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Posted: Tue 31st May 2022

A local window cleaner who has been giving road signs and bus stops across Wrexham a spruce up is looking for new locations to in the county borough to visit.

Ryan Cull, who owns RC Window Cleaning Wrexham, started cleaning roadsigns and notice boards in the Rhos area after being contacted by Councillor Fred Roberts.

After completing the work in that area, Ryan started looking further afield in Wrexham to help improve the appearance of local communities.

So far his work has taken him across the county borough, cleaning signs in Bangor-on-Dee, Acton Park and along roadsides.

Now Ryan is asking for any opinions or suggestions from local communities on where RC Window Cleaning Wrexham should visit next.

Ryan said: I met up with Cllr Roberts and we agreed to clean some road signs and notice boards up in the Rhos area around a month ago.

I then decided to carry on in other communities where no one has asked me to do it, so Ive had no one ask or tell me what theyd like done.

I took it upon myself and started doing the odd couple of bus stops, road signs and speed signs but weve mainly concentrated on the road and speed signs that RC Window Cleaning Wrexham thought looked very dirty and mossed up.

We are happy for anyone to contact us with the opinions and ideas you have on what other things that RC Window Cleaning Wrexham can help out with in ensuring the Wrexham area is left looking cleaner for everyone!

My contact number is 07398191711 or you can find us on Facebook at RC Window Cleaning Wrexham and contact us there.

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Wrexham window cleaner giving back to the community by sprucing up dirty roadsigns - Wrexham.com

Amid the headlines reporting on the Great Resignation and Americas Labor Crisis, employers are searching for solutions to the current workforce shortage. According to a recent report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a whopping 94% of state and local chambers said businesses were finding it difficult or very difficult to find workers. As summer approaches and many employers move into their busiest season, you may be looking at staffing options you may have never considered in the past, including hiring teen workers, creating internship programs, and offering volunteer opportunities. Any or all of those may be viable options for your organization, but there are a host of potential compliance pitfalls that you need to consider. Here is a guide to bringing aboard minors, interns, and volunteers this summer.

Employing Minors

Both federal and state laws restrict the time of day and number of hours that minors can work, the type of work that minors can perform, and the equipment they can use. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the federal law that governs child labor and the Department of Labors Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is the agency charged with its enforcement. The FLSA allows states to enact more restrictive child labor laws, so you must be aware of any local restrictions as well. In situations where the federal law and state law differ, you must follow the law that provides the most protection for the minor.

Days and Hours of Employment

Occupations

There are limited exemptions for a few of the hazardous occupations for 16 and 17-year-olds who are apprentices or student-learners enrolled in approved programs.

It is important to keep in mind how these occupations may cross into unexpected areas. In two recent WHD child labor investigations, one involving a grocery store and one a bakery, the child labor violations did not stem from the grocery stores meat slicer or the bakerys dough mixer. Rather, the violation stemmed from the simple task of trash removal where the trash was loaded in a trash compactor, which violated HO 12.

These investigations serve as good reminders that you should review all of the job duties that will be assigned to minor workers and compare those with DOLs prohibited occupations. You should also check state law, which may have additional restrictions on the types of occupations that employees under 18 can work.

Another area that can create confusion for employers is driving. Under the FLSA, no employee under 17 years of age may drive a motor vehicle on public roads as part of their job. Minors who have reached the age of 17 may drive on public roadways as part of their employment, but only during daylight hours on an occasional and incidental basis, and subject to several other stringent restrictions. Importantly, 17-year-olds are not permitted to make urgent, time-sensitive deliveries, such as pizza deliveries.

Limited exceptions to these prohibitions may be available for children enrolled in an approved Work Experience and Career Exploration Program or Work-Study Program.

The child labor regulations provide direction on the types of work youth ages 14 -15 are permitted to perform, including:

Importantly, any job that is not specifically permitted for this age group is prohibited.

Work Permits/Age Certificates

Work permits and age certificates are not required under the FLSA, but many states require them for workers of certain ages. Work permits are usually issued by the local school authority or the state labor department. States that have work permit requirements generally require employers to review the work permit documentation before hiring a minor.

Some states require that you obtain an age certificate before hiring a minor. These are typically issued by the states in which the minor works, but DOL will issue age certificates if the minor employees state does not. A valid, unexpired federal certificate of age or a certificate issued by a state designated by DOL provides proof that a minor is at least the minimum age to work in a particular occupation and it may provide a defense to a claim for child labor violations.

