, costly and hot Looking back at 2022’s weather with months of analysis, the World Meteorological Organization says last year really was as bad as it seemed when people were muddling through it. The United Nations' climate agency in a Friday report says killer floods, droughts and heat waves hit around the world, costing many billions of dollars. Global ocean heat and acidity levels hit record highs and Antarctic sea ice and European Alps glaciers reached record low amounts. Last year was the fifth or sixth hottest depending on measuring techniques.

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Analysis: House Republicans Eye Rescinding Unspent Covid Money but it would not make much dent in the national debt

Fri, 2023-04-21 10:42 — mike kraft

WASHINGTON — House Republicans demanding spending cuts in exchange for raising the nation’s debt limit have rallied around a seemingly straightforward proposal: recalling billions of dollars in coronavirus relief funds that Congress approved but have not been spent.

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Opinon : The U.S. needs stronger measures to deal with extreme heat problems

Tue, 2023-04-11 20:10 — mike kraft

Current heat warning systems are woefully inadequate in an age of climate change Currently, weather warnings for heat are issued based on the probability and magnitude of the heat event itself, rather than health outcomes. Torie Bosch STAT

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Despite these very real consequences of extreme heat, the U.S. has lagged behind other nations in both recognizing the risk of extreme heat and organizing the necessary resources and capacity to address it.

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