Five Ways To Take Your Manufacturing Business To The Next Level

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(January 16, 2020)–There comes a time where every manufacturing business will be ready to reach the next level. Once you have found some stability and initial success, it is important to keep this positive momentum going so that you can continue to grow, develop and evolve.

It is easy for the competition to catch up when you stand still for too long in the business world, so an intelligent owner will always be aware of a few growth strategies that can be used to take the manufacturing company forward.

Here are a few effective strategies to consider if you are looking to reach new heights with your business.

1. Embrace New Technology

Technology has developed at a rapid rate in the last decade, and the manufacturing industry is one which has benefited greatly from this. This includes automation which can speed up the process, reduce errors and costs, while AI is a technology that is now also

being used heavily in this industry

2. Upgrade Equipment

Similarly, you are likely to find that there is new and better manufacturing equipment which could streamline the entire manufacturing process and make work much easier for staff. This might include finding high-quality

conveyors for sale

which can speed up the process, reduce errors and allow for a more efficient daily operation.

3. Add To Your Product Range

One of the smartest ways to take your manufacturing business to the next level is to add to your product range. This will help you to retain your existing customers as well as attract new ones, plus, it is also helpful for developing brand reputation and awareness.

The products that you add should keep your target customer in mind, and be complementary to your current range.

4. Hire The Right People

When first starting out, the recruitment process can often be rushed, but it will be hard to succeed if you do not have the right people in place. This is why you need to be intelligent with recruitment and take the time to find people that are skilled, experienced, and passionate about their work.

You then need to create a

positive working environment

and support staff so that you can retain your top performers and encourage people to work to the best of their ability each day.

5. Research The Competition

A smart business owner will always

keep a close eye on the competition

, so that they can learn from them and make informed business decisions. You should consider what your competitors are doing well, what mistakes they have made, and if there are any gaps in the market that you could fill. You must be careful not to copy intellectual property when learning from your competitors, but you should find that there will be something to learn from them.

If you want to take your manufacturing business to the next level, then these are the best strategies to do so.

Combining a few of these could have a huge impact on your success and help you to achieve your goals.

NEW JERSEY SPORTSBOOKS’ HOT DECEMBER PUSHES 2019 HANDLE TO MORE THAN $4.5 BILLION

Sportsbooks, online casinos combine to generate nearly $800 million in revenue during booming 2019, according to

PlayNJ.com

(ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.) — New Jersey’s sportsbooks and online casinos performed in December in much the same way they spent the rest of 2019: With new records and more growth. With a strong closing month, which included a near-record monthly sports betting handle, retail and online sportsbooks combined with online casinos and poker to generate nearly $800 million in revenue in 2019, sending New Jersey into 2020 with plenty of momentum, according to PlayNJ analysts.

“Online sports betting and casino gambling should continue on or near its current growth trajectory in 2020,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for

PlayNJ.com

. “Online growth will continue to be a net win for New Jersey’s gaming industry.”

In December, New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks collected $557.8 million in bets, falling just short of the record $562.2 million handle set in November, according to official reporting released Tuesday. The December 2019 handle was up 74.7% from $319.2 million in December 2018.

Revenue from sportsbooks reached $29.4 million, down from $32.9 million in November and up 41.4% from $20.8 million won in December 2018. December’s revenue yielded $3.7 million in tax revenue for the state.

For 2019, New Jersey’s sportsbooks combined to generate:

$4.6 billion in bets. Of that $3.8 million, or 83.7%, was generated online.

Revenue of $299.4 million, including $244.5 million online.

State tax revenue of $36.5 million.

In a neck-and-neck race since summer 2019 to be the country’s largest legal sports betting jurisdiction, New Jersey will fall short of Nevada in annual handle. Nevada has generated $4.7 billion in bets through November.

“2019 could very well go down as the last year that New Jersey was eclipsed by Nevada,” said Eric Ramsey, analyst for

PlayNJ.com

said. “From its proximity to the New York market to its pioneering online sports betting infrastructure, New Jersey’s positives as a sports betting market will continue to fuel its growth.”

In December, online betting generated $488.9 million, or 87.6% of the state’s handle, up from 86.5% in November.

FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet continues to lead the market, tallying $12.1 million in gross revenue, down from $12.2 million in November. Anchored by DraftKings and Fox Bet, Resorts Digital generated $9.3 million, up from $9.1 million. The online market leaders were followed by:

Monmouth/William Hill/Sugarhouse/TheScore ($1.9 million, even with November)

Ocean Casino/William Hill ($1.2 million, down from $2.1 million in November)

BetMGM/Borgata ($995,096, down from $1.3 million)

Golden Nugget/BetAmerica ($102,524, down from $163,863)

Caesars Sportsbook/888sport ($64,759, down from $455,553)

Tropicana/William Hill ($32,958, down from $71,706)

Hard Rock/Bet365/Unibet (-$294,442, down from $517,252)

FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands posted $2.4 million in November gross revenue, down from $2.7 million in November, to retain the retail market lead. FanDuel was followed in gross revenue by:

Borgata ($1.3 million, up from $734,240 in November)

Monmouth Park ($617,410, down from $664,468)

Bally’s AC ($108,437, down from $252,778)

Tropicana Casino ($71,460, down from $108,392)

Golden Nugget ($66,306, down from $163,863)

Hard Rock AC (-$51,182, down from $19,837)

Ocean Casino (-$68,035, down from $492,357)

Harrah’s AC (-$107,646, down from $22,565)

Resorts AC (-$406,493, down from $51,278)

“In addition to constant growth, one of the constants in New Jersey’s sports betting market has been FanDuel’s dominance,” Gouker said. “The brands under Resorts Digital have made it a relatively close second in the online market, but it has proven difficult to overcome FanDuel’s advantages, despite the brand recognition that comes from DraftKings and Fox Bet.”

DECEMBER PUSHES ONLINECASINOS TO NEARLY $500 MILLION IN ANNUAL REVENUE

New Jersey’s online casino and poker industry nearly surpassed $50 million in monthly revenue for the first time in December, completing a year of incredible expansion. Online casino games and poker generated a record $49.3 million in December, up 70% from $29 million in December 2018.

Such growth is hardly an outlier. For the year, online casinos and poker generated a record $482.7 million, up 61.6% from $298.7 million in 2018. And online casinos set monthly revenue records eight times throughout the year.

“Online casino gambling has clearly become one of the biggest winners from online sports betting,” Ramsey said. “In a highly competitive market such as online casino gambling, the cross-selling of online gambling products has successfully kept customers playing.”

Some other important online casino and poker data from the December report:

Online casinos injected $7.4 million into state coffers in December and $72.5 million for the year.

The Golden Nugget, the unrivaled online market leader, took in $17.3 million, outpacing its land-based counterpart ($14.3 million) for the third consecutive month.

The industry generated a $1.6 million per day during the 31 days in December, up from $935,750 per day in December 2018.

Online casino games generated $47.6 million in December, even with November. Online poker posted $1.7 million, up from $1.5 million.

For more information and analysis on regulated sports betting and online gaming in New Jersey, visit

PlayNJ.com/news

About the

PlayUSA.com

Network:

The

PlayUSA.com

Network is a leading source for news, analysis, and research related to the market for regulated online gaming in the United States. With a presence in over a dozen states,

PlayUSA.com

and its state-focused branches (including

PlayNJ.com

and

PlayPennsylvania.com

) produce daily original reporting, publish in-depth research, and offer player advocacy tools related to the advancement of safe, licensed, and legal online gaming options for consumers. Based in Las Vegas, the PlayUSA Network is independently owned and operated, with no affiliations to any casino — commercial, tribal, online, or otherwise.

DEP MODIFIES HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM GRANT PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS,

EXTENDS DEADLINE TO PROVIDE MORE FLEXIBILITY TO APPLICANTS

TRENTON – The Department of Environmental Protection has extended by 15 days the deadline for submission of applications for a $2.5 million grant program to fund projects to help reduce the occurrence of harmful algal blooms in the state.

The decision to extend the deadline for the harmful algal bloom management grant program to Jan. 27 follows a meeting last month with potential applicants who were looking for more financial flexibility and improved guidance in order to quickly implement projects to mitigate and/or control harmful algal blooms, also known as HABs.

