Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Another column about rain gardens? You betcha! After all, whats not to love about a garden that supports the health of the local watershed and wildlife, reduces flooding, and enhances the curb appeal of your home, school, or business?

For those new to the concept, rain gardens are bowl-shaped gardens that take in stormwater runoff from nearby hard surfaces, such as a roof or an asphalt driveway. The plants and soil clean the rainwater by filtering out pollutants. Rain gardens come in many shapes, sizes, and styles, depending on the specifics of your space and your personal gardening style.

This week, were sharing five things you may not know about rain gardens.

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Rain gardens are often dry. Unlike a pond, which holds water throughout the year, rain gardens are designed to temporarily store water until it can be absorbed into the ground.

Ideally, water in a rain garden will drain within 24 to 48 hours of a heavy rain event. During the summer, established rain gardens can go many weeks without water.

The best part? Fewer mosquitoes in your garden!

An average residential rain garden in Peterborough can divert about 1.5 cubic metres of water from the storm sewer system each year. Thats roughly the same volume as 9.5 bathtubs.

Keep in mind that bath water in Peterborough is treated before being returned to the Otonabee River, but roof runoff isnt. Without treatment, runoff carries garbage and pollutants straight into the watershed.

By sending rainwater to a rain garden, you can harness the power of soil and plants to filter pollutants as water soaks into the ground. Imagine the potential for the watershed if more homeowners, schools, and businesses installed rain gardens on their properties. Thats a lot of bathtubs.

Rain gardens also help us adapt to the impacts of climate change, which include more precipitation in shorter amounts of time. They do this by reducing the amount of runoff the municipal stormwater system has to manage during heavy storms.

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Rain gardens provide wonderful entertainment.

As soon as you install one, youll fly out the door at the first hint of rain to watch the bowl fill and recede. Trust me!

You can incorporate trees into your rain garden if your space allows.

Its important to build your rain garden outside the canopy of any existing trees to protect their roots. However, theres no reason why you cant plant a new tree in your rain garden. Planting trees is critical for adapting to climate change, especially since extreme weather events can damage the urban tree canopy.

Some of our favourites include River Birch (Betula nigra), Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), Eastern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis), and Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.). These native trees and large shrubs are well-suited to the variable moisture conditions found in rain gardens and add height and year-round interest.

You can customize your rain garden with many native plants and trees so it becomes uniquely yours.

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Eligible homeowners can receive up to $1,000 from the City of Peterborough to install a rain garden at home. Thats wild!

In addition to the subsidy, you get to enjoy all the secondary benefits that rain gardens offer, such as butterfly visits and the envy of your neighbours. Plus, GreenUP is partnering with the City of Peterborough to provide applicants with consultation visits and customized advice.

The application process begins with an eligibility assessment. Once youre pre-approved, you will receive resources and support to design your own unique garden. Additionally, applicants can take advantage of up to two site visits by GreenUP staff during the design and installation process.

One of these visits is required and must take place during construction. The other visit can be used at a time of the applicants choosing, for additional advice on garden design, application support, maintenance or plant selection.

The subsidy covers the costs of plants, soil, mulch, rock, and other non-equipment expenses incurred while building a rain garden. The subsidy can also be used to hire a landscape contractor for design and/or construction, if desired.

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Its not too late to reap the benefits of a rain garden and receive a subsidy this year. For more information about the Rain Garden Subsidy program, visit http://www.peterborough.ca/raingarden, or direct questions to Hayley Goodchild at hayley.goodchild@greenup.on.ca or 705-748-3238 ext. 213.

GreenUP can help you source plants suitable for your rain garden. Visit the Ecology Park and speak to our staff in the Native Plant & Tree Nursery during our hours of operation, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sunday.

Read more:
Peterborough GreenUP shares five things you may not know about rain gardens - kawarthaNOW.com

Bay City celebrates a 60-year sisterhood with Ansbach, Germany this year.

Like most sisters, the two have had their ups and downs. This year, though, the cities revived the relationship. The celebration includes a re-named bridge in Ansbach, a new piece of public art in Bay City, and international visitors for each community.

Earlier this summer, a delegation from Bay City visited Ansbach, Germany. The Germans will visit Bay City in mid-September. (Photo courtesy of Bay City government)A sister city relationship is a broad-based, long-term partnership between two communities in two countries. A relationship is officially recognized after the highest elected or appointed official from both communities sign off on an agreement to become sister cities. Learn more about sister cities on the Sister Cities International website.

Bay Citys partnership with Ansbach, Germany began in 1961, largely spawned by immigration of Germans to our area in the 1800 and 1900s as well as the strong German heritage of the towns surrounding areas.

Throughout the years, the relationship has ebbed and flowed. There were points when we feared the partnership might end, but now both towns are determined to re-connect.

Bay City Manager Dana Muscott poses with her Ansbach, Germany counterpart, Thomas Deffner. (Photo courtesy of Bay City government)In early July, a group from Bay City traveled to Ansbach to participate in the official celebration of our sister city connection. The group included representatives from Bay City government, Saginaw Valley State University and its Gerstacker Fellowship Program as well as Bay City Public Schools. A group from Germany plans to visit Bay City Sept. 15-18.

City Manager Dana Muscott, who made the trip to Germany, says the group toured the town, participated in formal ceremonies, and learned about German culture. As part of its 60-year celebrations, Ansbach dedicated one of its walking bridges to our town and named it Bay City Bridge.

The 60th anniversary of the relationship was in 2021, but COVID-19 delayed celebrations. The pandemic didnt stop efforts to re-kindle the connection, though.

The visitors from Bay City attracted the attention of local media in Ansbach. (Photo courtesy of Bay City government)During COVID, we were checking in on each other, checking to see how they were handling it and how it was affecting their city. Things like that made it easy to tell that there was a bond forming between us, Muscott says.

