Tag: 3BL

Originally published by TriplePundit

The growing popularity of avocados in the United States has created an economic boom across all parts of the fruit’s value chain. In fact, imports of Mexican avocados added over $6 billion in gross domestic product to the U.S. economy in 2022 alone, according to a recent report. The avocado industry in Mexico also supports approximately 78,000 direct and permanent jobs and more than 300,000 indirect and seasonal jobs.

While farm workers play a crucial role in the avocado’s journey from orchard to table, thousands of buyers, packers, marketers and logistics professionals are just as critical to the industry’s growing success.

The farm-to-table journey 

For Ricardo Vega, avocados are a piece of home. He comes from a family of avocado growers in Michoacán, Mexico, the center of global avocado production. His father started one of the first commercial avocado orchards in Michoacán in the 1960s, complete with a packing house and distribution center. 

 
Vega followed in his father’s footsteps and built a thriving distribution center in the heart of the world’s largest avocado growing region. “I am fortunate,” Vega said. “The vast majority of avocado growers don’t get to see where their product goes after the packing house. For me, it is amazing to see the products we grow go from the orchard all the way to the stores and to the consumers.”

The journey starts in Michoacán’s orchards. “We have a team of buyers who visit orchards to select the fruit with the best quality,” Vega explained. After the buyers make their picks—all while the avocados are still on trees—a picking crew harvests each batch and transfers them to the packing house.

“We work hard to avoid waste from the moment of harvest,” Vega continued. “You cannot export fruit that touches the ground, because there is the risk of dents and contamination. We process 500 tons of avocados per week. If even 5 percent of that fruit touched the ground, we could be wasting [approximately] $30,000 of avocados.”

Once the avocados arrive at the packing house, they are cleaned, disinfected and inspected by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials. The avocados are then graded by size and quality before being stored in a cold, climate-controlled space. There, they await transport and distribution. “Everything is selected and packed by hand,” Vega said. “It’s an artisanal process.”

Growing healthy avocados for a healthy planet

Improving operational sustainability is critical for all parts of the avocado industry’s supply chain. Vega’s company has implemented several sustainable practices, such as using recycled packaging and disinfecting produce with UV lights to reduce water use. His packing house is also zero-emissions and utilizes solar arrays and energy-efficient equipment, Vega said. “We know we have to keep working on issues such as forest management, water and climate change so we can keep growing avocados sustainably in the long run,” Vega shared.

Food loss and waste accounts for approximately 6 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions globally, which is why finding innovative solutions is key for any company in the food sector. “Each company has its own strategies to avoid waste,” Vega explained. “However, we have implemented a very strict process of controls from the orchard to the transportation to avoid loss.” While there is some food loss in the packing house, his team utilizes the waste to make compost for the orchards and avocado oil for the beauty industry, he said.

Community impact

Vega counts the continued development of the avocado industry and the growth of both his company and community as his most important measures of success. “Twenty-five years ago, the price for 1 kilo of avocados was 15 cents. Now, it is $1.50 to $2. This has grown our community life in a way that can’t be quantified,” he said.

The economic boom has allowed Vega to invest in his employees and the broader community. That includes providing benefits for employees who stay with the company over the long-term. When employees have been with the company for more than eight years, they are eligible to participate in a program that covers the costs of home improvements. The company also provides scholarships to elementary and middle-school students, as well as supports a home for senior citizens.

“Since Michoacán has been able to export avocados to the world, it has drastically changed the quality of life in Michoacán and in avocado-growing communities,” Vega said. He noted that 25 years ago, Michoacán was one of the top three Mexican states sending migrants to the U.S., but job opportunities and an increasing quality of life has allowed residents to stay. 
“People have opportunities now in the avocado industry. They don’t migrate for work in other places. It is noticeable in our community, and in our quality of life, even if it is not measurable.”

While Vega followed his father into the avocado sector, he is now passing his love for the business to his son. “I have been in this line of work since it started, and now my son is a part of the family business as the third generation of avocado growers and packers in our family,” Vega reflected. “For us, in this industry, every day is different, but that’s what makes it fun.”

This article series is sponsored by the Avocado Institute of Mexico and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Pepco | The Source

There are many hazards that can affect power lines and cause outages. Some are obvious, such as lightning and broken tree branches, but there is another menace that may surprise you.

Mylar balloons, while often shiny and bright, can wreak havoc on the electric grid.

These floating foil balloons have a metallic coated shell and when they contact an electric power line can cause significant damage, leading to power outages. Each year, thousands of Pepco customers experienced an outage due to a mylar balloon contacting our electric infrastructure.

So what can be done to stop this mylar monster? Here are a few tips:

Always keep balloons tethered or attached to weights.Properly dispose of foil balloons by puncturing a hole to release helium that otherwise could cause the balloon to float away.Consider an alternate way to celebrate special holidays and events that doesn’t involve balloons. Check out PreventBalloonLitter.org for unique ideas on how to celebrate, remember and honor the people who impact our lives without the use of balloons.

If you do see a balloon tangled in a power line, do not attempt to retrieve it. Always assume lines are energized and keep yourself, your belongings and anything you are carrying at least 10 feet away at all times. For assistance, call our emergency line at 1-877-737-2662.

For more electric safety tips, visit pepco.com/Safety.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., June 3, 2024 /3BL/ – As new reports of a record spike in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels intensify climate change concerns, Black & Veatch has selected six startups to participate in its BV IgniteX Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Accelerator – a provider of support to enterprises on the cutting edge of climate technology.

As part of the 12-week program, participants partner with Black & Veatch thought leaders and subject matter experts who provide consultation and support towards co-developing, piloting and/or marketing the new technology. Along the way they receive mentorship, access to the company’s vast industry network, product testing opportunities, pitch development coaching and investor introductions. The program culminates with a showcase where the entrepreneurs present their solutions and outline their value propositions and market opportunity.

