Insights from 10,000 cropland acres in Maryland and Pennsylvania indicate that net on-farm greenhouse gas emissions were near-zero

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. and CAMDEN, N.J., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Truterra, LLC, the sustainability business at Land O'Lakes, Inc., one of America's largest farmer-owned cooperatives, Campbell Soup Company, and The Mill, a Land O'Lakes agricultural retailer, today announced the results from year two of an agricultural sustainability pilot project.

While the adoption of conservation practices needs to be tracked over a longer period of time to assess impact and sustainability, the year-two results suggest important progress. Truterra and The Mill will identify opportunities based on these year-over-year insights, and work with farmers to continue to advance their stewardship and profitability in 2020 and beyond.

Using the Truterra Insights Engine, a best-in-class farm sustainability data tool, participating farmers and project partners tracked, aggregated and reported environmental and economic outcomes of on-farm stewardship practices across 10,000 acres in the Chesapeake Bay region of Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) was instrumental in building the original pilot structure.

The project focuses on measuring and accelerating stewardship on farms growing wheat in rotation in the supply regions for several Campbell brands such as Pepperidge Farmbakery classics,Pepperidge Farmcookies including Farmhouse andMilano,Goldfishcrackersand Snyder's of Hanoverpretzels.

Below are illustrative insights from participating project acres.

"These data help to provide proof of concept for farmer-led, and ag retailer-supported, stewardship efforts. While the concept has been popular for some time, insights from this project suggest that smart farm management practices can help to slow and mitigate the results of climate change, while supporting greater resilience to the impacts of a changing climate and farm profitability," said Jason Weller, Vice President, Truterra, LLC. "We are energized by this snapshot of data that signals the potential for a real and lasting impact on conserving our natural resources when we bring private sector resources to bear to support farmer-led stewardship."

The goal of the Campbell-Truterra project, launched in 2018, is to assess how working through farmers' most trusted advisor the agricultural retailer to deploy precision tools can result in adoption of conservation practices and lead to positive environmental outcomes, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions on farms and improved water quality in the Chesapeake Bay region. Additionally, the tools strengthen farm profitability and the business case for stewardship by modeling the field-by-field return-on-investment of conservation practices, while also equipping growers to benefit from incentives made available through the U.S. Farm Bill and other programs.

"This project has provided an awesomeplatform for our growers to share their story that is built on the success of conservation with the data to back it up," said Tim Hushon, Truterra Champion, The Mill. "Opportunities to engage more growers about the Truterra Insights Engine excites us and can only drive positive outcomes for the environment. Growers are the stewards of the land and this project has given them a piece of the recognition they deserve."

With a shared vision of making every farm sustainable, Truterra and Campbell are working together to continue to scale this model. Campbell recently announced that it has reached its goal of enrolling 70,000 acres in the Truterra Insights Engine in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio, a year ahead of schedule.

"Our project with Truterra has been essential for achieving our goal to drive sustainable agriculture on 70,000 acres of wheat farmland by 2020. Our partnership links sustainability to financial returns for the farm, which aligns with our sustainable agriculture priorities," reported Dan Sonke, Campbell's Director of Sustainable Agriculture. "We are excited by the potential to drive more regenerative practices on farms in our supply regions."

About Truterra, LLCTruterra (formerly Land O'Lakes SUSTAIN) is a leading stewardship solutions provider, advancing and connecting sustainability efforts throughout the food system with scale from farmers to ag retailers to partners like food companies. Truterra positions farmers for success by providing them tools and resources to establish a stewardship baseline and track progress on every field they farm. The Truterra network brings together the best in agricultural technology and on-farm business management to drive sustainability across the food system, feeding people, safeguarding the planet and supporting farmer livelihoods. Truterra was launched in 2016 by Land O'Lakes, Inc., a member-owned cooperative that spans the spectrum from agricultural production to consumer foods.

Story continues

About Campbell Soup CompanyCampbell (NYSE:CPB) is driven and inspired by our purpose, "Real food that matters for life's moments." For generations, people have trusted Campbell to provide authentic, flavorful and affordable snacks, soups and simple meals, and beverages. Founded in 1869, Campbell has a heritage of giving back and acting as a good steward of the planet's natural resources. The company is a member of the Standard and Poor's 500 and the FTSE4Good Index. For more information, visit http://www.campbellsoupcompany.com or follow company news on Twitter via @CampbellSoupCo.

About The Mill Since 1986, agricultural retailer The Mill has delivered quality products and services to farmers. Headquartered in Bel Air, Maryland, The Mill has seven retail locations that includes a complete agronomy services team. The company's services spread throughout Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The Mill's Agronomy Division began in 2003 and has expanded into a team of five Certified Crop Advisors, two precision ag managers and seven professional fertilizer applicators, offering farmers a combination of practices, products and technologies available to help maintain soil health, improve nutrient use efficiency, and minimize environmental impact. The Mill prides itself on the valuable relationships it has developed and maintained with farmers and other environmental, government and university organizations.

Land O'Lakes NatalieLong 612-368-5600 NLong@landolakes.com

Campbell Soup CompanyAmanda Pisano 856-342-8590 Amanda_Pisano@campbells.com

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-data-demonstrate-the-progress-of-farmer-led-stewardship-in-the-chesapeake-bay-region-301107161.html

SOURCE Truterra, LLC

Continued here:

New Data Demonstrate The Progress Of Farmer-Led Stewardship In The Chesapeake Bay Region - Yahoo Finance

UNIVERSITY PARK The impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on agriculture in Pennsylvania will be the subject of an online town hall meeting at 2 p.m. Aug. 10, as part of Penn State's virtual Ag Progress Days exposition.

