Category Archives: Life Extension

A glass case in the lobby of Westford School displays shinystatuettes that celebrate its students' wins in basketball and soccer competitions. On the top shelf, though, stands a row of more unusual-looking trophies, fashioned from bright yellow LEGO pieces.

Elementary and middle schoolers earned these blocky honors in FIRST LEGO League robotics tournaments, which require the same hard work, cooperation and determination as traditional athletics.

Over the past decade, robotics has been woven into the fabric of the small Chittenden County public school, thanks to a group of devoted volunteers, most of them parents, who run an afterschool club and occasionally teach tech-themed lessons in classrooms. One of the volunteers, Mark Drapa a father of three and an electrical engineer at the semiconductor company GlobalFoundries said he's proud of the techy culture that's taken root in the community.

As many Westford students participate in robotics as play soccer, Drapa said. Not to mention, "It's totally cool to wear your robotics shirt to school."

Westford's enthusiasm for robotics sets it apart. Many Vermont schools especially in less-populated, under-resourced parts of the state don't even offer the activity. But that's likely to change, thanks to a three-year, $375,000 grant from the Argosy Foundation, which was founded by John Abele, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who lives in Shelburne.

The money is meant to help eliminate some of the barriers to starting robotics programs by providing financial support and technical assistance to new teams. And it will enable FIRST in Vermont, a nonprofit started last year to support robotics programming for youth, to hire a state coordinator to increase awareness about FIRST programs, recruit and train coaches, and foster collaboration among robotics teams.

FIRST, which stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology," has three strands: a FIRST LEGO League for elementary and middle school students, and FIRST Tech Challenge and FIRST Robotics Competition, both for high schoolers. The program was started 25 years ago in Manchester, N.H., by engineer and entrepreneur Dean Kamen, who is best known for inventing the Segway and an electric wheelchair called the iBOT.

Kamen and his collaborator Woodie Flowers, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, wanted to bring the excitement of sports competitions to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM. So, they designed a program with a gamelike atmosphere that features robots competing in a ring, along with human referees in black-and-white-striped jerseys and cheering real-life spectators. FIRST calls itself a "coopertition" rather than a competition, because teams work in alliances and must help each other in order to succeed. More than 600,000 students in 110 countries now participate.

Vermont's first team formed in 2002, and the program has grown slowly but steadily since, with around 30 FIRST LEGO League teams, 18 FIRST Tech Challenge teams and a handful of FIRST Robotics Competition teams now around the state. Not all are based in schools; some are run through 4-H clubs, homeschool groups, churches and makerspaces. The University of Vermont's College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences and extension programs help organize FIRST Tech Challenge's competitions, while Norwich University hosts the FIRST LEGO League state championship each year.

But Vermont still lags behind much of the country, including New Hampshire and Massachusetts, said John Cohn, a FIRST in Vermont board member and IBM Fellow emeritus. The goal of the Argosy grant is to raise the participation rate of Vermont students above the national average and keep it there.

Cohn who has been known to dress up in light-up glasses, silly head gear and tie-dye garb for competitions thinks Vermont's "funkiness" makes it ripe for an expansion of robotics programming. "There's this long tradition of Yankee ingenuity and open-ended, practical problem solving," he said.

On a Tuesday evening in early October, that ingenuity was on display in Westford. Eight fifth graders members of one of the school's five FIRST LEGO League teams gathered around a long tabletop game board dotted with 15 colorful LEGO contraptions. The team members, who call themselves the Interplanetary Pizza Pandas, meet twice weekly from September to January to build and create code for a robot that can complete a series of tasks that involve pushing, pulling, lifting, dragging and flipping the LEGO structures. Each successfully completed task is worth a specific number of points.

In February, the Westford teams will go to the statewide competition, where they'll put their bot to the test alongside teams from around Vermont. The team that takes top honors will move on to the World Championship in Houston, a Super Bowl-like event where competitors don costumes and throngs of supporters typically turn out to cheer players on.

Westford students are encouraged to try out different tasks throughout the season. At this practice, fifth grader Owen Mellion used Scratch, a drag-and-drop coding language, to program a robot to carry out a series of actions, while teammates Davide McElvany and Keith Collins tended to the machine which LEGO calls an "intelligent brick" with a motor and wheels. The students had fastened a square attachment that they'd built to the front of the robot to enable it to carry out some of the tasks. But when they attempted to get the robot to perform, it veered in the wrong direction. The students went back to their laptop to troubleshoot.

