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The people of Toronto are fed up with pigeons. The birds crowd around subway stations, overload balconies with poop, and build their flammable nests in hazardous places. The city has tried trapping...

One of a number of big battery projects facing long connection delays finally shows sign of life, as developers urge changes to the connection process.

The post Pioneering big battery shows first signs of life after months of connection delays appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Fourteen students at Yale University are on a hunger strike over the school’s connection to arms manufacturers currently supplying Israel with weaponry.

The group sent Yale University Peter Salovey a letter declaring that their strike would begin if the school did not take immediate action on the issue.

“We here at Yale University have witnessed this ongoing genocide from the comforts of not only the heart of the empire that is funding the military conquest and colonization of Palestine, but from the distance and security provided by the investments of this University which profit from this mass ethnic cleansing,” it reads.

The post Yale Students Launch Hunger Strike Over School’s Connection To Gaza appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

There is a rebellion brewing in England, particularly in the north, where voters are fed up with the similar, repressive policies of both Labour and Conservative Parties, in particular when it comes to Gaza.

This movement is being spearheaded by a surge of independent candidates for local council elections slated for May 2, and by George Galloway’s new Workers’ Party of Britain. Galloway became the first member of the party to be elected to Parliament in February representing Rochdale, outside Manchester.

The post Revolt In Northern England: No Ceasefire, No Vote appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

Queensland government to design mandatory code of conduct for solar and wind developers setting rules of community engagement.

The post Community code of conduct to set “Australian-first” standards for wind and solar farm developers appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Israel was on the verge of launching a ground offensive on the Gazan city of Rafah but delayed the campaign after Iran launched a massive retaliatory attack on Israel over the weekend, CNN reported on 15 April.

Citing Israeli sources, CNN reported that the Israeli Air Force was set to begin dropping leaflets on parts of Rafah on Monday in preparation for a ground offensive into Rafah – Gaza’s southernmost city where more than 1 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering from Israel’s six-month bombing campaign.

Those plans were allegedly halted after Iran launched an attack of some 300 missiles and drones toward Israel late Saturday.

The post Iran Attack Puts Israeli Rafah Invasion On Ice appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

Maple Grove, MN — Pro-Palestine activists blockaded an Amazon distribution center in the northwestern Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove as part of A15 Action, a global day of action against Israel’s war on Gaza. In a separate action in the Twin Cities, a Wells Fargo Bank branch in South Minneapolis was vandalized and had its windows broken.

Starting at 7 a.m. on April 15, dozens of activists blocked all distribution from the Maple Grove Amazon facility for more than two hours, delaying an estimated 100-plus shipping trucks. Four different elements made up the blockade and protest with all four deploying simultaneously.

The post Amazon, Wells Fargo Targeted On Day Of Action For Palestine appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

Washington - A coalition of Western Apaches and allies today asked all 29 judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to protect their sacred site at Oak Flat from destruction by a mining project. In Apache Stronghold v. United States, a special “en banc” panel of eleven judges split 6-5 earlier this year, refusing to stop the federal government from transferring Oak Flat to Resolution Copper, a foreign-owned mining company that plans to turn Oak Flat into a massive mining crater, ending Apache religious practices forever.

The post Apache Stronghold Asks 29-Judge Appeals Court To Save Oak Flat appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

As the United Auto Workers (UAW) set their sights again on organizing factory workers in the Deep South, they do so keenly aware of the difficulties campaigning in a center of union-busting reaction. In 2019, bosses at a Chattanooga Volkswagen plant led a vicious anti-union campaign, abetted by Donald Trump’s National Labor Relations Board, that defeated an earlier UAW campaign there. When Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama, waged an audacious effort to unionize in 2021, against one of the largest corporations on Earth, they likewise faltered in the face of widespread interference and intimidation.

The post How Alabama Communists Organized In The Jim Crow South appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

How rich have America’s super rich become? The annual compensation of Steve Schwarzman, the chief exec of the private-equity colossus Blackstone Inc., offers up one telling yardstick.

In 2023, we learned earlier this year, Schwarzman’s take-home actually fell some 30 percent off what he collected the year before. But Schwarzman’s overall payday for that year, even after that tanking, still amounted to a jaw-dropping $896.7 million.

The current personal net worth of Blackstone’s CEO? The Bloomberg Billionaires Index puts that figure at a sweet $42.3 billion.

