News for week of 2023-01-16 (all current event convos go here).

Carlotta SusannaStaff - January 15, 2023

News

Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news.

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Starting Tuesday, all US military veterans in suicidal crisis will be eligible for free care at any VA or private facility: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/mental-health/veterans-suicidal-eligible-free-health-care-va-rcna65608

 

EXPLAINER: Tackling threat of mudslides in soaked California.

According to experts, the most vulnerable areas are hillsides that have burned in the past two to three years with communities below them. The article also links to a map of reported landslides in CA.

https://apnews.com/article/science-weather-landslides-and-mudslides-california-climate-environment-69b594ed7f68a6701543ae7b9560f7e6

 

Covid SNAP emergency benefits boost will expire nationwide In February.

Although the public health emergency has been extended until April, the 15% SNAP boost will end at the end of February under a new government spending bill. The article has more.

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-finance/snap-emergency-boost-ending/

 

Research suggests moving 5 minutes every 30 minutes can help reduce blood sugar spikes and improve metabolic profiles

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/01/12/1148503294/sitting-all-day-can-be-deadly-5-minute-walks-can-offset-harms

 

This is very exciting!

 

Whitehouse summit on indoor air quality – how to improve our health and prevent diseases by improving building HVAC systems

 

Lights have been on at this high school for almost a year and a half. Many things in this story cause me to worry about the fragility and complexity of our world, but I am happy for them that the lights are stuck on and not off.  

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/lights-massachusetts-school-year-no-one-can-turn-rcna65611

 

FEMA released new flood maps for portions of the cities of China Grove, Elmendorf, San Antonio, and St. Hedwig; and unincorporated areas of Bexar County, TX — effective in July.

According to a press release, a FEMA compliance specialist will work with the community to update each floodplain ordinance and adopt the new maps by July 19.

The current and future Flood Insurance Rate Map can be viewed on FEMA’s Flood Map Changes Viewer.

Residents are encouraged to examine the maps to determine if they are in a low-to-moderate or high-risk flood zone that would require a flood insurance policy.

“If a property owner has a federally backed mortgage on a property in the floodplain, they will be required to purchase flood insurance. Based on data from the National Flood Insurance Program from August 31, 2022, the average annual cost for flood insurance premium and associated fees in Bexar County is $783.45. The average coverage including building and contents is $285,505. For more information about flood insurance, property owners can speak with their home insurance provider, keeping in mind that flood insurance is separate from home insurance,”

https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2023/01/19/fema-releases-new-flood-maps-for-san-antonio-bexar-county-effective-in-july/

 

Follow the money.

If you believe energy security is a national security issue and a useful geopolitical tool, much as access to natural resources has driven Western geopolitics for 200 years, this article may help us understand events in Ukraine and calls for ‘regime change’ in Russia.

“If you look at the US Geological Survey study that everyone cites from 2009, which looked at oil and gas resources across the entire Arctic, 80% of those resources are located in the Russian Arctic.”

How Russia is leveraging its Arctic region for global influence

 

If we really wanted to “follow the money” and take care of energy security, we’d go after lithium:

Bolivia taps Chinese battery giant CATL to help develop lithium riches https://www.reuters.com/technology/bolivia-taps-chinese-battery-giant-catl-help-develop-lithium-riches-2023-01-20/

Chinese and Russian companies dominate in race to tap Bolivia’s lithium (paywall) https://www.ft.com/content/7c12bb7e-26fe-49b3-939f-376cc1ee76e2