Latest news with #communities
BBC News
3 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Council looks to extend dog fouling order
A council is looking for people to share their views on a proposed renewal of a legal order to clamp down on dog Borough Council's Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) is expiring, and the authority wants to continue to use the powers.A separate order covering Lydiard Park is also due for renewal. It has been in place since 2016, and the council said it has reduced the number of complaints about fouling, nuisance dogs and their Jim Grant, cabinet member for communities and partnerships, said dog fouling was regularly raised by residents who use local parks and open spaces. The PSPO allows anti-social behaviour wardens to issue fixed penalty notices to anyone caught failing to pick up after their Grant urged people to complete an online survey about the order."We think it is working," he said. "But by law, after every three years, we have to renew it, and we have to consult with the public to determine whether they want it renewed."It's pretty obvious that people do want it renewed, and I'm hoping that people that do respond to the consultation will not just say yes, but give further views on the subject." Councillor Grant added that even people who fail to respond to a warden can still be fined."Almost nobody goes to Lydiard Park without a car. If they ignore the officer, that officer can then note down the number plate, and we will be able to get these people," he said."The more fines we're able to issue, the more of a deterrent it is going to be."He said the council is also looking to employ more wardens to address the survey can be completed on the council's website until 20 July.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Science
- Washington Post
Plastic bag fees and bans help limit coastal litter, study finds
Plastic bag fees and bans are effective in limiting debris on U.S. shorelines, a new study reports, but even places with bag policies are seeing a greater prevalence of plastic bags on beaches and riverbanks. The study, published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal Science, analyzed the relationship between policies on plastic bags and the litter collected in more than 45,000 shoreline cleanups. In communities with policies in place, the prevalence of plastic bags in the trash was 25 percent to 47 percent lower than in places without regulations. But plastic bags increased as a share of litter both in communities with policies and those without, the researchers noted. The policies appeared to contain that growth but not stop or reverse it. Measures targeting plastic bags aren't eliminating the problem, just slowing its growth, said Kimberly Oremus, one of the study's authors and an associate professor at the University of Delaware's School of Marine Science and Policy. The impact of the policies has been somewhat limited, Oremus said, because they can be patchy in what they regulate and are themselves a patchwork, with rules and enforcement varying from place to place. 'Most of these bans and fees don't cover every type of plastic bag,' she said. 'There's a lot of exceptions to them. It really depends on the state.' The goal of all these policies is the same: to limit the use of plastic bags, which can take centuries to decompose and, in the interim, can entangle wildlife and release microplastics and toxic chemicals into waterways. Some places have imposed 'bag taxes' or fees on customers using plastic bags. Other places have experimented with bans — though they might prohibit thin plastic bags (which are most likely to blow away and become trash) while allowing thicker ones, or they might leave restaurant takeout bags unregulated. Erin Murphy, manager of ocean plastics research at Ocean Conservancy, said the new report was 'the first large-scale study to systematically assess how plastic bag policies reduce the amount of plastic bag pollution in our environment.' Murphy was not involved in the analysis, but the researchers used her nonprofit group's data from shoreline cleanups between 2016 and 2023. That data provided a way to measure litter before and after policies were enacted and do comparisons with measurements in places without any regulations. Lead author and environmental economist Anna Papp said one of the key findings was the difference between broad policies, which appeared to limit plastic litter, versus partial bans, which resulted in the smallest and least precise effects. There was also some evidence that bag fees could have a greater effect than bans. But the researchers said that fees are also much less common than bans and that more research is needed to assess their relative effectiveness. The study also found that state-level policies had a greater impact than town-level measures, Oremus said. Larger-scale policies tend to be more robust, she said, because 'litter can travel between borders.' The analysis also showed that the largest reductions in trash occurred in places with high amounts of plastic bag pollution. 'Are you a place that struggles with litter?' Oremus said. 'Then, this might be a policy to consider.' Erin Hass, senior director of strategic alliances with the Plastics Industry Association, noted that plastic bags represent a fairly small portion of litter that winds up along U.S. shorelines. 'Even the study itself acknowledges that the top sources of beach litter are cigarette butts, food wrappers, bottle caps and beverage bottles — not plastic bags,' Hass said. 'Why are regulators isolating a single product while overlooking far more prominent contributors?' Bans could 'create unintended consequences,' Hass said. She noted that after the implementation of a bag ban in New Jersey, for example, thin plastic bags disappeared, but overall plastic consumption appeared to increase because of a switch to heavier reusable bags, which tended to be tossed after minimal use. 'If the goal is reducing marine debris and advancing sustainability, the smarter approach is to invest in scalable recycling systems, not sweeping bans that shift the problem rather than solve it,' she said.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Family and friends shoulder the real cost of dementia − $224B in unpaid care
