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What would Spongebob and Patrick look like in real life? One marine biologist found out after spotting what looked like the cartoon best friends off the coast of New England. The official Instagram account for the Nickelodeon show (currently in its 22nd year on air) also shared the photo, delighting fans globally. But this is less F.U.N. than we think: Unlike in the show, the real-life sea sponge and starfish are not exactly friendly. Instead, the star is often observed feeding on the sponges.

WATER SUPPLY

Italy loses half its water. Now they’re working to prevent a water emergency
Fri Jul 30

We’ve heard about the drought-driven water shortages panning out globally. But the other problem in the mix is the vast amount of water lost due to leaky pipes, the natural result of unmaintained, historic water infrastructures. In Italy, a whopping 42% of water transported is lost before reaching customers. That’s why the country is allocating a portion of its pandemic relief package from the E.U. to address the issue. The country’s southern region of Puglia is getting priority, where rainfall is projected to continue to diminish in an area without other water sources like natural rivers or streams.

Though the funds alone are half the battle. Italy’s water system was first constructed by Romans two millennia ago, and the long neglect has left this generation with a lot to do. The first step in fixing them is identifying all the potential leaks, a labor-intensive initiative where human teams review all 13,000 miles of pipes block-by-block. An entire day’s work can result in just one leak found.

Meanwhile in the U.S., severe weather continues to damage nearly 100-year-old pipes already riddled with leaks. Fixing them is estimated to cost up to one trillion dollars, with no money set aside yet. As a result, an estimated two trillion gallons of water is lost in the U.S. every year. Chicago’s leaks alone could serve water to 700,000 people. With such large losses, some believe these infrastructure repairs — alongside water efficiency measures — could alleviate drought-related water shortages. And while a number of key water bills have been introduced this year, none directly address leaking pipes.

Our Sources:

→ Initial coverage: W ashington Post
→ Water infrastructure crumbling in the U.S.: NPR
→ How fixing leaks could help the U.S.: Quartz
→ Water bills being considered: American Water Works Association

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AGRICULTURE

New California law means a bacon price surge is coming
Sat Jul 31

Bacon may be disappearing from California restaurants. Animal welfare advocates have long called for better treatment of farm animals, who historically suffer poor conditions leading up to slaughter. In fact, earlier propositions passed tried to improve conditions but vague language resulted in minimal real-world changes. That’s why in 2018, California voted for more space for animals, specifying down to the square foot. Sounds simple and right by the animals, but the law fails to account for feasibility. With months until the law is fully enacted, only 4% of hog operations would be in compliance.

Why? Well, meeting the new requirement would cost farmers 15% more per pig. One Iowa farmer, who supplies pork to California, says this translates to needing $20 more per animal, but processors who purchase from him won’t pay more to help offset the burden. This is a problem we’ve seen play out for cattle farmers as well. The National Pork Producers Council has asked for federal aid to fill the gap, but so far it seems the burden will fall on California consumers. Without help, farmers won’t be able to sell to California, leaving the state with a shortage which may shoot bacon prices up 60%, an increase restaurant owners fear will remove bacon from their menus altogether.

Though California isn’t the first to enforce farm animal welfare. Massachusetts citizens passed a similar law in 2016, which state legislatures later approved with even more votes than in California. But since the Massachusetts bill was not specific, most hog farmers continued operations as usual — though it still caused controversy. Overall, it’s hard to determine what the future of these state laws look like when supply chains and distribution are national. While unsuccessful, many states combated the Massachusetts bill with lawsuits, claiming it was unlawful for them to dictate how other states choose to regulate business operations.

Our Sources:

→ Initial coverage: A ssociated Press
→ Details of California’s new law: National Law Review and Ballotpedia
→ Pig treatment on farms: PETA
→ Attempts to deem Mass rule unlawful: Ballotpedia

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CLASSIFIEDS

The first question new freelancers ask our founder is always the same: How much should I charge?

That’s why we’re stoked to share an awesome resource from Mandy Ellis. She created the Freelance Writer’s Pricing Guide, filled with information to navigate all the custom work that hits your inbox.

The best part? It’s free to Below the Fold readers. Check it out!

>> Check out the free pricing guide

ASCII-ING ABOUT THE NEWS

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  :  >  <  ;
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  :        ;
   \ :--: /   btf
    W    W


These meat processors are bacon me crazy!

Below the Fold

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Below the Fold - too many holes to plug

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Older messages

even faster fast fashion

where’s the beef… profits going?

America’s buildings are dangerously old

stealing water in a drought

🚢 nuclear-powered ships in the Arctic

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