Meal and Rest Breaks

In addition to the days and hours of employment requirements, you must also comply with applicable state law obligations related to meal and rest breaks. These generally include provisions on the number of meal and/or rest breaks that must be provided, when they should be provided, and how long they should last. While the FLSA does not require meal or rest breaks, the regulations require that rest breaks that last between 5 and 20 minutes must be paid. Meal periods of 30 minutes or more may be unpaid.

Postings

Employers who hire minors may be required to display additional postings. Federal law requires FLSA-covered employers to conspicuously post the Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act poster, which includes information related to child labor. Some states have their own separate child labor posters and may also require you to post age-related permits or certificates, a list of the minors employed, or their meal and rest breaks.

Creating Internship Programs

You may also be considering internship programs to help alleviate your staffing woes. The National Association of Colleges and Employers reported that employers expect to boost their intern hiring by over 22% for the academic year that is wrapping up this summer. However, be careful not to think that internships are a ready-made solution to help you fill open roles or otherwise replace departed employees, as they are not necessarily like-for-like replacements for your paid employees.

As a general rule, the FLSA requires for-profit employers to pay employees for work. In some instances, however, interns and students may not be considered employees and therefore may not be entitled to compensation.

To determine whether an employment relationship exists between and employer and an intern, courts examine the economic reality of the relationship to see which party is the primary beneficiary of the relationship. If the employer is the primary beneficiary, the intern must be paid. If the intern is the primary beneficiary, the intern may be unpaid.

7-Factor Test

The primary beneficiary test includes seven factors. The test is flexible and no single factor is determinative, so the determination about whether the individual should be considered a paid employee or an unpaid intern is made on a case-by-case basis.

State laws may have separate internship requirements, so you should examine the requirements under both federal and state law. You should also review educational documentation to ensure your internship program aligns with the goals and approach of the interns educational program. You may want to coordinate with local colleges and universities to define the parameters of the internship program and to obtain assistance identifying candidates who may be interested in an internship.

To avoid blurring lines between employees and interns, you should not use interns to fill open positions. You should also refrain from giving any assurances of a job after the internship ends.

Drafting Volunteers

For public sector and non-profit organizations, volunteers may also be a viable option to ease some of the current strain they are feeling. This is not the case for private sector, for-profit employers.

DOL guidance indicates that a volunteer generally will not be considered an employee for FLSA purposes if the individual freely volunteers for public service, religious, or humanitarian objectives, and without contemplation or receipt of compensation. Examples may include members of a mens or womens organization assisting patients in nursing homes, parents reading to students in a school library, or individuals driving a school bus to transport a school band on a trip.

To be considered a volunteer, the individual:

Volunteers who are employed by a non-profit organization may not volunteer to provide the same types of services to their non-profit organization that they are employed to perform. Volunteers may be paid expenses, reasonable benefits, a nominal fee, or any combination thereof for their service without losing their status as volunteers. However, those payments cannot be a substitute for compensation or tied to productivity.

Conclusion

By understanding the specific rules surrounding volunteers, interns, and minors, you may be able to develop a new crop of valuable talent to your organization this summer. These new relationships could be rewarding to both the individuals you bring aboard and your business.

Read more here:
Sidestepping the Pitfalls of Seasonal Hiring An Employers Guide to Bringing Aboard Minors, Interns, and Volunteers this Summer - JD Supra

United States- Report Ocean published a new report on the Commercial Robotic Cleaners Market. The study includes an in-depth analysis of regional trends and market growth in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East Africa. This study report also examines the challenges that are negatively impacting the industrys growth and outlines a strategy adopted by companies during 2022 to 2030.

Robotic cleaning technology has been advancing and transforming the cleaning landscape in commercial settings. An increasing shipment of cleaning robots has been observed in global market because these smart equipments can lower labor cost, improve cleaning efficiency, and reduce working accidents. Industrial and commercial robotic cleaners are expected to gain momentum in professional cleaning required by manufacturing plants, healthcare facilities, education buildings, retails, logistics, business centers, etc.

Global total revenue of commercial robotic cleaners will advance to $$million in 2023, registering a CAGR of $$% between 2016 and 2023. This represents a cumulative revenue of $7.806 billion during 2017-2023 owing to a fast-growing adoption of robotic solutions for cleaning floors, pools, windows, gutters, ducks/pipes, storage tanks and boilers, and hulls across a magnitude of commercial sectors.

