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Under President Donald Trump‘s leadership, the United States has withdrawn from international negotiations and commitments, particularly around climate. But the U.S. is very much involved in treaty talks for a global accord to end plastic pollution. Nations kicked off a meeting Tuesday in Geneva to try to complete a landmark treaty over 10 days to end the spiraling plastic pollution crisis. The biggest issue is whether the treaty should impose caps on producing new plastic, or focus instead on things like better design, recycling and reuse. About 3,700 people are taking part in the talks, representing 184 countries and more than 600 organizations. Here is a look the U.S. position: Why is the US participating in the negotiations? Hours after he was sworn in to a second term, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the landmark Paris agreement to combat global warming. The United States didn’t participate in a vote in April at the International Maritime Organization that created a fee for greenhouse gases emitted by ships, or send anyone to the U.N. Ocean Conference in June. Some wondered whether the United States would even go to Geneva. The State Department told The Associated Press that engaging in the negotiations is critical to protect U.S. interests and businesses, and an agreement could advance U.S. security by protecting natural resources from plastic pollution, promote prosperity and enhance safety. The industry contributes more than $500 billion to the economy annually and employs about 1 million people in the U.S., according to the Plastics Industry Association. This is a historic opportunity to set a global approach for reducing plastic pollution through cost-effective and common-sense solutions and fostering innovation from the private sector, not unilaterally stopping the use of plastic, the department said in an email. What does the US want in the treaty? The State Department supports provisions to improve waste collection and management, improve product design and drive recycling, reuse and other efforts to cut the plastic dumped into the environment. The International Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that 22 million tons of plastic waste will leak into the environment this year. That could increase to 30 million tons annually by 2040 if nothing changes. The OECD said if the treaty focuses only on improving waste management and does nothing on production and demand, an estimated 13.5 million tons of plastic waste would still leak into the environment each year. What does the US not want in the treaty? The United States and other powerful oil and gas nations oppose cutting plastic production. Most plastic is made from fossil fuels. Even if production grows only slightly, greenhouse gas emissions emitted from the process would more than double by 2050, according to research from the federal Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The U.S. does not support global production caps since plastics play a critical role throughout every sector of every economy, nor does it support bans on certain plastic products or chemical additives to them because there is not a universal approach to reducing plastic pollution, the State Department said. Thats similar to the views of the plastics industry, which says that a production cap could have unintended consequences, such as raising the cost of plastics, and that chemicals are best regulated elsewhere. What has the US done in Geneva so far? On the first day of the negotiations, the United States proposed striking language in the objective of the agreement about addressing the full life cycle of plastics. That idea was part of the original mandate for a treaty. Getting rid of it could effectively end any effort to control plastic supply or production. Under former President Joe Biden’s administration, the U.S. supported the treaty addressing supply and production. What are people saying about the US position? Industry leaders praised it and environmentalists panned it. Chris Jahn, president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council, said the Trump administration is trying to get an agreement that protects each nation’s rights while advancing effective and practical solutions to end plastic waste in the environment. He said his group supports that approach. Graham Forbes, head of the Greenpeace delegation in Geneva, said the United States wants a weak agreement and is undermining the idea that the world needs strong international regulations to address a global problem. Does the US think the world can agree on a treaty that will end plastic pollution? The United States aims to finalize text for a global agreement on plastic pollution that all countries, including major producers of plastics and plastic products, and consumers, will support, the State Department said in its statement. ___ The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Jennifer McDermott, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Ever since Shane Devon Tamura entered the Midtown Manhattan office building housing the NFLs headquarters with a high-powered rifle, killing four people on July 28, John Orloffs phone has been ringing more than usual. I hate the fact that my phone . . . rings after a tragic event, Orloff says. Its not the first time its happened. An operations leader at security risk consulting group Jensen Hughes, Orloff heard the same ringing after Luigi Mangione allegedly shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December. In December, [companies] were saying, How do we protect our executives? Orloff says. Today, it’s, How do we protect our most important resource . . . our people? Fast Company spoke to Orloff and other experts to understand how office building safety works. Safety begins with design The office security landscape constantly evolves based on the latest attack. Over the last decade corporate clients concerns have shifted from terrorist and bomb threats in the mid-1990s and 2000s (fueled by attacks like the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and