Hosted by Rick Roush, dean of Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, and Russell Redding, state secretary of agriculture, the forum will cover the lessons learned from the pandemic to date and the next steps needed to recover from the crisis, which has caused significant disruptions to food and agricultural markets, supply chains, and workforces.

The virtual town hall is free to attend, but registration is required. Those who register also will have access to a recording of the town hall for future viewing. A link to the registration page can be found on the Ag Progress Days website at http://apd.psu.edu.

Registered participants are invited to submit questions and discussion topics for Roush and Redding prior to the webinar. Details on how to submit questions will be provided in a confirmation email sent to registrants. The deadline for submitting questions is noon Sunday, Aug. 9.

Virtual Ag Progress Days, Aug. 9-12, will feature live, interactive webinars; virtual tours of the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center; videos highlighting research, educational programs and best practices in agriculture, natural resources, health and nutrition, and other topics; and opportunities to learn about and connect with the event's commercial exhibitors.

Read more:

Ag Progress Days virtual town hall will address COVID-19 impact on agriculture - huntingdondailynews.com

The NBA and NBPA announced that out of the 343 players screened in the Walt Disney World bubble, zero players tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) since the last round of results were announced July 29.

There was initially plenty of concern regarding the leagues plans to pursue a restart in a hotbed like Orlando, Florida, during the ongoing pandemic. Even commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged the drastic impact that a few positive tests could mean for the entire operation.

Fortunately, the NBAs hopes of becoming a virus-free zone has gone according to plan up to this point. Although there have been a few instances of players breaking protocol before the seeding games, it has not led to any significant repercussions outside of a delayed return to their respective teams.

The league also opted to ease the consequences of inconclusive tests, which have started to occur in approximately five of every 1,000 tests. Players can now have the chance to produce two negative tests within 60 minutes of tipoff rather than waiting 48 hours to become eligible.

Despite having to deal with the restrictions placed in response to the coronavirus pandemic during the most crucial point of the season, the NBA has fared better than other major professional sports leagues that have attempted to make its return.

The NFL is still in the midst of putting their health guidelines to the test with the start of training camp. Meanwhile, the MLBs lackluster efforts in containing any outbreaks have led to speculation about the uncertain fate of their season.

Just because the bubble has managed to accomplish all that it was designed to do, does not mean that it has been smooth sailing for the players and staff involved. LeBron James recently admitted that the time away from family certainly takes its toll.

Obviously, being away from your family is an unbelievable sacrifice were all making, and its very difficult. We have road games, when we go to the West Coast or East Coast, you have 11-day road trips of five or six games, James said.

And sometimes when you play in the Olympics, you can be away from your family because youre traveling from country to country. But nothing has ever compared to this. Its a huge sacrifice were all making. I miss the hell out of my family, my wife, my kids, my mother and so on. Its a huge challenge to be able to stay locked in.

Although players can take solace in the fact that the bubble experiment has worked out, being away from family has offered up its own set of challenges for those trying to stay focused on the task at hand.

As a result, Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has been adamant about hi guys maintaining a healthy balance of basketball and off-field activities to avoid any potential burnout in the season restart.

James has been a man on a mission throughout the course of the pandemic with his efforts in maintaining the Lakers status as bonafide title contenders while raising awareness to the social injustice taking place off the court.

Perhaps the most difficult part is the fact that he is now limited to virtual interactions with his family. Despite the challenges involved, James admits it does allow him to narrow his focus on getting the job done on the court.

Once you get on the floor, the game is the game. Its an opportunity to lock in on the situation at hand, the task at hand, and you keep the main thing the main thing, James said.

Because at the end of the day when you get on the floor, you have a job to do. Me personally, I have a job to do to continue to take this team in the right direction. So Im able to lock in on that, and at the same time keep my family and loved ones in my heart and mind as well.

Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Its the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!

View original post here:

NBA Restart Continues To Progress Without Positive COVID-19 Test - LakersNation.com

When Raiders coach Jon Gruden rejoined the franchise in 2018, he said the job was appealing, in part, because of quarterback Derek Carr.

But it appears theres still a bit of work to do if Carr is to tap into the full potential of Grudens offense.

Since his return, Gruden has tried to mold Carr into his ideal QB. Carr, by all accounts, has done what he can to absorb his coachs lessons.

For instance, Carr adapted to Grudens demand to mitigate risk and avoid turnovers, and his completion percentage hit a career-high in 2019. But as Gruden stymied any gunslinger mentality that Carr possessed, there were growing pains.

The Raiders 2018 loss in Miami against the Dolphins is one example. With three minutes to play and a 1st-and-goal situation, Carr threw a risky pass to former Raiders wide receiver, Martavis Bryant. The ball was intercepted, and the Raiders lost, 28-20. Gruden voiced his displeasure with the play postgame, of course.

Carrs decision-making in the pocket slowly improved after that game, however, and its hard to imagine him making another such throw on first-and-goal in the future.

But theres yet another trait that Gruden wants Carr to possess. It also involves decision making, but after the play breaks down.

Offensive coordinator Greg Olson, who is always on the same page as Gruden, said Carr can still improve his ability to gain yards when the unexpected happens.