Request To Download Sample of This Strategic Report:-https://reportocean.com/industry-verticals/sample-request?report_id=4448

Highlighted with 27 tables and 57 figures, this 136-page report Commercial Robotic Cleaners: Global Market 2017-2023 by Vertical, Application and Region is based on a comprehensive research of worldwide commercial robotic cleaner market by analyzing the entire global market and all its sub-segments through extensively detailed classifications. Profound analysis and assessment are generated from premium primary and secondary information sources with inputs derived from industry professionals across the value chain. The report provides historical market data for 2014 and 2015, revenue estimates for 2016, and forecasts from 2017 till 2023.

In-depth qualitative analyses include identification and investigation of the following aspects:

The trend and outlook of global market is forecast in optimistic, balanced, and conservative view. The balanced (most likely) projection is used to quantify global commercial cleaning robots market in every aspect of the classification from perspectives of vertical, application, and region.

Based on vertical

o Floor Cleaning

o Tube and Pipe Cleaning

o Storage Tank and Boiler

o Hull Cleaning

o Window Cleaning

o Other Cleaning

o Floor Cleaning

o Pool Cleaning

o Window Cleaning

o Other Cleaning

o Floor Cleaning

o Window Cleaning

o Other Cleaning

o Floor Cleaning

o Window Cleaning

o Wall Cleaning

o Other Cleaning

Geographically, the following regions together with the listed national markets are fully investigated:

For each of the aforementioned regions and countries, detailed analysis and data for annual revenue are available for 2014-2023. The breakdown of all regional markets by country and split of some key national markets by vertical over the forecast years are also included.

The report also covers current competitive scenario and the predicted manufacture trend; and profiles global commercial robotic cleaner vendors including market leaders and important emerging players.

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Specifically, potential risks associated with investing in global commercial cleaning robots market are assayed quantitatively and qualitatively through GMDs Risk Assessment System. According to the risk analysis and evaluation, Critical Success Factors (CSFs) are generated as a guidance to help investors & stockholders manage and minimize the risks, develop appropriate business models, and make wise strategies and decisions.

Key Players:

Table of Content:

Key Questions Answered in the Market Report

How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact the adoption of by various pharmaceutical and life sciences companies? What is the outlook for the impact market during the forecast period 2021-2030? What are the key trends influencing the impact market? How will they influence the market in short-, mid-, and long-term duration? What is the end user perception toward? How is the patent landscape for pharmaceutical quality? Which country/cluster witnessed the highest patent filing from January 2014-June 2021? What are the key factors impacting the impact market? What will be their impact in short-, mid-, and long-term duration? What are the key opportunities areas in the impact market? What is their potential in short-, mid-, and long-term duration? What are the key strategies adopted by companies in the impact market? What are the key application areas of the impact market? Which application is expected to hold the highest growth potential during the forecast period 2021-2030? What is the preferred deployment model for the impact? What is the growth potential of various deployment models present in the market? Who are the key end users of pharmaceutical quality? What is their respective share in the impact market? Which regional market is expected to hold the highest growth potential in the impact market during the forecast period 2021-2030? Which are the key players in the impact market?

Inquire or Share Your Questions If Any Before the Purchasing This Report

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Continue reading here:
Commercial Robotic Cleaners Market 2022 In-depth Assessment, Industry Drivers, Future Roadmap by 2030 The Greater Binghamton Business Journal - The...

Finding rust on metal surfaces or items doesnt mean they can no longer be used. In fact, baking soda is the perfect way to revive rusty knives, pans and even precious power tools without damaging them - but whats the best way to use it? These are the two best methods to banish rust from metals using nothing but water and baking soda.

Baking soda is often avoided as a household cleaning agent when it comes to metals, but rust is the one exception.

While the abrasive consistency of this pantry staple can leave scratches or scuffs on some delicate surfaces, it is perfectly fine for use on rust-covered patches.

To successfully banish rust with baking soda, you need to make sure that the consistency and application of the solution are up to scratch.

READ MORE:Cleaning: Great way to banish flies from homes - works instantly

Both of these methods will only be effective if the baking soda is left to sit before scrubbing off the excess.

Simply leave the coated items or surface undisturbed for at least one hour to allow the concentrated alkaline to dissolve the oxidised clumps of metal.

