New Hazard from Hog Farms

A new study with data collected from industrial hog farms in North Carolina, has found that workers continue to carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria for several days in their noses.? The bacteria noted, Staphylococcus aureus, while common and does not always cause illness, has a variation known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus), known for life-threatening complications in hospital systems.? According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 86 percent of workers in the study carried the S. aureus bacteria, compared to about one third of the population at large.? Read more about the importance of this study in the New York Times.

?Electric Cars are Cleaner

Automakers are producing more efficient electric vehicles (EVs) which means that the average EV continues to achieve lower global warming emissions than the average new conventional gasoline vehicle no matter where a US driver lives.?? “The amount of electricity you use to power a toaster oven for about 20 minutes can move a 3,000 pound electric car more than a mile,” Dan Anair, research director for the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Clean Vehicles Program, explains.? Read the rest of the article and see an updated map showing how much emissions performance can vary for EVs depending upon regional electricity mixes.