“It was inspiring to see the diverse and novel approaches that so many promising startups are taking to address the tremendous challenge of climate change,” said Mark Vranicar, a manager in Black & Veatch’s sustainable process solutions practice. “Our experienced teams at Black & Veatch are ready to get to work with the technologies in this cohort to help scale their solutions into affordable, verifiable and widely deployable means of removing carbon dioxide (CO2).”

The six 2024 BV IgniteX CDR accelerator program participants – among more than 50 applicants – are:

Aeon Blue uses seawater and renewable energy to make a drop-in replacement for fossil fuel while capturing and storing CO2 from air.Ebb Carbon is pioneering a new marine carbon dioxide removal solution by enhancing the ocean’s natural ability to safely store CO2 with an electrochemical technology.Elysia enables CO2 removal using electrospun nanomaterials, with its durable materials able to process huge amounts of air quickly, with minimal energy and at low costs.Heimdal builds machines that use mineral sorbents to permanently capture and store atmospheric CO2.Holocene is a direct air capture (DAC) technology developer and CDR service provider building liquid-based, continuous and low-temperature systems.Parallel Carbon uses renewable power with integrated DAC and water electrolysis processes to reduce costs and maximize value.

Black & Veatch is teaming up with RTI International – a leading independent research institute – to provide technical and commercialization support to program participants.

Burnishing Black & Veatch’s decarbonization solutions status, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management in August 2023 named the company among 13 semifinalists to receive a total of $1.3 million for commercialization programs that support technologies that remove carbon from the atmosphere, including direct air capture (DAC).

The DAC Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize is among several competitions hosted by the DOE and funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support breakthrough DAC technologies. The prize sponsors incubator teams that provide creative, impactful solutions that support entrepreneurs and innovators in the DAC space.

Editor’s Notes:

The BV IgniteX accelerator program provides funding of up to $35,000 in non-dilutive grants and in-kind services, plus potential equity investments from $50,000 to $100,000.This is the fifth year of the program, where Black & Veatch has partnered with more than 40 companies and has made more than $2 million in investments, grants and in-kind services.

About Black & Veatch 
Black & Veatch is a 100-percent employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.

About RTI International 
RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. Clients rely on us to answer questions that demand an objective and multidisciplinary approach — one that integrates expertise across the social and laboratory sciences, engineering and international development. We believe in the promise of science, and we are inspired every day to deliver on that promise for the good of people, communities and businesses around the world. For more information, visit www.rti.org.

Media Contact Information:

JIM SUHR | +1 913-458-6995 P | SuhrJ@BV.com

24-HOUR MEDIA CONTACT | Media@bv.com

Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library

By Art Martori

Looking to launch an idea online? If so, be sure to check out a new episode from Tomorrow’s World Today which aired on Science Channel or Discovery Channel. You can also stream this must-see content on YouTube and tomorrowsworldtoday.com.

It offers an in-depth look at how GoDaddy Airo uses generative artificial intelligence to level the online playing field for small businesses. Watch the episode below to see all the ways generative AI can help your business (spoiler alert: it’s a lot).

Launch your business in minutes with GoDaddy Airo™

Hope you enjoyed the episode! It had lots of great information. If you’d like to revisit any of it, we’ve also included a transcript for your convenience.

Transcript of GoDaddy on Tomorrow’s World Today

Speaker 1:

On Tomorrow’s World Today, we explore the cutting-edge advances that are shaping four different worlds. The world of inspiration, where the wonders of the natural world amaze and inspire us. The world of creation, where ideas come to life from traditional arts. The world of innovation, where ideas and inventions move us all forward. The world of production, where innovations are mass-produced to improve our lives. From Inventionland world headquarters, here’s your host, George Davison.

George Davison:

In many industries, it’s only the wealthy who can afford the new technologies. For example, when the automotive industry was created, it was just the rich people driving around in their cars until Henry Ford created the affordable car for everyone. Now, fast-forward to the early days of the internet, it was only those big players that could afford the luxury of going digital. But as technology evolved and the internet became more and more accessible, the game changed. Suddenly, there was a new era that dawned for small businesses and it opened up a world of possibilities in the digital realm. Today, we’re in a digital landscape and it’s teeming with possibilities. You see, small businesses have been embracing the power of digital marketing, and they’re using templates to create websites, social media posts, and other online channels so they can connect with customers, drive sales, and even build brand awareness like never before.

But now, it’s no longer a luxury. It’s a necessity for success. Despite the prevalence of digital marketing though, around 46% of the small businesses in the United States still don’t have a website. So today, you can start with a blank screen. And with just basic information about your business, generative AI platforms will work with you hand-in-hand to create a professional website, manage your digital marketing campaigns, and even expand your reach online.

So I’m going to send Greg to the world of innovation in Seattle, Washington, to explore how one company is empowering these small businesses to thrive in today’s digital world.

Greg Costantino:

Small businesses are everywhere and they’re all vying for your attention. There are over 6 million of them in the U.S. alone, but believe it or not, only 64% have websites. Now, as we move ahead into an increasingly digital world, having a strong online presence is more important than ever. And that’s why we’re here, at GoDaddy in Kirkland, Washington to meet with the experts and explore how they’re creating customized solutions and user-friendly platforms that will help entrepreneurs enhance their digital footprint today and in tomorrow’s world.

Let’s head inside and talk to Gourav Pani. He is the President of U.S. Independence for GoDaddy.

Gourav Pani:

Greg, great to meet you.

Greg Costantino:

Great to meet you too. So Gourav, tell me a little bit about the history of GoDaddy.

Gourav Pani:

Since 1997, we’ve been helping our customers get online.