As a result of this meeting, the DEP has published an updated notice that now allows in-kind services provided by applicants to be credited toward the program\’s matching-fund grant eligibility requirement, thus helping local governments that are working on finalizing operating budgets for this year. The DEP has also provided examples for clarity on what constitutes an eligible match, including short-term operation and maintenance of the demonstration project.

\”Reducing the impacts these blooms have on public health, the environment and our economy is of utmost importance to the state,\” Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe said. \”We fully understand the current budget planning needs of municipalities and counties that are interested in applying for grants and are committed to working closely with them to get these projects launched as soon as possible.\”

In November, Governor Murphy announced a comprehensive harmful algal bloom strategy that includes $13.5 million in funding for local projects that will improve water quality and help prevent, mitigate and manage harmful algal blooms in lakes and ponds.

This effort earmarks $10 million in Clean Water State Revolving Fund money as principal-forgiveness (grant-like) funding for projects that address HABs by improving water quality. The administration is also providing $3.5 million from two grant programs for projects addressing harmful algal blooms.

Specifically, the modifications apply to the $2.5 million harmful algal bloom management grant program, in which the state provides $2 in funding for every $1 invested by the applicant.

In-kind services directly related to the proposed project may now be used to count toward the local match for these projects, but applicants are advised that this may change in possible future grant opportunities and that they should begin budgetary planning accordingly.

Harmful algal blooms, also known as HABs, are not true algal blooms. Rather, they are caused by naturally occurring cyanobacteria that can reproduce to unhealthful levels under certain conditions, including sunlight, nutrients from sources such as fertilizers and improperly operating septic systems, warm weather and stagnant water. They frequently form dense mats, resembling pea soup or spilled paint.

Exposure to blooms can result in a range of health effects, including rashes, allergy-like reactions, flu-like symptoms, gastroenteritis, respiratory irritation and eye irritation. Exposure to a bloom that is actively producing cyanotoxins may result in more serious health effects, including liver toxicity and neurological effects.

People, pets and wildlife are susceptible to adverse health effects if they come into contact with or ingest water that is experiencing a bloom. For more information on harmful algal blooms, visit

www.state.nj.us/dep/hab

In all, more than 70 suspected blooms were reported last year, with 39 confirmed. These blooms resulted in health and water-contact advisories, closures of bathing beaches and, in some cases, had direct impacts on tourism-related businesses.

The Nation’ Names Elie Mystal Justice Correspondent and Ken Klippenstein DC Correspondent

Mystal and Klippenstein join a world class line-up of political writers and thinkers poised to deliver landmark coverage of the 2020 election and the lasting impacts of the Trump administration’s policy-making.

This release was also just published

here

New York, NY—January 15, 2020—

The Nation

, America’s leading source of progressive politics and culture, marks the new year with the appointment of

Elie Mystal

(

@ElieNYC

/ New York, NY) as justice correspondent and

Ken Klippenstein

(

@kenklippenstein

/ Washington, DC) as DC correspondent.

“Elie’s talent for making legal and political issues accessible to non-lawyers, without losing the nuance of core legal concepts, has made him an indispensable resource to

Nation

readers and the larger public,” says

Nation

editor D.D. Guttenplan. “He navigates political waters with an eloquence and ferocity unique in this moment, and I\’m delighted he\’s signed on to our masthead. I’m also particularly pleased to welcome Ken, who on his resume describes himself as ‘a bloodhound who enjoys sniffing out scoops’—a fitting successor to a job once held by I.F. Stone.”

“

The Nation

has always been at the heart of the debate on the left about how to best advance the cause of social progress and justice,” says Mystal. “In late republic America, that progress now calls for nothing less than the defeat of authoritarianism.

The Nation

stands against America’s state-sponsored propaganda, and I am honored to add my voice and be counted among those who will never be cowed by the bullying, disinformation, and lies that Republicans think counts as an agenda.”

“It’s both exciting and a little surreal, in our age of ephemeral web media clickbait farms, to join an outlet that is older than many of the federal agencies about which I’ll be reporting; and in all that time has maintained a firm commitment to progressive values,” adds Klippenstein.

The Nation

’s robust political coverage during the Trump administration has won awards and accolades, exposed widespread injustices, and spoken truth to power to champion progressive ideals. While mainstream media analysis focuses on the polls and candidates’ “likability,”

The Nation

’s team continues to offer insight into the ideas and issues—from racial justice and health care reform to the climate crisis and corporate corruption to moving away from endless war and reimagining our foreign policy—that Americans care about most.