Learning from missteps is a key part of FIRST Robotics, Drapa said as he watched. "If it doesn't work, move on and find out what does work," he said. "Any type of experimentation is a win."

Across the table, Inez Medick and Maeve LaBossiere, fresh from soccer practice, worked to program a separate robot.

"It's really fun to make models and to code," Medick said. When her older brother participated in FIRST LEGO League years ago, she went along to his competitions.

"I saw the [game] board and the projects and stuff, and ... I wanted to do it," she said.

Both Medick and LaBossiere hope to continue to participate in robotics when they're older. And because of the continuum of programming in their school district, they'll have that opportunity.

At Essex High School, science teacher Joseph Chase started one of the FIRST Tech Challenge teams in the state 15 years ago. This year, close to 20 students members of the high school's HiveMind Robotics team meet three times a week at the school to build and code robots using CAD software and 3D-printed parts.

At this point in the season, the Essex students are still in the prototyping phase, trying to figure out the best design for this year's particular challenge, which involves having a robot place cones on poles of different heights. Challenges change from year to year, but the game always takes place on a 12-foot square game board bordered by foot-high walls.

Sophomores Max Drapa (son of the Westford coach), Mason Meirs, Cheru Berhanu and junior Matthew Corneau are all in their second year of FIRST Tech Challenge. In early September, their team gathered at U-32 Middle & High School in Montpelier with three other high school groups including last year's state champs, the Champlain Valley Union High School RoboHawks to watch the video reveal of this year's challenge, the cones-on-poles drill. Then, over pizza, the teams brainstormed ideas for how to approach the task. Collaborating with other teams is part of the "gracious professionalism" that FIRST Robotics says is a centerpiece of its programs. "When you're in a competition, it's not like, 'Oh, you lost,'" Max Drapa said. "You actually learn from it and meet other teams and see what they've done."

"You end up making really good connections with competitors," Berhanu added.

Their coach also sees the program as a workforce development initiative.

Chase connects his students with local businesses during the season, in the hope that they'll forge connections that may lead to internships or jobs.

"One of the finest exports from the state of Vermont is our children. They get a great education here, and then they leave," Chase said. But, he added, local companies such as Beta Technologies and GlobalFoundries are looking for young people who have the tech skills that FIRST develops.

Cohn, who now works for Beta, can back that up. He recently took an informal poll of fellow staffers and found that 17 of them had taken part in FIRST programs growing up.

Students can unlock higher ed opportunities by participating, as well. Colleges, including MIT and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, offer more than $80 million in scholarships to high school students who've participated in FIRST programs, according to the organization.

Abele, cofounder of Boston Scientific a medical device company that makes coronary stents, defibrillators and pacemakers is an enthusiastic booster of FIRST. He learned about the program from Kamen decades ago and served as chair of the organization from 2002 to 2010.

"I think it's really important for all people to be technically literate," Abele said. "This is a fun way to do the learning. You sort of do it without even knowing you're doing it."

Just as importantly, the program cultivates social and emotional skills needed to work well with others, he said.

To Max Drapa, that teamwork is one of the best things about FIRST.

"In class, you have maybe a couple of group projects," he said. But FIRST Tech Challenge is "one big group project."

Added teammate Corneau, "I think we've become pretty good friends from this."

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FIRST Robotics Prepares to Extend Its Reach to More Vermont Students - Seven Days

Plants are classified by the number of growing seasons required to complete their life cycle. Generally, these groups are annuals, biennials, and perennials. Annuals will provide continuous blooms throughout the growing season, while biennials provide blooms during their second year of growth. Perennials will bloom for 2 to 8 weeks or longer, however, bloom time will vary and can occur during the beginning, middle, or end of the growing season.

Annuals take a single year to complete a full life cycle. Most are planted in the spring, bloom in the summer, and die in the fall. A few, known as winter annuals, germinate in the later summer and autumn, are dormant during the winter, and grow during the next spring and summer. Many plants treated as annuals in northern climates such as Pennsylvania are actually perennials when grown in southern climates. These plants are not cold hardy and are not able to withstand winter temperatures in our hardiness zones (zones 4b to 6b, average annual minimum temperature between -25 F and 0 F). Except for those that reseed themselves, annuals will not grow a second year unless they are replanted. Annuals are frequently grouped as "hardy," "half-hardy," or "tender." This refers to:

A plant might grow as a hardy annual, or even be treated as a hardy biennial or perennial, in the lower Delaware Valley area of southeastern Pennsylvania. Yet these same plants may be considered a half-hardy or tender annual in the Laurel Highlands of southwestern Pennsylvania.