The three other Bay City representatives included 5th Ward Commissioner Rachelle Hilliker and Monte Oswald and Walter Hagen from the Deutsch Amerikanischer National Kongress (DANK Club).

Their German hosts made sure the visitors experienced both the formalities of governmental procedure as well as the relaxed nature of the German culture.Muscott says she loved visiting the sister city.

During the visit, Ansbach named one of their bridges for Bay City. (Photo courtesy of Bay City government)Im smiling from ear to ear, she says. It was a trip of a lifetime. Im very grateful to have had the opportunity to represent the city of Bay City and celebrate this re-connection.

For pictures from the trip visit the Bay City Government Facebook page.

A flag hangs in the Ansbach business district commemorating the relationship. (Photo courtesy of Bay City government)The trip was only the beginning of the 60th anniversary celebrations. In mid-September, a delegation from Ansbach will travel to Bay City to tour our town.

During a Sat., Sept. 17 public event, representatives from the two cities will sign a formal Sister City agreement and witness the unveiling of a project thats been in the works for over a year.

Walk through Uptown and youll see the beginnings of that project. Just to the north of the Rivers Edge Apartments, workers are prepping a 30-foot circle to be transformed into The Ansbach Platz. The centerpiece of the platz is a new sculpture called Two Cities Connected.

The sculpture features a split globe, with one side representing Ansbach and the other representing Bay City. The two sides will be connected by a bridge, with one side of the bridge representing the Liberty Bridge and the other end mirroring a major bridge in Ansbach, "Fugngerbrcke am Brckencenter." The exterior of each side of the globe will include countries from eachs hemisphere constructed from copper.

The Bay Area Chamber of Commerces Leadership Bay County (LBC) class of 2022 raised the money to design and build the sculpture. The class also facilitated and managed the project.

A group of Bay City Public School students joined the tour earlier this summer. (Photo courtesy of Bay City government)The class worked with the Bay-Arenac ISD Career Center to finalize the design and marketing of the project.

Assistant Principal Kathy Dardas says students and staff from five programs were heavily involved: Engineering/Drafting, Graphics, Marketing, Precision Machining, and Welding.

The students were divided into two groups to propose designs to the LBC group. The students presented ideas, and one design was ultimately finalized using elements from each. Students also remained involved, participating in some of the Zoom calls with the fabrication company, ZENTX.

I'm excited about the involvement that our Career Center students have had on the Ansbach Platz project, Dardas says. In working withleaders, in government, education and our community, they have grown in their skills and made an impact.

One of her goals for the students was for them to understand the importance of community involvement. This goal was certainly met.

She shared a quote from Elise Gourd, a student in the Engineering & Drafting program, describing this project as one of her proudest accomplishments.

Beyond the growth Ive personally made over the duration of this project, I have also taken great pride in being involved in this monumental part of our community, Gourd told Dardas. Celebrating this historic partnership with Ansbach, Germany couldnt be done in a better way, and Im overjoyed with how far weve come as a community to bring this to life.

While the design was a group effort, that pales in comparison to the community effort behind the funding of the monument.

When the LBC class initially estimated the project budget of $100,000, they were concerned that they wouldnt be able to raise the full amount. Brad Tahash, who is in the LBC class, says the number was a little fear-inducing.

'I'm excited about the involvement that our Career Center students have had on the Ansbach Platz project. In working withleaders, in government, education and our community, they have grown in their skills and made an impact.'- Kathy Dardas, Bay-Arenac Career Center Assistant Principal

Companies and individuals alike supported the program, which received a matching donation from Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MDEC).

Following the theme of the rest of the project, the sculptures fabrication and placement has been a group effort.

Brennen Gohr, another LBC class member, is working with fabrication and installation teams to coordinate the statues placement. ZENTX has begun constructing the pieces of the sculpture and several community businesses are helping with the project.

Folks at Bierlein, Spence Brothers, and Clements Electric are offering their services as low cost as possible to support the project. Jerry Somalski from Bay Landscaping has been instrumental in making recommendations for the structural integrity of the circle.

The teams await a written easement to be granted by Consumers Energy, the true owner of the land on which Ansbach Platz will sit. Once that is in hand, installation will begin.

All signs point to the installations conclusion by the end of August.Once thats complete, the priority becomes keeping the relationship between the two cities strong.

The Ansbach Platz was designed to withstand Michigan climate with minimal upkeep, so the monument has what it needs to last.

Events are planned to keep Ansbach visible in Bay City.

The Career Center students and staff are organizing a 5K race on Sun., Sept. 18 at 9 a.m. to raise money for the DANK clubs endowment fund. This fund will help maintain the plaza for years. The hope is to raise $5,000 to receive a $5,000 matching grant from the Bay Area Community Foundation.

Muscotts team also is prioritizing the relationship.

People change in government; we come, and we go. We need to continue to push that we have this relationship with a city on the other side of the pond and we can talk with them about how they run their government. We can bring some of their best practices back here and we can do the same for them. So, I see the relationship as very important going forward and I hope it continues with people in our seats in the future, Muscott says.

See the article here:
Two nations, one family: Bay City celebrates a 60-year partnership with its sister city in Germany - Second Wave Media

These extreme weather cycles will test the fortitude of the hardiest New Englanders and likely require changes to their lifestyles.

In the last three years, weve had two major droughts and then the wettest growing season on record in the last 30 years, said Trevor Hardy, a seventh-generation fruit and vegetable farmer with a farm in Hollis, N.H. Were talking about complete opposites.