In his new role, Elie Mystal, a prolific writer on politics, culture, law, and racial justice, who in 2019 published two

Nation

cover

stories

tackling the Trump courts head on, will increase his output exclusively for

The Nation

. In addition to writing regular commentary for

TheNation.com

and occasional features for the print edition of the magazine, he will bring his keen legal mind and pointed pen to debut a new monthly column, “Objection!”—providing incisive, unparalleled analysis on a whole range of issues related to justice. In addition to courts, the law, and the judiciary, his mandate will also cover the institutions of law enforcement and our political system more broadly. Mystal’s first article for

The Nation

in his new capacity is “

Why Was Pete Buttigieg Still on the Debate Stage—And Kamala Harris Wasn’t?

”

The outgoing executive editor of

Above the Law

, a legal website offering news, insights, and opinions on law firms, lawyers, law schools, and lawsuits, Mystal is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and a former associate at Debevoise & Plimpton. He is a frequent guest on MSNBC and SiriusXM.

Ken Klippenstein’s reporting focuses on the machinations of the American national security state. Through aggressive use of the Freedom of Information Act and a robust network of government sources, he will provide readers with a warts-and-all look at how our government’s most secretive agencies, from the FBI to the Pentagon, operate. At

The Nation

, Klippenstein will also use his investigative know-how to document under-the-radar politics and policies enacted by the Trump administration.

Klippenstein was previously senior investigative reporter for

The Young Turks

, and a frequent contributor to the

Daily Beast

. His reporting has been referenced by

The New York Times

The Washington Post

and

The Atlantic

, and cited by Congress—including, in one instance, to grill FBI Director Wray.

Mystal and Klippenstein join a world class line-up of political writers and thinkers poised to deliver landmark coverage of the 2020 election, the Trump impeachment scandal, and the more lasting impacts of policy decision-making that go beyond the omnipresent distractions of this president’s administration and Twitter takes. They will be part of the growing and diverse chorus of

Nation

writers, columnists, and editors providing in-depth reporting and commentary for 2020 and beyond, unpacking and analyzing every twist and turn of political theater. These include national-affairs correspondents Jeet Heer, John Nichols, and Joan Walsh; long-time columnists Eric Alterman, Laila Lalami, and Katha Pollitt; and correspondents Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, Zoë Carpenter, Stephen F. Cohen, Bryce Covert, Ben Ehrenreich, Greg Grandin, Mark Hertsgaard, Jane McAlevey, Dani McClain, Dave Zirin, and more.

For interview requests or further information, please see contact information above.

ABOUT:

Founded by abolitionists in 1865,

The Nation

has chronicled the breadth and depth of political and cultural life, from the debut of the telegraph to the rise of Twitter, serving as a critical, independent, and progressive voice in American journalism.

How to Take Care of Your Backyard

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(January 16, 2020)–When you have a backyard in your home, it’s crucial that you take care of it. The last thing you are going to want is a patch of overgrown mess behind your property. Not only will this look bad, but you won’t be able to use it to its full advantage either. When guests come over you’ll be embarrassed about the look of your yard, and the longer you leave it, the harder it will be to tidy.

image courtesy of unsplash.com

Many people don’t really know how to take care of a backyard. They may never have had one before, or perhaps someone else always looked after it in the past. It could be that you don’t have a ‘green thumb’ and you’re just not confident in yard work. However, it isn’t so difficult to keep your yard looking neat and tidy and usable. Here are some tips.

Get Help

The first thing to do when you have a backyard that needs taking care of is to work out which jobs you can do yourself and which you are going to need professional assistance with. It will depend on your level of physical fitness, your budget, and how much time you have. You could get a gardener in to do all the work, or you might just want a

tree company Lake Mary

to come in and ensure the trees in your yard are safe and tidy.

This is the first step you should think about when you want to take care of your yard. Once you know what you need to do and what someone else can do, you can determine a plan of action to get it all completed in a reasonable time frame.

Keep it Clear

It’s easy for a backyard to become full of debris and trash over time. If you’re renovating the interior of your home, for example, your yard could be where you store your equipment and everything that really needs to go to the dump. Or it might be that you have children and they leave their toys and games all over the lawn.

