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Maintaining seed diversity and abundance is essential – and requires constant work. It’s time for Congress to return to the seed business From 1862 until 1923, US senators and members of Congress provided vast numbers of seeds to constituents. At its peak, the congressional seed distribution program delivered over 60m seed packets directly to farmers and market gardeners every year, helping introduce new varieties of everything from wheat and corn to oats, soybeans, flowers and vegetables. A century later, far fewer Americans till the soil for a living, but seeds remain central to our lives. To understand the importance of seeds, try to imagine a morning without them. It would begin naked on a bare mattress, with no cozy sheets or pajamas, and there would be no fluffy towel to wrap up in after your shower. All of those things come from the seeds of the cotton plant. Stumbling wet into the kitchen, you would find no coffee, and no toast or bagel to go with it. There would be no eggs, no bacon, no cereal, no milk. All of those staples come from seeds or from livestock raised on seed crops. And if you thought you might console yourself with a chocolate bar, you can forget it. Cocoa powder, and the cocoa butter that makes it melt in your mouth, are both derived from seeds. Continue reading...

Action urgently needed to save the conditions under which markets – and civilisation itself – can operate, says senior Allianz figure The climate crisis is on track to destroy capitalism, a top insurer has warned, with the vast cost of extreme weather impacts leaving the financial sector unable to operate. The world is fast approaching temperature levels where insurers will no longer be able to offer cover for many climate risks, said Günther Thallinger, on the board of Allianz SE, one of the world’s biggest insurance companies. He said that without insurance, which is already being pulled in some places, many other financial services become unviable, from mortgages to investments. Continue reading...

ANU climate scientist says ‘everyone is getting fatigued these records keep falling – it’s now incredibly predictable’ Election 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaign Get our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcast Australia has experienced its hottest 12-month period on record, ending with its hottest March on record, with last month seeing temperatures 2.41C above average, the Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed. The bureau said its data going back to 1910 showed the 12 months ending in March 2025 averaged 1.61C above average – the hottest of any 12-month period, beating the previous 1.51C mark set from January to December 2019. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading...

Reports predict global heating will bring catastrophes and that air conditioning market could grow by 41% The world is on track for disastrous global heating – but this will create profits for some air conditioning companies, according to forecasts by leading Wall Street financial institutions. Recent reports by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and the Institute of International Finance all make clear the finance sector considers the Paris climate agreement limiting global temperatures, signed a decade ago by nearly 200 nations, is effectively dead and investors should plan accordingly. Continue reading...