The projected swings between wet and dry periods may seem counterintuitive, especially with scientists predicting that, on the whole, New England is trending wetter as a result of climate change. But Young said the intensified climate variability is a consequence of a warming planet: Higher temperatures allow the atmosphere to pull more water out of the ground and hold it for longer, resulting in periods of drought. Because a warmer atmosphere can hold more water, when atmospheric conditions call for it, the rainfall is much heavier. The warming atmosphere will at times pull more water from the earth for extended periods, while at other times it will release more water.

While the bone-dry fire-prone West captures the headlines, all or large portions of the New England states are experiencing drought conditions.

And it came on fast: Three months ago, only about 15 percent of the Northeast had drought conditions. Unlike in the West, where droughts can span years, the Northeast usually experiences short dry periods of a few months.

Kearney Kirby, 71, went on vacation for a month and came home expecting her small lawn in Dorchester to be overgrown. Instead, it was half-dead, with the exception of weeds. Her little 13-year-old chihuahua mix, Sophie, sometimes struggles to navigate the spiky dead grass. Kirby finds the lawn disconcerting.

It freaks me out a little, she said. When I walk across, it crunches.

The most severe drought conditions are concentrated in eastern Massachusetts, eastern Connecticut, and almost all of Rhode Island that have been designated by the US Drought Monitor as experiencing a D3 extreme drought, the second-highest classification on the agencys scale. The data, released Thursday morning, do not capture the recent rainfall. But the rain, while welcome, will not be enough to alleviate drought conditions in many areas.

The rain parts of the Northeast received [Wednesday] is the proverbial drop in an empty bucket, said Michael Rawlins, the associate director of the University of Massachusetts Amhersts Climate System Research Center. Given the existing rainfall deficit, well need normal, ideally above normal precipitation, for several weeks or a few months to alleviate the current drought.

Massachusetts has its own classification system, with much of the state currently in a Level 3 critical drought. The conditions have led to increased fire risk across the state, and Governor Charlie Baker activated the National Guard on Thursday to battle a wildfire in Rockport that has been burning for about a month.

Gloucester Assistant Fire Chief Robert Rivas said he cant remember the last time hes seen a Level 3 drought in his time as a firefighter. He grew up in San Diego, Calif., and his mother lost her home in Paradise, Calif., to the 2018 Camp Fire. Rivas worries about Massachusetts fire risk.

Anything that lights up is going to take off because its so dry, he said.

Gloucester battled a brush fire that broke out at the start of August and grew to about 20 acres. Over two days, a National Guard helicopter dropped 600 gallons of water at a time about 80 times, Rivas said.

Municipalities across the region have either mandated water restrictions or urged residents to limit their use. Rhode Island issued a drought advisory last week, and around 150 cities and towns in Massachusetts have implemented mandatory water restrictions.

In Westwood, the Dedham-Westwood Water District upgraded its restrictions in early August to broadly prohibit outside lawn watering. Though golf course greens were exempt from the restriction, Chad Brown, superintendent of the Norfolk Golf Club, still hustled to conserve water, having spent about $20,000 to truck in water after the clubs storage pond ran drastically low. He sends his staff out with hoses to water the greens, tees, and fairways with more precision than could be achieved with sprinklers.

Weve gotten dinged up on the edges, he said. Weve definitely taken our licks this season, but overall, the fairways are hanging in there.

In addition to financial and ecological consequences, drought can take a toll on health. Aaron Bernstein, a pediatrician at Boston Childrens Hospital and the interim director of Harvard Chans Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment, said his biggest concern right now is the safety of well water.

About a half-million people in Massachusetts and many more elsewhere in New England rely on private wells, Bernstein said, and as water levels drop, toxic pollutants and pathogens that can make their way into groundwater become more concentrated.

Bernstein said hes also worried about the effect on the health of farmers, especially the stress from worrying about crops and livestock. Researchers have observed increased rates of suicide in farming communities during severe drought, and the financial burden can affect farmers access to health care.

We are not the West, and in some ways, that makes us complacent, Bernstein said. We dont have the mindset that water is precious and that we should design water systems to conserve what we have.

Hardy, the seventh-generation farmer, agreed. Hes the president of the New England Vegetable & Berry Growers Association and said farmers need to be able to handle extremes in precipitation, such as by switching from overhead to drip irrigation and installing soil moisture sensors.

If youre not preparing yourself to be a farmer for the future, its going to be harder for you to produce a crop, he said.

Ed Hennessey, who owns Hennessey Brothers in Machias, Maine, said he wants to expand irrigation on his 700-acre blueberry farm. But its expensive for smaller farmers, even if it pays off in the end.

His farm started the harvest a week earlier this year, and the blueberries, especially those picked later in the summer, were smaller, though they are still sweet. Blueberries are mostly water, he said, and larger farms, such as Wymans, have plump fruit thanks to irrigation.

His three sons now run the farm. If they continue to install irrigation and improve the land, I think the land will give them a good future, he said.

But buying water costs money, and the drought has also hurt hay and grain yields for farmers, driving up the costs of raising and feeding livestock.

Mark Duffy, who operates Great Brook Farm in Carlisle, said this is the worst drought hes seen since getting into the farming business nearly five decades ago.

Duffy, a dairy farmer, is trucking in feed from Vermont, New York, and Canada to keep his herd of over 100 cows healthy since his fields havent produced enough. The cows are fine, but Duffys bottom line is not: Each cow requires 120 pounds of hay and grain a day. He is not sure what the coming years will bring.

Whats the future going to be? he asked. Drought after drought?

Kate Selig can be reached at kate.selig@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @kate_selig.

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Whats the future going to be?: This summers drought warns of increasing climate variability in years to come - The Boston Globe

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In 1986 as Chinese artists bopped along to music at parties with Australian diplomat Geoff Raby, relations between the nations seemed in pretty good shape.

