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The formal refusal of planning permission for drilling and lower-volume fracking at Burniston in North Yorkshire was confirmed this afternoon.

Banner at decision meeting on Burniston plans, 24 April 2026. Photo: DrillOrDrop

The county council’s strategic planning committee voted almost unanimously in April against the proposal by Europa Oil & Gas.

But members were limited at the meeting to a “minded to” refuse decision. This followed a request to the local government minister to review the detailed environmental information that accompanied the application.

Less than a week later, the minister said there would be no need to review the information, clearing the way for publication of the formal decision notice.

260515_NY20250030ENV_Decision NoticeDownload

The notice, dated today, lists five reasons why the application had been refused:

• Harm to the heritage coast and landscape
• Proximity of the site to homes and amenities
• Harm to the setting of the North York Moors National Park
• Impact on tourism and lack of economic gain
• Conflict with the council’s climate commitments

Officials had advised councillors not to include in the reasons a risk of induced seismicity and damage to local cliffs.

Europa Oil & Gas has already said it will appeal against the refusal. The decision notice starts the clock on when that appeal must be lodged.

The company has six months, by Friday 13 November 2026, in which to submit its challenge to the Planning Inspectorate. News of an appeal is, however, expected sooner.

The committee’s refusal over-ruled the recommendation of council officers to approve the application. It came after five hours of discussions and presentations.

North Yorkshire Council had set today as the deadline for issuing the decision notice.

Hundreds of the state’s union registered nurses represented by California Nurses Association will converge in Sacramento on Tuesday, May 19 to protest hospital industry greed and lobby lawmakers in support of bills to promote and protect the safety of their patients and health care workers.

How Don Marketing became the sales promotion outfit most loudly, legally and gloriously associated with Shell

Disclaimer: This article is a satirical commentary based on publicly available reporting and historical records. Allegations are described as allegations unless settled, withdrawn, abandoned, acknowledged, or otherwise reported. Site wide disclaimer also applies

PART ONE — FACT-BASED TABLOID DEEP DIVE The forecourt promo firm, the oil giant, and the loyalty-card bust-up that refused to die quietly

In the great British museum of corporate awkwardness, somewhere between “urgent internal review” and “we value our suppliers,” there deserves to be a glass case marked:

DON MARKETING v SHELL: FUEL, PROMOS, WRITS AND ABSOLUTELY NO SHORTAGE OF RECEIPTS.

Because when asking which sales promotion company is most associated with Shell, the answer is not some forgettable agency buried in a procurement spreadsheet. The name that keeps roaring out of the archive like a V-Power lawnmower is Don Marketing.

This was not just a casual association. This was a whole saga: forecourt promotions, loyalty-card concepts, legal claims, public accusations, settlements, counterclaims, statements, and enough courtroom fumes to make a petrol station look like a meditation retreat.

Marketing Week reported in July 1999 that the “six-year legal battle” between Shell UK and sales promotion company Don Marketing had finally been settled. The article said John Donovan, owner of Don Marketing, dropped his High Court action over allegations that Shell stole his ideas for the Shell Smart multibrand loyalty card. It also reported that Donovan had first sued Shell in 1993 over allegations that Shell had taken ideas for several sales promotions, and that three claims were settled out of court.

That is the sort of sentence PR departments read with both hands over their eyes.

The association had already been boiling years earlier. In 1995, Marketing Week reported that Don Marketing had issued three High Court writs and county court proceedings against Shell, alleging wrongful use of retail promotions developed by Don Marketing. Shell had settled one of the writs out of court, according to that report.

Then came the big one: Shell Smart. Not merely a coupon. Not merely a “buy petrol, win a mug” operation. A loyalty scheme. A relationship machine. A shiny card-based promise that the customer would come back, spend more, feel known, and possibly collect something branded enough to survive in a kitchen drawer until 2011.

Marketing Week later reported that Don Marketing’s latest legal action alleged Shell’s Smart card scheme was based on a multibrand loyalty programme Don had developed and proposed to Shell in October 1989.

By August 1999, Forecourt Trader described the dispute as “long-running and acrimonious” and said it centred on Don Marketing’s claim that Shell stole its idea for the Smart loyalty scheme. It reported that John Donovan, managing director of Don Marketing, had taken legal action claiming breach of contract and misuse of confidential information, while Shell counter-sued for breach of confidentiality.

And then, the final curtain — or at least the final curtain on that legal act.

The joint statement reported by Marketing Week said Donovan had abandoned his claim in relation to Shell’s Smart loyalty scheme, acknowledged those claims were without foundation and should not have been brought, while Shell acknowledged that the proceedings had been brought in good faith.

That is legal wording so carefully balanced it should have been sponsored by a spirit level.

So, was Don Marketing “right”? Was Shell “wrong”? That is not the point for this article. The final public settlement language matters. The claim was abandoned and acknowledged as without foundation. Shell also acknowledged good faith. Those are the facts as reported.

But the deeper reputational fact is unavoidable: no sales promotion company appears more heavily, repeatedly and dramatically linked with Shell in the public record than Don Marketing.

Not because Shell necessarily wanted that association.

Because history does not always wait for brand approval.

The modern footnote: Shell GO+ and the new loyalty crowd

Today, Shell’s promotional and loyalty world has moved on from the punch-card-and-writ era. Shell UK currently promotes Shell GO+ Rewards through the Shell App, offering savings, hot drinks and perks.

For current/recent agency association, the public credit points elsewhere. The Marketing Society’s 2025 Global Awards lists “Our loyalty programme relaunch — Shell GO+ Rewards” under Altavia UK, in partnership with MLP Agency.

So the clean distinction is this:

Most associated historically with Shell sales promotion drama: Don Marketing.
Most visibly credited in recent Shell GO+ loyalty work: Altavia UK, with MLP Agency.