[I] want to see him create and I think if you said that about Dereks career, can he be more creative? Olson said via conference call on Tuesday. When a play breaks down, can you get out and create and be the play after the play call? Thats been an emphasis. He sees it, hes athletic enough that he can create with his legs, so we are just working on him to create more outside the pocket.

As Olson noted, Carr is certainly athletic enough to be a threat when the play breaks down, which keeps the defense on their toes and slows their aggression. Also as Olson mentioned, Carr is aware of the situation. The QB was asked about his ability to create offense after Olsons comments on Tuesday.

Before coach Gruden got here, I barely did it, said Carr via conference call, after learning of Olsons critique. Im going to sit in the pocket. These reads are going to beat you and my arm is going to beat you. Then he came in and the first year was a struggle just trying to figure out how to move and run around in the pocket. Then last year happens and were getting more first downs with my legs. Were winning football games with me scrambling. The arrow is trending up. But we want to still do more.

Fortunately for Carr, it shouldnt take much more to unleash the full potential of Grudens offense. With his skills inside the pocket, merely being a consistent threat to leave the tackle box and make a positive play even its just a few yards is enough to make an impact.

That skill is simply a must if Grudens ball-control offense is to reach its max potential. And if a QB with Carrs athleticism can evade sacks and avoid a loss, hell eventually begin to break plays for decent yardage, or even better, hit his targets on the run with regularity.

Even as Carr attempts to improve in that area, Gruden has made it clear how much he covets such a quarterback. Before facing Andrew Luck and the Colts in 2018, Gruden raved about Lucks ability to create offense when the play goes awry.

Thats what I think the great quarterbacks do. They dont just make the throws and fix plays at the line of scrimmage. Whens theres no blocking or nobody open, he can still make big plays, Gruden said.

Additionally, during Week 14 of the same campaign, Gruden said there are natural QB scrambling lanes in his offense when skill players are double-teamed, especially if its the tight end or running back.

In 2019, Carrs progress off-the-cuff was a focus on the first day of training camp, with a scramble by the QB making news. Later in the same camp, Gruden prepared Carr for unblocked pass-rushers by running into Carrs face himself while shouting instructions at his pupil.

The effort yielded some results during the season that followed, as Carr mentioned. In the Raiders loss in Oakland to the Jaguars, Carr scrambled from the pocket when his team needed a first down to put the game away, and it appeared he did enough to win. Unfortunately, due to a questionable call from the official, the Raiders lost that game, their last in Oakland.

But that consistent threat has to develop if hes to take another step at QB. And it appears Gruden needs to see more progress if his wandering eye for signal-callers is to subside.

The coachs affection for dual-threat quarterbacks dates back, at least, to former Raiders QB Rich Gannon, who was in Oakland with Gruden from 1999-01. Recently, Gruden had rumored interest in former Oklahoma QB and 2019 Rookie of the Year, Kyler Murray.

And Gruden brought an experienced, dual-threat QB to Las Vegas, Marcus Mariota, to compete with Carr. As a draft analyst, the coach raved about Mariota, as did Raiders general manager, Mike Mayock.

Carr is still the clear choice as starter, but hed do well to improve in this area, shutting the door on talk of a possible demotion that followed the Mariota signing. Such rumors will continue until Carr leads the Raiders to the playoffs, signs an extension or is let go.

Amazingly, though Carr is in his seventh year as the Raiders starting QB and the franchises all-time leader in passing yards, hes still a work in progress regarding a skill his coach covets. Its his third year in Grudens offense, however. Carrs never had such continuity in his career, which bodes well for his chances.

Still, it doesnt figure to be easy, even if Carr only has to show consistent, competent ability outside the pocket. Its not a rudimentary skill. As Gruden said, its a trait shared by great quarterbacks.

But Carr will give it all hes got. Its his job to realize the potential of the Raiders offense, and if he does so in 2020, he could be Grudens long-term solution at quarterback, and they can both finish what they started in 2018.

See the article here:

For Raiders QB Derek Carr, creativity outside the pocket still a work in progress - Raiders Wire

HANFORD, WA The Energy Department and Tank Farms Contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions, joined ranks with the state Ecology Department to break ground on a new waste pre-treatment system.

Its a critical component of turning legacy waste now stored in underground tanks into glass.

The groundbreaking marks a year and a half of design and fabrication work.

Were out here today to break ground on the line that will bring the waste from the new tank-side cesium and removal facility over to the waste treatment plant for treatment and its a big deal because this is the missing link for really getting waste treatment started at Hanford. Which has been a priority for the State of Washington for a very long time, said Alex Smith, Washington Department of Ecology Nuclear Waste program manager.

The system helps strain solids and remove radioactive cesium from the tank waste.

Its then stored in a tank until it can be sent through underground pipes to the low-activity waste facility, where it will be heated to 2,100 Degrees Fahrenheit, mixed with glass-forming materials and poured into stainless steel containers for disposal.

FOX41 YakimaFOX11 TriCities

See the original post here:

More progress at Hanford despite the challenges of a Global Pandemic - FOX 11 and FOX 41

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY)On Monday night, more than 150,000 people were left without power after Hurricane Isaias passed through the Cape Fear. Duke Energy, Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation and Four County Electric have had crews out restoring power since late last night.

As of 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday night, Duke Energy was still reporting over 38,000 people without power in the Cape Fear. The Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation currently has 9,421 outages at this time.