Biennials take twice as long to complete a full life cycle as annuals. They require a dormant period, induced by cold temperatures, between plant growth and blooming. Biennials are usually sown in the spring, vegetative during the summer, dormant that fall, live in this inactive state through the winter, flower the second summer, set seed, and die during the following fall. If biennials are grown in regions where winter temperatures are colder than the plants hardiness, a cold frame can be used as a temporary shelter for plants.

Some biennials can be treated as annuals by sowing seed in the summer that will germinate and be exposed to chilling temperatures to induce flowering in the fall and over winter, and resume growth and flower the next spring.

Perennials used in Pennsylvania landscapes are cold hardy enough to survive winter temperatures, hence they live longer than both annuals and biennials. Perennials are classified as either herbaceous or woody.

Herbaceous perennials that are not cold hardy or cannot tolerate really cold climates usually die when the soil freezes. These perennials are often treated as annuals.

Bulbous plants are often referred to as bulbs, tubers, corms, or rhizomes. True bulbs are actually fleshy food storage centers for underground stems from which the next season's plants will grow. Corms are also food storage centers but are more scaly and solid. Rhizomes and tubers are actually thick underground stems. To be classified correctly, this group belongs with perennial flowers because bulbous plants come back and flower year after year.

Characteristics of woody perennials include:

Prepared by Phyllis Lamont, consumer horticulture center library coordinator and Kathleen M. Kelley, assistant professor of consumer horticulture.

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Plant Life Cycles - Penn State Extension

September 6, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly evolving, and new updates are issued frequently. To view a full list of HHS/ASPRs updates related to COVID-19 monoclonal antibody therapeutics, please see our full list of updates.

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces the authorization of an extension to the shelf life from 12 months to 18 months for certain lots of the Pfizer antiviral therapy, Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir tablets and ritonavir tablets co-packaged for oral use), which is currently authorized for emergency use for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in certain adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40kg).

As a result of this extension, lots of Paxlovid with dates of expiry from July 2022 to May 2023 may be stored for an additional six months from the labeled date of expiry (see Table 1 below). As required by the emergency use authorization, unopened cartons of Paxlovid (300 mg nirmatrelvir and 100 mg ritonavir, or 150 mg nirmatrelvir and 100 mg ritonavir), must be appropriately held in accordance with storage conditions detailed in the authorized Fact Sheet for Health Care Providers. FDA granted this extension following a thorough review of data submitted by Pfizer.

Please contact COVID19Therapeutics@hhs.gov with any questions.

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FDA Authorizes Shelf Life Extension for Certain Lots of Paxlovid

Frances EDF is considering extending the life of two British nuclear power plants due to the severity of the energy crisis.

EDF said on Wednesday that it would review whether there was a case to keep open the Hartlepool nuclear power plant in County Durham and Heysham 1 on the north-west coast of England near Lancaster. Both plants had been scheduled to close in March 2024.

EDF operates all of Britains eight nuclear power plants, five of which are still providing power to the grid, about 13% of the UKs electricity. The entire fleet is due to shut by 2028 apart from Sizewell B, which will close in 2035.

When EDF took over the nuclear fleet in 2009, Heysham 1 and Hartlepool were due to run until 2014. After technical reviews, that was extended to 2019 and then, in 2016, a further five-year extension was approved after further reviews.

Sources said any extra lifespan for the stations was likely to be far shorter than previous extensions. The stations which produce 2.2 gigawatts of power, enough to power 3.5m homes have been operational for four decades.

EDF said it had decided to launch the review in light of the severity of the energy crisis and the results of recent graphite inspections and said an extension would depend on the results of graphite inspections over the coming months.

Russias invasion of Ukraine has sparked turmoil in energy markets and sent gas and electricity prices soaring. It has also caused an international dash for gas supplies and raised concerns over potential blackouts this winter.