But if the question is “which sales promotion firm is most associated with Shell?” in the sense of public visibility, archive depth, controversy, and repeated linkage, Don Marketing still walks in wearing the crown, the sash, and possibly carrying a lever-arch file.

PART TWO — SPOOF PR/SPIN SECTION Shell’s imaginary crisis statement, written by the Department of Polished Pebbles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PREFERABLY AFTER EVERYONE HAS FORGOTTEN 1999

Shell is delighted to confirm that our long and colourful history of forecourt promotional innovation has occasionally intersected with the equally energetic world of sales promotion entrepreneurship.

We value all our historical relationships, particularly the ones that produced loyalty schemes, legal documentation, press coverage, and enough archival material to power a small academic conference.

Regarding Don Marketing, Shell notes that this was a relationship marked by creativity, robust dialogue and, at certain moments, the kind of correspondence normally delivered by nervous solicitors in very expensive shoes.

We further note that all parties ultimately reached a position that allowed everyone to move forward, reflect deeply, and avoid using the phrase “corporate amnesia” at dinner parties.

Shell remains committed to rewarding customers, building loyalty, and ensuring that any future disputes are sufficiently app-enabled to reduce paper usage.

Ends. Please recycle responsibly.

PART THREE — SPOOF BOT-REACTION / COMMENT SECTION The algorithm has entered the forecourt

@PromoGoblin1974:
Don Marketing and Shell? That was not a supplier relationship. That was a six-season courtroom box set with petrol vouchers.

@LoyaltyCardLad:
Imagine inventing a loyalty scheme so hard it becomes a legal genre.

@ForecourtFury:
“Collect points every time you fill up.”
Also collect writs, statements, allegations, settlements and a permanent place in Marketing Week archaeology.

@AgencyProcurementBot:
Risk status: Amber.
Supplier history: Extensive.
PR volatility: Premium Unleaded.

@ShellArchivist_Probably:
We found another folder marked “Don.” We are not opening it without a priest and a media lawyer.

@TabloidPumpWatch:
Altavia gets the modern loyalty relaunch. Don Marketing gets the folklore. That is how history works: one gets the award entry, the other gets the Netflix treatment.

@CourtroomCosta:
The real loyalty scheme was the dispute staying loyal to the headlines for six years.

@PromoTruthFerret:
Conclusion: Shell had many agencies. Don Marketing had the association that refused to leave the forecourt.

Editorial verdict

Don Marketing is interesting precisely because it is not merely “an agency Shell once used.” It is the sales promotion company whose name became welded to Shell through forecourt promotions, legal action, Shell Smart, public allegations, settlement language, and decades of archive residue.

In modern agency terms, Altavia UK and MLP Agency are the names to cite for Shell GO+ Rewards.

In historical tabloid terms?

Don Marketing is the one with the smoke, the paperwork and the pump-side legend.

RELATED BOOK JUST PUBLISHED

SHELL YEAH! was first posted on May 15, 2026 at 5:54 pm.
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The state plans to scrap a 2030 goal that sought a 40% reduction in emissions and replace it with a 2040 goal that aims for a 60% reduction.

Data collection can feel meaningless when utilities lack the tools to turn that data into improved performance or efficiency, writes Ariel Santamaria from Advanced Technology Services.

It is “the policy of the United States to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance,” a deputy assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice wrote in a court notice suggesting it might intervene.

Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed. 
An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change.

This week US-China meet

ENERGY TALKS: Trump administration officials have raised the prospect of China buying more US oil in response to the disruption caused by the Iran war, following two days of talks between the leaders of the superpowers in Beijing, said Reuters. On Thursday, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC the nations had discussed China “buying more US energy”, adding that production from Alaska would be a “natural” ⁠for China. The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported that Trump and Xi also agreed that the strait of Hormuz must remain open to “support the free flow of energy”. 

CLIMATE ‘COOPERATION’: Ahead of the talks, the Communist party-affiliated People’s Daily published an article saying that addressing climate change requires “coordinated efforts and cooperation” between China and the US. State-run newspaper China Daily said that US-China cooperation on energy security and climate governance is “essential” because the two countries have “considerable influence over international institutions”. However, an article in Legal Planet said that the Trump-Xi meeting had no climate agenda, adding that the two countries are now moving in “radically different directions”.

El Niño extremes

‘SUPERCHARGED’: From wildfires to heatwaves and flooding, scientists have warned that the El Niño weather pattern could “amplify climate extremes” in 2026, reported Climate Home News. There is an 82% chance of a “very strong” El Niño forming this year, according to the average of four weather forecasters cited by the Times. The Independent added that the phenomenon could be “supercharged” by another weather pattern – a positive Indian Ocean Dipole – raising the risks of fire, drought risks and other extreme weather events.

WORLD ON FIRE: Global fire outbreaks hit a “record high” in Africa, Asia and elsewhere this year, reported Reuters, with conditions expected to worsen to the “highest in recent history” if a strong El Niño “kicks in”. More than 150m hectares of land were damaged by fires from January to April – 20% more than the previous record – according to data compiled by the ​World Weather Attribution (WWA) research group cited by the newswire. 