The post To Trim Richest Down To Democratic Size, We Need To Think Big appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

In a little more than two years as CEO of a small hospital in Wyoming, Dave Ryerse has witnessed firsthand the worsening financial problems eroding rural hospitals nationwide.

In 2022, Ryerse’s South Lincoln Medical Center was forced to shutter its operating room because it didn’t have the staff to run it 24 hours a day. Soon after, the obstetrics unit closed.

Ryerse said the publicly owned facility’s revenue from providing care has fallen short of operating expenses for at least the past eight years, driving tough decisions to cut services in hopes of keeping the facility open in Kemmerer, a town of about 2,400 in southwestern Wyoming.

The post Half Of Rural Hospitals Are Operating At A Loss appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

The 5th People’s Health Assembly (PHA 5), held in Argentina from April 7 to 11, deepened discussions on the much-needed transformation of health systems. Since the adoption of the Alma Ata Declaration in 1978, health systems have increasingly strayed from the goals of Comprehensive Primary Health Care and Universal Health Care, becoming victims of financialization and corporatization, the activists warned.

“Health goals have been subjugated to shareholder values, market fluctuations, and financial failures,” commented Nicoletta Dentico of the Society for International Development (SID) during the Assembly.

The post People’s Health Assembly Calls For Transformation Of Health Systems appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines’ group company, MOL Drybulk, and Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering have concluded a construction contract for a new module carrier that the company says is Japan’s first coastal module carrier to transport components for offshore wind turbine foundations.

The vessel is scheduled for delivery in 2026 and will then be set to engage in the coastal transport of turbine foundations from the JFE Engineering manufacturing base in Kasaoka-shi, Okayama Prefecture to offshore turbine construction sites in Japan. MOL Coastal Shipping will operate the vessel under the management of MOL Drybulk.

This month, JFE Engineering began production of monopiles used to build offshore foundations.

MOL says the vessel will be equipped with a dynamic positioning system and offer higher weather resistance than non-self-propelled barges, providing direct delivery of cargo to self-elevating platform vessels at offshore wind power construction sites. 

The post Coastal Module Carrier to Transport Offshore Wind Turbine Foundation Components appeared first on North American Windpower.

image description: a blue, yellow and white graphic with a bus logo in the top left corner. It shares the zoom meeting info for the PRT bus network redesign meeting on April 16 from 5:30-7:00 pm, and says that meeting video and materials will be posted on the project website.

Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) is in the midst of a once-in-a-generation process of rewriting the transit network through their “Bus Line Redesign” project. This is a BIG DEAL.

This is a big deal because it will decide what communities the bus network will serve, how frequently the buses will run, and at what times of day and week– for a very long time. If you have ideas about how transit service should be changed to serve different communities or at different times, or have ideas about what transit service is working well (!) then you should weigh in!

How to Get Involved: 

1. Come to PRT’s Bus Line Redesign meeting tonight, April 16th from 5:30-7:00 pm online on Zoom. Register for that meeting here: https://engage.rideprt.org/buslineredesign/bus-line-redesign-public-meeting-3 

2. Check out PRT’s website, where they share a lot of really interesting and valuable data about how our transit system works and who it serves (and doesn’t serve). They also share the data and feedback received in in-person outreach and through their online survey in the first round of engagement this Fall. You can find that information here (and take a good look at the documents and links towards the bottom of the page): https://engage.rideprt.org/buslineredesign/buslineredesign-home 

3. Uplift our call for PRT to develop a  “visionary” transit network during this Bus Network Redesign– an expansion plan for transit service, rather than just putting forward “cost-neutral” transit service alternatives. In the last 20 years, 37% of our total transit service in the region has been cut, and that has resulted in fewer routes, less frequent service, and service that runs for a shorter time span everyday. If PRT just develops a  “cost-neutral” transit service plan, they will end up taking away the limited service that remains in some communities to add to others– and we’re tired of negotiating for crumbs! Everyone in Allegheny County deserves access to baseline quality transit service as a human right. With a plan for service expansion, our elected leaders and the public can get behind the fight for making it real.

What We’re Seeing:

We want to give lots of credit to Pittsburgh Regional Transit for doing such a deep analysis of the current system, and sharing this excellent data identifying trends with post-pandemic ridership.  We also want to give some big ups to PRT for holding a lot of in-person feedback sessions in communities around the County, and for soliciting feedback from transit operators, who are experts in the system.