The government has moved to shore up winter energy supplies, signing deals to keep coal-fired power stations in Yorkshire and the east Midlands on standby including EDFs West Burton A plant in Nottinghamshire.

Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect union, said: The government has had no option but to keep these plants on longer term. It underlines that we need a long-term plan for energy generation. Were a decade late on nuclear and if we dont move fast enough we will miss the boat on other fuels, like hydrogen. The government needs to give people the confidence to invest.

Some power-generation companies, including those on nuclear, old solar and windfarm contracts have landed an unexpected windfall from the jump in electricity prices while their costs have not risen, triggering calls for a windfall tax.

EDF said its nuclear fleet would generate 42 terawatt hours of power in 2022. It said that, because it had sold its output in advance, it had delivered at well below current wholesale prices.

The Guardian revealed earlier this month that Centrica, which owns a 20% stake in the nuclear fleet alongside EDF, wants to renegotiate its electricity-generation contracts.

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Tom Burke, co-founder of the green thinktank E3G, said: In the current climate it makes a lot of sense [to extend the plants lifespans]. The question is mainly about the cost: is the extra time youre buying worth the cost of keeping it safe? The Office for Nuclear Regulation are not going to play fast and loose with safety so then it depends on the spend. With electricity prices where they are now it probably does make sense.

EDF said it plans to invest 1bn in the nuclear fleet from 2023 to 2025. The debt-laden company, which is being fully nationalised by the French government, is developing the delayed and over-budget Hinkley Point C project in Somerset.

It is also behind plans for a sister station, Sizewell C, in Suffolk, which was given the green light in the final days of Boris Johnsons premiership.

Tom Greatrex, the chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: Getting the most out of our existing nuclear stations is vital to ensuring Britain has a secure supply of power going forward.

The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, on Tuesday pledged to launch Great British Energy, a publicly owned energy company run on clean UK power, if elected.

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EDF considers extending life of two UK nuclear plants due to energy crisis - The Guardian

North Dakota State University Extension staff including several from the Jamestown area were recognized at the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences annual session held in Raleigh, North Carolina.

NDSU Extension family and community wellness professionals were recognized for the On the Move to Better Health Cooking and Baking Schools Go Virtual program. They placed first in the central region and first in the nation. Team members includedDonna Anderson, agent in Eddy and Foster counties,Susan Milender, agent in Barnes County, and Christina Rittenbach, agent in Stutsman County.

The program engaged youth in virtual after-school lessons to increase their food preparation knowledge and skills and improve their knowledge of food science and nutrition.The National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, with 1,800 active members, educates and recognizes Extension professionals who impact the quality of life for individuals, families and communities.

Visit http://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension for information about NDSU Extension's family and community wellness programs.

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Rittenbach among Extension team professionals honored - Jamestown Sun | News, weather, sports from Jamestown North Dakota - The Jamestown Sun

Todays population consumes 1.7 times more resources than the Earth can sustain, yet the global population is growing fast*. By 2050 it is set to exceed 9 billion.

Despite plans to reduce them, greenhouse gases are also being produced at a rate which is rapidly destabilising the climate.

Our economic model is outdated and must change. A circular economic model offers ways to cut waste in both energy and materials, and reduce environmental harm.

But what is the circular economy, how will we get there, and how can investors engage?

A circular economy delivers what consumers need without accepting that materials will be discarded and pollution created in the process. It challenges the existing take-make-waste approach, which consumes finite resources that are used briefly, and then discarded, often directly to landfill.

A circular economy designs out waste and pollution to keep materials in use. 55% of global greenhouse gases are created through energy use. What few people realise is that 45% is generated from production processes (spanning industry, agriculture and land use). A circular economy designs products and services with efficiency, reusability and recyclability in mind.

This is a global, durable trend which is essential to protecting the planet and living standards long into the future. Governments are introducing clear targets and policy support to close the economic loop. Consumers are demanding sustainable products and services and insisting on higher environmental standards. Technology is also helping deliver the transition, ranging from materials science to digitisation.

This will create an estimated $4.5 trillion opportunity by 2030 and $25 trillion by 2050. Investors can back - and benefit from directing capital towards its success. We believe superior returns can be generated by investing into such impactful companies. Competitors that lack the vision or capacity to adopt to a circular model, will wither.