Around the world

• ETHIOPIA EVS: Electric vehicles now account for 8% of Ethiopia’s car fleet as “soaring prices and fuel shortages compel” African countries to switch to “cleaner and cheaper transport”, according to the Associated Press. 
• UK AID CUT: The UK has halved its most recent contribution to the UN’s Green Climate Fund (GCF) as part of a government “shift from development aid to military spending”, according to Climate Home News. The UK is no longer the top donor to the GCF following the move, said Carbon Brief.
• TORT RETORT: Reuters reported that the New Zealand government plans to amend a key climate law, to prevent courts from holding private companies liable for climate harms. This would apply to “both current and future proceedings”, the newswire said, including a current case against six major emitters. 
• RENEWABLE SECURITY: Military alliance NATO is “openly backing renewables and other non-fossil fuel sources of energy as key to the alliance’s security” despite US scepticism, reported Politico. The outlet covered a NATO-backed study that highlighted how imported fuels have been used as a “bargaining chip” in conflicts.
• NO INDIAN ‘LOCKDOWN’: India’s oil-and-gas minister “dismissed concerns of any imminent lockdown-like restrictions” after prime minister Narendra Modi “urged citizens” to adopt fuel-saving measures amid a global energy crisis, reported the Economic Times.

One billion barrels

The volume of oil the world has lost over the past two months since Iran began its blockade of the strait of Hormuz following attacks by the US and Israel, according to Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, quoted in Reuters.

Latest climate research

• Antarctic sea ice levels have plummeted to “record-low anomalies” since 2015, with researchers calling it “one of the largest present-day climatic shifts in the Earth system” | Science Advances 
• Rainfall reductions in the southern Amazon will occur at progressively lower levels of deforestation as the planet warms, indicating that “climate change amplifies the sensitivity of rainfall to forest loss” | Global Ecology and Biogeography 
• Economic inequality adds more than 100,000 deaths to the total toll from heat and cold in Europe | Nature Health

(For more, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth daily summaries of the top climate news stories on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.)

Captured

Contrary to claims by the UK car industry that demand is not high enough to meet the UK government’s sales targets for “zero emissions vehicles” (ZEVs), a new Carbon Brief factcheck found it has actually “overcomplied” with its mandate. The chart above shows the required (left) and achieved (right) share of ZEVs in total UK car sales in 2024, the latest figures available. “Flexibilities” (in light blue) include the sale of lower-emission petrol cars.

Spotlight Chennai’s gig workers race against the heat

This week, Carbon Brief visits one of India’s first air-conditioned lounges designed to help gig workers deal with extreme heat.

An air-conditioned lounge for gig workers in Chennai’s T Nagar shopping district. Credit: Ishan Tankha / Scorched

On a single day in late April, 20 of the world’s hottest cities were all in India.

Chennai was not on the list this time, but is no stranger to high temperatures. In the south-eastern coastal capital of Tamil Nadu, extreme humidity and heat are inescapable facts of life.

“The heat is by no means manageable, but we have no choice but to deal with it,” said Mohammed S, a 29-year-old grocery platform delivery worker, speaking to Carbon Brief. 

Last year, Chennai became India’s first ever city to roll out air-conditioned lounges for millions of gig workers, like Mohammed, navigating India’s increasingly hotter cities. 

Lounge access

In the dense shopping district of T Nagar – recognised as an “urban heat island” – studded with silk sari and jewellery shops, an unassuming oblong container-like structure stands out.

Gig workers leave their slippers outside the lounge. Credit: Ishan Tankha / Scorched

Through the building’s tinted windows, workers wearing synthetic jerseys emblazoned with food delivery app logos are stretched out on wooden benches meant to seat 25 people. 

The lounge has charging points for phones, a water cooler and a unisex toilet. It might not seem like much, but workers tell Carbon Brief that it has made a “huge difference” to their lives – even on a day when the air conditioner stopped working. 

“Before this, life was very difficult,” said Mohammed. He continued:

“We would park our [electric] bikes and try to find a tree to sleep under, stop for tea and tea shop owners would tell us we couldn’t sit there for more than 10 minutes, try to rest in a building’s stairwell and be chased away, then try to find shade under a flyover. Now we can sit in the AC and avoid the worst of the heat.”

Dinesh, 27, said his day starts at dawn before the sun is up, picking up packages from companies in north Chennai – another critical heat hotspot.

For the next seven hours, there is no “off point” or breaks for Dinesh as apps rush deliveries. 

Some of Chennai’s gig workers told Carbon Brief they try to avoid the worst of afternoon temperatures from noon to 3pm, but for many – especially migrant workers – sitting back in the lounge is not a choice they can afford. One of them explained:

“If you don’t have cash to cover your bills or have to send money back home, you head out into the heat for a 12-hour shift and hope for the best.”

Dinesh checks his orders in the gig worker’s lounge. Credit: Ishan Tankha / Scorched Feeling ‘gear’

In Chennai, heat might be normalised, but it has its own vocabulary. Speaking to Carbon Brief, the city’s gig workers, auto rickshaw drivers and fish sellers used an all-encompassing term – “gear” – to describe their symptoms, including dizziness, exhaustion and nausea. 

Last summer, researchers offered Delhi’s gig workers a Rs 200 (roughly £2) cash transfer on the first day of a heatwave, to provide them with a means to achieve “real-time” adaptation to heat risk. Workers who received a cash transfer reported fewer heat-related symptoms, according to the study.  

Asked if they would accept similar incentives to stay home on 40C days, workers in the T Nagar lounge expressed disbelief. Dinesh – who also trains technicians on how to repair air conditioners to support his income – told Carbon Brief:

“They [the apps] offer us incentives to go out in the heat when there are fewer riders.” 

Barring a few, none of the dozens of outdoor workers Carbon Brief spoke to had an air conditioner at home or in their hostels, making the lounge the only place they could cool down. 

Watch, read, listen

THE BIG ‘LOSER’: Writing in Foreign Affairs, Princeton University’s Prof Benjamin Bardlow argued that Beijing “may emerge from the war in Iran as its winner – and Washington its ultimate loser”.

