#environmental health and safety companies

[mechmindsblog]

[mckinlily]

Plot armor but it’s Bruce Wayne’s wealth.

Bruce is one of the richest men in the world. Bruce does not want to be one of the richest men in world.

He starts by implementing high starting salaries and full health care coverages for all levels at Wayne Enterprises. This in vastly improves retention and worker productivity, and WE profits soar. He increases PTO, grants generous parental and family leave, funds diversity initiatives, boosts salaries again. WE is ranked “#1 worker-friendly corporation”, and productively and profits soar again.

Ok, so clearly investing his workers isn’t the profit-destroying doomed strategy his peers claim it is. Bruce is going to keep doing it obviously (his next initiative is to ensure all part-time and contractors get the same benefits and pay as full time employees), but he is going to have to find a different way to dump his money.

But you know what else is supposed to be prohibitively expensive? Green and ethical initiatives. Yes, Bruce can do that. He creates and fund a 10 year plan to covert all Wayne facilities to renewable energy. He overhauls all factories to employ the best environmentally friendly practices and technologies. He cuts contracts with all suppliers that engage in unethical employment practices and pays for other to upgrade their equipment and facilities to meet WE’s new environmental and safety requirements. He spares no expense.

Yeah, Wayne Enterprises is so successful that they spin off an entire new business arm focused on helping other companies convert to environmentally friendly and safe practices like they did in an efficient, cost effective, successful way.

Admittedly, investing in his own company was probably never going to be the best way to get rid of his wealth. He slashes his own salary to a pittance (god knows he has more money than he could possibly know what to do with already) and keeps investing the profits back into the workers, and WE keeps responding with nearly terrifying success.

So WE is a no-go, and Bruce now has numerous angry billionaires on his back because they’ve been claiming all these measures he’s implementing are too expensive to justify for decades and they’re finding it a little hard to keep the wool over everyone’s eyes when Idiot Softheart Bruice Wayne has money spilling out his ears. BUT Bruce can invest in Gotham. That’ll go well, right?

Gotham’s infrastructure is the OSHA anti-Christ and even what little is up to code is constantly getting destroyed by Rogue attacks. Surely THAT will be a money sink.

Except the only non-corrupt employer in Gotham city is….Wayne Enterprises. Or contractors or companies or businesses that somehow, in some way or other, feed back to WE. Paying wholesale for improvement to Gotham’s infrastructure somehow increases WE’s profits.

Bruce funds a full system overhaul of Gotham hospital (it’s not his fault the best administrative system software is WE—he looked), he sets up foundations and trusts for shelters, free clinics, schools, meal plans, day care, literally anything he can think of.

Gotham continues to be a shithole. Bruce Wayne continues to be richer than god against his Batman-ingrained will.

Oh, and Bruice Wayne is no longer viewed as solely a spoiled idiot nepo baby. The public responds by investing in WE and anything else he owns, and stop doing this, please.

Bruce sets up a foundation to pay the college tuition of every Gotham citizen who applies. It’s so successful that within 10 years, donations from previous recipients more than cover incoming need, and Bruce can’t even donate to his own charity.

But by this time, Bruce has children. If he can’t get rid of his wealth, he can at least distribute it, right?

Except Dick Grayson absolutely refuses to receive any of his money, won’t touch his trust fund, and in fact has never been so successful and creative with his hacking skills as he is in dumping the money BACK on Bruce. Jason died and won’t legally resurrect to take his trust fund. Tim has his own inherited wealth, refuses to inherit more, and in fact happily joins forces with Dick to hack accounts and return whatever money he tries to give them. Cass has no concept of monetary wealth and gives him panicked, overwhelmed eyes whenever he so much as implies offering more than $100 at once. Damian is showing worrying signs of following in his precious Richard’s footsteps, and Babs barely allows him to fund tech for the Clocktower. At least Steph lets him pay for her tuition and uses his credit card to buy unholy amounts of Batburger. But that is hardly a drop in the ocean of Bruce’s wealth. And she won’t even accept a trust fund of only one million.

Jason wins for best-worst child though because he currently runs a very lucrative crime empire. And although he pours the vast, vast majority of his profits back into Crime Alley, whenever he gets a little too rich for his tastes, he dumps the money on Bruce. At this point, Bruce almost wishes he was being used for money laundering because then he’s at least not have the money.

So children—generous, kindhearted, stubborn till the day they die the little shits, children—are also out.

Bruce was funding the Justice League. But then finances were leaked, and the public had an outcry over one man holding so much sway over the world’s superheroes (nevermind Bruce is one of those superheroes—but the public can’t know that). So Bruce had to do some fancy PR trickery, concede to a policy of not receiving a majority of funds from one individual, and significantly decrease his contributions because no one could match his donations.

