Introduction: Baby. Whale. Whale. Baby.

Kentucky Garbage Man Hadn't Seen Elderly Woman's Trash Can Out

Kentucky Garbage Man Hadn't Seen Elderly Woman's Trash Can Out, Rightly Felt Something Was Amiss.

Jake Bland has dual roles at his job at Hometown Hauling, a refuse collection company in Louisville, Kentucky.

He’s the operations manager and he’s also on the truck picking up his customers trash.

He noticed that one of those on his route, an elderly single woman, hadn’t put out her trash for two weeks...he felt...he knew...that something just wasn’t right. So instead of just moving along without a second thought, he called his dispatcher, Bernice Arthur, and voiced his concerns.

She called the 90 year old customer and was relieved that she answered the phone, but was heartbroken when she found out why she hadn’t taken out her trash.

She didn’t have any.

Said Bernice, "She just didn't have anything to eat….and that's why she had no trash to put out there."

For over two weeks, because her caregiver quit over pandemic fears, she had no way to get food or even leave the house, as she is wheelchair bound.

And she ran out of food.

Ten days before.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/16/1945402/-Kentucky-Garbage-Man-Hadn-t-Seen-Elderly-Woman-s-Trash-Can-Out-Rightly-Felt-Something-Was-Amiss?utm_campaign=trending

House Democrats finalize the people's COVID-19 bailout with almost every essential thing

The House is delaying its return until Friday as leadership continues to craft the next big—really big—coronavirus response bill, a draft of which is expected as soon as Tuesday, but probably Wednesday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has urged her Democratic colleagues to "Think Big," quoting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. She wrote: "We must 'Think Big' For The People now, because if we don't, it will cost more later. Not acting is the most expensive course."

-snip-

The Emergency Rental Assistance Program will reportedly provide $100 billion for families to pay mortgages, rent, and utilities. That will be boosted by $2,000 relief checks paid monthly to "most Americans" for the duration of the pandemic. "Direct payments, unemployment insurance, rental and mortgage help and student loan assistance are essential to relieve the fear that many families are facing," Pelosi wrote in her letter to colleagues. Further details on who counts as "most Americans" and what limits they will place on the program aren't immediately available. Pelosi has also said they're considering language to keep water utilities from cutting off services to customers for nonpayment. All this is big, and it’s important for keeping people secure during the crisis.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/12/1944520/-House-Democrats-finalize-the-people-s-COVID-19-bailout-with-every-essential-thing?detail=emaildkre

I didn't see where this had been posted previously, only that McConnell had called it a, "Wish List", by Dems.

Rosebud Sioux Tribe to Create North America's Largest Native Owned and Managed Bison Herd

Economic Arm of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Works With World Wildlife Fund and Department of the Interior To Create Historic Public Private-Partnership For Plains Bison Restoration

MISSION, SOUTH DAKOTA–Rosebud Economic Development Corporation (REDCO), the economic arm of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, has secured nearly 28,000 acres of native grassland for the creation of a new plains bison herd with the support of the Rosebud's Tribal Land Enterprise. With a capacity to support 1,500 animals, the Wolakota Buffalo Range will become North America's largest Native American owned and managed bison herd. The project is being advanced by a partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and with support from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI).

The Wolakota Buffalo Range combines Lakota-based regenerative agriculture and social impact investment to generate socioeconomic opportunity. "We are doing something that has never been done. It shows what is possible when we create multiple bottom line initiatives supporting the environment, people, fiscal responsibility, and Native nation building," REDCO's CEO, Wizipan Little Elk said.

In a strong show of support for the project, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt today announced the DOI's 2020 Bison Conservation Initiative. The Initiative is the 10-year direction for the Department and is organized around five goals: wild, healthy bison herds, genetic conservation, ecological restoration, cultural restoration, and shared stewardship. In a strong show of commitment to those goals and to the principles of the Wolakota project, DOI will send hundreds of bison over the next five years from public conservation herds managed by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the newly created range on the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota. The historic project will increase the overall number of Native American owned bison by seven percent nationally.

https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/rosebud-sioux-tribe-to-create-north-america-s-largest-native-owned-and-managed-bison-herd


I don't trust this government getting involved in any conservation effort..... But I admire the Tribe's initiative.

Star Wars--The Musical!

Family Forests: An Untapped Powerhouse in Climate Mitigation

More than a third of U.S. forests are stewarded by individuals and families, and it’s time we support their conservation efforts.

The United States is home to an incredible treasure trove of natural resources. Across the country, 38 percent of forest land is owned not by the federal government, nor by large forestry corporations, but by families and individuals who are stewards of the forest and strive every day for their own economic security. These private forest lands serve many economic and recreational purposes and provide over 90 percent of our nation’s domestically produced forest products, including the timber needed to build homes and businesses.

Over the past several years, there has been a renewed conversation around the efforts to improve the sustainability of forests. All too often, these small landowners have been excluded from the national climate change conversation and the opportunity to participate in the carbon credit market, which could both provide families with sustained revenue and bring meaningful climate change mitigation practices to fruition.

One of the barriers to their participation is that traditional carbon projects require landowners to invest significant up-front capital before receiving any carbon revenue. This is simply impractical for the vast majority of family forest owners. Because carbon markets function on a large scale, those who own small acreages have not been able to access existing carbon markets—which can provide valued income from the sequestration of carbon in their forests—due to high project development costs.

https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/family-forests-powerhouse-in-climate-mitigation/?src=s_lio.gd.x.x.&sf121512568=1


Bezos/Amazon doing some good for the planet.

Mercedes Develops Breathing Aid for Covid-19 patients

New breathing aid to keep coronavirus patients out of intensive care, and off ventilators.

Spring Cherry Blossoms and Azaleas in Guizhou, China

Boatloads of Fails

Mama Moose and Newborn Calf Cross Road