Once the solution has been left to seep into the metals, you can start scrubbing the excess off using an abrasive brush or sponge.

Steel wool and wire tools work particularly well for the scrubbing stage of the rust removal.

Gently scrub the affected area using small, quick motions to lift the surface residue.

As you scrub the metal, you should feel the rust peel away from the surface.

At this point, the metal surface should be smooth and rust free, with only the remnants of the baking soda paste visible.

Rinse the excess paste away using warm water and polish with a clean cloth to reveal the shiny, rust-free metal.

If this hasnt completely removed the orangey-brown residue, apply more paste and spot treat the remaining spots.

Excerpt from:
How to clean rust off metal with baking soda - two best methods to banish stubborn rust - Express

Gogglebox' Wiltshire husband and wife Giles and Mary were back on screens on Friday giving their judgments on this week's television. However their comic antics didn't impress all Channel 4 viewers, and many requested the "boring" couple to be taken off the show.

At one point, Giles was sat beside his wife eating radishes he had grown.

"Okay Mary, here is my entire crop of radishes," he explained.

"Beautiful," Mary replied, as he went on: "This is the first produce of the year, listen to that crunch."

He cut into a piece for Mary as she stated: "I don't want a second piece, I've got one thanks."

READ MORE:BBC star in bias row after false claim over death of cleaner

"Don't you binge eat them all!" she snapped as Giles proceeded to eat it himself.

"I can, I've grown them and they're mine," he replied, swerving the dish away from Mary's grasp.

"You couldn't want more than one radish," Mary responded.

"Well you must eat a second one Nutty, otherwise you'll starve," Giles insisted.

He continued: "Luckily in this country, we can still get food, I don't know for how much longer."

Twitter user Sheltie_Dreams fumed: "Giles is such a child #gogglebox."

@BobbyWilde2 penned: "I feel like Giles is constantly showing off for the cameras now, its getting really boring #gogglebox."

@fidoeslife stated: "Giles and Mary need to go #gogglebox."

"Shove a knitting needle in it and let Giles head butt it #gogglebox," @mr_chambers_ commented as one scene showed Mary trying to knit while Giles was talking.

@ricardoautobahn shared: "I don't know if I feel more sorry for Giles or Mary #gogglebox."

"Always forgot how much I truly hate Giles & Mary. At first I thought they were a bit weird, but now its beyond utterly unbearable whenever they appear on screen. Every new season I pray they won't return, but then up they f***ing pop.... #Gogglebox," @AnthonyShannon2 wrote.

The couple has been part of the series since 2015, and often leave viewers divided on their bizarre conversations.

Goggleboxis available to watch on All4.

Read the original:
Gogglebox fans call for Giles and Mary to be cut from show 'Need to go' - Express

Bowling Green

Francisco Espinoza (alter/add to single-family residence, enclose a deck), 141 Gray St., residential building, $3,000.

Hammer Homes (new 16-plex apartments, Building 1), 768 Anise Lane, Lot 315, commercial building, $1,200,000.

Scott Murphy & Daniel (add to commercial building, maintenance addition), 417 Scottys Way, commercial building, $1,558,641.

Southern Kentucky Building & Remodeling (Montessori School of Bowling Green, add to commercial building), 506 State St., commercial building, $95,000.

Ridgeline Contracting (repair garage attached to pool house, storm damage), 809 Rockwood Drive, residential building, $100,000.

Procare (alter/repair single-family residence), 225 Whitecotten Drive, residential building, $80,885.23.

Jagoe Homes, 706 Big Leaf Ave., Lot 184, residential building, $324,015.

Ashli Vannauter (framing closet and bathroom, single-family residence alteration), 1427 Sherwood Way, residential building, $2,500.

G&M Construction LLC (add to existing detached garage), 124 Riverwood Ave., residential building, $45,000.

Akins Construction, 1210 Three Springs Road, site work, $125,000.

Vision Builders, 267 Townsend Way, Lot 115, residential building, $235,000.

King Contracting (single-family residence demolition due to storm damage), 2420 Stonebridge Lane, demolition, $8,000.

Vision Builders, 263 Townsend Way, Lot 116, residential building, $235,000.

City of Bowling Green (replacing sign, storm damage), 1031 Wilkinson Trace, sign.

Shanna Miller (add to single-family residence, covered porch), 338 Cedar Run St., residential building, $1,800.