CARBON ‘KINGPIN’: A new podcast by Drilled followed Bruce Rastetter – a corn ethanol “kingpin-turned-carbon entrepreneur” from Iowa – now promoting biofuels and carbon-capture projects in Brazil.
OPEC ‘DRAMA KINGS’: An episode of the Polycrisis podcast, titled “Gulf drama kings”, dug into the UAE’s announcement that it was quitting oil producers’ cartel OPEC, asking whether this reflected “doom” for the group, geopolitical tensions, or “different beliefs” about the future of oil.

Coming up

• 17 May: Cape Verde election
• 17-22 May: 13th session of the World Urban Forum, Baku, Azerbaijan
• 20-21 May:Copenhagen climate ministerial

Pick of the jobs

• Greenpeace, communications and engagement co-head (climate) | Salary: £63,756-£67,644. Location: London
• Global Witness, deputy director of campaigns (one-year contract) | Salary: £75,886. Location: London
• Karolinska Institute, research assistant in climate attribution and health | Salary: Unknown. Location: Stockholm, Sweden
• Greenpeace South Asia, climate researcher | Salary: Unknown. Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka

DeBriefed is edited by Daisy Dunne. Please send any tips or feedback to debriefed@carbonbrief.org.

This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s weekly DeBriefed email newsletter. Subscribe for free here.

DeBriefed 8 May 2026: EU eyes fossil-fuel exemptions | Wind and solar save UK ‘£1.7bn’ | Amazon ‘tipping point’

DeBriefed

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08.05.26

DeBriefed 1 May 2026: Countries chart path away from fossil fuels | China’s clean-tech surge | Global forest loss slows

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01.05.26

DeBriefed 24 April 2026: Europe’s energy-crisis plan | Renewables overtake coal | Colombia’s fossil-fuel summit

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24.04.26

DeBriefed 17 April 2026: Fossil-fuel power slumps | ‘Super’ El Niño warning | Afghanistan’s climate struggle

DeBriefed

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17.04.26

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The post DeBriefed 15 April 2026: Trump-Xi talk energy | ‘Supercharged’ El Niño | India’s first ‘heat lounges’ appeared first on Carbon Brief.

“In order to support a stay, the movant must substantiate that irreparable injury is ‘likely’ to occur. Bare allegations of what is likely to occur do not suffice,” the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in its decision. 

The UK is no longer the top contributor to the UN’s flagship Green Climate Fund (GCF), after the government announced that it only intends to honour half of its most recent pledge.

Amid wider cuts to its climate aid for developing countries, the UK informed the GCF in May that it will reduce its commitment for the 2024-27 period to £815m ($1.1bn).

In doing so, the Labour government is drastically cutting a Conservative pledge of £1.62bn ($2.16bn), hailed by former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s government as “the biggest single funding commitment the UK has made to help the world tackle climate change”.

This “record” pledge also meant the UK became the top GCF funder, after the Trump administration withdrew $4bn in pledged US funds in 2025.

Now, the UK follows the US in becoming the second major donor to cancel substantial funding, leaving aid experts concerned that other developed countries will follow suit.

As the chart below shows, the UK’s total past and promised contributions to the GCF have now dropped below those of Germany, France and Japan.

GCF pledges by top 10 donors. Dark bars indicate pledges from the initial resource mobilisation in 2014 and the first replenishment round in 2019, while light blue bars indicate pledges from the second replenishment round in 2023. Source: NRDC GCF pledge tracker.

The GCF is the largest dedicated UN climate fund and is seen as a vital way of raising grant-based climate finance for developing countries. It oversees more than $20bn worth of funding across 354 projects and programmes.

Developed countries, such as the UK, are obliged under the Paris Agreement to provide climate finance. One of the main ways to do this is through specialised climate funds, such as the GCF. 

However, despite countries committing to increase their climate finance over time, progress in scaling up GCF contributions between funding rounds has been gradual.

With its now-revoked £1.62bn pledge in 2023, the UK was among the donors that had increased its GCF pledging compared with the previous 2019 funding round. 

The latest reduction means the UK will now provide around 45% less funding than it did during the 2019 round. This is the biggest reduction between rounds by any major donor, apart from the US.

In an email to the GCF board, reported by the Financial Times, the fund’s executive director Mafalda Duarte said the UK’s actions were “expected to have a material impact on the delivery” of the fund’s projects.

According to the newspaper, Duarte noted that the move came as the UK cuts its overall aid budget in order to “invest more in addressing growing security threats”. 

In March, the UK government announced plans to spend “around £6bn” of its aid budget on climate projects in developing countries over the next three years.

Carbon Brief analysis suggests that this spending amounts to roughly halving the UK’s annual climate finance, when accounting changes and inflation are factored in.

Analysis: Wind and solar have saved UK from gas imports worth £1.7bn since Iran war began

UK policy

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07.05.26

Q&A: How the UK government aims to ‘break link between gas and electricity prices’

Renewables

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21.04.26

Analysis: UK is ‘halving’ its climate finance for developing countries

Renewables

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27.03.26

Factcheck: Nine false or misleading myths about North Sea oil and gas

Policy

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25.03.26

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The post Analysis: UK no longer top UN Green Climate Fund donor after latest aid cut appeared first on Carbon Brief.

Meanwhile, residential prices have been growing in all regions of the United States, “and we expect this trend to continue,” the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.

In March the world’s largest tourism trade fair took place again in Berlin and was met with resistance from Berlin to Mexico. As the event put the spotlight on the upcoming FIFA World Cup, campaigners called out the deadly impact the tournament and a profit-driven model of tourism have on human rights. Here Asamblea Berlin explain the action they took at the fair to denounce the industry.

Source

CALGARY — CHRIS SEVERSON-BAKER, Executive Director of the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to the latest news on the federal-Alberta energy MOU:“The federal–Alberta energy MOU is a failure for Canada and Alberta both in the...