A Duke Energy spokesman says their goal is to have everyones power back up by tomorrow, but its process that takes time.

This is going to be a multiple day restoration for Wilmington, theres just too many outages,said Duke Energy spokesman Jeff Brooks. Were looking at 700 to 800 outages that have to be repaired. That means individual locations where crews have to go to make repairs. So, a lot of work ahead of us, but were making good progress and were going to keep working till we get it done.

Duke Energy brought in nearly 300 workers from the Midwest to assist in restorations. You can visit your individual electrical companies website for more information on when power may be restored to your area.

Continued here:

Progress being made on restoring power to the Cape Fear - WWAY NewsChannel 3

A new research study from Utah State Universitys Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP), in conjunction with USU Extension, reports that state government leaders are implementing strategies to diversify gender leadership, but there are still opportunities for improvement.

The research is the first in a series that focuses on women leaders who work in Utahs public sector. It will be followed by similar analysis at the county and municipal levels.

The groundbreaking study included an analysis of gender representation across 3,850 leadership positions within 53 Utah state agencies. Researchers were interested in understanding how women are represented in formal leadership roles within governments in Utah. The goal was to document a baseline of the number of women in leadership roles to track the progress made and help make improvements in the future.

Susan Madsen, founding director of the UWLP and inaugural Karen Haight Huntsman Endowed Professor of Leadership in USUs Huntsman School of Business, said identifying and mitigating persistent challenges and barriers clears the way for enhanced opportunities for womens equal representation across state agencies and leadership levels.

According to lead researcher April Townsend, the study showed that because departments and divisions tend to adopt masculine and feminine divisions of labor, the place a woman works often impacts her career progression. Feminine agencies tend to be redistributive areas such as education, social services, healthcare, the arts and veterans affairs. Masculine agencies are primarily administrative, distributive and regulatory, such as in business and economic development, labor, defense, transportation, taxes, budget, criminal justice, natural resources, agriculture and environmental quality. These divisions of labor often determined the type of leadership roles men and women held.

The Utah Foundation, an independent research organization, notes that 13 of the 20 largest employers in the state are government entities, and when looking at the top 50 employers in Utah, nearly half are government entities.

Because of the high rate of state government employment, its important to balance the role of men and women, not just as leaders generally, but at all leadership levels, said Madsen.

The research findings identified that women hold 39.3% of supervisory, managerial and leadership positions in Utah government. Women comprised 41.2 percent of front-line leadership positions, but just 27.1 percent of cabinet-level roles.

Our research states that organizations increasingly thrive when both men and women hold leadership roles and work together, Madsen said. Gender inclusivity in leadership benefits not only Utahs businesses, but also its government organizations, such as state legislatures, city councils and state and local bureaucracies. A lack of womens equal representation in the leadership ranks stands in stark contrast to the goal of a diverse government workforce.

The benefits of diverse leadership teams include improved strategic decision making, increased capacity for problem solving, enhanced resilience, increased innovation and expanded capacity to adapt to change.

Researchers recommended several ways to increase gender diversity in Utah leadership:

* Make it clear that diversity is part of the organizational culture, with elected officials and top cabinet members playing an active role in prioritizing gender diversity and communicating that throughout state agencies.

* Develop strategic plans that clearly show steps for recruiting and advancing women, with an eye to women of color, into leadership positions, particularly in agencies that may be considered non-traditional for women.

* Evaluate hiring processes to eliminate potentially outdated language, unnecessary minimum qualifications and other exclusionary measures.

* Update interview practices for hiring managers with a lens to diversity. Emphasize the need for training agency managers to raise their awareness of gender equity and to provide proper ways to address gender bias in the workplace. This includes incorporating unconscious bias training that addresses negative stereotypes of women managers and shows the benefits of hiring women leaders.

* Make gender diversity a priority by tracking and sharing the data, both inside and outside the organization.

* Train women and men to respond appropriately when they encounter gender bias in language, behavior or policy.

Having women at top levels can inspire other women to pursue their own advancement, said Madsen. It also increases the willingness to hire and promote highly skilled, competent women routinely. Shifting to more balanced leadership will benefit not only women and government organizations, but also families, communities and the state as a whole.

Click herefor the full research brief. Visit the UWLP website athttps://www.usu.edu/uwlp/.

Read more from the original source:

Groundbreaking study of women in leadership positions in state government shows progress, but need for improvement - Cache Valley Daily

The Walker County Commission on Monday said it is making progress on several road projects.

Chairman Jerry Bishop and District 4 Commissioner Steven Aderholt were absent due to illness. District 1 Commissioner Keith Davis presided over the meeting.

County Engineer Mike Short said, "As you are aware, we have several projects going on right now. I guess the one that is furtherest along is Fall City Road," which is getting asphalt treatment for 6.7 miles. Work was supposed to start this week. However, a subcontractor for surface treatment is having a difficult time getting testing for stone delivered to District 1. "It's nothing under our control. It is strictly getting a product to pass the state's tests," Short said.

A pre-construction conference is being scheduled on the Nauvoo Road project in the Carbon Hill area, he said. "That should be getting started shortly," he said.

Davis noted he was encouraged a large amount of road work was going on in all the districts. In District 1, he noted that surface treatment is planned for Baughn Road (.4 of a mile), Lamon Chapel Road (6.2 miles), Whittemore Road (2.8 miles) and Bird Farm Road (6 miles). All will be striped in the process. Davis said with Fall City Road included - which will also include reflectors - the total mileage will amount to 21.4 miles of work.