Hunt Custom Design Build (storm rebuild, single-familly residence), 879 Nutwood St., residential building, $130,000.

Focal Building Group (new single-family residence, basement), 578 Village Way, residential building, $750,000.

Hammer Homes LLC, 769 Anise Lane, site work, $100,000.

Vision Builders, 622 Boston Park Drive, Lot 99, residential building, $315,000.

Vision Builders, 628 Boston Park Drive, Lot 100, residential building, $325,000.

Precision Contractors, 893 McFadin Station St., Lot 130, residential building, $165,000.

Walbridge, 268 Commonwealth Blvd., site work, $1.

Precision Contractors (alter single-family residence, remove and repair roof, storm damage), 637 Moss Creek Ave., residential building, $40,000.

RJW Properties, 857 Denzil Ave., Lot 37, residential building, $95,000.

RJW Properties (Woodland Station, new single-family residence), 849 Denzil Ave., residential building, $95,000.

Precision Contractors, 857 Sagittarius Ave., Lot 10, residential building, $150,000.

RJW Properties (Woodland Station, new single-family residence), 1264 Nutwood St., residential building, $199,000.

Tony Henon Construction (rebuild single-family residence from storm damage), 1264 Nutwood St., residential building, $199,000.

MGB General Contracting (Blue Holler, alter/repair commercial building, storm damage), 1266 U.S. 31-W By-Pass, commercial building, $275,000.

Jason Mills Construction (Greenwood Villa, fire repair), 1500 Bryant Way, commercial building, $150,000.

The Medical Center at Bowling Green, 250 Park St., tent.

Read the original:
Building permits | For The Record - Bowling Green Daily News

CASTLEWOOD, S.D. (KELO) Officials in Castlewood are monitoring who can come into town as residents continue to clean up from Thursday nights tornado damage.

David Johnson shared a video of the tornado moving through town with KELOLAND News.

I walked out of my apartment and I saw what I saw and I mean, it was crazy. I mean, I didnt realize that I had caught what tore up Castlewood until a couple hours later, Johnson said.

That tornado was classified as an EF 2 with 120 miles per hour winds that damaged a school, homes and businesses in its path.

Last nights tornado was unlike anything people in Castlewood had seen before. It happened so fast that Dwayne Sonen and his wife couldnt make it to the basement. Instead, they were by this recliner, which might be what saved them.

We lost the wall in the south side in the basement, if we wouldve made it to the basement, we probably wouldve been killed, Dwayne Sonen said.

The house next door was getting an upgrade, but now the windows are broken and the roof is gone.

We just got done remodeling and one piece of siding away before the tornado hit. So basically were going to start over, Shane Mack said.

Everyone in these two houses got out safely and though there were some injuries in town, nothing major was reported.

We have a saying today, 24s dont bleed so. We can rebuild, Mack said.

As for the school in Castlewood, with the windows boarded up and part of the roof caved in, its unclear what will happen for the last eight days of classes. The school board will be meeting tomorrow to make that decision.

Most people think school is like a prison and stuff, its like very bad and I even say that sometimes, but seeing it torn down like this is really sad and all the memories that happened in this place. Its sad, Brielle Tesch, a 7th grader said.

There are uncertainties ahead for Castlewood

Whether we rebuild or move or whatever, I have no idea at this point, Sonen said.

But the tornado brought out the strength of this small town.

You wake up and you think, okay, its time to start picking up the pieces, here we go. Were going to move forward and well be alright, Castlewood Mayor Brian Ries said.

Ries says people from all over have reached out to help and send donations of food, water and even clothing for people who have lost their homes.

See the rest here:
Residents adding up the damage in Castlewood - KELOLAND.com

For Immediate Release -- 13 May 2022 -- Geneva. The on-going armed conflict in Ukraine has sparked widespread humanitarian crises, with reports of thousands of civilian causalities, the use of landmines and other explosive ordnance, and the fastest-growing refugee situation since World War II. Anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines, as well as other unexploded or abandoned ammunition left behind in Ukraine, threaten the lives of millions of people. They will take years to remove, hindering reconstruction efforts and making it unsafe for people to return to their previous daily lives.

While full-scale humanitarian demining efforts are impossible during the conflict, coordination to support Ukrainian authorities to locate, identify and, when possible, remove explosive ordnance is already underway.

