Model Airplanes

Researchers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) have identified the factors that will have the biggest influence on achieving a global transition to more sustainable diets. Using a new computational model of behavioral dynamics, the team pinpointed the major drivers of population-wide dietary shifts.

The consumption of red and processed meat has been tied to serious health complications  including diabetes, heart disease, and various cancers. Livestock farming for meat production also has a major environmental impact, contributing to deforestation, land and water degradation, and biodiversity loss. 

Furthermore, the meat industry is responsible for methane emissions that are comparable to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by all of the world’s cars, trucks, and airplanes combined.

Previous studies have shown that if people limited their red meat consumption to one serving per week and white meat to half a portion per day, the GHG emissions of the agriculture sector would be reduced by about half. This may seem simple enough, but the scale of behavioral change required will make the transition very difficult to achieve. In the current study, the IIASA team explored the major behavioral drivers of widespread shifts to sustainable diets.

“The human behavior aspect of such large scale diet changes have to our knowledge not been studied before in relation to the food system, although we need this information to understand how such a global change can be achieved. Our study covers this gap based on a computational model of population-wide behavioral

Article source: https://www.earth.com/news/population-wide-dietary-shifts/

Third in a series on teachers and what they do during the summer: For many teachers, school is not out for summer, because they’re busy leading student learning activities and enrichment camps.

At Kino Junior High School’s Aerospace Academy, Nancy Parra-Quinlan led a class of 24 students in a lab activity to see how liquids react with different items.  

“These liquids I got from different places on Mars,” said Parra-Quinlan, Kino’s career and technical education STEM teacher.

Kino Junior High School’s Aerospace Academy

“We don’t want what we call cross contamination,” Parra-Quinlan said. “If you use this to mix something with liquid #6, then don’t use it on liquid #1. Put a drop of the liquid in your cannister on your wax paper or aluminum foil and you can also see how they react.”

As a group of Mesa Public Schools’ students tested their liquid, one student said “Oh, I think I know.”

Then an aide asked him to describe what they did to determine that and reminded the group put their observations in their chart so they could discuss it later.

“Any other observations?” Parra-Quinlan asked the group.

Florida officials could soon finalize a deal to buy a $15.5 million business jet to fly Gov. Ron DeSantis, more than six months after he was a passenger in a state-operated aircraft that experienced a mechanical malfunction.

A negotiation team with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Tuesday recommended the state acquire a nine-passenger jet from Textron Aviation Inc. The recommendation goes to FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen, who will make a final decision.

Members of the negotiation team did not discuss the plane’s cost during a public meeting at the state agency’s headquarters in Tallahassee. But the agency late Tuesday released the $15.5 million cost, which will be financed.

The airplane model state officials intend to buy is the Cessna Citation Latitude, which the company advertises on its website as having an “elegant and lean design” with an electronic door, touch-screen avionics, a large lavatory and a spacious cabin.

In a notice posted after the recommendation was made, the law-enforcement agency said it picked the Textron jet after determining it would provide “the best value to the state.” Lawmakers during this spring’s legislative session included a $1.29 million recurring appropriation in the state budget to make payments toward the purchase of the aircraft, the agency said.

“The department reserves the right to hold additional negotiations with Textron Aviation Inc. in order to establish final contract terms and conditions,” the notice added.

When the state advertised to solicit proposals for the plane, it said vendors would need to provide the total bid price, which would include

Article source: https://www.winknews.com/2019/07/24/florida-moves-forward-with-15-5-million-plane-deal-for-desantis/