About 5.5 million Americans live with dementia, requiring US$53 billion in annual medical spending on doctor visits, hospitalizations, medications, home health aides and nursing homes. But the true cost of dementia care in the U.S. is far higher because it relies heavily on unpaid care from family and friends. I am a researcher who studies health spending, and my colleagues and I set out to quantify the true costs of dementia care – not just to the health system, but to families and communities. After factoring in the value of unpaid care, we found that the total cost of dementia care increases fivefold to $277 billion per year. Our first-of-its-kind estimate of dementia care costs by state also revealed dramatic cost disparities by geography. In the District of Columbia, the average annual cost for a person living with dementia – including both medical spending and the cost of unpaid care – is $37,000, while in West Virginia it is $61,000. Moreover, we found that the total cost was highest in some of the poorest states, with West Virginia and Kentucky in the top three most expensive states despite a low cost of living. The biggest contributing factor to costs was the hours of unpaid care provided. Cost-of-illness studies often include a monetary value of unpaid care, which is referred to by economists as an indirect cost. While no money is changing hands, unpaid care represents the use of a resource – caregivers' time. Caregiving is often rewarding, but it also has tangible impacts on caregivers' well-being. Recent work by our team found that 12% of all caregivers have had to reduce their work hours or quit their jobs altogether. Caregivers who remain in the workforce often miss days of work due to caregiving responsibilities, or they experience reduced productivity while they are at work. Caregivers who aren't working for pay often have to give up other activities, such as volunteer work or leisure time. The indirect cost of care is particularly important in the context of dementia care. Direct medical spending for dementia is relatively small because there aren't many treatments available. While a new Alzheimer's drug, Leqembi, has recently been approved by the FDA, it is available only for a small portion of people living with dementia. People living with dementia also require significantly more hours of care than older adults without dementia. While many elderly adults eventually need help with activities of daily living, such as eating and bathing, people living with dementia often need constant or near-constant supervision. The fact that our study also found indirect costs varying widely by state raises important questions about why hours of unpaid care varies so much geographically. Here, several contributing factors are worth considering. First, many of the states above average in unpaid-care hours also have high rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes. People living with dementia coupled with other illnesses will require more care. Similarly, the severity of dementia affects the amount of care needed. Dementia progresses from mild to moderate to severe, with each stage needing progressively more care. The severity of dementia cases likely varies by state due to different rates of smoking, obesity and other dementia risk factors. And finally, available support from government and community − including the extent of programs such as Meals on Wheels − varies widely in each state. Researchers should continue to look at dementia care costs in the post-COVID-19 era. The stressors on caregivers have likely increased. Almost all states have a shortage of home health workers, and many states have experienced closures of adult day centers, assisted-living facilities and home health agencies over the past year. One-third of Meals on Wheels programs had a waitlist as of 2024. These shortfalls may worsen amid large-scale cuts to federal programs by the Trump administration. The Department of Health and Human Services recently announced plans to dissolve the Administration for Community Living, which oversees the Area Agencies on Aging, a network of nonprofit agencies that administer Meals on Wheels as well as other services aimed to maximize the independence of older adults. Our study highlights the massive contribution of family caregivers and the disproportionate reliance on unpaid care in states with some of the highest poverty rates in the U.S. More work is needed to pinpoint the factors driving these differences and to improve the well-being of caregivers. The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Amy Lastuka, University of Washington Read more: Older adults with dementia misjudge their financial skills – which may make them more vulnerable to fraud, new research finds How being friends with someone who has dementia can be good for you both Does forgetting a name or word mean that I have dementia? Amy Lastuka does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Mail & Guardian
a day ago
- Health
- Mail & Guardian
A grandmother is a library: Support for their caregiving role is vital