Greg Costantino:

At the beginning of the internet, which is where you were starting, getting online, getting a domain name, it was a really difficult thing to do.

Gourav Pani:

Yes, solving that hard problem of simplifying for others is where we found our space.

Greg Costantino:

So basically, you’re helping people now do what you did. GoDaddy started as a very small business, and now look at you.

Gourav Pani:

It is so amazing to watch our customers thrive every day.

Greg Costantino:

Do you think that that web presence is as important now as it was back then?

Gourav Pani:

With customer expectations being one where they want to see everything immediately, being available online and offline is vital to small businesses.

Greg Costantino:

Excellent. Well, I can’t wait to learn more. So what’s next?

Gourav Pani:

You get to meet Laka Sriram, a Vice President of Artificial Intelligence. He’s going to tell you what we are up to.

Greg Costantino:

Lead the way. Hey, Laka.

Laka Sriram:

Hey Greg. Nice to meet you.

Greg Costantino:

Great to meet you too. So Laka, artificial intelligence or machine intelligence as a concept has been around since the fifties, and what a lot of people may not realize is we’ve been using forms of artificial intelligence for quite a while now. I mean, every time you type a phrase into a search engine, you’re using a version of artificial intelligence, but generative AI is a different animal. It is a leap forward. Tell me about the difference.

Laka Sriram:

You’re right. AI has been there for decades now, and we actually use it in several aspects of our lives, starting in automobiles and video games and search engines and so on and so forth. Genitive AI is this new field within AI, which focuses on building new content. It gets trained on large language models, which are based on huge data sets, but it takes all of those data sets, it uses examples and identifies patterns and builds brand new content that’s novel and that’s not part of its training set at all.

Greg Costantino:

So it’s not just a clearinghouse for data that already exists, it’s not just making a recommendation, it’s really creating something brand new.

Laka Sriram:

100%. It creates brand new. It takes in some of the cues from the user. Like at the beginning, the user can navigate and guide it in a certain direction, but it uses the training data and it builds brand new text, images, videos, software code, even that wasn’t part of its training set at all.

Greg Costantino:

Wow. So this leads us right into what Airo is. So when GoDaddy was building Airo, you used generative AI to put together a platform that would bring generative AI to someone like me.

Laka Sriram:

We’ve used all the advancements that have been happening in generative AI across the tech industry, plus the experience that we at GoDaddy have had for the last 20 plus years, like working with small and micro business owners. So we’ve combined those two together, and we built this brand new experience and platform layer that helps every single small business owner with setting up their identity and presence from scratch till the end, everything is set up right off the bat and it’s ready for them to use.

Greg Costantino:

I’d love to see that in action. Can I get a demonstration?

Laka Sriram:

100%. We should go meet with Nicki Hybner, one of our designers of Airo, and she can walk you through the end-to-end demo what actually Airo is, and she’s right that way.

Greg Costantino:

How long did it take to get Airo up and running?

Laka Sriram:

Three months start to end.

Greg Costantino:

That’s amazing.

Laka Sriram:

And Greg, here’s Nicki. She can introduce you to Airo.

Greg Costantino:

Thanks a lot, Laka. Hi Nicki.

Nicki Hybner:

Hi Greg. Nice to meet you.

Greg Costantino:

Nice to meet you too. So I understand if I want to get a look at Airo, you are the person to show me.

Nicki Hybner:

Yeah, and I’d love to show it to you. I actually have a demo set up in the conference room if you want to follow me.

Greg Costantino:

Absolutely, lead the way.Well Nicki, now that I understand how customer feedback and information actually went into the creation of GoDaddy Airo, let’s make this a little bit more personal now. Help me put my business online.

Nicki Hybner:

Let’s do it. Let’s check it out. So one of the great things about Airo is that you can start with a simple idea. Any burning business ideas?

Greg Costantino:

Well, let’s say I want to start a dessert shop.

Nicki Hybner:

Okay. So we will go ahead and type in, I want to open a dessert shop in Kirkland. And by hitting this button, we’ll start to generate business names and domain name suggestions for this business idea that you have.

Greg Costantino:

Now, are all of these available and able to be used right away?

Nicki Hybner:

All of these are available. So if you like Satisfy Sweets, we can go ahead and add that one to the cart and complete the checkout process.

Greg Costantino:

And as quickly as that, I’ve purchased a domain name?

Nicki Hybner:

Exactly.

Greg Costantino:

Wow. Really couldn’t be much easier than that.

Nicki Hybner:

Pretty simple. And in the background here, we’re creating a couple of things for our customers. We’re looking at the domain name and we’re going to be making suggestions for how they can get started in a couple of different areas. We’ll take a look at that in just a second. We take a moment to celebrate and continue. And here you’ll see your business start to come to life for the very first time. That moment can be really intimidating, and by simplifying it, making it easier, we’re helping more people get online and be confident about the business that they’re doing there.

Greg Costantino:

So this is basically what my business is going to look like online. And we’ve done this in seconds.

Nicki Hybner:

Exactly. It’s ready to publish. We have a website preview on the right-hand side here. By scrolling through these images, you can choose something that you like. Maybe that one works.

Greg Costantino:

Okay.

Nicki Hybner:

And If you want to make some customizations to your business name or your vertical, you could do that right here. We like this one, so we’ll go ahead and hit publish. In just a few seconds, you’ll be online for the first time.

Greg Costantino:

This is going to be the image of whenever people look for my sweet shop, this is what they’re going to find?

Nicki Hybner:

Exactly.

Greg Costantino:

Well, what’s next?

Nicki Hybner:

Once we’re on the dashboard, there are a lot of other things our customers can do that Airo’s generated for them. Things like a fully custom website, personalized email, branded logo, even engaging social posts. So if we come in here, we can take a look at a series of logos, choose one that we like, and if we wanted to, we could click here to customize it and add additional details to make it our own.

