Seville pioneers heatwave measures, anti-poaching technology, Black Tech Talent

Leslie Boltron | Posted on June 27, 2022 |

In today’s edition of Squirrel News, a city in Spain is set to name and categorise heatwaves, Smart Parks tackle poaching head-on, and a start-up serves as avenue for Black people to get into tech.

Seville to name and classify heatwaves in effort to protect public

Central to the pilot is an algorithm that will forecast heatwaves up to five days in advance and categorise them based on the potential impact on human health and mortality. Each category will be tied to specific measures.

Source: The Guardian

Smart Parks, the Dutch technologists tackling poaching with technology

These are designed to help anti-poaching teams through access to real-time data such as animal locations, vehicle movements, and fence voltages, among other parameters.

Source: Mongabay

Minneapolis start-up bridges the gap for Black people in tech

In light of data showing only a meager percentage of Black people are working in tech, a start-up in Minnesota rose to the challenge whilst hitting two birds with one stone.

Source: Next City

Companies scramble to protect abortion access for employees after court ruling

Disney, JP Morgan, Levi Strauss, Microsoft and others are offering to cover travel expenses but face a Republican backlash.

Source: The Guardian

U.S. aims to limit nicotine levels in cigarettes

Tobacco use causes more than seven million deaths per year worlwide, according to CDC. With the whopping 480,000 of the yearly death toll recorded in the U.S., the Biden administration is pushing for a rule that seeks to make it easier for users to quit.

Source: Reuters

Los Angeles may ban new gas stations to help combat climate emergency

The city famous for its car culture could quit building fossil fuel infrastructure – and it would be the largest city to do so yet.

Source: The Guardian

Work is underway for transparent corporate climate action

Welcome news in the fight against climate change, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is working on a rule mandating companies to disclose emissions. This makes it easier for the public to hold firms accountable for their environmental impact.

Source: Grist

Benefits of blurring the lines between high school, college and career

Advocates are making a case for a new education system that will steer learners closer to the workforce early on. The concept looks at blurring the last two years of high school with the first couple of years of college.

Source: The Hechinger Report

Advocates seek to change narrative surrounding hospice care

Are hospice services only for the dying? A new report shows what patients and those working in the palliative care think and how results of a 2016 pilot programme could spark bureaucratic changes.

Source: PEW

Traditional leaders take lead in keeping Nigerian state polio-free

As polio cases resurface in Nigeria, authorities are stepping up efforts to vaccinate more children. In Cross River, leaders are banking on community trust to keep the state polio-free.