The world ecological footprint measures how much biologically productive area it takes to provide for the competing demands of the human population. This includes space for fishing and growing food, for fibre production and timber regeneration. It also includes accommodation, commodity extraction and infrastructure, as well as absorption of CO2 from fossil fuels.

We passed the threshold of natural, annual regeneration in the 1970s, and now require about 170% of the area that can replenish itself naturally. Population growth means we will hit around three times the sustainable level by 2050.

Only around 16% of waste is recycled globally, and waste generation is set to rise by over 70% by 2050. 80% of all plastic produced globally is wasted, with just 9% recycled. That means 12 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean per year. Nearly a third of all food produced worldwide is wasted.

Over 32 billion cubic metres of water is lost every year due to leaks. 80% of wastewater globally is currently released untreated. This against a backdrop of nearly 60% of the worlds fresh water aquifers having already passed their tipping point for replenishment, with water demand set to grow 50% by 2050.

The International Panel on Climate Change forecasts that to keep temperature change to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, and be at net zero by 2050. Despite this, the US Energy Information Administration still expects greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 to be 30% higher than they were in 2010.

While its a bleak backdrop, it at least means we have a staggering opportunity-set to target when seeking companies that design out waste and pollution and keep products and materials in use.

The success of the transition to a circular economy relies on a combination of influence and innovation. Large, mature firms represent the financial clout and size to enact change on a required scale. Equally, the longevity of linear economic models means certain behaviours are very deeply entrenched. Younger, more agile companies are often delivering the most disruptive and revolutionary ideas. Many young companies those challenging the status quo - are still private, and not yet listed on public stock markets.

To evolve at the pace needed, both budding companies and those with deep roots will need to play a role. Investors seeking to participate in the circular economy transition should aim to cultivate the greatest flexibility possible, in order to access innovation where it is most abundant.

There are five key sub-themes originally identified by Accenture and now widely adopted that will deliver investment opportunities as the global economy makes the transition.

This involves the introduction of fully renewable, recyclable or biodegradable materials that can be used in consecutive lifecycles. This can reduce long-term costs while increasing predictability within, and control over, a supply chain.

Recovery and recycling refers to a production and consumption system where everything that used to be considered waste is revived for other uses. Companies can recover end-of-life products to recapture and reuse valuable material, energy and components.

Sharing platforms use technology to increase the utilisation of assets, prevent idle capacity or find products a new home. Product as a service involves consumers paying for the use of a product rather than the product itself. This shifts the manufacturers focus to longevity, reliability and reusability.

The product life extension model aims to capture the value from products that may be broken, out of

fashion or no longer needed. By maintaining and improving products through repairs, upgrades or remanufacturing - or by finding a new owner - companies can create massive economic value. More than that, they can greatly reduce the consumption of raw materials and emissions generated from production processes.

These are companies whose products or services provide the tools for a transition to a circular economy. These companies can range across the software, electronics and industrial sectors but all provide necessary tools for a successful circular transition.

Back Market is one of the words largest market places for refurbished electronics including smartphones and laptops. Schroders Capital co-invested in Back Market alongside a longstanding and highly regarded co-investment partner. It now serves more than five million customers across Europe, the UK, the US and Japan.

Back Market was identified as an opportunity because of its strong business model and ambitious expansion plans, but also its contribution to sustainable production of consumer goods. The company has successfully prevented the creation of1,600 tonnes of e-waste as well as 260,000 tonnes of CO2, and saved 160,000 tonnes of raw materials.

Norsk Gjenvinning is a leading waste management company and recycling leader. Of the 2.5 million tonnes of waste under its management in 2021, it recycled 98%, with 60% being recovered as new raw materials. That 2.5 million tonnes represents over 20% of all Norwegian waste, and its recycling activity can save the equivalent of more than 550,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

UPM is a leading forest products company in based in Finland. From its origins in paper manufacture, the company has been using a beyond fossils fuels approach to guide their growth investments.

In recent years UPM has expanded further into pulp and emission-free energy, as well as into sustainable labelling and biofuels. Their next large investment is into bioplastics. They are currently building a plant that will use residue materials from sustainably managed forests to produce bio-alternatives to petrochemical based plastics and rubbers. They are currently working with Coca-Cola to help replace oil-based PET in their bottles with plant-based plastics, for example.

