NOAA seeks proposals to advance climate science, resilience

Climate Program Office opens 2024 funding opportunity

WEBWIRE

The NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO) announced today that its Fiscal Year 2024 grant competitions are open.

This years notice of funding opportunity consists of six competitions to advance understanding of Earths climate system through interdisciplinary, integrated scientific research. The goal is to boost societys ability to understand, plan for and respond to climate variability as well as extreme weather, water and climate events caused by climate change.

The rising toll of climate impacts present a significant challenge to human and environmental health, public safety, economic vitality and national and international security, said Emily Menashes, a deputy assistant administrator for NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. The Climate Program Offices annual investment in advancing the nations climate science and services shows our continued dedication to providing the information and services needed to protect people, property, infrastructure and natural resources.

The competitions for this year are:

  • Improving understanding of urban air composition, the impact of climate change on urban air quality and use of this research to mitigate air pollution.
  • Advancing understanding of ocean variability and change in support of NOAAs Climate, Ecosystems, and Fisheries Initiative.
  • Advancing an integrated NOAA capability for climate predictions and projections in support of NOAAs Climate, Ecosystems, and Fisheries Initiative.
  • Advancing understanding of multi-year to decadal climate variability and predictability for the U.S. climate.
  • Improving NOAA climate models and applications.
  • Offering an early career opportunity for exceptional research in Earth system model development and application.

Through its annual grant competitions, CPO seeks and funds innovative researchers across the nation to conduct cutting-edge research on a range of topics. The researchers eligible to apply include partners across NOAA as well as tribal nations and the broader academic, federal, international and private sector communities.

These Climate Program Office funding opportunities play a critical role in advancing science and informing decisions for climate adaptation, resilience and mitigation, said Wayne Higgins, Ph.D., director of the NOAA Climate Program Office. The funded projects will meet urgent climate challenges, incubate innovative advancements in Earth system and social science, support world-class assessment reports and help grow the next generation of experts supporting NOAA.

Letters of intent for all but the Understanding urban air in a changing climate competition are due August 18, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Letters of intent for the Understanding urban air in a changing climate competition are due September 11, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Full applications for all competitions are due November 17, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Prior to submitting letters of intent, applicants are encouraged to learn more about CPO, its programs and specific priorities for FY 2024. Several of this years competitions align with five urgent, climate-related challenges facing society that CPO has prioritized: 1) extreme heat, health, and compounding hazards; 2) droughts, floods, water availability and quality; 3) coastal changes and inundation; 4) changes in marine and freshwater ecosystems; and 5) mitigation strategies to lessen or avoid risks by slowing or stopping the human causes of global warming.

CPO programs are a vital part of the U.S. Global Change Research Program and NOAAs mission to build a Climate-Ready Nation.

Learn more about CPOs FY 2024 competitions and how to apply.

IMAGE CAPTION:

NOAA Climate Program Office has announced new funding opportunities for research to advance our understanding of Earths climate system. The collage shows examples of weather, ocean, fisheries habitat and climate priorities for interdisciplinary research. (Image credit: NOAA)

$10,000,000 OMG! Fund seeks 100 of the world’s craziest listing ideas

Airbnb is on the hunt for the world’s craziest spaces — and will help foot the bill to build them.

WEBWIRE



Whether it’s the next boot, UFO House or a 6-ton potato, the first-of-its-size $10,000,000 OMG! Fund is seeking ideas from existing and aspiring designers, architects, DIYers and makers from around the globe. The fund’s $10 million will help finance 100 of the craziest ideas, giving 100 people an opportunity to turn them into actual Airbnb OMG! Category listings, which are Airbnb’s collection of the most unique homes.


Starting today, anyone with an out-of-this-world idea can submit an application at airbnb.com/omgfund. One hundred people with the craziest ideas will receive $100,000* each to make their creations possible and, ultimately, bookable. Ideas will be judged by an expert panel for their originality, feasibility, the experience the space will provide guests, and sustainability.  