Austin and Shannon Ehrisman raise all-natural hogs on a 22-acre patch of once-overgrown Christmas trees in central Pennsylvania. While the area is home to many hog farms, Austin says raising them outdoors is unusual—and he didn’t think it was possible a few years ago. Even his father thought he was “a little bit crazy” when getting started.

“In Pennsylvania, I was taught to believe you can’t do anything independently or all-natural with hogs,” says Austin. “Around here, everybody’s got some kind of contract [with a large pork company].”

But the cost of setting up a confinement barn—how the vast majority of hogs are raised—has risen significantly since the 1990s. Austin’s father, for example, built a 1,100-pig barn in 1989 for about US$100,000. That same barn today, according to Austin, would be US$400,000 to US$500,000 but rarely are new barns built this small. He says many hog farmers today feel the need “to get bigger, bigger, bigger,” typically borrowing US$1 million or more, to support their families with hog farming which may not be economically sustainable long-term.

When the Ehrismans were in their early 20s, they toured 50 to 100-acre farms—what might be a traditional launchpad for a young farmer. But between the high land cost and the expenses to build barns, they couldn’t make it work financially.

Then an old Christmas tree farm, previously used as a weekend cabin site, went up for sale between Austin’s parents’ and brother’s farms. There were hundreds of Christmas trees that had gone untrimmed for more than a decade, but it could be a farm of their own.

The Ehrismans were able to negotiate a deal within their budget, closing on the farm one year after they married at 22 years old. Then the real work began.

Austin took a job packing eggs at a chicken farm and picked up part-time work at another hog farm, while Shannon worked as a dental hygienist. Full-time farming on their own land was the dream, but there wasn’t a straightforward path to make that a reality. Austin says he and Shannon spent several years “throwing ideas against the wall and seeing what stuck” to make their small, nontraditional farmland profitable.  

In 2014, Austin saw a YouTube video by a fellow Pennsylvania farmer that introduced him to a different way of raising hogs. Instead of building a US$1 million confinement hog barn, this farmer raised pigs on pasture or in hoop barns with continual access to fresh air and sunshine. They worked with specialty pork company Niman Ranch, which offered a guaranteed market for pork in exchange for high standards of sustainable and humane farming practices.

Austin realized that this would not only be healthier for pigs but would also work for his 22-acre plot. “Getting started with Niman Ranch is a fraction of what a commercial barn is because you can start at any scale,” he says.

Today, the Ehrismans care for around 200 sows, which are mature female pigs that have raised at least one litter of piglets. Austin also works as a Niman Ranch field agent, helping other independent farmers make small to mid-scale farming work. 

For the Ehrismans, their primary goal is making family life possible on the farm. Shannon has reduced her dental hygiene schedule to two days a week, and the family homeschools their seven-year-old son, Lane. Their daughter, Everley, is four years old, and the family recently welcomed a third child, Nathan.

The Ehrismans value the farm being a place where their children can participate and learn. At the confinement hog barns Austin grew up around, farmers need to “shower in, shower out” and wear protective clothing due to the heightened disease pressures in high-density facilities. But on his farm, the hogs are raised in the open air with space to root around and express their natural behaviors. It’s safe for his children to work alongside him, and his older children already help with chores like taking out the trash.

“A farm is the best place in the world to raise kids. There are just so many little things to learn,” says Austin. “The kids are always running in and out…helping with chores, or playing tag in the farrowing barn.”

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Niman Ranch

The post A Farmer’s Dream Takes Root on 22 Acres of Forgotten Christmas Trees appeared first on Food Tank.

Wine is one of the most delicious agricultural products worldwide, but it leaves behind a less delectable trail: millions of tons of wasted skins, seeds, and flesh. Now a team of researchers has landed on a circular economy solution for these mounds of mush. 

They say it can be used as a replacement antibiotic on chicken farms, working almost as well as the real thing.  

In the United States where the study was based, broiler farms—those that raise chickens for meat—have been trying to wean their livestock off antibiotics, over growing fears about drug resistance and environmental damage. But there’s a catch: these drugs, known as ‘antibiotic growth promoters’ serve a useful purpose because they help fight harmful gut bacteria that cause inflamed guts, make chickens sick, and reduce their growth levels. Farmers have been crying out for a solution—and this is where wine waste comes in.

Building on previous work revealing the possible bacteria-fighting potential of wine waste (known as ‘pomace’), the researchers decided to test it out in a series of experiments on 126 chickens, which they split into different treatment groups. Some were fed a diet containing 30% rice bran which is a known gut-inflamer. Others received that diet, but with the addition of a conventional antibiotic called zinc-bacitracin. Another group were fed the bran diet supplemented with a tiny percentage of grape pomace, which was either plain or fermented. 

Even at a tiny dose making up just 0.5% of the chickens’ diet, the researchers found that the addition of grape pomace brought about a remarkable change in the birds. Compared to those animals that received the diet without any added treatment, their body weight gains increased by 79%, and their average body weight increased by almost 20%, both helpful indicators of improved gut health. 

The fermented grape waste produced the most promising results. The researchers think this may be because fermentation changes the grapes’ chemical composition in a way that appeals to beneficial gut microbes that can boost the chickens’ digestive health. Strikingly also, the grape waste-treated birds showed beneficial physiological changes in their guts, 

Overall, the benefits of adding grape pomace were comparable to those recorded in the birds that received the conventional antibiotic treatment. It’s still not known why grape pomace has this antibiotic-like effect, but the researchers speculate that it could have something to do with a series of bioactive compounds contained in the waste including flavonoids, polyphenols, and tannins, which have been shown to reduce inflammation and to have antibacterial qualities. All of that potential sits untapped in wine waste, like buried treasure. 

But at least now there’s a possible alternative. Fermentation to make wine, and then to treat chickens might be exactly the circular solution that both these industries need. 