District 2 Commissioner Jeff Burrough said resurfacing work is also set to be done in his district on Homestead Road, Trinity Road and Coalbed Road.

District 3 Commissioner Ralph Williams also thanked Burrough for having his crews help in District 3 on Gardner's Gin Road for prep work. "Hopefully we can get that done in front of the school this week," Williams said.

View post:

County making progress on road projects - Daily Mountain Eagle

News on climate in the time of coronavirusSubscribe today

For over a decade, the U.S. federal government has failed to pursue major action on climate change, leaving most of the hard work of cutting carbon emissions to individual states. But even without national leadership, many states are succeeding at slashing emissions and fast.

According to a new report from the World Resources Institute, an international research organization, 41 states managed to cut their carbon emissions between 2005 and 2017, even as their economies grew. (State-level emissions data usually takes more than two years to be reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, making 2017 data the latest available.)

The states leading the charge might not be the ones you expect.

Get Grist in your inboxAlways free, always fresh

The Beacon Other choices

Ask your climate scientist if Grist is right for you. See our privacy policy

The state that cut emissions the most wasnt Washington, where Governor Jay Inslee has cooked up ambitious climate plans that have been partially adopted by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Nor was it California, which is famous for strict fuel efficiency standards, one of the worlds largest cap-and-trade programs, and the long tenure of environmentalist former Governor Jerry Brown.

No, the most significant cuts in carbon emissions came from Maryland, with New Hampshire, Washington, D.C., and Maine following closely behind.

Clayton Aldern / Grist

According to the report, Maryland cut emissions 38 percent in those 12 years, and the Northeast region as a whole cut emissions by around 24 percent. In contrast, most Western states including Washington and California saw their carbon emissions rise or decrease only slightly over the entire period.

Devashree Saha, one of the authors of the report and a senior associate at the World Resources Institute, said that the Northeast had several factors on its side. For one thing, many Northeastern states once used coal to power their electricity grids. In recent years, they have quickly switched over to natural gas, which produces far less carbon dioxide than coal-fired power.

The Northeast is also the home of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, an interstate agreement that caps carbon emissions from power plants in Maryland, Maine, New York, and seven other member states in the region. According to a report from the nonprofit Acadia Center, the program has reduced power plant emissions by almost 47 percent since it started 10 years ago, far outpacing the rest of the country.

But theres more to the data than meets the eye. Saha says that some of the states that seem to be lagging behind, including California and Washington, already had fairly low carbon intensity before the study period began. (Carbon intensity is a measurement of the carbon emitted per dollar of economic growth.) In other words, the large cuts in the Northeast may reflect the ways in which it was actually catching up with states that already had cleaner electricity systems in 2005: Washington has consistently pulled a lot of power from its giant dams, and California has powered its grid off of natural gas since the early 2000s.

Once you take into account the low-hanging fruit, then there are another series of challenges, Saha explained.

Thats one reason why the federal government may have to step in. Even states that have seen decreases in carbon pollution will need to do much more: shifting from natural gas to renewable fuel sources, for example, and decarbonizing cars and other vehicles. That will require a more comprehensive federal policy, like big federal spending on wind and solar energy or a nationwide cap-and-trade system. Meanwhile, some states like Idaho, Texas, and the Dakotas still have rising emissions levels.

It is high time that the federal government starts taking action, Saha said.

The way that humanity tackles this pandemic parallels how it might fight climate change. Sign up for our semi-weekly newsletter,Climate in the Time of Coronavirus.

Read more here:

Which states are making the most progress on emissions? Not the ones you think. - Grist

ALTON - The Gordon Moore Park renovations appear right on track, despite the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The renovations have gone in phases a big recent component has been revitalization of the Gordon Moore Park turf soccer fields. The park has two new turf surfaces on fields three and four. Field three is a combination soccer and football multi-use field for local youth and field four is a tournament-size soccer field on which IHSA-sanctioned play can occur.

Pedestrian access pads are also being installed at the Gordon Moore Park. The entrance to Gordon Moore Park is coming along quite nicely, Alton Public Works Director Bob Barnhart said. We have had some delays with IDOT approvals of materials related to traffic control lights, but overall, it is going quite well.

Alton Mayor Brant Walker said the park additions will make this already premier area sports park even more appealing.

The park restoration is part of a project that the parks department partnered with the Gordon Moore Park Restoration Committee to raise funds for new concession and the all-inclusive playground area. Walker said it is wonderful to have the all-inclusive area. The work at the park has occurred simultaneously with the CMAQ Grant for which the city is receiving a $900,000 for widening and improving the entrance to the park and related park.

The artificial turf enables us to save on field maintenance expenses and many man-hours that would be spent treating, mowing and planting fields, Michael Haynes, Alton Director of Parks and Recreation, said.

The park field renovations, concession stand, entrance and all should be a huge plus for sports marking in the region, Mayor Walker said. At 1 p.m. on July 14, Altons future Prospect League Baseball team will announce the new team name at Lloyd Hopkins Field at Gordon Moore Park, which has been selected from about 1,000 community entries. There is also excitement surrounding the Prospect team, expected to begin play in 2021.

Subscribe to our Podcast and listen to today's headlines.

If you have a news, human interest or sports idea, e-mail Danbrannan@riverbender.com or call or text 618-623-5930. Follow Dan Brannan on Facebookandon Twitter.

