News roundup for Fri, Sep 16, 2022

3 Comments on News roundup for Fri, Sep 16, 2022
Can sheep be used to cut grass in a solar farm
In short:
  • US inflation rose by 0.1% in August, and the Fed might need to raise interest rates more aggressively.
  • Tropical Storm Fiona heading for Puerto Rico this weekend.
  • Study: A rapid shift to clean energy would save the world $12 trillion.
National Preparedness Month Challenge

Each Tuesday and Friday throughout September, the news roundups will feature a section of TP’s beginner’s checklist and introduce a conversation topic or a challenge to work on. After reading the highlighted section in the roundup, follow the instructions, and join us on Discord to discuss and get support. Read the introductory post and the previous topic here.

Today’s topic: What is a bug out bag? Should I have one?

An emergency can strike at any time. You may only have seconds to leave your home. Or maybe you gain an advantage (eg. beating traffic) by evacuating while everyone else is still scrambling.

That’s why a core part of being prepared is having one bag that’s always packed and ready to use — no matter what happens, you’ll know you have the right core essentials to survive, comfortably handle the aftermath, and potentially help others around you.

Bonus: As a beginner prepper, building your go-bags is in many ways the same as building an emergency kit for your home. Since the bag is always kept at home, if something happens around the house or you shelter in place during a longer emergency, those go-bag supplies can be used if needed.

For the challenge:

1. Finish reading the short paragraph introducing bug out bags.

2. Join us on Discord anytime after 12 pm ET in the #national-preperadeness-month channel for discussions and community challenges.

Economy, food security, supply chain

US consumer price growth rose 8.3% year-over-year in August and was up 0.1% compared to July. The rise in food, shelter, and medical care services offset a sharp decline in gas prices. The Fed might need to raise interest rates more aggressively by a whole point next week. High inflation means more Americans could be taxed at lower rates in 2023. Here’s inflation 101 from Investopedia.

The White House announced a tentative agreement that would prevent a railroad strike. A work stoppage would have had a huge impact on the economy and supply chain. According to the Association of American Railroads, a service disruption would cost the US economy $2 billion a day.

A rapid shift to clean energy by 2050 would save the world $12 trillion. According to a University of Oxford analysis, renewable costs have been trending down for decades. In many situations, they are already cheaper than fossil fuels and will become cheaper across almost all applications. And if we accelerate the transition, they will become cheaper faster. Completely replacing fossil fuels with clean energy by 2050 would save us trillions.

The US will invest $900 million to build 500,000 EV chargers across 53,000 miles of the National Highway System across 35 states.

Princeton will cover all tuition costs for most families making under $100,000 a year after getting rid of student loans. The move is expected to benefit 25% of the undergraduate student body. A majority of additional scholarship funding will go to students from families that earn less than $150,000. Without financial aid, families have to pay roughly $320,000 for four years of education.

Ethereum completes the “Merge,” which ends mining and cuts energy use by 99.95%.

Japan is harvesting junk electronics to tackle resource shortages. The goal is to reduce Japan’s dependence on foreign suppliers and shaky supply chains.

Climate change, environment, extreme weather

California Mosquito Fire surges, becoming the largest in the state this year. The fire burned more than 63,000 acres and is only about 20% contained.

Tropical storm Fiona is on the path of the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico this weekend. Click here for the latest on Fiona from the National Hurricane Center.

‘Triple dip’ La Niña will likely bring above-average rainfall to eastern Australia this summer. Here’s the Bureau of Meteorology’s outlook for Oct-Dec 2022 and the video recap:

Activism:

Oil industry executives privately downplayed their companies’ public statements about reducing greenhouse gases and weakened industry commitments to push for climate change, according to congressional investigators.

The rest

Emergency rooms across Canada close amid crisis. An ongoing shortage of nurses has caused dozens of emergency rooms across Canada to close temporarily and forced some patients to wait days for a bed.

Would you know how to deal with a common emergency on your own if you couldn’t get ER access? Here are some resources:

Here’s an article about a recent increase in sign-ups for wilderness courses in the US. I like that they’ve recognized a demographic shift in prepping: from the stereotypical tin foil hat bunker prepper type to urban and more educated folks.

Solar farms + sheep = everyone happy 😀

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.Robert Collier

Carlotta Susanna |

Operations & Research at The Prepared. I love solo hiking, urban exploration, and sleeping outside without a tent. Street smart. Prepping for the climate crisis.

  • 3 Comments
    • Hardened September 16, 2022

      Solar sheep!

      4 |
    • EzlyAmuzzed September 16, 2022

      My company has a large campus with a lot of land and leases goats to keep the grass short and it works well from what I’ve heard (I work remote). I have a co-worker that secured that contract, she said that was her funnest to do.

      4 |