Group items tagged

1. Mortgage rates may slide even more 2. Home prices and sales will rise 3. Housing counselors will be in demand 4. Millions of renters may be evicted 5. Homes will go to well-off buyers 6. Black households will fall further behind 7. Suburbs may grow at cities' expense 8. Ability-to-repay rule may be revised

"The global energy management system market was valued at USD 8.2 billion in 2020 and expected to reach USD 19.91 billion by 2026 and grow at a CAGR of 16.2% over the forecast period (2021 - 2026). The increasing focus toward issues, such as managing energy consumption, optimizing the use for renewable energy sources, and reducing carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions, is creating a demand for EMS. Further, cloud services effectively minimize operational costs of software development and maintenance and direct the monetary costs, cost of time, and spent resources on maintaining the in-house IT professionals and infrastructure on gathering, storing, and analyzing energy data.​ Cloud services are an ongoing trend responsible for the growth of the market studied."

The COVID-19 pandemic and killing of George Floyd along with other recent deaths of Black people at the hands of police have laid bare stark structural and systemic racial inequities and their impacts on the health and well-being of individuals and communities. While these events have brought health and health care disparities into sharp focus for the media and public, they are not new. These longstanding and persistent health disparities are symptoms of broader social and economic challenges that are rooted in structural and systemic barriers across sectors - including housing, education, employment, and the justice system - as well as underlying racism and discrimination. Amid this difficult time for our nation, the increased recognition and understanding of disparities could provide a catalyst for the challenging work required to address them.

The state of Massachusetts might become the first to install the first-ever solar-powered roadside sound barrier, Energy News Network reported. It is expected that this innovative pilot project will be able to generate around 800 megawatt-hours of power every single year.

A discussion of the impact the Trump presidency had on the future of politics in America, including 4 brief go-forward scenario discussions.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday finalized a rule that will slash the use of a potent climate-warming gas commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners by 85% over the next 15 years, a move that will help halve greenhouse gas emissions this decade. he EPA and White House also announced on Thursday that the administration will take an interagency approach to prevent the illegal trade, production, use, and sale of HFCs and prepare for enforcement actions to punish violations of the law.

The supply chain issue has been escalated to where the government is getting involved. Biden is talking with big retailers and looking for solutions as the problem seems to be getting worse and more likel to affect the economy

The paradoxical result of widespread remote work is that it represents both a centralization and a decentralization of where new technologies are built. That is, even as workers disperse geographically, more of them are doing their work in a single place: the internet. This change is already helping Silicon Valley giants break through logjams like regional housing crises in order to poach talent wherever it lives. The world has never managed hybrid work before. We're going to see a huge issue with culture and connection. How can you be connected and motivated. New slick tools aren't enough. Humans need and require human engagement.

Article about the administration mobilizing some national guard troops to help with the supply chain issues. The idea is that truck drivers and others could be used to help free up some of the bottlenecks. The idea probably won't go far, but reflects the how important the current supply problems are to the current administratioin.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-disasters-caused-corrosion-samuel-cowlishaw/ Surfside condominium collapses- June 2021: The main contributing factor under investigation is long-term degradation of reinforced concrete structural support in the ground-level parking garage under the housing units. Genoa, Italy Bridge Collapse- August 2018: The bridge was only 51 years old and the steel cables supporting the bridge failed likely due to damage from corrosion. Fall of Railway Traffic Lights- November 2014: A train traveling through England struck the railway traffic lights near an intersection. The post holding the lights fell due to corrosion and then struck by an oncoming train. Sinking of the Erika - December 1999: The Maltese taker broke into two while traveling near the coast of Britany France. Nearly 20,000 tons of oil were spilled. Multiple parts of the ship that had failed were compromised by corrosion. Bhopal, India Incident-December 1984: Corrosion caused toxic gas from a pesticide plant to leak into the atmosphere. More than 500,000 were exposed to the gas and official numbers says the tragedy caused 2,259 fatal victims. Unofficial sources say the number can be close to 8,000 fatal victms. Balcony Collapse at University of Virginia- May 1997: A balcony collapsed during the spring commencement ceremony. Rust had eaten way at the metal rods inside the balcony, which failed under the wight of the attendees. An engineering firm hired by the university said the collapse likely was caused by the failure of one of the four hangar rods that suspended the balcony.

Six crypto leaders appeared at a House Financial Services Committee hearing that "explored how the government should oversee and improve regulation of the industry." The "general sentiment of the hearing was positive towards the cryptocurrency industry, a dramatic shift from past years. This disposition surprised some, but it reflects an evolving view of the benefits of cryptocurrency technology and the fear that the US is falling behind other countries such as China that have made noticeable progress towards launching a sovereign digital currency." The piece notes that the Senate Banking "has a hearing on stablecoins next Tuesday and it will likely be more skeptical towards this emerging asset class." The witnesses include Alexis Goldstein, Director of Financial Policy, Open Markets Institute; and Professor Hilary J. Allen, American University Washington College of Law.

President Biden "says his administration is focused on policing cryptocurrency crimes to combat corruption globally and is taking advantage of a newly formed Department of Justice task force, according to an anti-graft report released Monday." The White House is "particularly focused on crimes committed by virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services - platforms that obscure owners and recipients in Bitcoin transactions - and bad actors who facilitate money laundering, according to the report from U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption, which includes the State Department, Treasury and Justice Department."

"Lead leached from old pipes after the city began using the Flint River in 2014 without adding corrosion-control chemicals. Flint returned in 2015 to Detroit's water system.(...)Residents in Flint whose homes still may need new water lines due to lead contamination may have a new benefactor in Elon Musk. The tech billionaire caused a stir on Twitter Wednesday, tweeting Wednesday that he was committing to "fund fixing the water in any house" with contamination above federal levels."

Using this new paint to cover a roof area of about 1,000 square feet could result in a cooling power of 10 kilowatts. "That's more powerful than the air conditioners used by most houses," Ruan said.