At his wits end, Bruce hires a team of accounts to search through every crinkle and crevice of tax law to find what loopholes or shortcuts can be avoided in order to pay his damn taxes to the MAX.

The results are horrifying. According to the strictest definition of the law, the government owes him money.

Bruce burns the report, buries any evidence as deeply as he can, and organizes a foundation to lobby for FAR higher taxation of the upper class.

All this, and Wayne Enterprises is happily chugging along, churning profit, expanding into new markets, growing in the stock market, and trying to force the credit and proportionate compensation on their increasingly horrified CEO.

Bruce Wayne is one of the richest men in the world. Bruce Wayne will never not be one of the richest men in the world.

But by GOD is he trying.

[ardhasneoehs]

NeoEHS: Key Elements of a Robust EHS Management System

Explore the essential components that make NeoEHS stand out among EHS software companies. Dive into our blog to discover the elements crucial for effective safety and compliance. https://www.neoehs.com/blogs/elements-of-ehs-management-system

[northstarehs]

What is environmental, social and governance (ESG)?

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) is a framework used to assess an organization business practices and performance on various sustainability and ethical issues. It also provides a way to measure business risks and opportunities in those areas.

In capital markets, some investors use ESG criteria to evaluate companies and help determine their investment plans, a practice known as ESG investing.While sustainability, ethics and corporate governance are generally considered to be non-financial performance indicators, the role of an ESG program is to ensure accountability and the implementation of systems and processes to manage a company's impact, such as its carbon footprint.

[reportwire]

East Palestine derailment spurs rare signs of bipartisan agreement on rail safety. Will Washington act? | CNN Politics

Editor’s Note: Watch East Palestine, Ohio, residents pose questions to Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “A CNN Town Hall: Toxic Train Disaster, Ohio Residents Speak Out” airs tonight at 9 p.m. ET on CNN. CNN  —  A fiery train wreck that released toxic materials in an Ohio town is raising new questions in the halls of the nation’s capital…

[batboyblog]

Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #35

Sep 20-27 2024

President Biden and Vice-President Harris announced new actions to curb gun violence at the one year anniversary of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The Office is the first ever White House office to deal with the issue of guns and has been overseen by the Vice-President. President Biden signed a new Executive Order aimed at combatting the emerging threat of machinegun conversion devices. These devices allow the conversion of semi-automatic firearms to a rate of fire that can match military machineguns, up to 20 bullets in one second. The EO also targets the threat of 3-D printed guns. The EO also addresses active schooler drills at schools. While almost every school conducts them there is little uniformity in how they are carried out, and no consensus on the most effective version of a drill. President Biden's EO directions the development of a research based active shooter drills, which maximize both student physical and mental safety.

President Biden celebrated the one year anniversary of the American Climate Corps and announced new Climate Corp programs. The Climate Corps has seen 15,000 young people connected to well paid jobs in clean energy and climate resilience jobs across America. The EPA and AmeriCorps announced a new Environmental Justice Climate Corps program which will connect 250 American Climate Corps members with local communities and over the next 3 help them achieve environmental justice projects. In addition HUD announced it will be the 8th federal agency to partner with the Climate Corp, opening the door to its involvement in Housing. Since its launch the American Climate Corp has inspired 14 states to launch their own state level version of the program, most recently just this week the New Jersey Climate Corps.

The Biden-Harris Administration announced that 4.2 million small business owners and self-employed people get their health insurance through the ACA marketplace. Up from 1.4 million ten years ago when President Obama and then Vice-President Biden rolled out the marketplaces. The self-employed are 3 times as likely as other Americans to use the marketplaces for their insurance, one out of every 5 getting coverage there. The ACA passed by President Obama, defended and expanded by President Biden, has freed millions of Americans to start their own businesses without fear of losing health coverage for them and their families.

The Departments of Transportation and Labor pressed freight railroad companies to close the gap and offer paid sick time to all their employees. Since 2022 under President Biden's leadership the number of Class I freight railroad employees who have access to paid sick days increased from 5% to 90%. Now the Biden-Harris Administration is pushing to finish the job and get coverage to the last 10%.

The EPA announced $965 million to help school districts buy clean energy buses. This comes on top of the 3 billion the EPA has already spent to bring clean energy buses to America's schools. So far the EPA has helped replace 8,700 school buses, across 1,300 school districts in all 50 states, DC, tribal nations, and US Territories. 95% of these buses are zero-emission, battery-electric. The clean bus program is responsible for over 2/3rds of the electric school buses on the road today.