The 1980s were totally bohemian, there were parties, lots of warm beer. Little cassettes playing rock music. Diplomats and a few business people were really the first to internationalise Chinese contemporary art, he recalls. An ebullient figure, Raby fondly remembers befriending artists now fixed in time in photos of long lunches. Beijings artists were spreading their wings as the one-party state appeared to allow it.

Raby first went to China as an economist with the Australian embassy and returned in 2007 as ambassador. He acknowledges that in both spells he experienced a China more open to the West, with riches flowing on the back of increased global trade.

From 1979 you have a liberalisation period and Deng Xiaoping. It created a sense of optimism and hope. In that moment you had artists, many trained to a very high technical level, learning about western art and they had access to art books for the very first time. Their enthusiasm electrified anyone like me who was interested.

Collecting art became his passion, part of the bridge-building we often call soft power, where culture tries to succeed where force fails. How he championed contemporary, often politically charged work, without offending his hosts is a story of diplomatic tact, enthusiasm and good timing, as China opened itself to the world.

Detail from Portrait of Geoff Raby, 2014, ink on xuan paper, by Chen Wenling.Credit: Chen Wenling

Over 35 years, Raby collected close to 200 works paintings, sculpture, photography, installation, printmaking and calligraphy. He recently gave the collection to his alma mater La Trobe University and the collection will be displayed for the first time at Bendigo Art Gallery, in tandem with an exhibition drawn from the citys Golden Dragon Museum.

In Australia and around the world, artists such as Guan Wei and Ai Weiwei are now well known and represented by major global galleries; but contemporary art that was not propaganda for a one-party state needed early advocates. Raby is regarded as one of those early champions alongside trailblazing galleries such as Red Gate.

Through long-term friendships with Chinese artists, some of whom moved to Australia, hes credited with increasing the wider recognition of their work.

Raby argues that instead of playing it safe, it is precisely because of their role, and their means that diplomats recognise cultural treasures and create collections. In 1986 when I first went to Beijing the artists werent allowed to exhibit anywhere because they werent part of the academy and they had to find makeshift ways of exhibiting. We used to give our diplomatic apartments in the compound over to the artists to hang their work for a weekend.

Guan Weis Water View No.15 from Rabys collection.

At that time every single Chinese person who came would have to be escorted into the apartment and have their names recorded. I felt like I was living in the 1890s in France when the impressionists were outside the academy. From that moment on I realised the huge changes going on in China were reflected in cultural fields, including visual arts.

Author Nicholas Jose, a former cultural counsellor at the Australian embassy, said Raby introduced visiting Australians to Chinas contemporary art to show the possibility of richer, more dynamic interactions across cultures.

In Melbourne to oversee the selection of works for display, Raby laments the rising tensions between Australia and China under Xi Jinping, and the absence of those interactions. Still an opinionated commentator after leaving diplomacy, hes written: We have not been able to exert influence in a region in which we most aspire to do so.

Hes critical of both the past and present prime minister for not mending the relationship. He says he has more confidence in the Foreign Minister Penny Wong, describing her as considered and calm, avoiding exaggerated rhetoric.

Australians are losing the opportunity to learn more about the Chinese people, beyond the Communist regime, he says. One of the most important things is culture. We can blow apart all the stereotypes about each other.

There are few more heated debates in Australia than our past, present and future with China and the United States, and Raby dives in by saying hes been called a panda-hugger soft on China. Yet some of his satirical artworks have poked the panda hard.

The Year of the Pig, 2007, oil on canvas by Li Dapeng.Credit: Li Dapeng

Li Dapengs art work of the pig in the spacesuit waving at the viewer is really political, he acknowledges. Pigs are a symbol in China of being happy, greedy and stupid. What its doing is making fun of prestige projects like the space program. So I think this artist was brave.

I used to have it in my residence and the Chinese would visit and were totally perplexed at the ambassador having a pig in a spacesuit on the wall. Chinese communists had no irony.

Another significant work in his collection is the chilling photographic self-portrait Dialogue. The artist Xiao Lu points a gun towards the viewer. It references a notorious event in 1989 when the artist walked into a Beijing art gallery and fired a gun with live bullets at her own installation. The act was interpreted as political and read as the first shot of Tiananmen Square. A loss of innocence for a country that had been glimpsing looser state controls.

The shot shut down the exhibition, the artist was detained and later sought refuge in Sydney. Yet liberalisation waxes and wanes. By 2010, her memoir was launched at the Australian Embassy in Beijing by Raby.

His own memory of Tiananmen Square, witnessed from a balcony, remains sharp. You could see the sky lighting up and armoured cars speeding past. The next day there was a systematic attempt to terrorise the population of Beijing with trucks going in just shooting constantly and no one knew what was going on, there was no information. In retrospect there was maybe three to four days of deliberate actions to scare foreigners out of Beijing and to terrorise the population, and it all worked for the government.

Artist Xiao Lus 2004 work Dialogue. Credit: Xiao Lu

Perhaps hes a diplomat to the core, as he doesnt speak emotively about the crackdown or his reaction at the time. I am intellectually fascinated and intrigued by China but I dont love it. I think the people are wonderful but China is a one-party authoritarian state and this is what one-party authoritarian states do.

I am unfairly condemned in the media often as being a panda-hugger but if you look at anything Ive written I never miss an opportunity to remind people its a one-party state with a terrible human rights record.

He says diplomats have to make our points how we can. Western embassies in China try and advance human rights and political liberalisation, thats all part of our core agenda.

As history lurched on, in the new millennium China again welcomed visitors, hosting the Olympic Games and foreign journalists, including Australians. Exiled artists were returning to Beijing. Raby returned as ambassador in 2007.