Broadly, we agree that there should be more neighborhood connections and crosstown routes, and shifting service to better serve off-peak hours and weekends rather than concentrating service  9-5 pm downtown commuters. We strongly agree with PRT’s work identifying and prioritizing communities that are currently underserved but have a higher likelihood of taking transit if it’s provided.

A few areas of concern that we see:

• We want to know what specific metrics are going to define success for this bus line redesign. For instance, will the new transit network yield increased ridership overall and fewer car drivers, expanded access to jobs (ie. a 15% increase in the number of jobs within a 30 min transit commute of Northview Heights), more satisfied transit riders, reductions in transportation emissions in the County, or shorter commute times for marginalized communities to access critical services like hospitals and grocery stores? PRT’s website has project goals like “simplify the bus network” and “ensure that the bus network continues to promote safety,” which feel too abstract to be able to evaluate the success of the network redesign. Those particular project goals may also yield outcomes harmful to riders.

• Riders cannot wait until a new network is implemented to have reliable schedules. Unreliable schedules are due to bad scheduling, not issues with the route design. PRT needs to provide adequate run time for transit operators to be able to get to the stops when they are scheduled. If PRT cannot fix this issue with the current schedule, with all of the real-time data that they have on route timing, then it will not be fixed with the new bus network design, either. It is worth noting that transit operators again raised this issue in their feedback.

• The online survey results for the first round of public engagement are not representative of public transit rider demographics, and so the results of that survey should be reviewed with a grain of salt. PRT does a good job breaking down the demographic data in the appendix, but it is important to read the report with an understanding that the data overrepresents higher income white women.  

There is a lot more for the public to unpack in the information that is shared on the PRT website and in the online public meeting, and that’s why we need you! 

1. Come to PRT’s Bus Line Redesign meeting tonight, April 16th from 5:30-7:00 pm online on Zoom. Register for that meeting here: https://engage.rideprt.org/buslineredesign/bus-line-redesign-public-meeting-3 

2. Don’t forget to check out PRT’s website, where they share a lot of really interesting and valuable data here: https://engage.rideprt.org/buslineredesign/buslineredesign-home 

3. And uplift our call for PRT to develop a  “visionary” transit network during this Bus Network Redesign– an expansion plan for transit service, rather than just putting forward “cost-neutral” transit service alternatives. We want frequent service AND service that runs to all our communities. We want buses that run early in the morning to get us to church, and buses that run late to bring us home from our second shift at the hospital. Transit riders are not going to negotiate against each other, because all of our needs are important. 

We want to hear from you! What do you see as needs in the upcoming Bus Line Redesign?

Let Pittsburgh Regional Transit know your thoughts at http://buslineredesign.com.

The post PRT’s Bus Network Redesign is a Big Deal and Here’s How to Weigh In appeared first on Pittsburghers for Public Transit.

Nevada is at the frontlines of a national rush to mine lithium. As we work to mitigate climate impacts that play out on a global scale, Indigenous communities in Nevada are raising awareness that we must also address the regional environmental and cultural destruction mining creates.

In March of 2024, Joshua Dini, a Walker River Paiute Tribal member, rode many miles on horseback with a group of other land protectors in prayer. They prayed for health and a clean environment for all people in light of the new mining rush. The ride traversed over 230 miles through Northern Nevada, starting in Dini’s hometown of Shurz and ending at Peehee Mu’huh, also known as Thacker Pass. 

Prayer Horse Riders. Source: Prayer Horse Ride

This was the third year of the Prayer Horse Ride. All along the path the riders stopped to visit Tribes and shared hope, prayer, and education. Through traveling to neighboring communities and educating, Dini is continuing the work of his late brother, indigenous journalist and land protector Myron Dewey, though the tradition of unity, prayer, and moving on the land goes much farther back.

“The government set up these reservations to bring divisions within our people,” Dini said. “The goal for this Prayer Horse Ride is to ride in a vision of our ancestors to bring prayer, healing, and unity. It is reminding the people to look past those boundaries, remembering we didn’t have these boundaries, we welcomed and supported each other’s families.”

The Prayer Horse Ride started in response to the Thacker Pass Mine, a lithium mine being constructed in a sacred landscape known as Peehee Mu’huh. The name translates to rotten moon and references two massacres that took place at the pass. The most recent massacre was an act of the US federal government as efforts were made to open western lands for mining and ranching. 