UPMs forests act as natural carbon sinks, while many of their products help to displace fossil-fuel based alternatives. Additionally they have been working on increasing their share of raw materials from sustainable sources towards 100% (83% currently). UPM is also aiming to reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill, targeting 100% of process waste to be either recovered or recycled by 2030 (89% today). These are only a few examples of companies that are aligned with progress on the circular economy, and we continue to engage with them to ensure their influence will expand.

We have pushed past the planets limits to support humanity. World leaders, having woken up to the challenge, are now lifting their heads out of the sand and understanding its scale. We need to drastically cut the strain on the earth by rapidly recalibrating the global economy entirely. We believe that by backing companies that will help to deliver this economic reality will outperform those that remain wedded to the old paradigm. More than that, we can ensure that prosperity for future generations is maintained, or bettered.

Source: footprintnetwork.org

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What is the circular economy and why is it essential for real sustainability? - Schroders

With the current truce agreement set to expire on 2 October 2022, humanitarian organisations remind all parties to the conflict that the future of the people of Yemen is in their hands.

As organisations working in Yemen, we recognise and applaud the important steps taken by all parties to the conflict as they continue to work towards upholding the truce. Together you have enabled the longest period of calm for more than seven years, bringing relief and hope to the people of Yemen. During the past six months, we have seen a 60 per cent reduction in casualties. The amount of fuel entering Hudaydah port has quadrupled, allowing hospitals and businesses greater access to fuel, helping to maintain proper functionality of and access to public services, including critical medical treatments. Commercial flights from Sanaa have helped 21,000 Yemenis to access lifesaving medical care, pursue education and business opportunities and reunite with loved ones overseas.

With the current truce agreement set to expire, now is a critical moment for the people of Yemen. While important gains have already been made, more time is needed to ensure that Yemenis can start to rebuild and recover their lives.

After more than seven years of conflict, 23.4 million people in Yemen are dependent on humanitarian assistance. A longer truce would be the first step towards building the lasting peace that is critical to allow people to move beyond food handouts and build their self-reliance. More time is needed to take steps to resolve the payment of civil servant salaries, ensuring that (among the many public sector workers) more teachers are available to support children through education and that more nurses and health practitioners are there to save lives.

While civilian casualties have fallen during the period of the truce, injuries and death as a result of landmines and unexploded ordnances are continuing to rise. A longer period of peace would give humanitarian mine actors the time needed to import critical demining equipment, train staff and carry out clearance to help protect civilians, allow farmers to start using land again, and ensure that children can attend school without risking their lives.

A longer extension of the truce would be the first step in further building upon the gains over the past six months and creating the stability needed to carry out longer-term assistance. If the conflict restarts now, it not only risks destroying gains already made but threatens the future development of Yemen.

Families that we speak to tell us that they want the conflict to end and recognise that, while the truce might not be perfect, it is a crucial step on the road to long and lasting peace. A reduction in fighting means that for the first time in more than seven years, children could start the school year without fear of attacks, including those caused by airstrikes and ground shell and missile fire. As one first-grade teacher said, During these six months, my pupils have begun to change their perception of seeing a plane fly overhead. To not be terrified, confused and uncomfortable. I hope they will not have to change their perception back to what it was before.

Al Tathamon Foundation for Development // Abna Saada Association for Development Social & Charity // ACTED Action Contre la Faim (ACF) // Action For Humanity International // ADRA // Alamal Womens Sociocultural Foundation (AWSF) // All Girls Foundation // CARE // Civilians In Conflict ( CIVIC) // Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe // Danish Refugee Council // FES // Field Medical Foundation // Generations without Qat // HALO // Handicap International - Humanity and Inclusion // International Medical Corps // INTERSOS // IRC // Islamic Relief Worldwide // Life Makers Meeting Place Organisation // Light Foundation for Development // Mercy Corps // MSI Yemen // Norwegian Peoples Aid Norwegian Refugee Council // Oxfam // Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH) // PU-AMI (Premire Urgence Aide Mdicale Internationale) // Qudrah Organization for Sustainable Development // Rawahel Foundation Development Relief International // Rescue Foundation for Development // Samaritans Purse // Save the Children // She4Society Intiative // Tamdeen Youth Foundation // Vision Hope International // War Child UK // Yemen Center for Human Rights Studies // Yemen Family Care Association // ZOA

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44 national and international NGOs call for renewal and expansion of truce in Yemen [EN/AR] - Yemen - ReliefWeb

Residents of University City Townhomes now have until the end of the year to find new low-income housing, according to a spokesperson for the landlord.

