At the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) Convention s Golden Eagle Awards, Vermont stood out as the only ski state to win all of the award categories for environmental excellence in which its resorts were submitted for consideration. The Excellence in Energy Conservation & Clean Energy Award went to Stratton Mountain Resort; the Excellence in Environmental Education Award went to Okemo Mountain Resort and the Excellence in Waste Reduction and Recycling Award went to Stowe Mountain Resort. “Vermont’s ski areas have a well-earned reputation as leaders in environmental efforts and initiatives, and that environmental ethic has become a familiar part of our unique brand,” said Parker Riehle, president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association. “Vermont ski areas have repeatedly been recognized by the Golden Eagle Awards for our numerous environmental contributions, and we are incredibly proud to have all three submitted Vermont resorts win their respective categories of environmental excellence.” Established in 1993, the Golden Eagle Awards for Environmental Excellence recognize the environmental achievements of ski areas in the United States and Canada. Clif Bar & Company, which employs wind energy, biodiesel, waste reduction and other initiatives to reduce its own footprint on the planet, is the administrator of the awards program.”We’re pleased to be part of the ski industry’s ongoing efforts to fight climate change and help save our snow” said Ricardo Balazs, sports marketing experience manager for Clif Bar & Company, which sponsored the awards. “The incredible work being done on the part of this year’s applicants will hopefully inspire others to take action and protect the places where we play.”Vermont’s award winners were recognized for excellence in the following areas:Environmental Education: Okemo Mountain Resort, VermontDeveloping innovative ways to engage both guests and employees, Okemo Mountain Resort has made environmental education a central part of its operations through events like Valley Quest and ECO, an employee-run environmental committee. Whether it is preserving land or changing an incandescent bulb to a CFL bulb, Okemo Mountain embraces each environmental action as an opportunity to educate both its guests and employees. Finalists: Telluride Ski Resort (Colorado), Grand Targhee Resort (Wyoming)Energy Conservation/Clean Energy: Stratton Mountain Resort, VermontStratton has developed a broad, multi-pronged energy program that has generated a 10 percent reduction in energy use across all operations. In 2008, through a number of initiatives, including more energy efficient snowmaking, lighting retrofits, and education, Stratton reduced electricity use by 18 percent, propane consumption by 20 percent and fuel/diesel use by 19 percent the equivalent of 3,473 tons of CO2. Finalists: Crested Butte Mountain Resort (Colorado), Seven Springs Mountain Resort (Pennsylvania)Waste Reduction & Recycling: Stowe Mountain Resort, VermontStowe Mountain Resort has developed a stand-out waste reduction program by highlighting the power of food. Stowe created a composting program that delivers impressive results enjoying an 84.5 percent diversion rate. The program works with a local farmer who turns the food waste into soil nutrient. Stowe has converted more than 102 tons of organic matter into compost and recycled 82 tons of waste. Finalists: Mt. Shasta Ski Park (California), Stevens Pass (Washington)Judges for this year’s awards include: Michael Berry, NSAA president; John Steelman, National Resources Defense Council; Hank Cauley, The Pew Charitable Trusts; Kirk Mills, Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment; David Jaber, Indiginous Permaculture; Patrick Nye, Bonneville Environmental Foundation; Judy Dorsey, The Brendle Group; and Elysa Hammond, ecologist, Clif Bar & Company.