Urgently mapping landmine risks for coordinated action

Ukrainian national authorities report that they have already located, recorded, and removed nearly 80,000 mines and explosive devices. This massive undertaking is closely supported by the Mine Action Information Management (IM) cell, coordinated by the GICHD, where national authorities are joined by UN agencies, and international and local mine action organisations. Responding to the surge of reports of explosive ordnance, the IM cell is acting as a mine action information hub, gathering data from a variety of national and international sources, including social media.

A cornerstone of this has been Ukraine's Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), used in country since 2012. The GICHD-developed IMSMA has transitioned to an emergency coordination platform, allowing the IM cell to aggregate, interpret, and share the flood of data across partners and sources, in order to map areas where threats exist and define possible actions. During this emergency phase, coordinated access to up-to-date data helps national authorities target resources and take action strategically.

In the longer term, data-driven mapping of areas where landmines and other explosive ordnance are reported builds the foundation for effective and efficient humanitarian demining operations. Identifying the areas and extent of contamination helps speed the recovery process so that people can return to their homes and use their land safely.

Helping civilians in mine-contaminated areas reduce risks

While mine action efforts are underway, Ukrainian civilians have an urgent need to understand how to recognise explosive ordnance in their communities, what to do if EO is found, and how to reduce their risks.

"10 to 30% of the explosive weapons used, dropped, fired or launched do not explode as intended and many other explosive ordnance are abandoned in various locations," estimates the Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) Advisory Group, an international group of experts from the GICHD, UN agencies, international organisations and NGOs, in the recently published Questions and Answers on EORE for Ukraine. This means that a large portion of mines and other EO used during the conflict will remain a threat to civilians after the fighting is over, especially for children.

Actors working on the ground in Ukraine play a crucial role in promoting awareness on risks faced by local communities. Through the UNICEF-led EORE working group in Ukraine, the GICHD is contributing to the information on risk education and good practices available there. This support is important to help to align with up-to-date good practices and identify evolving EO threats in real time.

Identifying explosive ordnance items

In addition to the sheer quantity of explosive ordnance in Ukraine, the variety of the types of EO adds an additional challenge for mine action operators on the ground. Correctly identifying explosive ordnance is the first step in dealing with it as safely as possible.

Drafted over three weeks to provide urgent guidance to operators conducting mine action activities in Ukraine, the first edition of GICHD's Explosive Ordnance Guide for Ukraineidentifies over 100 separate items of explosive ordnance, such as anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines, explosive submunitions, and grenades, found in Ukraine since the conflict began. The GICHD will continue to update the guide as more explosive ordnance is identified, aiming to assist mine action operators to manage the risks they face in their work.

Planning for long-term response toward recovery

As Ukraine approaches three months since the escalation of the armed conflict in February, increased technical and financial support is needed to sustain current efforts and prepare for longer-term response.

"Humanitarian demining in Ukraine needs to focus on national capacity and nationally-led programmes," explained GICHD Director, Ambassador Stefano Toscano. Current efforts in country build on solid national foundations that have existed in Ukraine for decades, dating back to the end of the second World War. These capacities need to be strengthened further to respond to the scale of explosive ordnance contamination now present, in support of wider recovery efforts.

The GICHD will continue to work alongside national authorities and international organisations over the long-term to address the impact of explosive ordnance in Ukraine. Today the focus is placed on targeted support to save lives and prevent losses and injuries. Tomorrow our joint efforts will be a prerequisite for reconstruction and sustainable development.

###

The GICHD is grateful for the generous support of our donors and would like to recognise the contributions of the U.S. Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, as well as the Governments of Switzerland and the Netherlands, which make our work in Ukraine possible.

See the rest here:
Clearing landmines from Ukraine may take decades; Work to find, map, and remove them has already begun - Ukraine - ReliefWeb

Members of the Gannett Glacier Fire Crew takes notes during a fire training scenario near Palmer on Thursday, April 29, 2018. (Casey Grove/Alaska Public Media)

Alaskas wildland firefighters have been completing annual training and now with help from a state grant strategically cutting and removing trees, many of them standing, dry and dead, killed by spruce beetles.

That hazardous fuels reduction comes as long-term forecasts signal a normal fire season ahead, with about a million acres expected to burn total somewhere between the sizes of Rhode Island and Delaware.

Norm McDonald, the state Division of Forestrys Chief of Fire and Aviation, said the prep work cutting fire breaks is helpful and likely to save money in the long run.