The fund is shaped in part by the growing trend of flexible living that has emerged in the past two years. As part of this shift, Airbnb guests are craving more unexpected spaces that become the destinations themselves, and Airbnb Categories, which launched last month, provide a new way to search for these spaces. More than 30,000 unique listings across the world were added to Airbnb in 2021 and the OMG! Category – which since introduced has been clicked on 2.5M times – showcases the craziest amongst them, making it easy for guests to discover these listings in places they wouldn’t have otherwise looked. 


Hosting on Airbnb provides powerful economic benefits to Hosts. In 2021, the typical Host in the US earned over $13,800, an increase of 85 percent over 2019. This isn’t limited to existing Hosts – new Hosts in the US also saw an increase in income in 2021, earning over $1.8 billion, up 34 percent from 2019. Additionally, nights booked at unique properties increased globally by over 49 percent from 2019 to 2021.


“When the Idaho Potato Commission retired a six-ton prop potato, I took it off their hands and spent $32,000 transforming it into an Airbnb,” Airbnb Superhost and OMG! Fund judging panelist Kristie Wolfe said. “I went from making $13/hr to seeing $208,000** in earnings in less than three years, and leveraged that income to bootstrap my way through additional listings that allow me to express my creativity and connect with hundreds of people in the process.”


Applications will be reviewed by a judging panel of boundary-pushing design authorities, an architectural expert, and an Airbnb OMG! Category Superhost:

  • Iris Apfel, incomparable and irreverent centenarian style icon
  • Koichi Takada, founder of Sydney-based international studio Koichi Takada Architects, known for emotive design inspired by the natural world 
  • Kristie Wolfe, Airbnb Superhost and prolific creator of OMG! Listings including the Potato Hotel, Crystal Peak Lookout, Big Island Treehouse and Cocoon Cottage
  • Bruce Vaughn, Disney alum and Airbnb’s VP of Experiential Creative Product 

The $10,000,000 OMG! Fund opens today for a period of 30 days, through July 22 at 11:59 pm ET. The 100 fund recipients will be selected by the panel over the next several months, with the intent of having their newly-constructed spaces complete next year. To apply, visit airbnb.com/omgfund.


*For more information, including a list of eligible countries, see the Official Rules.


**Kristie Wolfe’s income represents Airbnb earnings from January 2019 to May 31, 2022. Like Kristie, every Host’s experience hosting is unique. Host earnings vary widely depending on many factors, including availability, price, acceptance and cancellation rates, occupancy rate and the demand in the listing location. Globally, the median earnings for an OMG! Category Host active between Jan 2018 and May 2022 was just over $48,000.


Unique listings are defined by Hosts, these include but are not limited to; treehouse, yurt, barn, boat, castle, campsite, hut, island, plane, shepherds hut, train, treehouse, windmill, yurt, etc.


—-

About Airbnb 

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer unique stays and one-of-a-kind activities that make it possible for guests to experience the world in a more authentic, connected way.

Canada – Government seeks guidance on path towards reducing emissions associated with fertilizer

Canadian farmers have shown that they are good stewards of the land and have long cared for the environment. They are key players in building a healthy environment and a more sustainable agriculture sector in Canada.

Canadian farmers have shown that they are good stewards of the land and have long cared for the environment. They are key players in building a healthy environment and a more sustainable agriculture sector in Canada.

Today, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau launched a new round of consultations, beginning with the release of a Discussion Document. These consultations will focus on how we can achieve Canada’s national target to reduce absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with fertilizers by 30% below 2020 levels by 2030. The Document is a key part of consultations with industry to help reach this goal.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) met with producer groups and provincial and territorial partners in 2021 to discuss the emissions reduction target and initiate conversations on how to work together to develop a realistic approach. Stakeholders identified important opportunities and challenges for industry which helped inform a Discussion Document that will stimulate discussion and lead to a shared understanding of how Canada can reach its 30% fertilizer emissions reduction target. The Discussion Document is now available for comment until June 3, 2022.

Fertilizers play a major role in the agriculture sector’s success and have contributed to record harvests in the last decade. They have helped drive increases in Canadian crop yields, grain sales, and exports.

However, nitrous oxide emissions, particularly those associated with synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use have also grown significantly. That is why the Government of Canada has set the national fertilizer emissions reduction target, which is part of the commitment to reduce total GHG emissions in Canada by 40-45% by 2030, as outlined in Canada’s Strengthened Climate Plan, and enshrined in legislation through the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act.

