Day: April 23, 2020💾

As Leaders Urge Face Masks, Their Behavior Muffles the Message – The New York Times

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As Leaders Urge Face Masks, Their Behavior Muffles the Message – The New York Times

For the most part, top officials — from governors and mayors to Mr. Trump and his team — have chosen not to use masks, at least in public or at televised events, even as they encourage people to wear them. Some political analysts say image-conscious politicians may resist masks, even if they are warranted, for fear that the coverings might make them look pessimistic or nervous.

But leaders inevitably risk looking hypocritical by preaching a message about masks and then forgoing, especially when they are surrounded by aides and others. Health experts say modeling behavior is the right thing for public officials to do.

“If you’re instructing people to do stuff and you yourself aren’t doing it, that often sends the wrong message, and that’s an inconsistency in the guidance,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

New rules allow 12-hour work days at Seabrook nuke plant | Energy | unionleader.com

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New rules allow 12-hour work days at Seabrook nuke plant | Energy | unionleader.com

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is already allowing six U.S. power plants to extend workers' shifts, to as long as 12 hours a day for two weeks, and more may be coming. That's up significantly from current standards that require people to get two-to-three days off a week when pulling shifts that long. Employees can also work as many as 86 hours in a week now, up from 72 hours.

To curb transmission of the virus, utilities also say they want to delay inspections that require people to work in close proximity. Environmental groups, though, warn the changes could have disastrous results, and worry they could lead to further deviations from safety rules.

Regenerative vs. Organic

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Regenerative vs. Organic

4/22/2020 by Field Work

Web player: https://podplayer.net/?id=102857922
Episode: https://play.podtrac.com/APM_Fieldwork/play.publicradio.org/itunes/o/the_water_main/field_work/2020/04/22/fieldwork_20200422_7_128.mp3

The word “organic” is familiar to a lot of consumers — in the last decade we’ve seen a rise in organic foods in our grocery stores and markets. And there’s a whole raft of standards, developed by federal regulators, that farmers have to meet in order to certify as organic. That kind of check list does not exist for food grown according to “regenerative” principles, which are gaining traction in conservation circles. Field Work hosts Mitchell Hora and Zach Johnson talk to Eric Jackson from Pipeline Foods and Sara Harper from Grounded Growth about the differences, markets and challenges of regenerative and organic practices.