Greg Costantino:

So if I don’t have any design experience of my own, Airo’s going to help me generate that.

Nicki Hybner:

You don’t need any design experience to do this. Most of our customers are not designers, they’re not marketing experts, they’re not web designers, so this gives them a series of starting points and they can just interact with a couple of clicks and customize that item. When you’re ready, clicking continue, we’ll update that logo and add it to your business so that it’s ready to use on all of your different tools.

Greg Costantino:

And there were lots of options there. So that logo, even though it’s been generated by Airo, there’s a lot of opportunity for me to make that look the way that I want it to look.

Nicki Hybner:

Exactly. It’s fully customizable and it includes all the input that you’re giving us. Once you’ve completed your logo, we also apply it to your website. We generated a fully customized website for you. Your coming soon page is already live, but this is what you’d want to share with people when you’re ready to launch your business completely. And by clicking this button, you could continue in and start editing that website.

Greg Costantino:

Okay. Where would we go from here?

Nicki Hybner:

We could jump in and take a look at some of our social posts. So by coming in here and clicking in, they’ll get customized prompts that they can immediately publish to their social media accounts. So these are customized based on what we already know about their business, that category they chose, and some of the things that they’ve selected through the process so they can go ahead and publish these immediately.

Greg Costantino:

So Airo’s basically putting together a marketing calendar for me, a schedule, of when things will appear on social media. So I would think that this would be really a great learning tool for somebody who’s never done their own online marketing campaign or anything like that. Airo’s going to give you suggestions about how to do it, and then as you learn, you’ll be able to customize that more and more to your liking.

Nicki Hybner:

Exactly. It’s not designed to totally remove your thumbprint on each of the products. It’s designed to help you get started, to give you more time back to put into your business, to spend time with your customers and do the work that’s most important to you.

Greg Costantino:

This is super exciting and this experience could not have been easier, but I’m going to get together with Katie. She’s one of your actual customers, and we’re going to talk about her experience. So Nicki, thank you very much.

Nicki Hybner:

Awesome. You’re very welcome, Greg.

Greg Costantino:

Hi Katie.

Katie West:

Hi.

Greg Costantino:

So Nicki walked me through the process of using Airo to get my business online, and I know you have your own experience with GoDaddy AI, but first tell me a little bit about yourself and tell me about The Grand Lady.

Katie West:

Sure, sure. So in 2012, my husband and I got married at an old historic camp right outside of Chicago, and we just fell in love with this idea of creating a space where people could come together and celebrate some of life’s most precious moments. And so fast-forward 10 years, we found the listing to The Grand Lady online and we went and visited it and immediately fell in love. And so we spent the next two years renovating the mansion and building the hall, building a flower farm, and we hosted our first wedding in 2021.

Greg Costantino:

That’s amazing. And it’s been really successful. How do you think that AI has helped you take those ideas and bring them into reality?

Katie West:

So being a small business owner is really challenging. You have 1,000,001 things to do always. And so I really relied on AI to help simplify the way I do the business. So one thing I really think about is being intentional about how much time I spend working in the business versus on the business.

So working in the business, we’re showing people around, we’re planting flowers, we’re tending to clients and that sort of thing, which is all required and necessary. But the other side of it is working on the business, doing social ads, email campaigns and all of that. And so I’ve leaned on AI to help with a lot of our marketing efforts.

And so, one of the ways that I’ve used it is writing ad copy. And so rather than starting from scratch, I’ve actually just gone to AI and I’ve said, “Hey, I want you to write 10 high-performing ad copy headlines.” Told them a little bit about my business and my target market, and it has generated it. And what I have found is that those ads perform much better than what I could have done on my own. And so it’s just super effective and efficient.

Greg Costantino:

So you actually did work for GoDaddy at one time?

Katie West:

I did.

Greg Costantino:

So you do have a little bit more fluency with some of these things than the average person might, but do you think that someone like me with very little experience would be able to utilize these tools?

Katie West:

Oh, absolutely. GoDaddy has done such a great job at actually building the AI directly into the tools. And so you as a small business owner, you don’t have to have extreme fluency. They’ve kind of taken out some of that for you and they’ve just created a really streamlined tool that allows you to actually use the AI, get the value, and gain the efficiencies as well.

Greg Costantino:

Excellent. Well, Katie, continued success and thank you very much.

Katie West:

Thank you.

Greg Costantino:

Hey Laka.

Laka Sriram:

Hey, Greg.

Greg Costantino:

Hey, thank you so much for setting up that demonstration with Nicki. Got to see how Airo works, and then heard from Katie about all of her success too. This looks like something new.

Laka Sriram:

We’re continuously improving. We are leveraging all the advancements that are happening in generative AI and continuously feeding it into Airo. What he saw with Nicki was all the things that are there in the left-hand side, it addresses content generation in a whole complete way for the business owner, starting from an idea all the way to social payments and et cetera, are all done. It all exists right now. But what the next further evolution of Airo is about it as a tool evolves into a complete business partner. Making Airo into a tool such that it is constantly working on your behalf, on the customer’s behalf, in order to improve the customer’s business, in order to help them grow and thrive in the near future as well.

Greg Costantino:

So all of this, once it’s implemented, your customers that have Airo, if they want to use this, they’ll be able to?

Laka Sriram:

Yeah, this all becomes part of Airo. Like the go-to-market plan. It helps the customers with a specific set of steps when they want to launch any new product. And a chief marketing officer is about where Airo informs the small business owner on the steps that they should be taking in order to promote and grow their business. All of this happens behind the scenes without even the customer asking for it.

