The Latest Trending Economic, Environmental and Infrastructure News Curated for You by The Balmoral Group
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Happy Friday!
And happy Halloween!! We here at TBG hope you had a wonderful holiday full of costumes, trick-or-treaters, and spooky decorations! From Oscar the Grouch to Maverick from Top Gun, our team's costumes made for lively discussions around the office. Sadly, Halloween has come and gone for yet another year, and today, some of us are celebrating All Saint's Day. All Saint's Day, a typically secular holiday, is celebrated around the world; in France and Belgium, chrysanthemums are lain on the graves of relatives, while a more general assortment of flowers, candles, and decorations are used to decorate final resting places of those who held a special place in people's lives in other parts of the world. These ceremonies seek to remember and show reverence to those who have left us. We hope, whatever you choose to celebrate, that you can take a moment this Friday and remember those people (or pets) that will always hold a place in your heart.
This week, we bring stories about artificial reefs near New York, lovebug decline and new funding for land conservation in Florida, missing World Bank funds, and more! We hope you enjoy the read and let us know what you think! Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would be interested. If you’d like to view previous editions please click here, or to subscribe please click here!
Have a great weekend!
Olympic Coast Boasts Evergreen Huckleberries
It’s that time of year when the evergreen huckleberry turns purple all over Washington’s coastal regions. The quintessential Washington fruit, these wild, native, and natural berries run rampant all over the coastline, but are especially familiar near the Olympic range, where berry culture goes back decades. Families spanning back generations have been running seasonal huckleberry businesses and attending farmer’s markets with their tasty treats. However, in recent decades, the industry has faced labor issues, as more folks are opting out of farming occupations and younger generations have not wanted to carry on the family business. If you’re out for a hike in Western Washington, look for the small glossy green leaves with tiny, bluish-black berries. Unlike other berries, these are sweetest after first frost! Read more.
'Sustainable' Logging Operations are Clear-Cutting Canada's Climate-Fighting Forests
Recent research has shown that Canada’s forests have seen some of the world’s largest declines in ecologically critical primary woodlands over the last two decades. This is despite nearly all of Canada’s logging operations receiving sustainability-certifications. Canada’s forests account for 9% of the world’s total and are considered critical to containing global warming. As such, environmental groups have criticized these logging certifications that have allowed older forests to be harvested. The loss of Canadian forests highlights the failing of certification programs that have come under the influence of the logging industry. In British Columbia, old-growth forests declined by more than 50% over the last two decades. Read More.
Wind Power Set to Grab Record Share of Electricity Market
Wind-generated power could set a new record in 2024 as global wind electricity generation in the first 9 months of 2024 has climbed around 7% versus the same period in 2023. With winter approaching, the most productive season of wind-generated electricity, it could push annual generation to a new record. If wind production rises in line with expectations, the increase would likely account for more than 10% of monthly global electricity output, a share never reached before. China, U.S., and Germany account for a staggering 64% of total global wind generation capacity with China alone having a 43% share. As wind generation has expanded roughly 20% per year from 2001 to 2021, according to Ember, it is part of the renewable energy market to keep your eyes on. Read more here.
Four Test Positive for Bird Flu in Washington, Two Cases Confirmed
This week, four Washington farm workers in Franklin County tested positive for H5N1 Bird Flu, with two of the four cases having been confirmed on Thursday October 24. The four workers -who worked around an infected poultry flock at a commercial egg farm- tested positive last Saturday, October 19th, but have not been hospitalized as of yet. While this is the first batch of cases confirmed in humans in Washington since tracking begun in 2022, this is not the first time that the illness has been observed in Washington animals – with harbor seals having caught the illness, confirmed in September, 2023. Read more on the recent cases here and here
Living Pollution-Free is a 'Fundamental Right', India's Top Court Says
India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday has stated that living in a pollution-free environment is a fundamental right as it urges authorities to address deteriorating air quality. In Delhi, air quality has been recorded as “very poor” with an air quality index of 364. Below 50 is considered a “good” score by the Central Pollution Control Board. A large amount of the pollution comes from farmers illegally burning paddy stubble to clear fields, and the city battles toxic air every winter as a result. The Supreme Court states that penal provisions have not been properly implemented for stubble burning. The heavy winter air in Delhi also traps in vehicle emissions and construction dust and smoke. The Supreme Court is ordering the federal government and several states to submit compliance reports as a result. Read More.
Construction Jobs Up, Billings Down in September
Construction employment is up in 40 states in September 2024 compared to the same month last year. Texas saw the largest increase in the number of construction employees (42,300 jobs or 5.1%), followed by Florida (37,100 jobs, 5.9%), Ohio (16,400 jobs, 6.9%), and Michigan (12,600 jobs, 6.6%). New York lost the most at -6,900 jobs or -1.8%. At the same time, the September Architecture Billings Index reported the 20th consecutive month of decline with September’s score of 45.7 matching August’s. Per the logic of the index, any number below 50 indicates a decline in billings from the previous month. New project inquiries reported a score of 51.6 in September, indicating some optimism for future billings.
Data Visualization of the Week
World's Least Peaceful Countries, Revealed
Geopolitical conflict is a frightening concept, and finding out who would perpetrate this conflict is perhaps as interesting as why - a newly released chart from VisualCapitalist shows the top 12 least peaceful countries in the world across the last 5 years. Surprisingly, Yemen has ended up at number one on the list for the first time, deposing Afghanistan which previously held the number one spot for four years in a row. This ranking is based on the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)'s Global Peace Index, which combines indicators of societal safety/security, degree of militarization, and domestic/international conflict to calculate each countries relative position on the list. This year, the United States ranked at 132/163, indicating that the U.S. is not a peaceful county. Read more here and here. Image courtesy of VisualCapitalist and IEF
Click the visual below for more information.
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