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DRIVER-TREATMENT-TTHM-POLITICAL CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT Rapid detection of the total trihalomethanes (TTHM) in treated drinking water is essential for compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts (DBP) Rule, which limits the maximum contaminant level of TTHM in drinking water. The current detection method for TTHM determination involves sending samples to EPA certified laboratories for gas chromatography analysis; a method that is both expensive and time consuming. In the Phase I, Agave BioSystems demonstrated proof of concept for a sensitive colorimetric TTHM detection system based on a modified Fujiwara reaction, which can be integrated into a portable field sensor. This assay system utilizes a modified Fujiwara reaction to yield a detectable color product that correlates directly to the TTHM levels of the water sample. In this Phase II, Agave BioSystems proposes to construct a compact and portable rapid response TTHM water monitoring system for field use. BENEFIT: TTHM is linked to increased rates of bladder and colorectal cancers, and several studies link TTHM to heart, liver, and central nervous system damage. The EPA estimates that lowering TTHM levels in as few as 1,200 small drinking water systems could prevent up to 20 cases of bladder cancer per year, resulting in economic benefits of up to $110 million per year. Another documented health risk is the increased rate of miscarriage and congenital birth defects in areas with high TTHM levels. A Virginia based class action lawsuit seeking more than $1 billion in damages, claims that peak TTHM occurrences in one water distribution system may have led to multiple miscarriages. A cost effective and easy to use field portable sensor, such as the one proposed by Agave BioSystems, would enable drinking water delivery systems of any size to effectively monitor the levels of TTHM in their water supply on a more frequent basis, and allow proactively treating

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

"Corrosion has a huge economic, environmental and sustainability impact on virtually all facets of constructional materials, from highways, bridges, and buildings to oil and gas, chemical processing, desalination, nuclear, power facilities, water, and wastewater systems. In addition to causing severe environmental damage and threats to public safety, corrosion disrupts operations and requires extensive repair and replacement of failed assets. The annual cost of corrosion worldwide was estimated to exceed $U.S.2.5 trillion in 2016, which translates to 3 to 4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of industrialized countries according to NACE IMPACT study report. (...) To reduce the huge cost and the environmental impact of corrosion and enhance the sustainability of materials used for construction, available corrosion control practices such as proper material design and selection, the use of corrosion inhibitors, coatings, cathodic protection etc., are recommended and could lead to savings of between 15 and 35% of the cost of corrosion. This translates to between US$375 and $875 billion annually"

"This book tells a tale of innovation, disruption, and transformation. Mobile money, e-money, e-float, e-wallets, mobile banking, however you characterise it, is not just a cool app. It s a killer app, the first for mobile phones in the developing world. It s also a disruptive innovation that threatens incumbent businesses and is sparking new business formation and entrepreneurship. Nowhere is this mobile money phenomenon more prevalent and successful than in Kenya. In five years, 19 million Kenyans, more than 70% of the adult population, have signed up for mobile money services. Fifteen million are customers of M-PESA ( M for Mobile and pesa means money in Swahili). Now, one out of every two people in the world who sends money over a mobile phone is a Kenyan. Mobile money is the rare case in which an African country is the global market leader and an exporter of innovation." The author says, "It has been so successful in these markets because it leapfrogged the payment card industry," he said, "which requires expensive ATM and Point of Sale (POS) networks to function. ATMs and POS Terminals require regular maintenance and, with ATMs, regular liquidity balancing. By leveraging third party retail outlets and making the phone the primary means of exchange, mobile money bypassed the need to distribute ATMs and POS Terminals. The reverse is true in the US: mobile money isn't leapfrogging the payment card industry, it's augmenting it."

"Canadian utility redirects $2.3B away from expensive 730MW coal to natural gas conversion, Investment will now fund 3.5 GW of affordable wind and solar." This is a positive move towards a "collective conscientiousness for social and environmental factors," by using renewable energy with new construction aimed for completion in 2025 (H1).