The debris in your yard might not even be manmade. Leaves that fall can turn into mulch and become slippery and unsightly, so making sure you

rake them up

and remove them is important.

The clearer your yard is, the more enjoyable it will be. Even if you don’t do anything else to it, keeping the trash out of your yard is a good idea.

Use Fertilizer

If you really want to take care of your yard then using fertilizer to ensure the plants, flowers, fruit, vegetables, saplings — or anything else you might choose to plant outside — grow well is a great option.

Fertilizer gives your backyard the right amount of extra nutrients that it can’t get elsewhere, and this stimulates growth. To have your backyard looking its best, fertilizer is always going to work for you, and it’s cheap too — if you can speak to a farmer or stables about collecting their

horse manure

, you might even get it for free.

Mega Millions Jackpot Reaches $103,000,000

Thousands of New Jersey Players Win Prizes

TRENTON (Jan. 15, 2020) – The Mega Millions jackpot has rolled to $103 million! James Carey, New Jersey Lottery acting executive director, announced that in the Tuesday, Jan. 14, drawing, 27 players matched four of the five white balls drawn making each ticket worth $500. Four of those tickets were purchased with the Megaplier option, multiplying the prize to $1,000. Moreover, 25,740 other New Jersey players took home $107,974 in prizes ranging from $2 to $400, according to Carey. The winning numbers for the Tuesday, Jan. 14, drawing were: 09, 11, 13, 31, and 47. The Gold Mega Ball was 11, and the Megaplier Multiplier was 02.

The next drawing will be held Friday, Jan. 17, at 11:00 pm. All New Jersey Lottery Mega Millions tickets must be purchased before 10:45 pm to participate in the drawing. Mega Millions tickets cost just two dollars; by adding the Megaplier option for an extra dollar per play, players can increase their non- jackpot winnings up to five times. Mega Millions tickets are sold in 46 participating jurisdictions. Drawings are held on Tuesdays and Fridays.

American Legion provides over $1.1 million in grants to veteran families

The American Legion

In January 2019, The American Legion’s Temporary Financial Assistance (TFA) program broke a single-month record in grant distribution – $1,030,163. Of the grants distributed, $1,000,500 assisted children of active duty Coast Guard servicemembers who were financially affected by the federal government shutdown.

The government shutdown created a critical need of monetary assistance for active-duty U.S. Coast Guardsmen. And The American Legion answered their call for help by providing immediate financial support through the TFA program.

But the financial need for veterans and their families across the country was still there long after the government reopened.

Subject to an audit, so far 2019 numbers for TFA show that $1,143,000 was provided in cash grants that assisted over 3,000 children of nearly 1,700 veteran families. And these grants are non-repayable.

The American Legion distributes one-time grants of up to $1,500 to eligible active-duty military and American Legion members in need. Grantees must have minor children in the home and the funds are designed to help meet the cost of shelter, food, utilities and health expenses so that children have a stable environment during a time of hardship. Since 1925, TFA has awarded more than $16 million

The American Legion Temporary Financial Assistance program is funded through the generosity of donations made by American Legion members and the public to The American Legion Veterans & Children Foundation. National Commander Bill Oxford has made the Veterans & Children Foundation his primary fundraiser to help the foundation reach the goal of $25 million.

Donations to The American Legion Veterans & Children Foundation are tax deductible and can be made online at

www.legion.org/donate

Two Neptune Township Teenagers Plead Guilty in Newborn Killing

FREEHOLD – Two teens have pleaded guilty in connection with a March 2019 infanticide in Neptune Township, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Jada M. McClain, 18, of Neptune Township, pleaded guilty to first degree Aggravated Manslaughter. Quaimere Mohammed, 19, also of Neptune Township, pleaded guilty to second degree Disturbing or Desecrating Human Remains in connection with the death of a newborn baby.Under the terms of the plea agreement, Ms. McClain faces a sentence of 10 years in Prison on the Aggravated Manslaughter subject to the provisions of the “No Early Release Act” (NERA) requiring her to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole. Mr. Mohammed faces a sentence of 5 years in State Prison on the Disturbing or Desecrating Human Remains offense.