Tako et. al. “Dietary grape pomace mitigates high-NSP-induced inflammation and production loss via microbiome-SCFA-immune mediated pathways.” npj Biofilms and Microbiomes. 2026.

Image: ©Anthropocene

Based on reports that the federal government will announce a deal where Alberta’s effective industrial carbon price reaches $130 as late as 2040, we modeled three emissions scenarios. The delay in reaching $130, and the resulting delay in the...

Namun di balik keseruannya, tidak sedikit pemain yang justru mengalami kekalahan besar karena kurang memahami cara mengelola permainan dengan bijak.

Banyak pemain pemula sering terbawa suasana ketika sedang bermain. Mereka terus menekan tombol spin tanpa memperhatikan modal yang tersisa. Akibatnya, permainan yang awalnya hanya untuk hiburan berubah menjadi pengalaman yang melelahkan secara finansial maupun emosional. Karena itu, memahami cara menghindari kekalahan besar menjadi hal penting sebelum memulai permainan slot.

Jangan Bermain Dengan Emosi

Salah satu kesalahan paling umum saat bermain slot adalah mengambil keputusan berdasarkan emosi. Ketika mengalami kekalahan beruntun, sebagian pemain justru meningkatkan taruhan dengan harapan bisa mengembalikan modal dalam waktu cepat. Padahal langkah seperti ini sering membuat kerugian semakin besar.

Pemain yang lebih berpengalaman biasanya memilih berhenti sejenak ketika emosi mulai tidak stabil. Mereka memahami bahwa permainan slot tetap mengandalkan sistem acak, sehingga tidak ada jaminan kemenangan akan datang hanya karena taruhan dinaikkan. Mengendalikan emosi menjadi langkah awal agar permainan tetap terasa nyaman dan tidak berlebihan.

Tentukan Batas Modal Sejak Awal

Sebelum mulai bermain, tentukan terlebih dahulu jumlah modal yang memang siap digunakan untuk hiburan. Cara ini terlihat sederhana, tetapi sangat membantu menjaga kondisi keuangan tetap aman. Banyak pemain disiplin yang selalu memisahkan dana bermain dengan kebutuhan sehari-hari.

Misalnya, jika seseorang sudah menetapkan batas modal Rp100 ribu dalam satu sesi permainan, maka ia harus berhenti ketika nominal tersebut habis. Kebiasaan disiplin seperti ini membantu pemain menghindari keputusan impulsif yang sering muncul saat mengalami kekalahan.

Hindari Bermain Terlalu Lama

Durasi bermain juga memengaruhi pola keputusan pemain. Semakin lama seseorang bermain tanpa jeda, fokus dan konsentrasi biasanya mulai menurun. Dalam kondisi lelah, pemain lebih mudah mengambil keputusan terburu-buru.

Karena itu, banyak pemain berpengalaman memilih bermain dalam waktu singkat namun teratur. Mereka menikmati permainan secukupnya tanpa memaksakan diri untuk terus mengejar kemenangan. Cara ini membuat permainan terasa lebih santai dan tidak menimbulkan tekanan berlebihan.

Pahami Pola Permainan dan RTP

Memahami informasi dasar seperti RTP (Return to Player) juga penting sebelum memilih permainan slot. RTP merupakan persentase teoretis pengembalian dana kepada pemain dalam jangka panjang. Meski tidak menjamin kemenangan instan, game dengan RTP lebih tinggi sering dianggap memiliki peluang yang lebih stabil dibandingkan permainan dengan RTP rendah.

Selain RTP, pemain juga perlu memahami volatilitas permainan. Slot dengan volatilitas tinggi memang menawarkan kemenangan besar, tetapi risikonya juga lebih tinggi. Sebaliknya, slot volatilitas rendah cenderung memberikan kemenangan kecil namun lebih sering. Menyesuaikan jenis permainan dengan kondisi modal dapat membantu mengurangi risiko kekalahan besar.

Jangan Mudah Percaya “Pola Pasti Menang”

Di berbagai media sosial, banyak beredar informasi mengenai pola slot yang disebut-sebut bisa memberikan kemenangan pasti. Faktanya, permainan slot modern menggunakan sistem RNG (Random Number Generator) yang membuat hasil setiap putaran bersifat acak.

Karena itu, pemain sebaiknya lebih berhati-hati terhadap klaim yang terlalu berlebihan. Bermain dengan pemahaman realistis jauh lebih aman dibandingkan mengejar janji kemenangan instan yang belum tentu benar. Sikap kritis seperti ini penting agar pemain tidak mudah terbawa ekspektasi yang tidak masuk akal.

Jadikan Slot Sebagai Hiburan

Hal terpenting yang sering dilupakan pemain adalah memahami tujuan awal bermain slot, yaitu sebagai hiburan. Ketika permainan dijadikan sarana mencari keuntungan utama, tekanan mental biasanya akan meningkat. Pemain menjadi lebih mudah kecewa saat kalah dan sulit berhenti ketika sedang mengejar kemenangan.

Pemain yang menikmati slot sebagai hiburan umumnya memiliki kontrol bermain yang lebih baik. Mereka tahu kapan harus berhenti, kapan menikmati kemenangan kecil, dan kapan menghindari risiko berlebihan. Sikap seperti inilah yang membantu banyak pemain tetap nyaman menikmati permainan tanpa mengalami kerugian besar.

Penutup

Bermain slot memang bisa memberikan sensasi hiburan yang menyenangkan, terutama setelah menjalani aktivitas harian yang melelahkan. Namun tanpa kontrol yang baik, permainan ini juga bisa membawa kerugian besar dalam waktu singkat. Mengatur modal, mengendalikan emosi, memahami pola permainan, dan bermain secara bijak menjadi langkah penting agar pengalaman bermain tetap aman dan menyenangkan.