Print Version Submit a News Tip

Follow this link:

Gordon Moore Park Renovations Continue To Make Strong Progress, Turf Fields Are In Place For Fall - RiverBender.com

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) Ethiopians are celebrating progress in the construction of the countrys dam on the Nile River, which has caused regional controversy over its filling.

In joyful demonstrations urged by posts on social media and apparently endorsed by the government, tens of thousands of residents flooded the streets of the capital Addis Ababa on Sunday afternoon, waving Ethiopias flag and holding up posters. People in cars honked their horns, others whistled, played loud music, and danced in public spaces to mark the occasion. Similar events were held in other cities in Ethiopia.

Ethiopias Deputy Prime Minister, Demeke Mekonnen, called on the public to rally behind the dam and support the completion of its construction.

Today is a date in which we celebrate the beginning of the final chapter in our dams construction, Demeke told scores of people who gathered at a hall in the capital. We want the construction to complete soon and began solving our problems once and for all.

Hashtags like #ItsMyDam, #EthiopiaNileRights and #GERD are also trending among Ethiopian social media users. Ethiopians around the world contributed to the festivities on social media.

Sundays celebration, called One voice for our dam, came after Ethiopian officials announced on July 22 that the first stage of filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dams reservoir was achieved due to heavy rains. Officials in the East African nation say they hope the $4.6 billion dam, fully financed by Ethiopia itself, will reach full power generating capacity in 2023.

With 74% of the construction completed, the dam has been contentious for years and raised tensions with neighboring countries.

Ethiopia says the dam will provide electricity to millions of its nearly 110 million citizens and help them out of poverty. The dam should also make Ethiopia a major power exporter. Downstream Egypt, which depends on the Nile River to supply its farmers and booming population of 100 million people with fresh water, asserts that the dam poses an existential threat. Sudan, between the two countries, is also concerned about its access to the Nile waters.

Negotiators have said key questions remain about how much water Ethiopia will release downstream if a multiyear drought occurs and how the countries will resolve any future disputes. Negotiations to resolve the differences have broken down several times, but now appear to be making progress.

See the original post:

Ethiopians celebrate progress in building dam on Nile River - The Associated Press

Ted? Or Mister Ed?

Hes been controversial from the start. His enthusiasts called him Ted. You know, after Teddy Ballgame. Others have analyzed his long, unorthodox, pretzely, swing and have thought, No way. This guy will be a big league star when horses talk.

So far, the results are not there. A career OPS of .633, and hes worse this year than last.

His supporters shout: SMALL SAMPLE SIZE. Dont give up on the next Kenny Lofton, Jose Abreu, Curt Schilling, J.D. Martinez, Luis Gonzalez, ( a pretty good analog) like the Astros gave up on these future superstars.

On the other hand, do I need to make a list of the hyped prospects in Astros History that flopped?

On and on and on we go.

A famous New York mayor from more peaceful days use to always ask, Howm I doin? Today we ask, hows Ted doin? But even more importantly, how is the future right field heir apparent adjusting and progressing?

Not too well. And hes not improving. But before I lose his fans in this article let me concede the sample size argument. You cant judge a young player by his first 176 plate appearances. And you cant judge anybody in this weirdo, 2020 season, by 32 plate appearances. His OPS is almost identical to Jose Altuves this year. Why not give up on him too?

OK. But hows he doing?

Lets look at Tuckers traditional statistics for his first three (short) seasons.

2018: 72 PA.... .141 BA.... .235 OBP.... .203 SLG.... .439 OPS.... .176 BABIP

2019: 72 PA.... .269 BA... .319 OBP.... .537 SLG.... .857 OPS.... .326 BABIP

2020: 32 PA.. .200 BA.... .250 OBP... .300 SLG... .550 OPS.... .286 BABIP

Career: 176 PA ..205 BA.. ..273 OBP.. .360 SLG... .633.OPS.... ..252 BABIP

Clearly we see improvement last year from year one and regression this year from last. Again, small sample size reservations apply. Given that, BABIP variations, (luck) seem to explain the season to season variations to a degree. His worst season, the first, had a terribly unlucky batting average on balls in play. Last year, his luck was the reverse, and this season his BABIP is about where it should be, and thus this season is producing better results than his first but worse than last years.

A look at more advanced stats year-to-year show a remarkable consistency in Tuckers batting and no evidence of progress. Actually, his batted ball profile this year looks more like his first season than it does his improved year two.

For example, according to Statcast his exit velocity is 91.1. Thats closer to 2018s 90.7 than to 2019s 92.0. So far in 2020 his XWOBA is actually the lowest of his short career, .273, compared to .334 in 2018 and .350 in 2019. That only ranks in the 27th percentile.

The one part of Tuckers batted ball profile that rates above average is his exit velocity. But critics have always pointed out that this is negated by the fact that most of these batted balls are ground balls hit directly into the radical shifts employed against him, and that his swing makes it nearly impossible for him to adjust.

Although he seemed to make progress in 2019 getting under the ball more, when it comes to pulling grounders into the right side shift, Tucker this year is having his worse season yet.

In 2018 Tucker hit 51.0% of his batted balls into the ground. This year it is 57.1%. His launch angle has dropped to its lowest: 13.5. In 2018 he hit 37.3% of his batted balls to the pull side. This year it is 52.4% His line drive% this year is almost identical to 2018; only 19.0% in 2020, 19.6% in 2018.