continue reading » CUNA members can now access a free recording of a webinar outlining the latest development in patent litigation brought against several credit unions involving remote deposit capture (RDC) technology. The live version of the webinar hit capacity, with 1,000 credit unions registering to attend.A law firm representing USAA began sending out patent licensing demands to many credit unions in late 2017, alleging those institutions were infringing on a USAA patent involving RDC services.The letters offer credit unions the change to pay a “licensing fee” for continued use of the RDC software or face legal action. The letters do not identify specific software.The law firm followed up these letters in 2018 with letters repeating the allegations and offering “Special Limited Time Pricing” via a lump sum. ShareShareSharePrintMailGooglePinterestDiggRedditStumbleuponDeliciousBufferTumblr
Second-year pharmacy student Brian Kam works at a local pharmacy, and is tasked with balancing online courses and working in the midst of the crisis. “It definitely shows how valuable pharmacists are. You know going into, starting my job definitely knew the impact it could have but not to the extent during this pandemic. Being someone on the frontline working definitely shows how valuable pharmacies, pharmacy technicians and pharmacists are,” said Kam. Brian shared that through it all, this has been a learning experience as he pursues a pharmaceutical career. JOHNSON CITY (WBNG) — Binghamton University pharmacy students are right in the mix of healthcare workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic. Brian also says transitioning to online courses was difficult, but the professors at Binghamton have made it a smooth process. Brian tells 12 News that employees frequently wipe everything down and tape has been placed in checkout lines to abide by social distancing policies.
Safety measures have been put in place if you do have to enter inside a pharmacy. “Going in as a pharmacy student I never expected anything like this to happen. But I’ll say it’s definitely been a valuable learning experience. It’s been more or less the same, a little bit more busy, and we just have to be a little more conscious at work,” said Kam. “Like” Nicole Menner on Facebook and “Follow” her on Twitter. Brian said his pharmacy is extremely busy, and is encouraging the public to utilize delivery methods. He also said the drive through has seen a significant increase in business.
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The Gold Coast auction season is full steam ahead. 24 King Arthurs Crt, Sovereign IslandsDESPITE week-on-week auction activity predicted to fall in capital cities, the Gold Coast is just getting started.New data revealed the Gold Coast was the busiest non-capital city region for auctions last week. CoreLogic’s latest auction report showed the region led the way with 121 properties going under the hammer. Your choice of pool or river. 19 Kula Close, Benowa is set to go under the hammer this weekend.However, Geelong recorded the strongest clearance rate at 82.6 per cent, while the Gold Coast came in at 36.5 per cent.Coming into this weekend, 29 properties are set to go to auction, including a Sovereign Islands waterfront mansion.The million-dollar residence, which property records show last sold for $1.72 million in 2014, is described as a “tropical resort style home”.“It’s accompanied with a Florida room extending to the pool offering long canal views and beyond,” the listing states.“This waterfront mansion was originally constructed by the renowed and award-winning RW Smith Family builders”.More from news02:37Purchasers snap up every residence in the $40 million Siarn Palm Beach Northless than 1 hour ago02:37International architect Desmond Brooks selling luxury beach villa21 hours agoThe renovated property also features a full HD media room and pontoon big enough for a 60-foot vessel. This master ensuite is complete with a spa.It’s all about the waterfront abodes this weekend, with a four-bedroom, three-bathroom “functional family home”, set to go under the hammer at Broadbeach Waters.The house has a pool and its own sandy beach, “perfect for launching a stand-up paddle board or tinnie”.
19 Alma St, Broadbeach Waters is described as a family home.Over in Palm Beach, a five-bedroom, four-bathroom waterfront property, also complete with its own beach, is set to be auctioned on Saturday.According to the listing, “the home has been designed with a focus on the water, offering views from the kitchen, living and dining areas and the master retreat on the upper level.” The backyard at 40 Mallawa Dr, Palm Beach.Meanwhile, a “substantial family entertainer” in Benowa featuring a large pool with cascading waterfalls a Florida room gym, wine cellar, mud room, workshop and dual living quarters will go under the hammer on Sunday morning. The Benowa home features a contemporary stone kitchen.