I had easy days, the relationship was in great shape, Raby says of his later years in China, while prime ministers Howard, Rudd and Gillard were in office. The whole contemporary art scene was exploding in the 2000s. Everyone was excited about it, it was the hottest thing around internationally.

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Raby makes it clear his collection is a highly personal selection, spanning key shifts such as the Chinese avant-garde, cynical realism, pop and socialism, surrealism and fantasy all created while Chinas dramatic changes inevitably influenced the arts. Artists not only ventured dissident ideas, but also took aim at consumerism and rapid development during Chinas astonishingly fast urbanisation.

Yet censorship was never going to disappear. In a foreword to Damian Smiths book about the Raby collection, Spains former ambassador to Beijing, Manuel Valencia, writes: Irony, hidden messages and sense of humour were heavily needed to avoid the implacable censorship of the Ministry of Culture and Propaganda.

The wit of disguised meanings clearly appeals to Raby, as does a sizeable collection of erotica, including Ling Jians irreverent The Birth of Venus. A naked woman stands upon a lily pond, a Cultural Revolution armband around each arm, and urinates into paradise. Its his take on Botticellis Venus, says Raby. Its quite outrageous but its so beautifully executed.

In Our Time: Four decades of art from China and beyond the Geoff Raby Collection and Treasures of Dai Gum San: Chinese artistry from the Golden Dragon Museum are at the Bendigo Art Gallery until February 19, 2023.

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A pig in a spacesuit? How Geoff Raby amassed a $2 million Chinese art collection - Sydney Morning Herald

Researchers from theUniversity of Cambridge have created flexible, ultra-thin electronics that are inspired by photosynthesis, the mechanism through which plants turn sunlight into food. The inexpensive, autonomous devices could be used to provide a sustainable substitute for petrol without taking up space on land because they are light enough to float.

The lightweight leaves were put through outdoor experiments on the River Cam, close to well-known Cambridge landmarks including the Bridge of Sighs, the Wren Library, and Kings College Chapel, and they proved to be just as effective at converting sunlight into fuels as plant leaves.

This is the first instance of clean fuel being produced on the water, and if the artificial leaves were to be scaled up, they might be utilized on polluted waterways, at ports, or even at sea. This would help lessen the dependency of the worlds shipping sector on fossil fuels. The study was published in the journal Nature.

While the cost and availability of renewable energy sources like wind and solar have drastically decreased recently, decarbonization is still a far more difficult task for sectors like shipping. Even though almost 80% of the worlds trade is moved by cargo ships that are powered byfossil fuels, the industry has received surprisingly little attention in talks about the climate crisis.

The Cambridge research team of Professor Erwin Reisner has been working on finding sustainable alternatives to petrol that are based on the principles of photosynthesis for many years in an effort to solve this issue. They created an artificial leaf in 2019 that converts sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into syngas, a crucial step in the manufacturing of numerous chemicals and medications.

An earlier prototype used two light absorbers along with the appropriate catalysts to produce fuel. The device was hefty due to the use of thick glass substrates and moisture-resistant coatings.

Artificial leaves could substantially lower the cost of sustainable fuel production, but since theyre both heavy and fragile, theyre difficult to produce at scale and transport.

Dr. Virgil Andrei, Study Co-Lead Author, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge

We wanted to see how far we can trim down the materials these devices use, while not affecting their performance. If we can trim the materials down far enough that theyre light enough to float, then it opens up whole new ways that these artificial leaves could be used, adds Reisner, who led the research.

The researchers drew inspiration from the electronics sector, where the development of smartphones and flexible screens using miniaturization techniques has revolutionized the industry, for the innovative design of the artificial leaf.

The difficult part for the Cambridge researchers was figuring out how to install light absorbers on thin surfaces while keeping water intrusion at bay. The scientists used thin-film metal oxides and perovskites, which can be deposited onto flexible plastic and metal foils, to solve these difficulties.

Water-repellent carbon-based coatings that were only micrometers thick were applied to the devices' surfaces to protect them from moisture damage. They were able to create a device that not only functions in a similar way to a leaf but alsoresembles a leaf.

This study demonstrates that artificial leaves are compatible with modern fabrication techniques, representing an early step towards the automation and up-scaling of solar fuel production. These leaves combine the advantages of most solar fuel technologies, as they achieve the low weight of powder suspensions and the high performance of wired systems.

Dr. Virgil Andrei, Study Co-Lead Author, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge

The new artificial leaves have demonstrated their ability to split water into hydrogen and oxygen as well as convert CO2 to syngas in tests. Even though there is still work to be donebefore such artificial leaves can be used in commercial settings, the researchers claim this breakthrough opens up entirely new study directions.

Solar farms have become popular for electricity production; we envision similar farms for fuel synthesis. These could supply coastal settlements, remote islands, cover industrial ponds, or avoid water evaporation from irrigation canals.

Dr. Virgil Andrei, Study Co-Lead Author, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge

Reisner concludes, Many renewable energy technologies, including solar fuel technologies, can take up large amounts of space on land, so moving production to open water would mean that clean energy and land use arent competing with one another. In theory, you could roll up these devices and put them almost anywhere, in almost any country, which would also help with energy security.

The study was supported in part by the European Research Council, the Cambridge Trust, the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Andrei, V., et al. (2022) Floating perovskite-BiVO4 devices for scalable solar fuel production. Nature. doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04978-6.

Source: https://www.cam.ac.uk

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Lowering the Cost of Sustainable Solar Fuel Production - AZoCleantech

SOUTH FREEPORT Chad Strater gently turned the tiller throttle and the 14-foot fiberglass workboat glided silently away from the dock, accelerating to roughly 9 miles per hour. The only sounds coming from the boat on a calm August morning werethe rush of the hull pushing through the water and a moderate hum.