The Biden-Harris Administration took another step forward in its historic efforts to protect the Colorado River System by signing 5 water conservation agreements with local water authorities in California and Arizona. The two short term agreements will conserve over 717,000 acre-feet of water by 2026. Collectively adding 10 feet to Lake Mead’s elevation by 2026. The Colorado River Basin provides water for more than 40 million people and fuels hydropower resources in seven U.S. states.

The Department of The Interior announced $254 million to help support local parks, the largest such investment in history. The money will go to 54 projects across 24 states hoping to redevelopment or create new parks.

HHS announced $1.5 billion to help combat opioid addiction and prevent opioid overdose deaths. The money will support state and tribal governments and help pay for mobile clinics, naloxone kits, and treatment centers. This comes as nationwide overdose rates drop for the first time since 2020, thanks to strong investment in harm reduction efforts by the Biden-Harris team.

The Department of Agriculture announced it'll spend $466.5 million in food assistance and development worldwide this year. Through its McGovern-Dole Program, the United States is the largest donor to global school feeding programs. The USDA will help feed 1.2 million children in Angola, Bangladesh, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Laos, Malawi and Rwanda. Through its Food for Progress the USDA will help support 200,000 farmers in Benin, Cambodia, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Tunisia shift to climate-smart agriculture boosting food security in those nations and the wider region.

At a meeting at the UN First Lady Jill Biden announced a partnership between USAID and UNICEF to end childhood exposer to lead worldwide. Lead exposure kills 1.5 million people each year, mostly in the developing world.

The Senate approved the appointment of Byron Conway to a federal judgeship in Wisconsin. This makes the 213th federal judge that President Biden has appointed.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this Chicago Tribune story:

Evidence is mounting that food packaging and plastic tableware contain toxic chemicals absorbed by humans, a public health risk largely ignored by federal officials charged with protecting the nation’s food supply.

During the past week alone, a new study detailed how more than 3,600 chemicals in food-related materials have been detected in people worldwide.

A companion review of recently published research confirmed 189 chemicals linked to breast cancer have been found in the materials, 76 of which migrate out of packaging and utensils during normal use.

Many of these chemicals were approved decades ago by the Food and Drug Administration with little, if any, oversight.

“Some have never been reviewed by the FDA at all because food and chemical companies are exploiting a loophole that lets them, rather than the FDA, decide whether a chemical is safe,” said Melanie Benesh, vice president for government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, one of several nonprofit organizations that have repeatedly petitioned the agency to ban toxic substances in food and packaging.

Years of legal and political pressure are just now forcing changes in an arm of the government long dominated by industry priorities rather than public health concerns.

After decades of denial, the FDA is vowing to overhaul its review processes and conduct more rigorous reviews of food chemicals already on the market.

Details remain slim. Agency officials cautioned Wednesday their budget to assess chemicals doesn’t come close to the amount necessary to conduct a robust safety program.

Absent further direction from Congress, though, it likely will take years to determine the fate of chemicals that researchers — and in some cases the FDA itself — already have flagged because they are suspected of posing significant health hazards.

One example is bisphenol A, or BPA, a hormone-scrambling chemical used in food can linings, food containers and water bottles. BPA has been linked to birth defects and behavior disorders in infants and children. In adults, the chemical can trigger diabetes, heart disease, erectile dysfunction, cancer and early death.

Other than banning BPA in baby bottles and infant formula cans, FDA officials have said the chemical is safe for approved uses. But in 2021, the European Union determined BPA is harmful at levels far below what once was considered safe. A year later nonprofit groups petitioned the U.S. food safety agency to take action; the FDA has yet to respond.

[coffee-without-a-pause]

I'm a happy cat mom since July 2017, and holy crap! The difference between "what to expect according to the internet/common knowledge" vs reality is unbelievable! Here's a list of self-experienced debunks:

What I thought: Cats are a*holes Reality: Well, maybe your cats are! Mine are the sweetest, kindest ever. Maybe it's luck, idk

What I thought: Cats are independent Reality: HA.HA. no. No, they're not. One of our cat didn't eat, drink or use her litter whenever we left the house. Cats are social animals

What I thought: Cats will knock things down... Reality: not ours. Or 100% unintentionally

What I thought: ... cause they're evil! Reality: I've seen mosquitoes more evil than cats! BUT! That being said... cats are like toddlers with incredible physical abilities who can jump several meters high and slip through the tiniest space possible. Baby-proof your house as if it was baby Clark Kent you adopted!

What I thought: Cats will scratch your furniture Reality: Nope. But your cat does need their stuff just like a toddler would. Get scratch posts, get toys, play with your cat, don't let your cat get bored. If they continue to scratch your sofa, there are options you can try to redirect them to another surface to scratch

What I thought: Cats don't listen Reality: That one............ they hear and understand you, it's just they choose to ignore you sometimes. And that's alright. Remember? Toddlers!