The fact that Tucker is hitting to the pull side spells more trouble than ever before. According to Statcast Tucker faced shifts only 36.1% of the time in 2018. This has increased to 83.9% of the time this year. On the few occasions he has not been shifted he has had a great season, hitting .591 WOBA. Unfortunately, hes only hitting .154 into the shift, worse than 2018. He hit an unsustainable .403 into the shift in 2019, which helps explain his high BABIP last year.

It is possible that pitchers are tending to pitch him inside to induce him to hit into the shift.

Heres the pitch heatmap for Tucker in 2020.

Notice the low inside bias.

And heres Tuckers spray heatmap.

Unfortunately, Statcast did not keep these charts on Tucker in 2018 and 2019.

In summary, we saw hopeful improvement in Kyle Tucker in 2019, but in the small sample of 2020 weve seen regression to the disappointing 2018 Tucker.

Obviously, no one in the Astros organization is giving up on Tucker after 32 PAs in this, the strange 2020 season of the Virus. But the small sample size argument becomes less and less tenable with every additional at bat he takes. If he doesnt start distinguishing himself soon from Josh Reddick and Myles Straw, his ABs are going to be coming fewer and more far between with the much anticipated arrival of the Yordan machine.

Read more here:

Is Kyle Tucker Making Progress? - The Crawfish Boxes

Crews stop forward progress of Elsmere Fire in Santa Clarita

Emergency crews stop forward progress of Elsmere Fire in Santa Clarita on Monday.

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - LA County fire crews have stopped forward progress to the updated 130-acre blaze that was burning uphill on Monday afternoon near the northbound Antelope Valley (14) Freeway at Newhall Avenue in the Santa Clarita, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

TheElsmere Fire is currently 30 percent contained.

Fire crews are battling a blaze that exploded to at least 200 acres in Santa Clarita on Monday afternoon

Get breaking news alerts in the FOX 11 News app. Download foriOSorAndroid.

A third alarm response has been requested for the Elsmere Fire, which has blackened at least 130 acres of brush with no containment near the northbound Antelope Valley (14)Freeway in Santa Clarita, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which is being assisted by crews with the Angeles National Forest.

LA County Fire Captain Ron Haralson says the fire started about 1:45 PM and quickly got to about 100 acres.

Had it not been for that aerial assault it couldve exploded, but that attack kept the fire down to 130 acres.

UPDATE: As of 3:15 p.m., the evacuations have been lifted between Dockweiler and Newhall Ave up to Valle del Oro. There are no current evacuation orders, officials said.

The northbound Antelope Valley (14) Freeway is closed at the Golden State (5) Freeway in the Santa Clarita area due to visibility issues from the Elsmere Fire, which has blackened 100 acre of brush near the freeway and triggered evacuations, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The northbound Antelope Valley (14) Freeway is closed at the Golden State (5) Freeway in the Santa Clarita area due to visibility issues from the Elsmere Fire, which has blackened 100 acre of brush near the freeway and triggered evacuations, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Sierra Highway is closed to traffic between Newhall Avenue and Golden Valley Road.

Officials are urging to please avoid the area.

Fire crews are still on scene.

FOX 11's Hal Eisner contributed to this report

Here is the original post:

Fire crews stop forward progress of wildfire in Santa Clarita - FOX 11 Los Angeles

For the last two weeks, Ive been flying around the world in a preview of Microsofts new Flight Simulator. Without a doubt, its the most beautiful flight simulator yet, and itll make you want to fly low and slow over your favorite cities because if you pick the right one every street and house will be there in more detail than youve ever seen in a game. Weather effects, day and night cycles, plane models it all looks amazing. You cant start it up and not fawn over the graphics.

But the new Flight Simulator is also still very much a work in progress, too, even just a few weeks before the scheduled launch date on August 18. Its officially still in beta, so theres still time to fix at least some of the issues I list below. Because Microsoft and Asobo Studios, which was responsible for the development of the simulator, are using Microsofts AI tech in Azure to automatically generate much of the scenery based on Microsofts Bing Maps data, youll find a lot of weirdness in the world. There are taxiway lights in the middle of runways, giant hangars and crew buses at small private fields, cars randomly driving across airports, giant trees growing everywhere (while palms often look like giant sticks), bridges that are either under water or big blocks of black over a river and there are a lot of sunken boats, too.

When the system works well, its absolutely amazing. Cities like Barcelona, Berlin, San Francisco, Seattle, New York and others that are rendered using Microsofts photogrammetry method look great including and maybe especially at night.

Image Credits: Microsoft

The rendering engine on my i7-9700K with an Nvidia 2070 Super graphics card never let the frame rate drop under 30 frames per second (which is perfectly fine for a flight simulator) and usually hovered well over 40, all with the graphics setting pushed up to the maximum and with a 2K resolution.

When things dont work, though, the effect is stark because its so obvious. Some cities, like Las Vegas, look like they suffered some kind of catastrophe, as if the city was abandoned and nature took over (which in the case of the Vegas Strip doesnt sound like such a bad thing, to be honest).

Image Credits: TechCrunch

Thankfully, all of this is something that Microsoft and Asobo can fix. Theyll just need to adjust their algorithms, and because a lot of the data is streamed, the updates should be virtually automatic. The fact that they havent done so yet is a bit of a surprise.

