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Happy Friday!
Welcome back to another Economic Perspective! This last week, The Balmoral Group Seattle Branch spent the morning volunteering at Tilth Alliance preparing and maintaining the annual and perennial garden beds, as well as laying brick down and other garden bed prep work at the Good Shepherd Center Garden in Wallingford.
In global news, Muhammad Yunus, a previous Nobel winner credited with implementing Microfinance programs to the benefit of millions of poor households and especially women, was named Interim Prime Minister of Bangladesh this week following massive civil unrest. Yunus is a highly respected economist and previous recipient of the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, and his global influence is expected to bring stability to Bangladesh.
In this edition we bring you stories on community projects in Seattle, heat waves impact on forests, irrigation drones, wasting disease in Washington, and AI! Our data visualization covers the current renting market in the U.S. and its impact on the election.
We hope you enjoy the read and let us know what you think! Feel free to share this with your friends, and stay tuned for the next Economic Perspective. If you’d like to view previous editions please click here, or to subscribe please click here!
Thank you and have a great weekend!
City of Seattle Parks and Recreation Wants to Hear from its Community on Future Projects
Seattle’s 2024-25 funding cycle has $5.2 million ready to invest on Seattle park improvements and they want community members to help make the call on which of the 30 improvement proposals get funded. 30 proposed projects part of the project development phase for Park CommUNITY fund are out for potential selection and include everything from improvements to infrastructure to advancing equity. Anyone who lives, works, and plays in Seattle or is part of a Tribal government may be part of the community selection process. Seattle Times
Environmental Groups Sue Suncor for Colorado Refinery Pollution
Various environmental groups have sued Suncor Energy on Tuesday saying that pollution from the company’s Commerce City refinery in Colorado is causing long lasting harm to surrounding communities. More than 9,000 instances of alleged Clean Air Act violations have been brought to the courts by Earthjustice on behalf of GreenLatinos, the Sierra Club, and 350 Colorado. Colorado has previously fined Suncor $10.5 million for air pollution violations between 2019-2021, and residents around Commerce City have complained about air quality problems around their oil refinery. Read more.
New Study Reveals How Extreme Heat Waves Affect Forests
With global temperatures rising, extreme heat waves are increasingly affecting forest trees. A 2023 study led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne investigated this issue by using drones with infrared cameras to measure canopy temperatures, finding that oak leaves can endure temperatures up to 50°C, with some species tolerating up to 59°C. Though these trees can manage heat through water loss and active cooling, deciduous trees are less heat-tolerant, and frequent extreme heat could challenge their survival. Remote sensing technologies may help monitor and manage forest heat stress. Read more here
First Airline to Start Utilizing Sustainable Aviation Fuel at Chicago O'Hare International Airport
United, currently one of the biggest purchasers of Sustainable Aviation Fuel or SAF, just became the first airline at Chicago O’Hare International Airport to utilize the fuel. Deliveries will commence this month and continue towards a goal of supplying up to one million gallons by the end of 2024. SAF is made from renewable materials as opposed to fossil fuels, making it a cleaner option that has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 85%. Read more here.
High-Capacity Ag Irrigation Spray Drone
Heinen Brothers Ag is one of the largest privately-owned aerial application service providers in North America, and has just landed a deal to include Pyka’s Pelican Spray aerial drone into its fleet. Pelican Spray is an unmanned, autonomous, and high-capacity drone for irrigation purposes. It is the largest aerial drone authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for commercial use yet. This continues the technology for the future of ag aviation and what’s to potentially come for farmers nationwide. Cost-savings and other benefits have been seen using drones for irrigation, read more about the story here.
Washington Finds State's First Case of Chronic Wasting Disease
Earlier this week, scientists near Spokane, Washington tested a deceased white-tailed deer and for the first time in the State’s history, confirmed that it had Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The disease, which is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) similar to “mad cow” in bovines and Creutzfeldt-Jakob’s in humans, primarily affects deer and other members or the Cervidae family (elk, moose, etc.), and is fatal in all cases. CWD has so far not been observed to be transmissible to humans, but the Center for Disease Control has recommended against the consumption of any animal meat that came from an animal infected by the disease. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has been conducting these tests for nearly three decades, aiming to detect the disease at a maximum threshold of 1% of any given deer population. However, due to the unexpected location in which the deer was found (namely the mainly-suburban Fairwood, which had not met goals for testing in the recent past), researchers estimate it could be affecting up to 3% of the population of deer in the area. Read more here and here.
Tackling Security Challenges in the Ever-Growing World of AI
According to the National Cyber Security Institute, Artificial intelligence (AI) will possibly skyrocket the volume and increase the impact of cyber-attacks over the next two years. Thus, it is important to ensure that the use of sensitive data is protected, cyber-attacks are thwarted and digital integrity is upheld. Hackers are finding new ways to invade the digital realm, and people are extremely worried about privacy violations from AI. Transparency and accountability are key in AI development. Read more here.
Data Visualization of the Week
US Voters Press Congress Candidates to Fix Housing Crisis
Housing costs have been a growing issue across the entire country, and political campaigns across the country have reported considerable voter feedback complaining about this issue. Renting prices have skyrocketed by 35.4% over the last 5 years, and wages have not increased enough to match this price increase. Nearly all metro areas have seen these major price increases regardless of what side of the political aisle they lean too. New York city in particular has seen 58% increase in rent costs. Between 2019 and 2023 home costs has required 12% more of a household’s income. Housing will be a major issue for many voters in the upcoming elections. Read More.
Click the visual below for more information.
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