Pada akhirnya, pemain yang mampu menjaga kendali diri biasanya justru lebih menikmati permainan dalam jangka panjang. Bukan semata soal menang atau kalah, tetapi tentang bagaimana seseorang tetap bisa bermain dengan nyaman tanpa kehilangan kendali atas keputusan yang diambil.

Oh man. Same old clown show, awash with boondoggles, each more cringey than the last. As the mad man-child deconstructs DC and slaps his hideous face and name everywhere - historic buildings, fascist arches, garish statues, possibly imaginary gold phones - others have taken his lead with their own patriotic spinoffs. Cue "Fuck You" upgrades, a Strait to Hell arcade for a video-game war, and a Trump/Epstein "Memorial Reading Room" packed with 3.5 million pages of files, where "the truth is hard to deny."

Trump's narcissistic vandalizing of D.C. - couldn't his KKK dad have just hugged him now and then? - is "something dictators have done throughout history," noted Bernie Sanders of his proposed SERVE Act, or Stop Executive Renaming for Vanity and Ego. Co-sponsored by six Senate Dems, the bill would bar any sitting president from naming federal properties after themselves, an act both "arrogant" and illegal. At this rate many weary Americans would likely argue, "Let the chiseling off begin," but for now the bill sits in legislative limbo and we're stuck with the resulting atrocities; they continue to multiply like locusts, even as he's proposed a $10-billion fund for more "beautification" projects around "the capital of the greatest Nation in the history of the world."

Though he increasingly nods off in public - or per the White House, blinks - he still clutches at a farcical show of dominance he's leaned on in the endless self-glorification campaign that is his execrable life. There are posts quoting fictional "fans": "Remarkable leadership,” "Master of the Deal,” "THE GREATEST PRESIDENT WE HAVE EVER KNOWN." From the guy who's "confused the country for his living room," there's D.C's re-branding: the plaques, name changes, razed East Wing for a billion-dollar "albatross" nobody wants. There are new massive Stalin-esque banners at construction sites proclaiming, “Thank you, PRESIDENT TRUMP”- "like Michael Scott buying himself a World’s Best Boss coffee mug" we paid for - to which unenthused residents added, "Fuck You Cunt."

Snug in a delusional bubble where his approval is def not in the toilet, he feels free to rant, lie, melt down online without consequence. In one manic night, he posts 55 times in three hours: “Arrest Obama the traitor” and “DEMONIC FORCE,” also Hillary, Brennan, Comey, Kelly. Asked how much he thinks about the cost to Americans of his calamitous war, he blurts, “Not even a little bit.” His lackeys follow suit: Ka$h Patel yells, lies, hustles bourbon, pads his stats and takes a "VIP snorkel" in Pearl Harbor around the tomb of 900 U.S. soldiers as Sean Duffy takes his nine offspring on a "patriotic," seven-month Great American Road Trip filmed for YouTube and complete with "head-spinning" corporate sponsorship, both on the taxpayers' now-rapidly-shrinking dime.

Meanwhile, another project nobody asked for - draining and repainting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, aka "reflective pond," from traditional grey to garish blue - has shockingly veered off course. After boasting his bestest golf course pool painters could easy-peasy do a no-bid, $1.8 million, "smart and beautiful construction" that Dems stupidly opposed - "Dumacrats love sewage" - the cost has soared to $13.1 million, it's now by a contractor he "did not know and have never used before,” staff are worried the job is behind schedule, with "uneven application" leaving bubbles, holes and "mottled shades of blue" in the pool, and a judge has set a May 21 hearing for a lawsuit charging the project wasn't properly vetted, ditto a color "more appropriate to a resort or theme park."

More winning in Miami, where another lawsuit charges three acres of multi-million-dollar waterfront land were illegally grifted by DeSantis to Trump for $10 for his presidential “library,” actually a gaudy hotel with no books but more vitally two gold statues of, you know. They will presumably join in grotesque kinship with the $300,000, crypto-bro-funded, bronze and gold leaf Don Colossus just unveiled at Doral Miami, "where the Republic is currently moldering." Before "a robotic chorus of evangelical functionaries who (have) transformed themselves into the most theologically humiliated cohort in modern memory," the statue was honored as, not an idolatrous golden calf, insisted Pastor Mark Burns, but "a celebration of life" and symbol of "the hand of God over (Trump’s) life." Definitely not a cult.

Tacky is as tacky doesBluesky screenshot

Despite being heralded as God's second favorite son - one who "understands the Scriptures better than the Pope" - Trump is also widely deemed "an economic serial killer" presiding over an "America First Corporate Graveyard," skyrocketing inflation, national debt, farm bankruptcies, and energy costs, and possibly "the largest single act of grand larceny in American history" with a $10 billion payout by his own DOJ against his own IRS to settle his bullshit lawsuit for their leak of his tax returns, which every other president has released. Still, because grifting chutzpah thy name is, and because there's never enough money to fill the ugly gaping hole where a soul should be, he's still running penny-ante scams. Up next: Trump Mobile, "for the forgotten MAGA man."

Last June, his huckster spawn announced the launch of "a sleek, gold smartphone engineered for performance.” The T1 Phone, "proudly designed and built in the United States,” would be available in August at $499. For almost a year, they urged followers to make $100 "deposits" to "pre-order" the beauties; over half a million did, ponying up about $59 million. Then, the bait and switch. The terms of service quietly changed: The "deposit" provided "a conditional opportunity" to buy if Trump Mobile chose to sell. Pricing, production schedules, shipping costs were "non-binding." "Made in the USA" became "Proudly American Designed." "Delivery" dates got pushed back. Unexplained charges appeared. A reporter who called "Customer Service" got “Omega Auto Care." To date, no fantasy Trump phones have shipped. Cheap Crooks 'R Us.

