vatlark

This proposed rule change is open for comment until May 19.

My comment was:

I urge the rejection of this proposed rule.

I think we can be very thankful for the definition of harm as currently defined. If we were talking about the human species there would be no doubt that significant degradation of our ability to feed, shelter, and produce offspring would indeed be considered harm.

From only an economic perspective this proposed rule change is extremely counter productive. We learn an enormous amount from animals and that knowledge creates enormous economic value.

An example is the horseshoe crab. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science estimates the value of horseshoe crabs to the medical research industry at $100M per year. In 2023, the US Fish and Wildlife Service began work to aid their reproduction and support this industry. If harm is no longer defined as a significant decline in ability to reproduce, will we be able to protect this industry?

As our technology advances we are always learning more from animals, so we don't know which animals will give us our next billion dollar industry. After we decimate a species, we may not get to choose if it goes extinct, and with each extinct species we inflict immense harm on current and future generations of humans.

The theorem has been expressed colloquially as "you can't comb a hairy ball flat without creating a cowlick" or "you can't comb the hair on a coconut".

How much time is wasted sorting socks?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26717237

I was curious how well wealthy countries do at hosting refugees.

The plots are interactive so its better to view them here: https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/insights/explainers/refugee-hosting-metrics.html

In the plot, the size of the circle is the number of refugees.

Germany is really doing an amazing job, y'all should be proud.

Compared to Chile, the US has 15x the population and 5x the wealth per capita but hosts fewer refugees. I certainly don't have the full picture but its not a good look.

I was curious how well wealthy countries do at hosting refugees.

The plots are interactive so its better to view them here: https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/insights/explainers/refugee-hosting-metrics.html

In the plot, the size of the circle is the number of refugees.

Germany is really doing an amazing job, y'all should be proud.

Compared to Chile, the US has 15x the population and 5x the wealth per capita but hosts fewer refugees. I certainly don't have the full picture but its not a good look.

I gather that congress required the creation of USAID and provided funds for it through the Foreign Assistance Act. Through that act the President is given power (and requirement?) to execute the mission, with a lot of rules to guide the execution. So if the USAID agency is being dismantled, is the President not still required to fulfill the mission of the Foreign Assistance Act?

Some examples from the text of the Foreign Assistance Act:

Title I — Development Loan Fund

The President shall establish a fund to be known as the "Development Loan Fund " to be used by the President to make loans pursuant to the authority contained in this title. (b) The President is authorized to make loans payable as to principal and interest in United States dollars on such terms and conditions as he may determine, in order to promote the economic development of less developed friendly countries and areas, with emphasis upon assisting long-range plans and programs designed to develop economic resources and increase productive capacities.

Title II — DEVELOPMENT GRANTS AND TECHNICAL COOPERATION

The President is authorized to furnish assistance on such terms and conditions as he may determine in order to promote the economic development of less developed friendly countries and areas, with emphasis upon assisting the development of human resources through such means as programs of technical cooperation and development.

I prefer thoughtful answers. And as always, lets keep things civil for the sake of the mods.

The tesseract Lemmy app, has a little overview from mediabiasfactcheck.com (MBFC). It seems like a clever way to foster a healthy community.

If you click on the ranking you get details.

EDIT: Sorry to stir up an old hornet's nest.

EDIT2: Commenters have some valid criticisms of MBFC. Even if there are flaws, I would like to celebrate all attempts at elevating the conversations we are having.

This person is surprisingly skilled

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/25383874

Whats a good tool for tracking my emissions?

I tried apps like Klima and Earth Hero. Earth Hero is especially good but I would like to play with the numbers myself for specific scenarios like snapshots of my emissions, planning my next year, logging my specific air travel, hobbies, etc.

If anyone has a spreadsheet model I would be grateful. Otherwise I can build one. Earth Hero gives a lot of references to their source models.

I tried apps like Klima and Earth Hero. Earth Hero is especially good but I would like to play with the numbers myself for specific scenarios like snapshots of my emissions, planning my next year, logging my specific air travel, hobbies, etc.

If anyone has a spreadsheet model I would be grateful. Otherwise I can build one. Earth Hero gives a lot of references to their source models.

I feel like this is low hanging fruit with the Lemmy community. I think this movie is so much fun. Such a nostalgia trip.

I would be curious how much gen alpha would enjoy it.