Tenants federal affordable housing subsidies had been set to expire Oct. 8, but the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development agreed to an extension through Dec. 27, said Kevin Feeley, a spokesperson for IBID Associates. Residents were notified late last week, he said.

Were still on edge about it, said Rasheda Alexander, a 14-year UC Townhomes resident and tenant representative. We still are facing the same fears and anxieties that we faced previously, especially because nothing has really changed as far as the housing market is concerned.

It gives us a little bit more time, but Im nervous, said Lynn Green, who has lived at UC Townhomes for more than two decades and has yet to find a new place to live. When I go to look for places, I get there and theres 30 people looking at the same place.

This most recent extension is the latest development surrounding the University City Townhomes, an affordable housing complex home to 69 predominantly Black and Hispanic families. Located at 39th and Market Streets, the complexs neighborhood was once referred to as Black Bottom, a historically Black community that gradually gentrified with the development of the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University.

Last year, IBID announced its plan to sell and redevelop the property, ending its federal affordable housing contract that was originally set to expire this past July.

Residents, some of whom have lived in the complex for decades, were not happy to hear of those plans.

Since then, they have organized, forming the Save the UC Townhomes coalition. This summer, they set up an encampment on the complexs lawn in protest. Earlier this month, the coalition of residents and supporters rallied at City Hall, laying out a list of demands. They called for IBID to extend its federal contract for another two years and to sell the property to a third party that intends to keep the complex as affordable housing.

READ MORE: Why the University City Townhomes are really vanishing and why it could happen again

City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier tried to intervene and prohibit demolition on the property. IBID then sued Gauthier and the city federal court. The lawsuit has yet to be resolved.

The federal contract has been extended several times, first from July to Sept. 7 to to allow more time for the housing vouchers to arrive for displaced tenants. Then, it was pushed to Oct. 8 and now, the end of the year.

Under the contract, HUD pays the difference between the units rent and 30% of the resident households income.

IBID has no plans to evict residents when the contract expires, Feeley said, but they will no longer receive those subsidies unless they move to another affordable housing complex.

READ MORE: How to find affordable housing in Philly

We have never said were going to be evicting anybody, Feeley said. The relocation process is working and our intention is to give people a reasonable amount of time to complete it.

Feeley said at least half of residents have moved or received their vouchers in anticipation of moving, with most others having completed their paperwork to get the vouchers. Alexander told Billy Penn that 58 families do not know where they are moving.

Residents Alexander and Green both said they have received their vouchers but have encountered difficulty finding comparable housing options.

Green, who worked two jobs most of her life and struggles with health problems, said she could not afford to live at UC Townhomes when the subsidies end I dont have that kind of money. The stress of the upcoming deadline has had physical effects, too, Green said, adding that she has not slept well in months and began suffering from panic attacks.

IBIDs ultimate goal remains to sell and redevelop, Feeley said, but there is no set deadline for when it plans to do so.

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University City Townhomes residents now have until end of the year to find new low-income housing - The Philadelphia Inquirer

(PHOTO: Gallo Images/ALAMY)

Business Unity South Africa CEO Cas Coovadia is "happy with the mix of relevant skills and expertise" on the new Eskom board, amid some reservations from political parties.

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan announced a new board on Friday. The board includes Nedbank chair Mpho Makwana, former MTN SA boss Mthetho Nyathi, and former Cosatu secretary-general Bheki Ntshalintshali.

South Africa is currently grappling with the longest stretch of load shedding on record.

READ |ANALYSIS | The new Eskom board's 75% challenge

Coovadia called on the government to give the incoming board the space to stabilise the entity and power supply.

"The appointment of this board is an important step in the right direction to ameliorate the immediate load shedding crisis, and to also guide Eskom's role in implementing the President's energy plan," said Coovadia.

Energy Intensive Users Group CEO Fanele Mondi said the previous Eskom board was heavily handicapped by vacancies and skills gaps. Mondi said the new board seemed "complete and well balanced in terms of its skills and experience".

"This is over and above equally impressive skills in the fields of engineering, finance, HR, law, and ICT. Equally important, in the light of the seemingly challenging execution of the Koeberg life extension, is the addition of nuclear experience in the boardroom that will hopefully bring a closer oversight of this important project," said Mondi.