Greg Costantino:

Wow. It’s super exciting. I really can’t wait to see how it all shakes out once it’s implemented. But in the meantime, I’ve got a hook up with Gourav and I’ve got a couple more questions for. So thanks a lot, Laka.

Laka Sriram:

Thank you, Greg.

Greg Costantino:

Hey, Gourav.

Gourav Pani:

Hey, Greg.

Greg Costantino:

I’ll tell you, I’ve learned so much today. This has been really exciting. Now, artificial intelligence, AI, it’s one of those hot topic buzzwords, perks people’s ears up and raises some concerns. Are there any concerns that your customers should have about how their data might be being used?

Gourav Pani:

I’m happy to say there’s nothing to be concerned about. All customer data will stay secure within our four walls.

Greg Costantino:

So basically Airo is just there to act as your assistant and getting you online so you can get back behind the counter because that’s really how a small business survives?

Gourav Pani:

That’s correct. Airo is your assistant that helps you get things done faster.

Greg Costantino:

Great. And Airo is not going to really do anything that I don’t tell it to do?

Gourav Pani:

Airo will never do anything a customer doesn’t tell it to do.

Greg Costantino:

Well, Gourav, now that we know that AI is our friend, what are some of the uses for generative AI that maybe exist right now but are not really being widely used?

Gourav Pani:

The one that I can think of that comes top of mind is going from the digital world to the physical world. Let me give you an example. Let’s say you use generative AI to create an image of something you want to actually create a physical product out of. You take that image, you send it to a 3D printer, and it prints out a physical product for you.

Greg Costantino:

So somebody is inventing something in their garage, they would actually be able to have that sent out to a three-D printer and prototype it maybe numerous times and get that idea refined and then actually bring it to market?

Gourav Pani:

That’s exactly it. The cost of ideation, prototyping just went down to such low levels that small businesses can do something that large businesses have been doing for a long time.

Greg Costantino:

Yeah. This is the kind of thing that you would have to turn to a manufacturer or a larger business to have that done. And every time you wanted to do a new prototype, there would be additional costs involved.

Gourav Pani:

Additional cost, additional time. All of those are getting saved for small businesses.

Greg Costantino:

That’s amazing. So give me another example of what you’re referring to.

Gourav Pani:

Let’s take the example of advertising, for instance. In advertising, large corporations have had access to a lot of data for years that they can use to focus ads on very specific customers. Small businesses have never had access to that level of information until now. Generative AI allows small businesses to create curated ads that can be used to target very specific customers to meet their end goals.

Greg Costantino:

So really this has become an end-to-end process where somebody can create something in their garage, test it, prototype it, bring the final product that they want to manufacture, and then take the whole thing through the marketing and advertising, get it online, and then decide exactly how far they want to scale up for manufacturing?

Gourav Pani:

That’s exactly it, from concept to the hands of the customer through generative AI.

Greg Costantino:

Wow. Well, I guess we’re only limited by our own creativity.

Gourav Pani:

That’s truly it.

Greg Costantino:

Well, I’ve got to get back to Pittsburgh. This has been amazing. You mind showing me out?

Gourav Pani:

I sure can. Thank you.

Greg Costantino:

So Gourav, this really has been fascinating and you have a great team here. But I do have one last question for you. Where do you see a small business in tomorrow’s world?

Gourav Pani:

Tomorrow’s world belongs to tomorrow’s generation. And what tomorrow’s generation wants is a high level of personalization and speed of service. Generative AI will unlock bespoke products and services to be delivered to customers with the ultimate level of delight.

Greg Costantino:

Excellent. Well, do you see any compromises involved, as more and more small businesses in incorporate AI?

Gourav Pani:

As more small businesses start to use generative AI, it’ll become the new normal and our world will change for the better forever.

Greg Costantino:

Excellent. Well, I’m looking forward to the future, but in the meantime, I’ve got to get home.

Gourav Pani:

Let me show you out.

George Davison:

Well, that’s another episode of Tomorrow’s World Today. See you next time.

And remember, tomorrow’s world is where inspiration and creation drive innovation in production.

Originally published on about.bnef.com

The US Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule on carbon pollution from power plants may not be the boon for carbon capture that it seems. While existing coal plants will have to install the technology in order to keep running, all gas peakers are exempt, and rules for existing gas plants are on hold. This should push the US power system towards cheap renewables and gas peakers, and force coal plants to retire.