This prayer ride comes at an important moment to remind people that work to protect Peehee Mu’huh is not  based on the outcome of a federal lawsuit. Last year, the ninth circuit ruled that the BLM violated the law in permitting the Thacker Pass mine, yet broke from judicial precedent in not vacating the permit as a result, allowing the project to move forward. Federal courts also ruled against regional Tribes who sued the BLM for failure to adequately consult with them on the project. 

“We go through a court system that is not made for us,” Dini said. “I am going to continue to go up to those lands and stand with my family that are up there praying to protect this land. There can be a miracle when things turn around. That was part of our prayer this year; for a shift. We look at Thacker Pass, but there is also Jindalee and other mines coming in. If we can shift those, then that is a victory.”

For those like Dini working to protect these lands, it is no longer just about the Thacker Pass Mine; companies have proposed a number of additional mines throughout the McDermitt Caldera, a lithium-rich geological feature in Northern Nevada and Southern Oregon. Peehee Mu’huh is at the southern end of the caldera which extends roughly 28 miles to the north and is 22 miles from east to west. Activists and Tribes in the region are working to prevent the caldera from becoming a sacrifice zone.

Lithium mineralization in McDermitt Caldera. Source: Science Advances

The Jindalee project , at the northern end of the caldera, underwent an environmental assessment for expanded exploratory drilling last year and is moving towards mine permitting.The Aurora project, also on the Oregon side, is also progressing through exploration. The proponents of this mine are planning to produce uranium in addition to lithium. Both of these projects are on public lands and will be subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the federal law that requires the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to consider the social and environmental impacts of a proposed project on federal lands.  NEPA will include the opportunity for participation through public comment.

Despite being permitted, there are still impacts from the Thacker Pass Mine that warrant public participation. The mine could significantly harm sensitive species and crucial habitat. Opportunities to better protect species and habitat are ongoing, even with mine construction underway. 

The Kings River pyrg is an endemic spring snail only found at Peehee Mu’huh. There are currently efforts led by Western Watersheds to secure emergency endangered species act listing for the Kings River pyrg. In 2024, the US Fish and Wildlife Service accepted Western Watershed’s petition and determined that the issue warranted a formal 12-month listing status review.

Another sensitive species, the Sage Grouse, also depends on the area in and around Thacker Pass. It is well known that the high desert sagebrush ecosystem found throughout the McDermitt Caldera is crucial to sensitive Sage Grouse populations. The BLM published a Draft Environmental Impact Statement on updating Sage Grouse management for comment in March, 2024.

“We don’t stop because we lose two lawsuits,” Dini said. “We’ve been losing fights for 500 years, but we keep fighting and we keep praying.”

Dini and the other riders are carrying on an old tradition of Indigenous stewardship, though they have also forged relationships with non-native supporters. Not just in Nevada, but across the globe, Indigenous communities are on the frontlines of increased interest in mining to support the energy transition. 

Shruz, NV community gathering to start the prayer ride.

Earthworks attended the start of the ride in Shurz, NV where we were honored to share perspective on a panel discussion focused on the impacts of mining to Indigenous Peoples and the pressing need for mining law reform. 

In the United States, the 1872 General Mining Act, enacted over 150 years ago, still governs hardrock mining. Part of Earthworks’ mission that aligns with the work of the Prayer Horse Riders is to reform the federal mining law to better protect other land uses such as sacred sites from the harmful effects of mining.

On the riders’ first stop in Yerrington, NV, a local mining watchdog non-profit Great Basin Resource Watch provided a mining impact 101 workshop. There is no right to say no to a mine in federal mining law. 

“Working with other organizations is great because they have different knowledge and connections to help us with the legal stuff in addition to the cultural work,” Dini said. “This is not just an Indigenous issue, it is a human issue. It is human survival because now the water is going to be contaminated and there will be bad air that is going to hurt all of our health.”

Dini explained that in light of current tensions between Indigenous land protection and mining for electric vehicle battery minerals, federal reforms and/or new policies are needed.

“We should be able to be at the table to help make policies that will protect us as much as possible,” he said. 

You can support these efforts to protect the Caldera and stay up to date by following People of Red Mountain, Great Basin Resource Watch, and Earthworks. 

The post Third Annual Prayer Horse Ride Travels Northern Nevada to Protect Peehee Mu’huh appeared first on Earthworks.

The projects come as battery storage capacity in ERCOT could grow to 17,700 MW by mid-2025 from 6,300 MW in March, according to data from the grid operator.