As Strater steeredupriver in Harraseeket Harbor, he passed two men headed out to a mooring in a small skiff. On the skiffs transom was an old-school, two-stroke engine. Its a durable design, but one that pollutes the air and can leave a quarter of its gasoline-oil mixture in the water. The motor made a loud thump-thump-thump sound as they went by.

There it was, for a moment: the past and future of motor boating, coming and going on the coast of Maine.

Strater is co-owner of The Boat Yard in Yarmouth. He has been testing a 10-kilowatt Torqeedo electric motor and battery system on various small workboats. He and his business partner, Nick Planson, are analyzing the best applications for range, speed and utility, aided by grants from the private Island Institute and the publicly funded Maine Technology Institute.

This would very easily get lobstermen out and back to their boats, Strater said of the small battery-powered skiff.

Electric boats today are much like electric cars were a decade ago. They seem unfamiliar, unreliable, impractical and unaffordable. But some of the forces speeding the transition to zero-emission battery transportation on land worsening climate impacts, improving technologies and investors stepping up to bring promising ideas into production are beginning to form on the water.

The trend could be of special interest to Mainers.The states jagged coastline covers 3,400 miles. More than 6,000 lakes and ponds dot its woodlands.

Maine has more than 126,000 registered motor boats. They belong to lobstermen, sea farmers, marina workers, harbor masters and recreational boaters. Roughly 40percent of these boats are under 16 feet long, according to Maines Inland Fisheries and Wildlife department; more than half are from 16 to 26 feet.

While its true that modern four-stroke and direct injection marine engines are much cleaner than their ancestors, they still burn petroleum and contribute to climate change. Thats why theres a move to switch out the worst offenders for electric models. And because more than half the states registered boats have engines rated at 50 horsepower or less, these smaller craft with outboard engines are prime candidates for the next generation of marine propulsion.

ADVOCATES: CHEAPER OVER TIME

The transition may come first to Maines working waterfronts. Commercial boaters keep regular schedules. They need gear they can count on. If battery-powered boating can work for them, the thinking goes, it can serve the weekend cruiser and angler.

To test this notion, the Island Institute, the Rockland-based coastal community development organization, is offering grants up to $4,000 to help put electric outboards on 100 working skiffs by 2025. Its also helping install solar charging stations on docks and wharves. Just as with electric cars, people need to see the technology working. And they have to feel comfortable that the infrastructures in place to keep them moving on the water.

We hope over the next year to have some of these boats out there being seen, along with chargers, said Sam Belknap, the Island Institutes senior community development officer.

The Island Institute currently is helping marine interests, including The Boat Yard, track and monitor how workboats are being used every day. The data will aid in matching up the best electric motors and boats for the tasks at hand.

For instance: Strater and Planson are testing a 10-kilowatt outboard developed by Torqeedo, the German maker of marine electric engine and battery systems. The motor retails for under $10,000. It develops a thrust comparable to a new 20-horsepower gasoline motor, which costs $4,000 or so.

The Torqeedo gets its juice from a pair of 5,000-watt-hour lithium batteries. Each one costs $5,000. A basic $900 plug-in charger that tops up the system in less than 10 hours rounds out the package. A faster charger is available, too.

This example underscores the reality that an electric boat, just like an electric car, will cost more upfront. Thats true of most any new and evolving technology.

But advocates note that electric motors are cheaper to maintain over time than internal combustion engines. Fuel costs also will be lower, even more so than with electric cars. Marine gas and diesel tend to be $1 or more per gallon more expensive dockside than fuel at the average gas station.

The testing will help answer a question on the mind of every boater thinking about going electric: whats the run-time? Getting stranded at sea or in the middle of a lake is a mariners nightmare. Running at nearly 5 mph, the Torqeedo is rated at six hours. Run time drops to one hour, however, at a top speed of 16 mph.

Another variable is the boat itself. Strater and Planson have been testing the motor on an open 24-foot Carolina Skiff, which has a spacious deck well-suited for aquaculture gear. Next theyre evaluating the performance on an 18-foot Lund aluminum skiff, a fishing and harbor boat made popular by the fleet of the Maine Island Trail Association.

Run information is displayed in real time with an on-board computer built into the tiller. A digital gauge shows how much capacity remains in the batteries, the estimated range, how fast the boat is going and how much electricity its using.

Heading up the Harraseeket with three people aboard, Strater was able to bring the skiff onto plane and cruise along at 9 mph. Weight matters in a boat this size, and range would improve with fewer passengers.

One person and dog works well, Strater joked.

IM CONVINCED ITS THE SOLUTION

Down the coast on the Saco River in Biddeford, Sean Tarpey and his son, Matt, have been dabbling in battery-powered boats for years at Rumerys Boat Yard. Theyve rented and sold a low-powered Canadian-made model, then a Polish-built boat and engine package. Theyve evaluated Torqeedos offering and also have been working with the Island Institute to gather usage data.

Most recently, theyve become excited about a Rhode Island start-up, Flux Marine. The company is building electric motor and boat packages that the Tarpeys think will be best-suited for Maine waters. Both the Tarpeys and The Boat Yard owners have gone to Rhode Island to test the Flux products. They each are considering becoming dealers next year.

It was the most impressive motor Ive seen, Matt Tarpey said. Im convinced its the solution to electrifying the working waterfront.

Flux Marine announced in April it had raised $15.5 million from investors, which it said would be used in part to expand manufacturing. The company has begun taking orders for outboards in sizes equivalent to 15, 40 and 70 horsepower. Depending on the modular battery system chosen, prices range from $3,500 to $40,000.