"Service for the forgotten MAGA man"Image from Bluesky

Also, liars. With even neo-cons now deeming the Iran War potentially more of a debacle than Vietnam, the good folks at Secret Handshake, creators of the Trump/Epstein bestie statues, decided that with the regime hyping war like a video game, they might as well turn it into one. Operation Epic Furious: Strait to Hell , which is also online, features three working, arcade video games set up inside DC's War Memorial; they promise "high-octane, flag-waving, boots-on-the-ground...pure pixelated patriotism," or, per Hegseth, "laser-focused maximum reps annihilation mission crushing (with) sustained unrelenting pressure." Battles - by tweet, not gun - pit US forces against ”Iranian schoolgirl,“ "DEIyatollah,“ low-flow shower heads, the Pope and other "threats to American freedom."

Games open with Trump declaring, “Another big, beautiful day as the best President ever.” Options for the prompt, “Ready to ROCK Iran back to the Stone Ages?” are “Not Yet...” “Yes” and “Hell Yes.” Yells Pete, “Let’s liberate some oil!” Trump can order a Diet Coke or bomb Iran; search for barrels of oil, ideas for Truth Social posts, or endless threats that lead nowhere; he vows to “fight this war and win it by hamburger o’clock.” Melania: “I WAS NEVER ON THE EPSTEIN JET...Did you burn the files yet?” JD, fat-faced: “I love couch.” The only way you can lose is by trying to hold Melania’s hand, which abruptly ends the game; otherwise, it’s impossible to end or win it. Irony never dies: Images have surfaced of bored National Guardsmen - a $1 million a day deployment - playing.

Another piece of protest art brings the truth of "one of the most horrific crimes in American history” to Trump's hometown. "The Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room,” in New York's Tribeca, is a first-of-its-kind, 5,000-square-foot installation containing all the unsealed Epstein files - 3.5 million pages printed and bound into 3,437 volumes weighing 17,000 pounds, "a physical, undeniable record of corruption, cover-ups, and crime." The pop-up project in the Mriya Gallery was created by the non-profit Primary Facts; it took them about a month to print the files. The exhibit is on view through May 21; admission to groups for a one-hour session is free; organizers are raising funds to cover the New York premiere and bring it to other cities.

The Trumpsonian installation is built around a candlelit tribute to Epstein's more than 1,200 victims and survivors, whose names are all redacted here in closed binders - unlike at the DOJ, where they were badly, only partly redacted, a failure adding insult to injury along with an ongoing, multi-pronged cover-up. The Trump and Epstein Reading Room also includes a timeline documenting the decades-long crimes, legal proceedings and intersections between the two men's lives, all underlining the criminal absurdity of federal claims "there's nothing left to investigate." The vast trove of information, organizers say, is "what 3.5 million pages of evidence looks like." Trump, as deeply complicit as he is narcissistic, "wanted his name on stuff." Now, here it is.

From the TrumpsonianImage from Memorial Reading Room

We hear it all the time: “Americans just love their cars.” But the recent opening of a subway line in Los Angeles proves that Americans are even more crazy for transit — and when new stations open, they turn it into a party.

Check out this dispatch from Los Angeles by Hideaki Transit, where the opening of the new Metro D Line extension turned into nothing short of Woodstock for NUMTOTs. Complete with off-color puns, viral merch, spontaneous group chants, and even a pop-up furry convention, this raucous celebration of shared transportation should inspire leaders across the country to build party-worthy transit projects everywhere. (And yes, we promise: it’s safe for work.)

• The author of the book “Sidewalk Nation” reports that many cities do a terrible job of maintaining sidewalks, but some are improving. Siloed departments’ areas of oversight overlap, property owners are put in charge of repairs, and municipal budgets are tight. Michael Pollack advocates for cities to create departments of sidewalk and institute funding mechanisms like sidewalk improvement fees. (Governing)
• Rep. Rick Larsen, the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said a bipartisan consensus is emerging around a multi-year funding bill involving safety improvements and freight connectivity. (Transport Topics)
• Amtrak unveiled the new Freedom250 next-gen Acela train (Railway Age) and, separately, a new train wrap celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (Axios).
• Short-hop flights of less than 250 miles are on the decline. (NPR)
• A federal bill encouraging transit-oriented development would bolster transit agencies’ bottom line by adding more riders. (Transportation for America)
• On the Seams goes inside Amazon’s vast distribution and delivery network.
• “Just one more lane, bro,” transportation engineering textbooks still say. “Just one more lane, and I promise, no more traffic.” (State Smart Transportation Initiative)
• San Antonio found a way around Texas’ ban on rainbow crosswalks by painting sidewalks instead. (New York Times)
• A Minnesota bill would consolidate Twin Cities transit agencies. (streets.mn)
• Empty Waymos are circling aimlessly around Atlanta cul-de-sacs. (WSB-TV)
• Saratoga is taking public input on a Complete Streets makeover for Main Street. (Saratoga Magazine)
• The fast-growing Arkansas village Cave Springs is also redesigning its Main Street to make it more pedestrian-friendly. (CNU Public Square)
• A think tank is urging the British government to lower speed limits to avoid an “energy shock” due to the Iran war. (The Guardian)
• Fox News reporters are probably so used to being able to park illegally with impunity that they were shocked when an automated camera ticketed them within two minutes in Beijing — ironically, while they were there to do a negative story about Chinese surveillance. (X)

It’s the 78th anniversary the Nakba. The Nakba, meaning “catastrophe” in Arabic, refers to the mass displacement, dispossession, and ethnic cleansing of roughly 750,000 Palestinian Arabs during the 1948 Arab-Israeli…