A survey asking the companies for improved data on issues such as diversity, workers’ rights, and health and safety in supply chains, was sent yesterday. Targeted companies include Apple, Alibaba, BAE, Tesla, and Louis Vuitton. The selection criteria were market capitalisation, companies’ significance within their sector, and workforce size.Vaidehee Sachdev, senior research officer at ShareAction, said: “From the pilot year of the WDI, we learned that, while there appears to be a promising step change in the way companies and investors are now approaching labour standards, there is a long road ahead to get to the level of transparency we need for decent work everywhere.“Based on the quality of data collected and currently being reported, companies need to move away from only reporting on their policy intentions and good news stories.”The WDI’s ultimate goal is to improve the quality of jobs in the operations and supply chains of multinational companies. It said this would contribute towards poverty alleviation and achieving “decent work for all”, one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.Matt Christensen, global head of responsible investment at AXA Investment Managers, said companies had been reinforcing their reporting on environmental topics in recent years and “we wish to see a similar effort with social factors”.The survey can be found here and a list of investor signatories here. An investor coalition pushing companies for better data on labour standards has higher ambitions after a successful pilot year, according to an announcement this week.Since being launched in July last year, the Workforce Disclosure Initiative (WDI) has attracted more than 20 additional investor signatories, including Aviva, BMO Global Asset Management, and PGGM, which manages the €197bn Dutch healthcare pension scheme PFZW. More than $12trn (€10trn) in assets under management back the initiative.Encouraged by the response to a survey sent to 75 companies last year, the WDI has significantly increased the project’s targeted reach.“After a successful pilot year, the WDI is scaling up and approaching 500 companies headquartered in 30 countries, including Canada, India, Japan and the US,” said ShareAction, which co-ordinates the initiative.
Image courtesy of Golar LNGGolar LNG’s joint venture with Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, Golar Power Limited, has reached COD on the 1.5GW Porto de Sergipe I power project.On March 21 Golar Power received its commercial operations certificate from the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency ANEEL, allowing the commercial operations to commence at the 1.5 GW Sergipe power station.The first integrated LNG-to-power project in Brazil and the largest and most efficient thermal power station in Latin America, the project also includes a dedicated LNG import and regasification terminal using the Golar Nanook, a newbuild FSRU with 170,000-cbm of LNG storage capable of supplying more than 21.0 million cubic meters per day of natural gas.Golar LNG (GLNG) owns 25 percent of the power station through its 50 percent investment in Golar Power.In 2015 the project was awarded 25-year 1.5 GW power purchase agreements at the government promoted A-5 Power Auction. The power station will now start to deliver electricity to a pool of 26 power distribution companies across the country until December 2044.Under the terms of the PPAs, the project has guaranteed annual capacity payments of approximately 1.6 billion Brazilian Real ($311.1 million), adjusted annually for local inflation, together with pass-through of fuel and operating costs according to dispatch.
“Many stores are closed, and consumer demand has been impacted with millions of Americans out of work. However, there are still many essential items that are badly needed and because of store closures cargo may sit longer than usual and cause other supply chain impacts.” Imports are projected to remain significantly below normal levels through early summer as the coronavirus pandemic continues. Imports at major U.S. retail container ports dropped to their lowest level in five years in March, data from the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates shows. “The largest drop is forecast for the first half of this year but with uncertainty about the length of the lockdown and extent of the pandemic, the second half may not be in better shape.” While actual numbers for March are not yet available, estimates show that imports plunged to 1.27 million TEU, down 21.3 percent year-over-year. “Even as factories in China have begun to get back to work, we are seeing far fewer imports coming into the United States than previously expected,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. Specifically, April is forecast at 1.44 million TEU, down 17.6 percent, May at 1.48 million TEU, down 20.1 percent, and June at 1.41 million TEU, down 21.4 percent year-over-year . U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 1.51 million TEU in February, down 17 percent from January and 6.8 percent year-over-year. “The COVID-19 pandemic is unraveling the economy nationally and globally as most of the world moves toward a lockdown that entails the closure of significant portions of both the service and manufacturing industries,” Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said. Before the extent of the pandemic was known, the first half of the year was forecast at 10.47 million TEU. This is the lowest level seen since 1.21 million TEU in February 2015 during a labor dispute that caused slowdowns at West Coast ports that winter. The first half of 2020 is forecast to total 8.93 million TEU, down 15.1 percent from the same period last year. Before the coronavirus began to have an effect on imports, February through May had been forecast at a total of 6.9 million TEU but is now expected to total 5.7 million TEU, a drop of 17.3 percent.
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Posted: January 18, 2021 by admin
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