The Government is focused on meeting this emissions reduction target through a range of policy measures and approaches, such as working with farmers to encourage broader adoption of new products and implementation of beneficial management practices, resulting in both economic benefits for farmers and environmental benefits for society. An important aspect of Canada’s path toward reaching the target while not compromising crop yields will require ongoing support from industry stakeholders.

Industry-led initiatives like Fertilizer Canada’s 4R Nutrient Stewardship program will also play an important role in promoting sustainable use of fertilizer in crop production and can reduce GHG emissions.

The Government of Canada has already made major investments in new programs to help farmers adopt new beneficial management practices and clean technology which can improve productivity and lower GHG emissions, including through the Agriculture Climate Solutions – Living Labs initiative, the On-Farm Climate Action Fund, and the investments delivered through these programs are designed to leverage existing practices and technologies in order to meet Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.

In the coming months, AAFC will be hosting virtual discussions for participants in Canada to continue the conversation on the emission reduction target. AAFC will consult with Canadians, including producers, processors, Indigenous communities, women in agriculture, youth, environmental organizations, small and emerging sectors and other stakeholders and partners to develop a path forward.

Working together is vital to identifying solutions to address the serious environmental challenges at hand. Reducing emissions associated with fertilizer can help contribute to meeting and exceeding Canada’s 2030 GHG emissions reduction target and achieving net-zero by 2050.

“Our vision for sustainable agriculture in Canada aligns with the work of producers who are passionate about the health of their land and animals. We are continuing to support the development and adoption of practices and equipment that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the sector’s climate change resiliency. With the experience of fertilizer industry representatives, farmers and other pertinent groups, we can work together to identify concrete and innovative steps to help meet our targets.”

– The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Marianne Dandurand

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

marianne.dandurand@agr.gc.ca

343-541-9229

Kitakerja.my Seeks Malaysians to Join Job Matching Initiative Assisting B40 Group

Kitakerja.my, a social initiative focusing on matching Malaysian jobseekers in the Bottom-40 (“B40”) income bracket to domestic employers, is calling for more Malaysians to join hands in building an ecosystem of jobseekers and employers while at the same time assisting in the economic recovery one job at a time.

From left: Co-founder Mohd Nizam Abdul Rahim, and Co-founder Choong En Han.

Kitakerja.my is the brainchild of two young Malaysians pooling their resources together to help fellow Malaysians in the B40 bracket who lost their jobs.

Kitakerja.my co-founder Choong En Han said, “Over the past 18 months, our whole nation has been focused on two numbers, COVID-19 new cases and death rates, but there is another number that has slipped into our lives without many people realizing it, and that is the nation’s unemployment rate.”

There are more than 770,000 unemployed Malaysians now in the country according to the Department of Statistics June 2021 report. It was also reported that about 100,000 Malaysians lost their jobs in 2020 due to the pandemic, according to former Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan in a report dated Dec. 9, 2020.

“We started kitakerja.my to give unemployed Malaysians primarily in the B40 income bracket a platform in which they can be matched to jobs offered by employers. Jobs have become scarcer given all the lockdowns we have endured since March 2020. Together with employers and jobseekers, we can assist each other while in our own way, help the economy to recover and progress, one job at a time,” Choong explained.

“We have seen firsthand how severely businesses have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Retrenching employees is always the last resort for any business. We want to do our part in helping Malaysians affected by the pandemic to rebuild their lives, particularly those in the B40 group who are most vulnerable to financial shocks,” Choong added, “We need to act now and be a part of the solution and be the movement for a better Malaysia, otherwise, Malaysian household income levels will continue to deteriorate.”

Mohd Nizam Abdul Rahim, fellow co-founder who mooted the initiative with Choong, said, “Our resources are limited, and we really need the help of fellow Malaysians who have the skills to help us build, promote and develop this initiative. Currently, kitakerja.my is matching jobseekers and employers manually but we are seeking solutions to automate the process.”