On April 4, 2019, the Asbury Park Police Department received a report that Jada McClain, a student at Neptune Township Regional High School, had recently given birth, and that the newborn was deceased. The investigation was referred to the Neptune Township Police Department who, together with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, launched an investigation into the matter.

The joint investigation revealed that McClain had become pregnant by her boyfriend, Quaimere Mohammed, a student at Asbury Park High School, sometime in July 2018. McClain explained to investigators that she hid the fact that she was pregnant from her parents and that she gave birth to a boy in the early morning hours of March 29, 2019, in her home. After giving birth to the child, McClain pressed her hands on the boy’s chest until he stopped breathing. McClain contacted Mohammed, and later that morning, the two disposed of the child’s body in a dumpster on Monroe Avenue in Asbury Park. Investigators later recovered surveillance video which captured Mohammed disposing of the child’s body near the Washington Village apartment complex.

Investigators learned that the contents of the dumpster, including the newborn’s remains, were transported to the Monmouth County Reclamation Center in Tinton Falls, where they were compacted and buried. The infant’s body was never recovered.

McClain and Mohammed are scheduled to appear in Superior Court for sentencing for their crimes before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge David F. Bauman on March 20. McClain remains incarcerated in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, where she has been detained since her arrest.

“This case is a horrible tragedy. An infant is dead and two young people are going to prison. None of this should have happened. Young persons who are not yet ready for parenthood need to understand that there are safe, legal and completely confidential ways to give up custody of a newborn,” said Gramiccioni.

On August 7, 2000, the New Jersey Safe Haven Infant Protection Act became law. The law allows a parent who is unable or unwilling to care for an infant to give up custody of a baby who is less than 30 days old, safely, legally and anonymously. All that is required is that the baby be brought to a hospital emergency room or police station in New Jersey. As long as the child shows no signs of intentional abuse, no names or other information is required from the person delivering the baby.

The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Joseph Competello and Stephanie Dugan. McClain is represented by Thomas Catley Esq. of Ocean Grove. Mohammed is represented by Stephen Nelson Esq., of Neptune Township.

6 Top Environmental Issues You Need to Worry About in 2020

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(January 15, 2020)–Most people are aware that the environment is changing; after all, it’s almost impossible to avoid all the new stories about climate change and how the ice caps are melting, and huge hurricanes are on the way. But how many people

really

understand what is happening to the natural world around them and the impact it will have on their future, not to mention their children’s future? Probably not that many.

That being said, the environmental issues that our world faces today are not going to suddenly disappear overnight. So, steps must be taken to try to tackle these problems head-on; unless people want the world that they know and love to be irrevocably changed forever. We can start by taking a look at the top six environmental issues that should be on everyone’s radar going into 2020.

The Expansion of Urban Areas

The world’s population is expanding at unfounded rates; people are living longer due to impressive developments in medical science, and the number of babies being born is not decreasing any time soon. This means that more housing is needed, which has led to contractors building more and more new developments, mainly by expanding urban areas.

What effect does this have on the environment? By covering the natural landscapes to concrete and bricks, contractors are interrupting the ground’s natural water cycle by stopping water from being absorbed into the ground, leading to

flooding

. Not to mention the fact that an increase in the number of homes being built leads to an increase in gas emissions, resulting in more air pollution.

An Increase in Waste

There are currently 2,000

active landfills

in the U.S., with the average person throwing out 4.4 pounds of trash a day. However, America is in danger of running out of space in their landfills in the next 15-20 years, and then where will the trash go?

Reducing the amount of waste that households throw away is vital, with every person needing to actively try to recycle or compost their waste whenever possible. With more people throwing out nearly twice as much waste compared to a few years ago – most of which is recyclable – the excessive landfills are posing a big risk to our climate.

Endangered Species

Did you know that one out of every 10 plant and animal species will be extinct by 2050? As our ecosystems continue to diminish, the list of endangered species will only continue to get longer; because where are these animals going to live if their habitats become lost? Who can forget the shocking and haunting image of a polar bear balancing on a small piece of ice in the middle of the ocean? We must work to avoid situations like this by supporting conservation efforts.