With its final rules on carbon pollution standards for power plants, the EPA gave with one hand and took away with the other. To address the threat of litigation from gas power producers, the agency put its requirements for existing US gas plants to reduce their emissions on hold, for now. The organization plans to revisit the requirements, but for the moment they will only have to comply with best practice emissions limits based on efficiency. Gas peaker plants were also exempt, but new baseload plants will still have to install carbon capture systems by 2032. In a nod to environmental groups, the EPA also brought forward the required date of retirement for unabated coal plants by a year, to 2039.The rules stipulate that emissions must be abated by 90% for existing US coal and new baseload gas plants through carbon capture and storage (CCS). Hydrogen firing is no longer allowed as an emissions abatement pathway. This is a tall order for CCS, which has so far only been used to capture a small fraction of the emissions from power plants.BNEF estimates the levelized cost of electricity for new-build coal and gas coupled with CCS is $122-$288 per megawatt hour (MWh) for coal (including storage) and $61-$122 per MWh for combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT). Assuming mid-range values, CCS would increase power costs by about 56% for both forms of generation.While the exemptions may mean that less CCS than expected is actually built, there could still be important knock-on effects. Sequestering CO2 from even a fraction of power plants will require significant amounts of new transport pipelines and storage sites. These are large infrastructure projects that are typically built to serve multiple sites. Industrial emitters such as ethanol plants, integrated steel mills, cement plants and petrochemicals producers could all piggyback on infrastructure built to serve the power sector. This would remove a significant barrier to decarbonization for these sectors.Power plant operators plan to retire 44 gigawatts (GW), or 23%, of the 2023 operational coal fleet by December 2030, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). By 2032, when regulations on CCS come into force, only 143GW is expected to be operating in the US. The EPA estimates that an additional 30-40GW of coal power will likely be forced into early retirement due to this rule, unable to make a return on what would be an $800 million capital investment for the capture unit. This is equivalent to an annual emissions reduction of about 150 million metric tons of CO2 and would reduce the US coal fleet to around 100GW of capacity by 2035.Rapid load growth and calls for reliability could come to the rescue of the coal fleet. As concerns of rising data center power demand and industrial load growth sweep the country, an increasing number of system operators are raising concerns that dispatchable generation sources – coal and gas – are retiring faster than replacement capacity can come online. While gas plant economics are faring far better than coal, it does not offset reliability concerns. Large planned retirements in the gas fleet will offset announced gas capacity additions, resulting in a slight drop in operational capacity by 2030. The lack of final rules for existing gas plants and exemptions for gas peakers are likely to soothe some concerns over system reliability.Strong political opposition to federal environmental mandates (and perceived risks to fossil fuel plants) will rapidly attract lawsuits. Until the Supreme Court inevitably rules on the legality of the power plant regulations – and the November presidential election is decided – their durability will remain in question.Of more concern is the ticking clock on issuing regulations for existing gas plants. If the EPA does not issue a final rule for existing gas plants before the inauguration (January 20, 2025), then a new president can more easily and quickly revise it, and a Republican-majority Congress could repeal it through the Congressional Review Act.

BNEF clients can access the full report here.

About BloombergNEF

BloombergNEF (BNEF) is a strategic research provider covering global commodity markets and the disruptive technologies driving the transition to a low-carbon economy. Our expert coverage assesses pathways for the power, transport, industry, buildings and agriculture sectors to adapt to the energy transition. We help commodity trading, corporate strategy, finance and policy professionals navigate change and generate opportunities.

LAS VEGAS, May 31, 2024 /3BL/ – Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) has contributed $225,000 through Sands Cares to the Asian Community Development Council (ACDC) for three key ACDC offerings including the Healthy Asian Pacific Islanders (HAPI) Medical Center, the API Language Link and developmental programs serving high school and college students.

Sands’ previous contributions helped ACDC open the HAPI Medical Center in 2022 to provide culturally sensitive primary health care spanning urgent care for chronic disease management, physical examination and preventative care. The clinic has a 100% bilingual staff to deliver high-quality, in-language care that removes barriers often faced in obtaining health care services by the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

In 2021, Sands Cares’ funding also enabled ACDC to establish the API Language Link, which provides the AAPI community with translation services in 10 languages at the HAPI Medical Center as well as through the organization’s direct service locations in Southern Nevada and Reno.

In addition to continuing support for these two programs that provide access to critical services, Sands is expanding its contribution in 2024 to provide resources for ACDC’s youth programs, such as the College Readiness Bootcamp, a series of workshops ACDC hosts at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Last year, the College Readiness Bootcamp educated more than 300 students and parents on the importance of higher education. Sands Cares funding also will help underwrite ACDC’s annual GraduAsian ceremony, which provides a platform for AAPI graduates from Nevada universities to celebrate their achievements.

“Our partnership with Sands has been a tremendous catalyst for helping us achieve some of our long-term goals to offer high-quality resources that will improve individual well-being and pathways to empowerment,” Vida Lin, founder and president of ACDC, said. “With its expansion to supporting our youth programs this year, Sands is investing in our vision for inspiring and developing the future leaders of our community. As we continue to work together, we are building on a shared strategy to remove barriers, and more importantly, to foster a thriving Southern Nevada AAPI community.”

Last year, Sands’ support helped ACDC serve more than 260 patients, many of whom are uninsured or underinsured, at the HAPI Medical Center, as well as host 40 vaccine clinics, delivering 750 vaccines. Through Sands Cares’ funding for the API Language Link, ACDC focused efforts on providing culturally sensitive food distribution to people in need, serving nearly 2,500 AAPI families and more than 5,000 individuals. Language specialists also helped enroll more than 1,000 people in qualified health plans and assisted with voter registration for 2,600 people in Clark County and 700 people in Washoe County.

“ACDC’s work is integral to providing the Southern Nevada AAPI community with critical access to medical care and food as well as improving lives over the long-term through citizenship assistance, voter registration and youth development,” said Ron Reese, senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs, who spearheads corporate responsibility initiatives for the company. “When we began working together, we were focused on helping ACDC reach its goals for in-language services and care. While continuing this support, we are expanding our funding to help advance opportunities for high school and college students, in line with our priority on youth mentorship in diverse communities as well as our overall workforce development commitment.”

Sands Cares’ support for ACDC is one of several engagements with diverse community organizations. Through these efforts, Sands aims to propel programs that remove systemic barriers and advance opportunities for underrepresented groups. To learn more about Sands’ corporate responsibility initiatives and other Sands Cares community engagement activities, visit https://www.sands.com/responsibility.

To learn more about the Asian Community Development Council, visit https://acdcnv.org/.

About Sands (NYSE: LVS)

Sands is the world’s preeminent developer and operator of world-class integrated resorts. The company’s iconic properties drive valuable leisure and business tourism and deliver significant economic benefits, sustained job creation, financial opportunities for local businesses and community investment to help make its host regions ideal places to live, work and visit.

Sands’ portfolio of properties includes Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and The Venetian Macao, The Plaza Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao and Sands Macao in Macao SAR, China, through majority ownership in Sands China Ltd.

Dedicated to being a leader in corporate responsibility, Sands is anchored by the core tenets of serving people, communities and the planet. The company’s ESG leadership has led to inclusion on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for World and North America, as well as Fortune’s list of the Word’s Most Admired Companies. To learn more, visit www.sands.com.