But McDonald said all it would take to go from an average fire season to a huge one is some hot, dry weather and a lightning strike, or the careless burning of some brush or a campfire.

Listen here:

[Sign up for Alaska Public Medias daily newsletter to get our top stories delivered to your inbox.]

The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Norm McDonald: If you look historically at our most devastating fires, they are in the urban interface, and they have been human caused. So these are all fires and, in theory, should be preventable. So I think just the awareness that anytime you do an activity that includes either burning or open flame in the wildland setting, just use extreme caution, especially this time of year, May, as we have that dry grass and these windy conditions. It does not take much of a start for a fire to get out of control, past where a homeowner can suppress it on their own. And those are our most expensive fires. Those take the most resources, the most firefighters and aircraft. So we really ask people to use extreme caution, whether thats their typical Alaskan, you know, outdoor activities like camping and hunting, or when youre doing your land clearing, look at other options. Instead of burning in May and June when its dry and windy, save that burning for fall when we get our wetter conditions or that first snow in October. That is something that we really try to encourage people to do.

Casey Grove: Gotcha, yeah. Nobody wants something getting away from them like that and causing damage to their neighborhood or anybody else.

NM: No, and people are always surprised at how quickly they have a burn barrel or a small fire or a barbecue in the grass how quickly a fire starts to something that they cant control with what they have on site. And then the fire department shows up and the helicopter show up, and its just every person that we go through with that always says the same thing, I had no idea how quickly that fire could spread. And so just something to be aware of, for anybody doing that type of activity this summer.

CG: Theres a lot there that you cant really control, like the weather or where lightning strikes, and things like that. And you can get the word out about how residents should be behaving to be fire safe. But I guess there are a few things that you can do ahead of time to prepare. And one of those things is what you call hazardous fuels reduction, right? And I guess thats a big push this year, it sounds like.

NM: Yeah, and its nothing new to the division. Weve been doing fuel brakes and the hazardous fuels reduction, you know, going back to the mid 90s. And that really started with the first beetle epidemic we had going back to 95, 96, that timeframe. And so its something weve used and have had success with. Whats changed this year is we have, for the first time, last year we received state dollars. Weve relied entirely on federal grants up until last year, for fuels reduction. And with this administration, public safety is a big part of their push. And we received a $10 million capital improvement project, just earmarked for fuels reduction. And so that gives us state funds to leverage more federal funds, which this year come to us through the infrastructure bill. So we are really in a good place when it comes to actually funding for this work. And now building capacity to meet the requirements of that work is really where were at now. Yeah, its a really exciting time as far as opportunities to provide a better service and public safety and develop these fuel breaks around some of our critical infrastructure and communities.

CG: Well, what are fire crews doing right now, other than reducing fuels and cutting fire breaks? What are they doing to get ready for the coming fire season?

NM: So our Division of Forestry crews, they come back starting about mid-April, and they do what we call our 80 hours or two weeks of training. And thats their physical fitness, thats their fire readiness. Theyre getting their gear up and ready. Theyre ready to go May 1, so our crews are staffed. Theyre ready to respond. We have them pre-positioned around the state, including Kenai and the Mat-Su Valley. The Fairbanks crew is down in Kenai, because snow still on the ground means fire season is a couple weeks behind. So we have them pre-positioned to where theyre available to do the most good and in a short order. But while theyre not assigned to fires, theyre doing this fuels reduction work. So this is really good preseason work and that kind of crossover training for a lot of the similar work they do when theres a wildland fire. And thats running chainsaws and, you know, clearing those fire breaks is very similar to what it looks like on the fire line, as it is when theyre building a fuel break ahead of the fire. So theyre engaged with that work and theyre ready and theyre pre-positioned and ready to go, should they be needed anyplace in the state.

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Alaska wildland fire crews ready for action, with state funding to reduce hazardous fuels - Alaska Public Media News

Satellites have detected forest clearing within Triunfo do Xingu this year, an area thats supposed to be a legally protected swath of Amazon rainforest in Brazils northern state of Par.

Home to jaguars, howler monkeys, rare margays, and a wellspring of other diversity, the protected area was created in 2006 as a sustainable use reserve, meaning that within its bounds (an area more than half the size of Belgium) landowners are legally required to keep 80% of their forests intact.

