Protecting homes from hurricanes, rice crops from heat, and seas from trawling
Hurricane-resilient construction protects buildings and saves money
After Hurricane Ivan in 2004 caused extensive damage and a loss of insurers, Alabama implemented mandatory minimum insurance discounts for homes built or retrofitted to a voluntary code, created by the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.听
Compared with conventional construction, the standards of the IBHS Fortified Home program reduced loss frequency by 55% to 74%, in an analysis of 2020 Hurricane Sally data. The Fortified system requires third-party verification and ranges from better roof fasteners to stronger connections between a roof, walls, and the foundation. Costs range from 0.5% to 3% more for new construction, and 6% to 16% for retrofits, for which Alabama offers grants of up to $10,000.
Why We Wrote This
In our progress roundup, researchers looking for climate solutions find that building codes can reduce loss from severe storms, and that specific rice strains have a 鈥渟witch鈥� that makes them more resilient to heat.
鈥淚t really does start to bring home that there is value for everybody involved,鈥� said Fred Malik, managing director of the Fortified program. 鈥淭here鈥檚 value for the insurers; there鈥檚 value for the homeowner.鈥�
About 80,000 homes in 32 states have Fortified designations, with over 53,000 in Alabama.
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A court sentenced three ex-paramilitaries to 40 years for crimes against humanity in Guatemala
Human rights advocates called the prison sentences a 鈥渉istoric鈥� step for Indigenous survivors seeking recompense for violence suffered during Guatemala鈥檚 civil war.
Between 1960 and 1996, conflict between the military and rebel groups left 200,000 dead and 45,000 people missing. About 83% of the victims were Maya Indigenous people, and 93% of the human rights violations are attributed to the government, according to a United Nations-supported truth commission.听听
A three-judge panel found the former members of the Civil Self-Defense Patrol, an armed group recruited by the government, guilty of raping six Maya Achi women between 1981 and 1983. In 2022, a court sentenced five paramilitaries to imprisonment for abusing Maya Achi women, and in 2016, a court sentenced two former military officers for enslaving 15 Q鈥檈qchi Maya women for sex.听
The judges praised the women鈥檚 bravery. 鈥淭hey are crimes of solitude that stigmatize the woman. It is not easy to speak of them,鈥� Judge Mar铆a Eugenia Castellanos said.
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The European General Court upheld a duty to protect vulnerable ocean ecosystems from destructive fishing practices
A German fishing association had challenged European Union limits on bottom trawling, which drags heavy nets across the seabed. Less than 8% of the world鈥檚 oceans are marine protected areas (MPAs), leaving most subject to bottom trawling. In the United Kingdom, the charity Oceana UK said that satellite data showed 20,600 hours of suspected bottom trawling in their MPAs.听
While industry groups say that the practice efficiently produces a quarter of the world鈥檚 wild-caught fish and can be done sustainably, conservationists say a ban could produce healthier seas and measurable economic value.听
鈥淭his judgment should ... spur increased compliance and implementation across the member states in relation to stopping destructive fishing practices in MPAs,鈥� said John Condon, a lawyer for ClientEarth.
Sources: , Food Ingredients First, 听
The mobile internet gender gap is narrowing in sub-Saharan Africa
According to telecom industry group GSMA, the gap between men and women dropped from 36% in 2022 to 29% in 2024.听
Mobile phone access has positive effects on sustainable development, especially in the least-developed countries. Researchers at the University of Oxford found that the expansion of mobile phones can lower gender inequalities, alleviate poverty, and boost women鈥檚 economic independence. Yet around 205 million women in the region are still unconnected to mobile internet services.听
Claire Sibthorpe, head of digital inclusion at GSMA, said these barriers 鈥渄isproportionately affect women because of structural inequalities around income and education.鈥� In the GSMA report, affordability was the top barrier for men and women in sub-Saharan Africa who are already aware of mobile internet. 鈥淲omen are half the population, so this is critical for not just economies and governments, but also for businesses, to reduce this inequality in their customer base,鈥� said Ms. Sibthorpe.听
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Scientists found a rice gene that makes a crop more heat-resistant while maintaining quality
More than half of the world鈥檚 population consumes rice as a primary staple food, but breeders have struggled to grow heat-tolerant varieties without compromising taste and texture.听
Researchers at Huazhong Agricultural University planted more than 530 varieties of rice in four locations with rising nighttime temperatures. From two types that grew well, they identified the gene controlling the plants鈥� heat response, which could be 鈥渢urned off鈥� so that yield and quality were maintained. They also discovered variations of a gene with its own on-off switch that could be used to breed more heat-tolerant rice strains.
Scientists not involved in the research have highlighted the discovery as promising. Jarrod Hardke of the University of Arkansas, one observer, said, 鈥淣o exchange of genetic material, it鈥檚 still the same plant. We just reached in and pushed a stop button on something.鈥澨�
Yibo Li, a study author, said researchers hope their findings could also be applied to staple crops such as wheat.
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