When we look at success stories of conservation efforts, such as the work being done by

Eric Mogensen

, CEO of Gulf Breeze Zoo, it becomes apparent that we need to do more to protect endangered species. Anyone can donate or volunteer for a conservation group to support this cause.

Climate Change

Whether you want to admit it or not, climate change is real, and it is happening right now, with a majority of experts stating that both natural and man-made greenhouse gasses are to blame. Greenhouse gasses impact so many elements of our planet, from wildlife habitats to the ocean to natural disasters such as hurricanes and tsunamis. So, how can climate change be reduced?

There are, in fact, several actions that can be taken to reduce the threat of climate change. These include:

Building more sustainably

Using

renewable energy sources

Reducing waste

Reducing pollution

Deforestation

Around 15% of greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation, which might not seem like a huge amount but is still significant. And, as more rainforests are cut down for wood, this number is only set to increase.

Furthermore, what about all the animals and plants that live and thrive in the forests? What will happen to them when their homes are chopped down? It’s a vicious cycle where ecosystems are destroyed, species become endangered, and climate change continues to worsen.

Trees are needed to produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, so what will happen when all the forests have been cut down? Rather than waiting to see the negative effects this will have on our planet, we can stop cutting down trees, or at the very least, ensure that every time a tree is cut down, another one is planted in its place.

A Lack of Water

Running water is so simple in today’s developed world that you probably never thought about what would happen if there wasn’t any. However, there is currently a big problem with water scarcity across the globe, with an estimated 780 million people not having access to clean water, and it is most definitely not just a problem for underdeveloped countries.

Water can often become

contaminated

with diseases, toxins, or chemicals, making it unsafe to drink. Luckily, everyone can help with the issue of water shortage by simply being more mindful of the water that they use on a daily basis; for example, have a quick shower instead of a bath and don’t continuously run the tap when doing the washing up.

Saving the environment is not the job of some big corporation, nor is it down to just one man; everyone needs to do their part and start taking active steps in order to make a difference. Starting now.

How to Solve Small Business Cashflow Problems

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(January 15, 2020)–The wheel of fortune is a fickle mistress and regardless of how well your business is performing today, tomorrow may bring any number of unexpected hazards and unforeseen encumbrances to challenge your business acumen and your business bank balance. Balancing the books is hard enough for a small business, and so it pays to be prepared for tough times and armed with a strategy for dealing with potential cashflow hiccups as they arise. When times are good and money is flowing freely, that’s a good time to start planning for the unexpected, so that in the event of a financial downturn in your fortunes, you can keep things on track. In this article, we look at a few of the ways you can solve these cashflow problems.

Be better at building a budget for your business

When you are enjoying a successful period, it’s tempting to pay little attention to your budget, keeping only a rudimentary spreadsheet at which you’ll occasionally give a cursory glance every now and then, safe in the knowledge that there’s more than enough coming in to deal with what’s going out. Unfortunately, without a

sensible budget

in place, it can be very tricky to cater for all those new tools, expensive staff parties, and costly resources. Should a downturn occur, this could leave you chasing your tail looking for ways to pay that VAT bill and your corporation tax on tie. There’s nothing like a fine from HMRC to make you wish you’d budgeted more carefully. Preventative maintenance is a great way to solve cash flow problems before they start.

Consider a short-term loan to keep your business running

A sensible short-term loan can be an excellent and productive way of keeping all your business-critical processes moving forwards when cash flow is poor and you would otherwise not be able to afford to keep the business afloat. You could consider liquidating stock or perhaps dip into some savings or even borrow money from a family member or willing business investor. If you’d rather keep hold of your assets and not relinquish any control to a third-party investor, you might look at a short term loan from a reputable lender, such as

biz2credit

, so that there doesn’t need to be any interruption in your business-critical activities.

Engage with a more flexible working environment

Depending on what sort of business you are and what you deliver, you might be able to dispense with some significant costs altogether. Technology today allows for teams to be far more remote than they used to be, meaning that a physical office might not even be a requirement, saving your business a lot of money in the process. Making a move towards a remote working environment doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice productivity or quality of work either. Studies show that staff tends to be

more productive

when able to maintain a more flexible approach to their work-life balance.

With some sensible budgeting, a short-term business loan and a more flexible approach to your working conditions mean you should be able to deal with most cash flow problems.