The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association said in a statement that it is encouraged by the inclusion of experienced engineers with renewable energy experience and expertise on the board.

Black Business Council CEO Kganki Matabane said the first responsibility of the new board should be to release CEO Andr de Ruyter and Oberholzer, calling the two directors "incompetent".

Democratic Alliance MP Ghaleb Cachalia said Ntshalintshali's appointment to the board was "a cheap attempt to fulfill the ANC's cadre deployment quota" after he served as secretary-general of the ANC-aligned Cosatu.

"Although an attempt was made to bring some individuals with a heavy engineering background, the government did not go far enough and some are simply recycled executives with no engineering experience," said Cachalia.

Cachalia said declaring a national State of Disaster around Eskom would have empowered the board to make decisions free from red tape and consideration for cadre deployment. He urged the board to expedite power plant maintenance, secure short-term power supply, and end load shedding.

READ |ESKOM LIVE | Former Cosatu boss Ntshalintshali, Nedbank chair Makwana on new board

The Economic Freedom Fighters said in a statement that it did not believe the new board could resolve any of the trouble power utility's challenges, least of all his astronomical debt and enduring load shedding.

The EFF said at the heart of Eskom's troubles lay the lack of a coherent energy policy, the "irrational" imposition of Independent Power Producers, and "conflicted" strategic appointments by Gordhan as well as De Ruyter and Oberholzer, whom the statement called "clueless".

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New Eskom board: Business groups happy with mix of skills - News24

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. When Penn State alum Sara Hricko first came to the University as an undergrad, she had every intention of graduating with a degree in mathematics. But one elective in the College of Agricultural Sciences ending up changing the course of her education, and eventually, her career.

When she was in her very first semester at Penn State, Hrickos adviser recommended she take a science general education course. She chose PPEM 120 The Fungal Jungle: A Mycological Safari from Truffles to Slime Molds, a course that explores the role of fungi in everyday life.

Hricko enjoyed the class so much that she switched her major from mathematics to plant sciences, with a minor in plant pathology. And recently, after earning her masters degree in plant pathology at Michigan State University, Hricko has once again returned to Penn State this time as an extension educator.

Id always been fascinated by mushrooms and spent a lot of time foraging for wild fungi with my dad, but I hadnt realized people could study them and make a career out of the topic, Hricko said. The Fungal Jungle course opened my eyes to the amazing discipline of plant pathology and mycology, and since then, Ive been continuing on, full-steam ahead!

According to Hricko, her love of plants continued to develop as she took more classes at Penn State and worked in several labs within the Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology. But she first became inspired to be an educator specifically while working as an undergraduate researcher with Gary Moorman, a now-retired Penn State plant pathology professor who also conducted extension programming related to diseases of ornamental plants.

Now, in her current role, Hricko is based in Columbia County working with vegetable, fruit and greenhouse growers as she shares information and connects them with programs and resources to help them grow successful businesses.

Hricko said her education at Penn State, as well as her experience helping to manage a farm of her own, has allowed her to feel confident educating other growers.

After graduate school, I returned to Pennsylvania where my husband and I now co-manage a 100-acre tree-fruit farm, Hricko said. Now that I have both the academic background and the practical experience from actually being a grower, I feel even more strongly about my job communicating with and understanding the local growers I work with. Ive gained an enormous amount of appreciation for those who grow our food and what they need to succeed.

Carolee Bull, head of the department and professor of plant pathology and systematic bacteriology, said she fondly remembers Hrickos time as a student in the Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology and looks forward to working with her again as a Penn State Extension educator.

We often say that once you are a member of the PPEM family, you always are, and Sara is a great example of that, Bull said. As an undergraduate, Sara worked in many labs within our department, as well as attending our annual dinners and other events with her family. We were delighted when she sought an M.S. in plant pathology and are even more delighted that she is back and part of the Penn State team again.

Moving forward, Hricko said that while shes not sure how her career will continue to evolve, she wants to continue to help spread the knowledge shes gained both in school and in the field.

Education is a huge part of my life, and I believe that no matter where life takes me, that will be part of it, she said. I think that's why Penn State Extension fits me so well. It's all about education, bringing scientific discoveries to the field, and bringing real-world problems back to the lab to find solutions.

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Full circle on the farm: Penn State alum returns to help educate Pa. growers - Pennsylvania State University