“In a rural area, if you want something you have to start it,” said Dara Hart Riley as she sits crosslegged on a circular rug that would soon be filled with children gathering for a music class.

As a musician and a mother from Floyd County, Kentucky, the idea to start offering music classes in Eastern Kentucky came after she saw Kindermusik classes online years ago. After learning there was nothing available locally, she jokes that she “accidentally started a business.”

Dara (far right) teaching one of her classes.

In 2018, after about a year of training in Kindermusik, she began teaching classes, incorporating her education in yoga and writing her own songs as well. It soon shifted from weekly sessions traveling around Floyd, Magoffin, Letcher and Martin Counties to classes in a rented brick and mortar studio. But then the pandemic came, and so did some significant health challenges for Dara.

Dara was diagnosed with MOGAD, an autoimmune disorder, in 2021. Soon after, she lost the ability to walk, speak fluently, and use her hands due to brain and spinal lesions. It also created memory issues. She had to go through extensive therapy. It was through this process she gained insight into what children with learning or physical disabilities need, and she saw the vision for what her classes could be.

“Around here, many services and places are not accessible. It’s like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Many families with disabilities or chronic illnesses are often unable to find extra curricular activities that fit their needs.”

Dara shifted her classes to be more inclusive. The Kent Rose Foundation, a local nonprofit, provided funding for adaptable instruments, such as hand grippers for drum mallets and sensory stepping stones.

“I’ve found that the needs I have are needs similar to those of many others in our community: connection, family and friendship, inclusiveness, accommodation, understanding, belonging.”

Despite this exciting new direction, Dara said she still felt a bit lost.

“The overwhelm of picturing a brighter vision for my work held me back,” she explained. “What I truly needed to rekindle the fire was direction.”

“With the help of Carla Gover through the Mountain Association’s Business Support program, I’ve come to pin exactly which direction I needed to take my business. And I’ve been shown the tools I need to sustain this dream for the long run.”

Fast forward to Spring 2024, as we sit together before the class, Dara shares that she is finally ready to move into what she hopes will be her forever studio near her home in Floyd County. To celebrate this new beginning, she also announced a new business name that truly embodies what her classes are like: Joyful Jams.

Dara and Carla have been working on this complete rebrand and rethinking for the past several months. Carla is assisting her with building a new website that offers membership and other payment options. At the same time as this work, Dara will be moving into the new studio, which will feature a chill out room for over stimulated kiddos, a changing room, safety barriers to prevent elopement, and more. She said most of her classes include about half neurotypical kids and half neurodivergent, whether it be Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, or other disabilities.

“I love that can now serve families with issues similar to mine,” Dara said, standing up as she prepares to start the class with a “bumble bee breath.”

Eastern Kentucky seems to be experiencing an inclusion revolution as more parents work together to build community and expanded options. We recently wrote about Prestonsburg’s autism and sensory friendly movement here, and hope to continue to feature more examples of inclusion. Please write with any ideas: ariel@mtassociation.org.

On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a "bump" for our ask. This week features "Is the science settled?". More will follow in the upcoming weeks. Please follow the Further Reading link at the bottom to read the full rebuttal and to join the discussion in the comment thread there.

At a glance

Science, in all of its aspects, is an ongoing matter. It is based on making progress. For a familiar example, everyone knows that the dinosaurs died out suddenly, 65 million years ago. They vanished from the fossil record. The science is settled on that. But how and why that happened is still a really interesting research area. We know a monster asteroid smacked into the planet at roughly the same time. But we cannot yet conclude with 100% certainty that the asteroid bore sole responsibility for everything that followed.

With regard to climate science, the basis of the greenhouse effect was demonstrated in the 19th Century. The effect on global temperature through doubling the concentration of atmospheric CO2 had been calculated before 1900 and was not far off modern estimates. Raising global temperature causes Earth's climatic belts to shift polewards. Higher temperatures reduce the amount of land-ice on the planet. That in turn causes sea levels to rise. These are such simple basic physical principles that we can confidently state the science is settled on all of them.

Where the science is less settled is in the fine detail. For example, if you live in a coastal town at a low elevation, you would obviously like to know when it is likely to be affected by rising seas. But that's difficult.

Difficult because changes in sea levels, variations in the sizes of tides and weather patterns are all factors that operate independently of each other and on different time-scales. We may well know that a big storm-surge hitting the coast at high water on a spring tide is the worst-case scenario, but we don't know exactly when that might happen in the decades ahead. Too many variables.