Image Credits: TechCrunch

Chances are youll want to fly over your house the day you get Flight Simulator. If you live in the right city (and the right part of that city), youll likely be lucky and actually see your house with its individual texture. But for some cities, including London, for example, the game only shows standard textures, and while Microsoft does a good job at matching the outlines of buildings in cities where it doesnt do photogrammetry, its odd that London or Amsterdam arent on that list (though London apparently features a couple of wind turbines in the city center now), while Mnster, Germany is.

Once you reach altitude, all of those problems obviously go away (or at least you wont see them). But given the graphics, youll want to spend a lot of time at 2,000 feet or below.

Image Credits: TechCrunch

What really struck me in playing the game in its current state is how those graphical inconsistencies set the standard for the rest of the experience. The team says its focus is 100% on making the simulator as realistic as possible, but then the virtual air traffic control often doesnt use standard phraseology, for example, or fails to hand you off to the right departure control when you leave a major airport. The airplane models look great and feel pretty close to real (at least the ones Ive flown myself), but some currently show the wrong airspeed. Some planes use modern glass cockpits with the Garmin 1000 and G3X, but those still feel severely limited.

But let me be clear here. Despite all of this, even in its beta state, Flight Simulator is a technical marvel and it will only get better over time.

Image Credits: TechCrunch

Lets walk through the user experience a bit. The install on PC (the Xbox version will come at some point in the future) is a process that downloads a good 90GB so that you can play offline as well. The install process asks you if you are okay with streaming data, too, and that can quickly add up. After reinstalling the game and doing a few flights for screenshots, the game had downloaded about 10GB already it adds up quickly and is something you should be aware of if youre on a metered connection.

Once past the long install, youll be greeted by a menu screen that lets you start a new flight, go for one of the landing challenges or other activities the team has set up (they are really proud of their Courchevel scenery) and go through the games flight training program.

Image Credits: Microsoft

That training section walks you through eight activities that will help you get the basics of flying a Cessna 152. Most take fewer than 10 minutes and youll get a bit of a de-brief after, but Im not sure its enough to keep a novice from getting frustrated quickly (while more advanced players will just skip this section altogether anyway).

I mostly spent my time flying the small general aviation planes in the sim, but if you prefer a Boeing 747 or Airbus 320neo, you get that option, too, as well as some turboprops and business jets. Ill spend some more time with those before the official launch. All of the planes are beautifully detailed inside and out and except for a few bugs, everything works as expected.

To actually start playing, youll head for the world map and choose where you want to start your flight. Whats nice here is that you can pick any spot on your map, not just airports. That makes it easy to start flying over a city, for example. As you zoom into the map, you can see airports and landmarks (where the landmarks are either real sights like Germanys Neuschwanstein Castle or cities that have photogrammetry data). If a town doesnt have photogrammetry data, it will not appear on the map.

As of now, the flight planning features are pretty basic. For visual flights, you can go direct or VOR to VOR, and thats it. For IFR flights, you choose low or high-altitude airways. You cant really adjust any of these, just accept what the simulator gives you. Thats not really how flight planning works (at the very least you would want to take the local weather into account), so it would be nice if you could customize your route a bit more. Microsoft partnered with NavBlue for airspace data, though the built-in maps dont do much with this data and dont even show you the vertical boundaries of the airspace you are in.

Image Credits: TechCrunch

Its always hard to compare the plane models and how they react to the real thing. Best I can tell, at least the single-engine Cessnas that Im familiar with mostly handle in the same way I would expect them to in reality. Rudder controls feel a bit overly sensitive by default, but thats relatively easy to adjust. I only played with a HOTAS-style joystick and rudder setup. I wouldnt recommend playing with a mouse and keyboard, but your mileage may vary.

Live traffic works well, but none of the general aviation traffic around my local airports seems to show up, even though Microsoft partner FlightAware shows it.

As for the real/AI traffic in general, the sim does a pretty good job managing that. In the beta, you wont really see the liveries of any real airlines yet at least for the most part I spotted the occasional United plane in the latest builds. Given some of Microsofts own videos, more are coming soon. Except for the built-in models you can fly in the sim, Flight Simulator is still missing a library of other airplane models for AI traffic, though again, I would assume thats in the works, too.

Image Credits: TechCrunch

Were three weeks out from launch. I would expect the team to be able to fix many of these issues and well revisit all of them for our final review. My frustration with the current state of the game is that its so often so close to perfect that when it falls short of that, its especially jarring because it yanks you out of the experience.

Dont get me wrong, though, flying in FS2020 is already a great experience. Even when theres no photogrammetry, cities and villages look great once you get over 3,000 feet or so. The weather and cloud simulation in real time beats any add-on for todays flight simulators. Airports still need work, but having cars drive around and flaggers walking around planes that are pushing back help make the world feel more alive. Wind affects the waves on lakes and oceans (and windsocks on airports). This is truly a next-generation flight simulator.

Image Credits: Microsoft

Microsoft and Asobo have to walk a fine line between making Flight Simulator the sim that hardcore fans want and an accessible game that brings in new players. Ive played every version of Flight Simulator since the 90s, so getting started took exactly zero time. My sense is that new players simply looking for a good time may feel a bit lost at first, despite Microsoft adding landing challenges and other more gamified elements to the sim. In a press briefing, the Asobo team regularly stressed that it aimed for realism over anything else and Im perfectly okay with that. Well have to see if that translates to being a fun experience for casual players, too.

See the rest here:

Microsofts new Flight Simulator is a beautiful work in progress - TechCrunch