The company also is developing packages for inflatable and dual-console watercraft that are optimized for battery propulsion. Prices start at $35,000 for the inflatable, with a range of 40 miles, and reach $100,000 for the dual console, which has a 75-mile range estimate.

The end game, Tarpey said, is to make sure we design these boats to go along with the motors, so the battery cost is as low as possible.

That integrated design is starting to happen, with a big player making news. Last November, General Motors invested $150 million to acquire a 25 percent stake in Seattle-based Pure Watercraft. Pure recently started taking orders for a futuristic-looking 25-foot pontoon boat. GM is using its battery technology in the boat, and the global automotive giant said the partnership complements its vision of expanding zero-emissions mobility to a new era of boating.

AND THEN THERES THE AUK

Pontoon boats are popular recreational watercraft geared to lakes and rivers. But in South Freeports harbor, a different take on battery-powered pleasure boating is on display this one with classic lines and set up for coastal cruising.

Alex Abbott was pulling up to a float recently where a man was sitting, taking in the harbor view.

Is that battery powered? the man asked, noticing the lack of motor noise.

People ask that question all the time, Abbott said.

Abbott is the proud owner of a Point Comfort 23, a Maine-built interpretation of a Chesapeake Bay workboat optimized for electric propulsion. The two-year-old vessel, named AUK, is a custom-made, $85,000 watercraft. Its not a prototype for mass-market electric boating, but it does show how thoughtful design and components can work together to create a pleasing, zero-emission experience on the water.

A 10-kilowatt Torqeedo outboard hangs from the transom. Three batteries, each rated at 5,000 watt-hours, store power. Overhead on the T-top sit four solar-electric panels. Each is rated at 116 watts. They can generate enough power over the course of a sunny summer day to charge the batteries. The batteries also can be charged dockside with plug-in shore power.

I thought about it for quite some time, said Abbott, who also owns a sailboat. My goal was to have a lightweight boat, made of wood, made in Maine, with an electric propulsion system.

Abbott has trailered the boat, which is light enough to be pulled by his Volkswagen Golf wagon, as far away as Cape Cod. From his slip, he cruises Casco Bay, down to Portland and out to Jewell Island. The boat is designed for a top speed of 16 mph, although Abbott said he tends to run around 7 mph. The boat came with two batteries. He added a third, allowing AUK to cover between 20 and 50 miles, depending on speed and sea state.

For boaters considering electric, Abbott has some advice: Slow down. Enjoy the quiet. Dont expect the same speed and range as a gas-powered vessel.

Embracing electric boating may take an attitude adjustment. Pick up a recreational boating magazine today and theres likely a $1 million day boat on the cover. Its not unusual to see a 40-foot-long hull and a trio of 350-horsepower engines. They can suck down 40 gallons of petrol an hour at 35 mph.

Americans are addicted to speed, and speed takes a lot of power, said Doug Hylan, who designed AUK at Hylan & Brown Boatbuilders in Brooklin.

Speed is harder to maintain in an electric boat than in a car. A car rolls on tires. It takes a smaller amount of energy to keep it moving. Water is denser than air and it takes more energy to keep pushing a boat through the water.

Battery-powered boats can generate quick bursts of speed, however, thanks to the torque of an electric motor. Flux Marine says its 70 horsepower equivalent outboard has the acceleration power of a 115-horsepower unit.

But in Hylans view, breakthroughs for recreational boating will hinge on more affordable and powerful batteries that can take fishermen offshore and let cruisers zoom around.

I think were in the early, Tesla stages, he said, making a car analogy. Its people with a fair amount of money who want to make a difference or be a pioneer in a field thats not truly mature yet.

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Electric boats poised to make waves on Maine coast - Press Herald

On average,handymenhourly rates range from $40 to over $100. For small jobs, a handyman might have a minimum charge of$60-$100. However, how much you pay will ultimately depend on where you liveand the complexity of the job.

"The value in what I do is that if you are a CPA and you want to hang something on the wall, do you know what that wall structure is designed of? What youre putting on the wall? If that wall can support that? Do you know whats in the wall?

If you want to hang a TV and you want the wires to run inside, do you know the steps involved to do that? Its not just grab some tape, slap it up on the wall and ta-da, there it is.

The people that are involved have a knowledge of how things are done. I have a knowledge of how its supposed to be done.

If its not in your wheelhouse, dont do it. Youd be better off to contact and hire somebody to do it. Youll be more satisfied in the end. Without you having to worry did I do it right, or have to pay for it twice.

Im Lance Johnson, Im a handyman, and you can find me on Thumbtack."

Excerpt from:
2022 Handyman Hourly Rates | Service Price List & Tips to Save - Thumbtack

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Home Cleaning Services - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Global Home Cleaning Services Market to Reach US$10 Billion by the Year 2026

Consumer demand for residential cleaning services is increasing at a significant rate owing to the growing number of households with dual-incomes. Such a high growth in demand is increasing the number of professional residential cleaners in the marketplace. Being a pressing health concern, allergies remain one the primary drivers behind rising demand for home cleaning services.

This factor is also playing an important role in increasing the uptake of natural, green cleaning solutions on the expense of traditional products that are based on chemicals known to aggravate allergies. In the recent years, a large number of companies offering home cleaning services have started embracing green cleaning solutions to help people with allergies.

The industry's growth is also augmented by notable expansion of the healthcare sector and the rising geriatric population. Seniors who need assistance with daily routine and healthcare needs are unable to clean their homes. These elderly people often rely on providers of cleaning services for their homes. The phenomenal growth exhibited by the home cleaning services industry can also be credited to continuous expansion of the commercial real-estate sector. The need for consistent care and cleaning for commercial properties is presenting massive business opportunities for cleaning service providers.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Home Cleaning Services estimated at US$7.5 Billion in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of US$10 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 9.6% over the analysis period.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $1.6 Billion in 2022, While China is Forecast to Reach $1.4 Billion by 2026

The Home Cleaning Services market in the U.S. is estimated at US$1.6 Billion in the year 2022. The country currently accounts for a 22.3% share in the global market. China, the world's second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$1.4 Billion in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 13% through the analysis period.