Such minute but important details are where the science isn't settled. Yes we know that if we carry on spewing out tens of billions of tonnes of CO2 every year, things will get really bad. Where and when is the tricky bit. But if climate change was a deadly pathogen, for which there was a vaccine, most of us would get that jab.

In passing, the myth in the box above illustrates a key tactic of misinformation-practitioners, to mix up a whole bunch of talking-points into a rhetorical torrent. The classic example of the practice is the 'Gish-gallop'.

The term Gish-gallop was coined in reference to a leading American member of the creationist movement, Duane Gish (1921-2013). Gish was well-known for relishing fiery public debates with evolutionists. He perfected the method of presenting multiple arguments in a rapid-fire but scattergun manner so that they are impossible to answer in a structured form. It's the opposite of scientific discussion. The Gish-galloper appears to the viewers or listeners to be winning the debate. 'Appears' is the keyword here, though. If you can recognise a Gish-gallop developing, you can make your own mind up quickly.

Please use this form to provide feedback about this new "At a glance" section. Read a more technical version below or dig deeper via the tabs above!

Click for Further details

In case you'd like to explore more of our recently updated rebuttals, here are the links to all of them:

Myths with link to rebuttal Short URLs Ice age predicted in the 1970s sks.to/1970s It hasn't warmed since 1998 sks.to/1998 Antarctica is gaining ice sks.to/antarctica CRU emails suggest conspiracy sks.to/climategate What evidence is there for the hockey stick sks.to/hockey CO2 lags temperature sks.to/lag Climate's changed before sks.to/past It's the sun sks.to/sun Temperature records are unreliable sks.to/temp The greenhouse effect and the 2nd law of thermodynamics sks.to/thermo We're heading into an ice age sks.to/iceage Positives and negatives of global warming sks.to/impacts The 97% consensus on global warming sks.to/consensus Global cooling - Is global warming still happening? sks.to/cooling How reliable are climate models? sks.to/model Can animals and plants adapt to global warming? sks.to/species What's the link between cosmic rays and climate change? sks.to/cosmic Is Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth accurate? sks.to/gore Are glaciers growing or retreating? sks.to/glacier Ocean acidification: global warming's evil twin sks.to/acid The human fingerprint in global warming sks.to/agw Empirical evidence that humans are causing global warming sks.to/evidence How do we know more CO2 is causing warming? sks.to/greenhouse Explaining how the water vapor greenhouse effect works sks.to/vapor The tricks employed by the flawed OISM Petition Project to cast doubt on the scientific consensus on climate change sks.to/OISM Is extreme weather caused by global warming? sks.to/extreme How substances in trace amounts can cause large effects sks.to/trace How much is sea level rising? sks.to/sealevel Is CO2 a pollutant? sks.to/pollutant Does cold weather disprove global warming? sks.to/cold Do volcanoes emit more CO2 than humans? sks.to/volcano How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions? sks.to/co2 Climate scientists could make more money in other careers sks.to/money How reliable are CO2 measurements? sks.to/co2data Do high levels of CO2 in the past contradict the warming effect of CO2? sks.to/pastco2 What is the net feedback of clouds? sks.to/cloud Global warming vs climate change sks.to/name Is Mars warming? sks.to/mars How the IPCC is more likely to underestimate the climate response sks.to/underestimat How sensitive is our climate? sks.to/sensitivity Evidence for global warming sks.to/warming Has the greenhouse effect been falsified? sks.to/falsify Does breathing contribute to CO2 buildup in the atmosphere? sks.to/breath What is causing the increase in atmospheric CO2? sks.to/CO2increase What is methane's contribution to global warming? sks.to/methane Plants cannot live on CO2 alone sks.to/plant Is the CO2 effect saturated? sks.to/saturate Greenhouse warming 100 times greater than waste heat sks.to/waste How will global warming affect polar bears? sks.to/bear The runaway greenhouse effect on Venus sks.to/venus What climate change is happening to other planets in the solar system? sks.to/planets Has Arctic sea ice returned to normal? sks.to/arctic Was Greenland really green in the past? sks.to/green Is Greenland gaining or losing ice? sks.to/greenland Human activity is driving retreat of Arctic sea ice sks.to/arcticcycle The albedo effect and global warming sks.to/albedo Does CO2 always correlate with temperature? sks.to/correlate Human fingerprints on climate change rule out natural cycles sks.to/cycle Global warming and the El Niño Southern Oscillation sks.to/elnino The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) is not causing global warming sks.to/pdo Is the science settled? sks.to/settled

 

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What is EWG’s Food Scores? JR Culpepper April 16, 2024

EWG’s Food Scores is an easy-to-use food database that helps you make healthier, more informed choices about what you eat and drink based on scientific data and research.