“We are inviting tech-based experts, trainers and Malaysians in general to become a part of this movement. If you have the skills and ideas to make kitakerja.my a better platform to help Malaysians in need, please talk to us. Your contribution can also be as simple as sharing our website kitakerja.my or message via WhatsApp to keep the conversation going.”

“Many are suffering silently, but it should not be this way. Malaysians should come together this time with the aim to rebuild the nation as we celebrate the country’s 64th National Day. Hopefully employers that are hiring could give our fellow Malaysians a chance in getting employed. With jobseekers being employed, the multiplier effect of increased private consumption would be kickstarted and ultimately everyone wins in the country,” Nizam said.

Besides matchings for B40 jobseekers, kitakerja.my also has plans to make them more employable through training and development programmes in which vocational skills will be emphasized.

Kitakerja.my is a nation-building and social initiative by Malaysians for Malaysians. Kitakerja.my will be a social enterprise once all the infrastructure is in place. Choong and Nizam are open to discussing possibilities that can help B40 jobseekers upskill or reskill. #jomkitakerjabersama

Please contact the below for more information:
Choong En Han
Tel: +60 12-540 8338
Email: han@kitakerja.my


Topic: Press release summary

New Currency Seeks To Fight Back Against Scams – JailDoge Passes Audit Seeks To Change Standard Of Doxxing

New Currency Seeks To Fight Back Against Scams – JailDoge Passes Audit Seeks To Change Standard Of Doxxing

Oregon, USA, 24 July 2021, ZEXPRWIRE, It’s about midnight in Portland, Oregon and a man named Jeremy Ryan pops into Telegram with a message.  Not just a message but a file.  It was an audit and they passed with flying colors.  They being JailDoge a week old cryptocurrency on the Binance Smart Chain.

Binance Smart Chain is home to some of the highest risk but also highest reward investments in all of crypto.  It’s a place full of meme tokens peddled on Reddit and Telegram primarily.  Each day tokens shoot up to multiples of ten to even a thousand times their value.  All of it driven by hype which is created in part by developers like Ryan.  But it is also a place where you can lose money quickly too.  In fact you can lose everything in a split second due to scams.

“We are seeking to make BSC tokens more secure that’s our mission” says Ryan, 32, a political activist and entrepreneur who runs JailDoge.  “We were tired of what qualified for a dox in the industry.  So we sought to change that by example”.  On the website for JailDoge you can see an extensive dox for Mr. Ryan including Drivers License, Address, Facebook, and Wikipedia.  By changing this standard it would allow an avenue for legitimate tokens to show they are secure.  Part of the problem with catching the scammers is that most people in BSC tokens remain anonymous.

But Ryan also took it a step further.  He allocated one percent of all transactions of the token be allocated towards hiring a private investigation firm to catch scammers in the industry.  Ryan feels that will make his token even more of a statement.  A safe harbor, as the audit showed, for people who are tired of being scammed.  As for what they would do when they find the scammers Ryan had one thing to say, “I’m not a fan of the police.  But that’s not to say justice won’t be served.”

When asked about how he intends to remain competitive in an overall bear market Ryan stated that there is never any shortage of scammers and people being scammed on the Binance Smart Chain.  So he will continue to target the people most effective to give them a way out.  It’s a neverending market in his view and he’s found that Twitter is a good place to find victims of scams.  Many of them in the Telegram group are just glad to have somewhere safe regardless of price action.

But JailDoge becomes even more interesting when you look into Ryan himself.  Throughout various online news sources you can read about his political activism dating back to 2011.  His battles with cancer and his battle with the government which ended in all terrorism charges against him dismissed.  Ryan also ran for US Congress twice once against former Speaker of The House Paul Ryan.  And he is currently out on bail for allegedly threatening a former Sheriff in Wisconsin.  When asked if his legal issues would be a problem with investors he was quick to respond.

“If you look closely at my history you will see a man of passion a man of dedication.  I am someone who gives my all to everything I do.  I’ve taken on cancer and the US Government multiple times and won.  I can weather the storm and that has been proven.  That’s what you want in a BSC developer”

JailDoge is a cryptocurrency or digital token on the Binance Smart Chain.  For audit, or further information visit – https://www.jaildoge.net/. JailDoge can also be found on Twitter and Telegram.