About one in three children in South Africa is brought up by a grandparent.. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy/M&G) In the heart of communities across South Africa, there exists a quiet, unrecognised force holding families together: Gogo. Grandmothers are the true heroes of our nation, bringing up millions of children in the face of hardship, loss and poverty, often without support and recognition. With HIV, unemployment and other socio-economic issues having torn through the fabric of many South African households, it is frequently Gogo who steps in to care for the youngest members of the family. In fact, an estimated one in three children in South Africa is brought up by a grandparent. These women are pillars of strength, love and resilience. They nurture children with wisdom passed down through generations, instilling values, providing meals with their limited resources and ensuring their grandchildren are safe and cared for. In many cases, they are doing this while grappling with their own health problems, financial strain and the trauma of having lost their own children. Nowhere is their influence more evident than in the critical early years of a child's life. In early childhood development (ECD), the role of a caregiver is central. Studies show that the quality of interaction and stimulation a child receives in their first five years directly affects their cognitive, emotional and physical development. Gogos, though often lacking formal training, naturally embody the foundational principles of ECD through storytelling, song, structured routines and consistent emotional support. There is an African proverb that honours grandmothers: 'A grandmother is a library.' This proverb speaks to the wisdom, stories, traditions and life lessons that grandmothers carry and pass down through generations. They are living repositories of knowledge and culture. But many of these grandmothers face immense difficulties in getting formal support systems or ECD resources. Too often, they are excluded from training opportunities and community programmes because they do not fit the typical profile of an ECD practitioner. Recognising and empowering gogos is vital to the success of any community-based ECD strategy. Programmes that include grandmothers in training, provide access to parenting resources and connect them to early-learning centres can significantly boost early-learning outcomes for vulnerable children. As a nation, it is time we celebrated gogos not just as caregivers, but as educators, nurturers and community builders. They should be empowered as key partners in bringing up the next generation. Theresa Michael is the chief executive of Afrika Tikkun Bambanani, which recognises grandmothers as primary caregivers, offering them parenting resources, training and access to early learning tools.
CBS News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
See photos of Juneteenth celebrations across the U.S.
People across the country will come together today in honor of Juneteenth, a federal holiday that marks the end of slavery in the United States after the Civil War. Also called Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth falls annually on June 19, the date in 1865 when the last enslaved groups in Texas were officially freed. Communities have paid homage to that date for well over a century, with the earliest documented Juneteenth celebrations dating back to the first anniversary of emancipation in Galveston, Texas, where the news of independence first reached the state a year prior. Juneteenth became a U.S. holiday under the Biden administration in 2021. Advocates note that for some, learning about the origins, evolution and significance of the holiday can be an important form of observance on its own, but public festivities have also grown tremendously since Juneteenth gained national recognition. From small gatherings to enormous parades, art shows, educational workshops and more, here's how towns and cities across the U.S. celebrate Juneteenth. Spectators watch a Juneteenth parade in Galveston, Texas, in 2021. Go Nakamura / Getty Images The Juneteenth flag flies over the California state Capitol building in Sacramento on June 19, 2022. Rich Pedroncelli / AP Julien James carries his son, Maison, 4, holding a Pan-African flag to celebrate Juneteenth in Los Angeles, California, in 2022. Damian Dovarganes / AP Mekhi Thomas, right, and others participate in freestyle dancing during a Juneteenth health and wellness fair at Franklin Park in Washington, D.C., in 2023. Andrew Harnik / AP People carry posters of civil rights activist Rosa Parks, top, and scholar Omar Ibn Said, right, while marching in a 2023 Juneteenth parade in Boston, Massachusetts. Steven Senne / AP Christine Willis-Bennett, right, dressed to portray Harriet Jacobs, the author of "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl," and others read the names of Black veterans at the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C., during a 2024 Juneteenth celebration. Mark Schiefelbein / AP A crowd watches the rapper Doug E. Fresh perform at a 2024 Juneteenth concert on the South Lawn of the White House. Susan Walsh / AP People participate in the 31st annual Juneteenth celebration in Harlem, New York, to mark the holiday in 2024. Yuki Iwamura / AP Bryan Stevenson, the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, speaks with civil rights activist JoAnne Bland after the dedication of the National Monument to Freedom in Montgomery, Alabama, on Juneteenth in 2024. Kim Chandler / AP Pictured on Juneteenth in 2024, the National Monument to Freedom is inscribed with 122,000 surnames that formerly enslaved people chose for themselves after being emancipated. Kim Chandler / AP Kansas City Royals players stand during a performance of Lift Every Voice, the Black national anthem, on at the Oakland Athletics' stadium in Oakland, California, on Juneteenth in 2024. Jeff Chiu / AP Musician Georgia Muldrow, left, and Bobby Jesus perform at a Juneteenth event in Los Angeles, California, in 2024. Damian Dovarganes / AP Nicknamed the "Grandmother of Juneteenth" because of her activism, Opal Lee and hundreds of supporters participate in the annual Walk for Freedom in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2021, to celebrate Juneteenth becoming a national holiday. Amanda McCoy/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