The database puts at consumers’ fingertips information about over 80,000 products, ranging from candy to condiments – including many, if not most, of the products in your shopping cart. Consumers have searched Food Scores over 100 million times since it launched in 2014. 

Food and beverages are ranked on their nutrition, ingredient and processing concerns. Each product gets a score on a scale of 1 to 10 – best to worst – so you can find out the healthfulness of a product at a glance. But Details are also available for each product’s score breakdown, highlighting concerns and known safety hazards that affect the score. 

The database also features a unique function that allows users to customize each product’s nutrition facts panel by age, gender and life stage, including whether they are pregnant. This information is based on values from the National Institutes of Health’s Dietary Reference Intakes tables and reports. Users can also limit their searches to certified organic, GMO-free or gluten-free foods.

The database is free, available online or through EWG’s Healthy Living App, which lets shoppers scan product barcodes and compare the scores of similar products.

How are scores determined? 

EWG’s scientists base scores on weighted counts for nutrition, ingredient and processing concerns. Generally, nutrition counts most, ingredient concerns next and degree of processing least. The scores in combination determine the total product score.

The nutrition score uses a modified version of the Ofcom Nutritional Profiling Model. Developed by Oxford University and the U.K. Food Standards Agency and in effect since 2007, this model provides a scientific basis for regulating advertisements of unhealthy foods and beverages that target children.

Ofcom is a trusted model used worldwide as a foundation for similar nutrition models. EWG has modified Ofcom to fit our standards and your needs. The algorithm we use differentiates between healthful and less healthful foods by considering calories, saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, sodium, protein, fiber, fruit, vegetable and nut content and other factors.

Our scientists assess the safety and health impacts of individual ingredients based on EWG’s total hazards methodology. Certain contaminants, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and food additives all influence the score. EWG uses peer-reviewed studies to determine the health implications of ingredients and other factors.

Eating a variety of whole foods is the healthiest option, but people often turn to processed foods due to busy schedules and cost constraints. The processing score reflects our best estimate of the extent to which a product has been modified, enhanced or preserved.

To create this algorithm, our scientists researched food processing using industry handbooks, patents, agency reports and manuals. The major factors considered for this calculation include the manufacturing process of individual ingredients, ingredient origin and the overall process of product creation. 

After the three scores are combined, the overall score is rounded to the nearest whole number.  

How often is the database updated?

The Food Scores database is updated monthly with new food products and manufacturing changes, primarily using label information from Label Insight. But new product entries do not replace old ones of the same product. If an item hasn’t been updated for over a year, it is then flagged with an asterisk and may have a newer entry in the system.

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Another potential complication is duplicate listings for a single product. This can occur when manufacturers change formulas or serving sizes. Updates like these may cause scores for the same product to vary.

To make sure you’re looking at the correct products, compare your item’s ingredient list to the one in the database. If they don’t match, look for another entry in the database.

Why do we do it? 

EWG does the hard work for you. We know not everyone has time to make sense of the confusing ingredients on their food labels. And government agencies and corporations are failing to protect us.

Our database simplifies the information you need to decide whether a product fits your lifestyle.

“We developed EWG’s Food Scores in recognition of two trends," said Ken Cook, EWG president and co-founder. “First, Americans are becoming increasingly concerned about excessive amounts of sugar, salt, fat and other unhealthy ingredients in supermarket food. Second, they no longer trust big food companies or popular brands to put health before profits, not even the health of our kids.

“With EWG’s Food Scores, shoppers can quickly see what food companies are really putting into their food,” he added.

You can consult Food Scores through the EWG website. Or use the Healthy Living app for free, easy access to the database when you’re on the go. For more information, check out the FAQ page on the EWG Food Scores website.

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The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.

Areas of Focus Food Family Health Children’s Health Disqus Comments Guest Authors Alexandra Hopkins, Communications Intern April 16, 2024

When it comes to a green future, money isn’t everything. In the case of Indigenous peoples, there also needs to be a variety of support and cultural understanding.