Select Competitors (Total 158 Featured):

Key Topics Covered:

I. METHODOLOGY

II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. MARKET OVERVIEW

2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS

3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE

III. MARKET ANALYSIS

IV. COMPETITION

Companies Mentioned

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/pmn396

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Home Cleaning Services Global Market Report 2022: Persistent Hygiene Threats and Risks at Homes Raise the Importance of Cleaning Services -...

The federal government is launching a full and thorough investigation into the case of aVeterans Affairs Canada (VAC) employee discussing medical assistance in dying (MAiD)with a veteran.

In a statement provided to Global News on Friday afternoon, a spokesperson for Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay said that the minister has directed his Deputy Minister to undertake a full and thorough investigation into this matter.

MacAulay is also ordering that, all front line staff at Veterans Affairs Canada are given formal training, direction, and advice on how to approach issues around MAiD, the statement added.

The investigation and training come after Global News first reported on Aug. 16 that a Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) employee had discussed medically-assisted dying with a veteran, a case that veterans advocates said made clear the stark stakes of the ongoing struggle for veterans to access supports.

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Sources told Global News a VAC service agent brought up MAiD unprompted in a conversation with the combat veteran, who was seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury.

Global News is not identifying the veteran who was seeking treatment due to privacy concerns but has spoken directly with the individual, who says the service agent brought up MAiD repeatedly and even after the veteran asked the service agent to stop.

The veteran said he felt pressured as a result.

He also said that the service agent told him in the call about having helped another veteran access resources for medical assistance in dying through Veterans Affairs Canada, including support for that persons children who were struggling with the impending death.

The veteran told Global News that service agent told him that the other veteran went through with a medically-assisted death, and that it had been someone who was determined to end his life.

Better than blowing his brains out all over the wall or driving his car into something, the veteran says the service agent told him when describing that separate case.

Veterans Affairs Canada said earlier this week it was looking into the matter.

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The department and its staff do not have the ability to provide the resources for an assisted death, but veterans advocates have raised serious concerns about the impact of even raising the subject.

Its kind of like planting a seed, said Debbie Lowther, executive director ofVETS Canada, a charity that helps veterans in crisis.

If we have a veteran whos already struggling with their mental health and maybe they are contemplating suicide this is an opportunity thats been presented to them.

For some, the thought of taking their own life and having a loved one find their body may have been a deterrent to going through with suicidal thoughts, she explained.

But presenting the option to have a medically-assisted death instead, Lowther said, could have very, very damaging consequences.

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Bruce Moncur, founder of the Afghanistan Veterans Association of Canada, raised similar concerns.

If that veteran was close to the edge, that might have been the hair that broke the camels back, he said in an interview. Its so cavalier with somebodys life.

Moncur fought in Afghanistan as a reservist and sustained a traumatic brain injury after being shot in the head while deployed. He said learning of the service agent bringing up medical assistance in dying to a veteran left him feeling shock, outrage, anger.

My understanding [is] this staff is still on the payroll and still working at their job, which is unacceptable to me. I just cannot understand how this person can still be trusted, he said.

Im wondering, is this my case manager? Is this somebody that I have trying to look after me?

Moncur, whose partner is NDP MP Niki Ashton, also criticized MacAulays performance in the job.

He said he sits on the Service Excellence Advisory Group, which advises the minister, and tried to call an emergency meeting about the matter.

They denied my request, Moncur said. They said that we were going to have a meeting in September anyway, so might as well just wait until then.

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Global News sent a list of detailed questions about the specifics of the allegations made by the veteran to officials at Veterans Affairs Canada. In response, the department stated they do not record phone conversations between veterans and staff in order to protect privacy.

The department said it could not corroborate the allegations made by the veteran that the service agent had described helping a separate veteran access medical assistance in dying, or about the veterans claim that the agent told the separate veteran that MAiD was better than blowing his brains out.

The veteran who spoke with Global News has said he filed multiple complaints about the service agent since July 21, 2022.

When the Veteran client called VAC to share what happened on the call, we immediately took action to address the situation and apologized to the client, a spokesperson for Veterans Affairs Canada said.

As directed by the Minister of Veterans Affairs, the Deputy Minister will oversee a thorough internal investigation into this matter and take any appropriate administrative actions necessary to ensure this situation doesnt happen again.

In addition, all VAC frontline staff will be provided training as a reminder of the expectations and the available programs and services offered by the Department to support the health and well-being of Veterans.

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Under Canadian law, medically-assisted death can only be discussed between a primary care provider like a physician or psychiatrist and their patient.

2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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Ottawa orders full and thorough probe into veteran assisted dying discussion - Global News

By Lauren Berg (August 16, 2022, 6:55 PM EDT) -- A marketing and analytics company has sued the Federal Trade Commission in Idaho federal court over the agency's threat to challenge the company's sale of consumer geolocation data, which could be used to track people to sensitive places, like therapists' offices and reproductive health care clinics.

Kochava Inc. recently received a proposed complaint from the FTC taking issue with the Idaho-based company's alleged sale of time-stamped geolocation data from consumers' mobile devices, but Kochava denies that its customers can identify individuals or track their specific location from the services it provides, according to the complaint filed Friday.

Kochava denies that its...

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Idaho Co. Fights FTC's Suit Threat Over Data Tracking - Law360