However, despite this requirement, 35%of the primary (or old-growth) forest within the Triunfo do Xingu Environmental Protection Area (APA) was lost between 2006 and 2021 more than 533,000hectares (1.32 million acres), according to satellite data from the University of Maryland (UMD), visualized on the Global Forest Watch platform.

That makes the Triunfo do Xingu APA one of the most deforested slices of the Brazilian Amazon in recent years, putting it in the top three of Brazilslist of most deforested protected reserves.

The highest amount of forest loss since the creation of the protected area occurred in 2020, at almost 70,000 hectares (173,000 acres) an area nearly the size of New York City. Although deforestation decreased in 2021, loss that year was still nearly twice the average rate between 2002 and 2021.

Deforestation in the region is largely driven by cattle ranching, according to previous reporting in 2020. In the Amazon, farmers and ranchers use slash-and-burn techniques to clear forest for pasture. In So Flix do Xingu municipality, where the protected area lies, there are nearly 20 times more cattle than people.

The Triunfo do Xingu APA was created to allow some kind of human activity in a sustainable way, Larissa Amorim, a researcher at Imazon, an NGO monitoring the forest clearing, told Mongabay in 2021. But we see that it is not sustainable at all. And the illegal activities that are taking place there end up spilling beyond it.

The Triunfo do Xingu APA was intended to protect wildlife and serves as a buffer for vulnerable surrounding areas, such as the Apyterewa Indigenous Territory and the massive Terra do Meio Ecological Station, but deforestation has spilled over.

[The Terra do Meio Ecological Station] should be completely preserved, Rmulo Batista, a campaigner with Greenpeace Brazil, told Mongabay in 2021. There should be zero deforestation there. But instead, we are seeing rampant forest destruction, which is really worrying.

Forest loss has also encroached into the Apyterewa Indigenous Territory to the northeast, local sources told Mongabay. And to the southeast, forest is being cleared in the Kayapo Indigenous Territory, something we had never seen before, Francisco Fonseca of The Nature Conservancy told Mongabay in 2020.

With this weakening of [Triunfo do Xingu], it has become easier to reach conservation parks, Indigenous territories beyond. It ultimately didnt end up becoming the buffer it was supposed to become.

Though cattle ranching remains the main culprit behind forest loss, the region has also emerged as a center of land grabbing and illegal mining by invaders who are betting on the continued loosening of environmental regulations and enforcement.

We have seen a wave of land grabbing, Fonseca said. The pattern has changed many of these openings are now for speculation only, not for planting or pastures.

Experts say that land grabbers, those who move into an area and clear forest to stake their claim, have been emboldened by the rhetoric and policies of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. In recent years, the government has issued amnesties to land speculators who have invaded conservation units and often then use fire to clear forests on public lands for private agricultural lands.

Protecting Triunfo do Xingu from illegal deforestation and fires has proven extra challenging because it is remote and accessible primarily by boat from the town of So Flix do Xingu. On-the-ground monitoring, control, and the capacity to prosecute those who deforest and set illegal fires has been limited across Brazil, as government agencies and law enforcement that once operated inthe Amazonhave been largely defunded under the current administration. Bolsonaro has also blamed fires on Indigenous and traditional peoples.

In 2021, 3.75 million hectares (9.27 million acres) of tropical primary rainforest were lost across the planet, a rate of about 10 football fields per minute. More than 40% of that primary forest loss last year occurred in Brazil, according to Global Forest Watch.

The main driver is the total lack of environmental policy from this government, said Batista, the Greenpeace Brazil campaigner.People who are disposed to invading are feeling emboldened.

These are regions that have the greatest ecological importance and that must be protected to ensure the integrity of the rainforest as a whole, Batista added. And this is what we are ultimately losing with this surge in deforestation.

Liz Kimbroughis a staff writer for Mongabay. Find her on Twitter@lizkimbrough_

Editors note:This story was powered byPlaces to Watch, a Global Forest Watch (GFW) initiative designed to quickly identify concerning forest loss around the world and catalyze further investigation of these areas. Places to Watch draws on a combination of near-real-time satellite data, automated algorithms and field intelligence to identify new areas on a monthly basis. In partnership with Mongabay, GFW is supporting data-driven journalism by providing data and maps generated by Places to Watch. Mongabay maintains complete editorial independence over the stories reported using this data.

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Pasture replaces large tract of intact primary forest in Brazilian protected area - Mongabay.com