About Asian Community Development Council

The Asian Community Development Council (ACDC) is a nonprofit and non-partisan organization of volunteers dedicated to building, connecting, and educating the Asian American Pacific Islander community in Nevada. ACDC was officially chartered in 2015. The mission of ACDC is to improve the general well-being and education of the Asian American Pacific Islander and other ethnic communities in Nevada. Services that ACDC offers include voter education, health insurance enrollment assistance, citizenship application assistance, vaccination clinics (Influenza and COVID-19), food distribution, College Readiness Bootcamp and GraduAsian.

Contacts:

Kristin Koca
Sands
702.923.9142
Kristin.Koca@sands.com

Chloe Kwan
Asian Community Development Council
702-489-8866
chloe@acdcnv.org

New Holland, a brand of CNH, is celebrating 60 years since the opening of its tractor factory in Basildon, England, with the unveiling of a celebration edition tractor.

The milestone also sees the strengthening of the plant’s role as the brand’s Alternative Fuels Centre of Excellence, alongside its position as its global tractor production facility.

The Basildon plant was developed on a greenfield site in the early 1960s by Ford and later purchased by Fiat. Seeking to modernise the production processes possible at its existing car and tractor plant at nearby Dagenham, the company was encouraged to develop a dedicated tractor facility in the new town of Basildon. Work began on April 2, 1960, and was completed on February 29, 1964.

Today, a complete tractor rolls off the Basildon assembly line every five minutes, with over 10,000 different product specifications, ensuring buyers across the world – 85% of production is exported – get exactly the tractor they need.

To mark the Basildon plant’s 60th birthday, New Holland has unveiled a celebration edition T7.300 tractor. The graphics that adorn it celebrate the era in which the Basildon factory was founded, taking inspiration from the 1960s decade which saw so many leaps forward in technological advancement. Created by CNH Centro Stile, the anniversary edition’s livery is inspired by the colours and patterns of ‘Swinging ‘60s’ London, with psychedelic shapes characterized by vivid and fluid colours of blue, yellow, maroon and pink around New Holland’s distinctive leaf logo in bright yellow on the hood. The tractor, of which only one unit will be produced, was unveiled at the Basildon 60th anniversary celebratory event in April and will be showcased at exhibitions throughout 2024.

The latest developments at Basildon include significant investment in its role as the New Holland Alternative Fuels Centre of Excellence. In 2006, the firm declared its ambition to be the ‘Clean Energy Leader’ in the tractor sector, and in 2021 put into production at Basildon the industry’s first tractor of its type, the T6.180 Methane Power, to be joined later this year by the T7.270 Methane Power CNG. These developments make possible the Energy Independent Farm, allowing biomethane captured from waste farming products such as livestock manures to be used as fuel.

“We are proud to celebrate 60 years of our plant in Basildon, that well represents the evolution of the New Holland brand, from a manufacturer of agricultural machinery to a company that advances sophisticated software technology for agriculture, fostering the brand leadership on a global level. Today Basildon is a hub for innovation, where we produce tractors that are exported worldwide, and a Centre of Excellence for Alternative Fuels, where our T6.180 Methane Power tractor is produced,” says Carlo Lambro, New Holland Brand President. “As the only volume tractor producer in the UK, we are also very proud of our workforce here, with their skills, dedication and commitment. It’s a milestone for the whole company and for everyone who works or has worked in the plant.”

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is escalating at a rapid rate. Constant bombardment from air, land, and sea threatening lives and destroying what little remains in Gaza. Those who have survived are facing deadly hunger.

To learn more, we sat down with one of our experts on the humanitarian crisis. For security reasons, they remain anonymous.

Can you start by providing some background on the situation in Gaza? 

After the conflict began in early October, over 21,000 Palestinians were killed in a span of three months. Over 36,000 men, women, and children in Gaza have been killed, which amounts to about 154 per day since the conflict began. Another 81,000 people have been injured, including women, children, medical staff, and humanitarian aid workers.

We also are dealing with massive displacement. What is happening? 

At least 85% of the population has forced to move. Some of our staff have been displaced close to a dozen times.

Since October, more than 70,000 homes have been destroyed, leaving 1.7 million people crowded into densely populated, unsanitary areas.

Many families have been forcibly displaced several times, moving from one makeshift camp to the next. In May alone, approximately 800,000 people have been forced out of Rafah. Many people are seeking refuge in displacement camps, where they face rising levels of illness, from diarrhea to respiratory infections to jaundice.

Due to the military invasion of Rafah, patients can no longer use the An Najjar Hospital, which had a 220-bed capacity. Today, the Kuwaiti Hospital, with 36 beds, remains the main trauma care provider. With military operations intensifying over the past two weeks, daily medical consultations have dropped 40%.

How are our staff responding to the crisis? 

Action Against Hunger has been in the area since 2005, and we were able to begin our response in early October. Teams have brought in water trucks with local suppliers, and sometimes distributed water bottles. We also distributed hot food in hospitals, especially for breastfeeding or pregnant women and their children. Our staff have faced countless challenges and witnessed some incredible suffering. They are nothing short of heroes.

Hunger rates are rising in Gaza. How come? 

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has suspended food distributions in Rafah due to shortages. Only ten bakeries remain operational in Gaza but are imperiled and may soon run out of cooking fuel. The WHO Director General has called the situation “beyond catastrophic.”

With Gaza on the brink of famine, Action Against Hunger is one of the few humanitarian organizations working tirelessly to provide aid. Despite the United States’ construction of a new pier, entry of goods and humanitarian access remain limited. Between May 1 and 20, only 50% of aid missions in southern Gaza and 37% of missions to northern Gaza were facilitated by Israeli authorities. Oftentimes, these projects are impeded or denied altogether.