September 11), to events like mass shootings. Safety design experts say that preventative techniques work best. Threat mitigation should begin with the building design process, says Peggy Phillips, who leads engineering consulting firm Thornton Tomasettis Protective Design and Security practice. Thats when you can control key aspects like entry points. Architects can balance the number of entrances with [convenience], Phillips says. Too many entrances require numerous guards to secure thema significant business expensewhile too few can create bottlenecks during both regular workdays and emergencies. One approach for avoiding prison-like safety features, like fences and bars, is known as Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, when designers use the natural environment to promote safety . . . through creating spaces where crimes dont happen, Phillips says. Abundant perimeter windows facilitate what she calls natural surveillance, while landscaping around a building can avoid offering hiding places to bad actors by not including, say, high hedges spaced about a persons length away from a building wall. Its like the difference between walking through a park [thats] well-lit [without] a lot of brush, Phillips says, and one thats overgrown, not well-maintained. Strategic Access Then theres prevention at the lobby level, which looks different depending on whether an office building houses one tenant, multiple enterprises, or publicly accessible retail clients on its ground floor. It’s all about, how do we make sure that the people who are intended to access the building can [do so, and] have their identity verified, says Phillips. Dedicated elevator banks with access to different floors can limit workers and visitors movements. Badge readers can allow a tenant on the third floor, for instance, to swipe at a certain turnstile and reach an elevator that only leads to that floor. Dual authentication can further shore up these systems by having employees, after they swipe in, enter a specific pin number, or use biometrics to get through an entryway. A man trap, Orloff adds (when one perimeter door leads to an open space followed by a second, interior door opened only through specific credentials), lets security monitor visitors between the two doors before authorizing their entranceand trap them somewhere secure if they lack the necessary qualifications. Essentially invisible to someone untrained in building security, this measure also makes an office building more comfortable for the people who work there. Companies don’t want their workspace to look like Fort Knox, Orloff says. Layers of Security Our clients talk about mitigation of hazards and threats, says Phillips. You’re not making [office buildings] criminal proof, because there’s such variability in these events. Instead, her firm focuses on layers of security, so if a threat bypasses one, they have another waiting to stop them. For example, beyond considering access points, technology, like security cameras, should also factor into an office layouts initial planning. But in addition to putting cameras in enough places to avoid blind spots, companies must incorporate them effectively into processes involving the people who monitor their feeds. Security cameras are a great thing to have, but they’re typically evidentiary in nature, meaning they’re post-event, says Orloff, who points out the widely viewed image of Tamura approaching the Manhattan office building where he let fire with rifle in hand. However, if they’re watched by someone in real time, they can be much more preventative. For example, if someone monitoring an office buildings camera feeds sees a threat, they can recall the buildings elevators to a mid-floor location, Orloff says, where nobody can get up or down. His company advises corporations to train their employees on security awareness, so they know what to do in an emergency. Orloff also suggests companies partner with local law enforcement, who can then learn about their office buildings layouts. Continuous monitoring No matter how much work architects and security designers put into an office buildings safety, every layered system has vulnerabilities that a determined attacker can overcome, says Orloff. The Manhattan office where Tamura killed four people had state-of-the-art security: an off-duty police officer accompanied security guards presiding over long check-in processes, locked turnstiles, alarms, elevators with access to limited floors, and even safe rooms, reported CNN. Orloff noted he couldnt comment specifically on what happened in the Midtown Manhattan building where the shooting occurred. However, he pointed out as a general best practice in the event of an incident the first thing that a building should look to do is lock down the perimeter . . . making it so that only authorized employees, guests, visitors and vendors can get in that front door. Companies should also stay abreast of what their own activities might mean for their employees and executives security. Everything a company does impacts its risk level, Orloff says, including a negative news article, a financial report, or the latest buzz about the CEO. That also applies to updates from other companies sharing your office buildingsecurity working at a low-profile company sharing a complex with a high-profile enterprise could benefit from staying on top of the latters news. That may sound like a lot of work, but Orloff warns corporations not to under-value investing in solid building security. I prefer my phone stop ringing, he says, in the aftermath of tragic events. I’d much prefer to have my clients adopting [a] preventative approach. Beyond that, the problem may just come down to whos allowed to possess firearms and where theyre able to bring them.
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E-Commerce
Boundaries arent about shutting others out but about showing up with intentionhere are some helpful tips
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E-Commerce
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