How is our staff distributing supplies to meet basic needs? 

Most of our distributions are based on aid already within Gaza. This is because of the number of humanitarian impediments. It can be extremely difficult and risky to get in and out of Gaza, and many border crossings have been shut down.

We coordinate with humanitarian partners to distribute necessities. This can often take longer than anticipated. We were recently able to distribute shelter protection kits, which included mattresses, pillows, and sheets. But this took months from the start of the procurement process in Jordan to the actual delivery into Gaza. There are many restrictions on what is able to enter and when we can provide aid.

Doesn’t that mean that food within Gaza could run out? 

Distributions have become less diverse and less nutritious. That’s what happened to our programs in the North. We were no longer able to distribute meat. We were no longer able to distribute eggs. We were no longer able to distribute bread for a few weeks. Therefore, distribution consisted of things like olives, canned tomatoes, thyme, or dukkah, which is a condiment made of herbs, nuts, and spices. These are not sufficient to stave off malnutrition.

We’ve been trying to restart local agricultural communities, but most of the land is degraded or destroyed. Farmers are unable to grow fresh fruits and vegetables in plots that are riddled with unexploded bombs.

How quickly are things getting worse? 

There was next to no malnutrition in Gaza prior to Oct. 7. For it to deteriorate to the situation it is today in the span of seven months, with the risk of famine and deaths due to starvation, is close to unheard of.

In Gaza, the war is hunger. Hunger is war. It’s a direct link. The destruction of civilian infrastructure, the agricultural system falling on its knees, and the complete reliance of humanitarian aid was not the case prior to Oct. 7. This alone reveals how dire the situation really is.

By the time famine is declared, it’s too late. Waiting for that declaration means that people have already died and people will continue dying — and there’s little people can do at that point. That’s why prevention is critical.

Are we responding to mental health needs in Gaza? 

Right now, people in Gaza can hardly process the mental trauma they’re enduring when they’re facing it day after day.

Our psychological support staff remind us that it’s extremely difficult to address mental health until people have basic necessities like food and water and a safe place. This is not the reality in Gaza.

The mental trauma from this conflict will have ripple effects for a decade, 20 years, 30 years after. These are things that can stick around through generations. Action Against Hunger aims to respond to this mental distress as soon as possible, but the first step is permanent ceasefire.

How do we protect our staff? 

Over 200 humanitarian aid workers have been killed during this conflict. A high majority of these are Palestinian workers that have gone unrecognized.

At Action Against Hunger, we are constantly advocating for the safety and protection of aid workers. We also invest in tools and training that can help promote security, and we need donors to understand the need to prioritize funding for these critical and potentially life-saving efforts.

We work hard to keep our staff safe. The civilians we support deserve to be safe, too. With people dying every day, we need every single worker on the ground doing as much as they can. There’s no such thing as duplication of efforts right now.

How can we stop this crisis? 

For one, it’s essential to uphold international humanitarian law.

We also need effective humanitarian access so that our teams can continue to do their jobs and help people in need. Before Oct. 7, it took one hour to get from Rafah to Gaza City. Today, it takes six hours, and that doesn’t include the two to three hours that aid workers sometimes spend at checkpoints.

A permanent and immediate ceasefire is not just the end goal. It’s the first step. It’s the only thing that makes it possible for the protection of civilians and protection of aid workers.

About Action Against Hunger in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Action Against Hunger has been working in Gaza since 2005 and the West Bank since 2002. Since Oct. 7, we’ve reached over 837,000 people in Gaza, including over 709,000 through water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs. Our assistance includes distributing hot meals and hygiene kits; trucking clean water to communities; connecting people with shelters; and providing assistance with removal of solid waste management.

About Action Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 28 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across 55 countries, our 8,900 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.

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Written with support from Kenneal Patterson.

Originally published in Forbes.

From Simon Sinek to Robyn Davidson to Guy Kawasaki, countless leaders, explorers and thinkers have said that starting is the hardest part.

Nike’s suggestion to “just do it” may work when you’re strapping on sneakers, but it’s harder to change your organization or the world. Where do you begin, and how? Here are six things I’ve learned about starting a new project or initiative or changing how things are done.

Read more in Forbes.

Dr. Charles Owubah leads Action Against Hunger USA’s executive team in providing leadership and strategic direction.

About Action Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger is a nonprofit leader in the global movement to end hunger, innovating solutions, advocating for change, and reaching 28 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs spanning 55 countries. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.

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Photo by Abel Gichuru

As National Military Appreciation Month comes to a close, so does PepsiCo’s ninth “Rolling Remembrance” event, a 14,000-mile-long American flag relay in support of Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation.

The flag, once previously flown in combat, traveled for more than two months under the watchful eye of 55 Frito-Lay and Pepsi semi-truck drivers – all military veterans themselves – as they crisscrossed the U.S. along their typical delivery routes.

This year, the flag made more than 60 stops at PepsiCo facilities and customer sites, alongside both Frito-Lay and The Quaker Oats Company’s headquarters. Each stop allowed PepsiCo employees and community members to pay tribute to heroes who lost their lives, support the families left behind, and recognize the veterans who work at PepsiCo.

In advance of Memorial Day, the relay concluded at PepsiCo’s New York headquarters.

Since the inception of Rolling Remembrance in 2015, PepsiCo has awarded over $2 million to Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation – providing 320 years’ worth of college education to students who have lost a parent in the line of duty.

Rolling Remembrance is spearheaded by VALOR, one of PepsiCo’s ten employee resource groups. VALOR and its three pillars to serve, connect, and advance are at the heart of how the organization supports veterans, reservists and military spouse employees, providing an important community to come together in shared experiences.