What I thought: Cats are cuddly and will sleep on your laps. Always! Reality: Toddlers! Some are cuddly, some aren't, and that's alright. One of our cat's name is "Glue", the most appropriate name ever! She just doesn't let go of you, always on your shoulders or on your laps, always sleeping while snuggling with you. But, another of our cat is not. She's very shy, easily overwhelmed, doesn't know of to deal with her emotions but she tries very hard and is making lots of progress. She's just not that "sits on your laps for hours" cat.

What I thought: Cats are clever Reality: Toddlers! They will eat and lick whatever they find... and they have sharp teeth! Seriously, baby-proof your home

What I thought: Cats must go outside to be happy Reality: Some do, some don't. Don't force your cat to go outside. If they don't show interest in the outside, i strongly suggest to not encourage them. Because of safety, environmental damages, health, etc...

What I thought: One cat is fine on its own Reality: Depends on your cat, but remember they're very social and they need company, and someone who can play with them. Isolation is bad for everyone, even cats. My suggestions: if you want to adopt a kitten, adopt 2 so they can play together. If you want to adopt a cat, maybe check with the shelter if they get along well with another cat and adopt them both. It won't be more work, but be sure you can financially support them (vet visits, shots, etc...)

Speaking of which! Adopt your cats for shelters, there are so many abandoned cats everywhere in need of a good home. Please adopt

[samwisethewitch]

Aromatherapy for Processing Trauma

Aromatherapy uses scent, usually in the form of essential oils, for physical and emotional well-being. Our sense of smell is very closely connected to memory, and certain smells can have an effect on our emotions and mood.

Essential Oil Safety and Ethics

Because this is the Internet and because certain multi-level marketing corporations have intentionally spread misinformation about essential oil safety, let's talk about a couple of things real quick.

You should never, ever eat or drink essential oils. These are very concentrated extracts of the active compounds from plants, and just like you would never sit down and eat 200 pounds of lavender, you shouldn't eat lavender oil. Ingesting essential oils can have very serious side effects, up to and including organ failure and death. Just don't.

If you want to work with a liquid plant extract that you can take internally, I recommend trying a tincture or a tea.

Use caution when applying essential oils topically. Again, essential oils are very concentrated, so they can cause skin reactions even if you are not normally allergic to the plant they come from. Always do a patch test to check for an allergic reaction before applying an essential oil to your skin or putting it in a bath. Some, like cinnamon oil, should never be used topically.

Always dilute your oils. Whenever you put essential oils on your skin, mix them with a carrier oil (like olive oil or coconut oil). Typically for adults you want to only use two drops of essential oil for every teaspoon of carrier oil, but you might use a stronger or weaker concentration depending on your body and your needs. If you're adding essential oils to your bath, make sure you mix them into a bath salt (either Epsom salt or plain table salt) before adding them to the water.

When you diffuse essential oils, make sure you don't use too much. For a typical aromatherapy diffuser, you really only need 1-5 drops of oil.

Be careful using essential oils around children and pets. Contrary to what some MLMs say, essential oils may not be safe for your baby or your dog. If you have kids, make sure your oils are stored out of their reach. Don't diffuse essential oils around babies under 6 months old, and don't apply oils to the skin on children under 3 years old. If you use essential oils on your older child's skin, they should be TWICE as diluted as for an adult (so you would use HALF as much essential oil for the same amount of carrier oil). If you diffuse oils around your kids, don't run the diffuser for more than 60 minutes. Follow other essential oil safety rules.

If you have a pet in the house, only diffuse essential oils in open, well-ventilated rooms, never let the diffuser run for more than 60 minutes, and make sure your pet is able to leave the room if they want to. Never apply essential oils to a pet's skin. Research your oils to make sure they aren't toxic to your pets.

Moving from safety concerns to ethics concerns, don't use essential oils in public spaces. Many people don't tolerate these scents well because of health conditions, allergies, or chemical sensitivities. For this reason, you should only practice aromatherapy in your own private space.

Try to be an eco-conscious consumer. It takes a whole lot of plant material to make essential oils -- one pound of lavender oil requires 250 pounds of lavender buds! That's a lot of natural resources. Even "wildcrafted" or "wild harvested" products may still be contributing to overharvesting. Try to limit your environmental impact by using oils sparingly, avoiding oils made from endangered plants, buying from companies that use sustainable harvesting practices, and reusing or recycling the bottles.

Making Aromatherapy Trauma-Sensitive

Because scent is so strongly connected to memory, scents that remind us of a traumatic event can trigger anxiety or panic, or even make us physically ill. Before using aromatherapy, think carefully about the scents you feel drawn to and whether they may be triggering for you.

For example, if your abuser wore a floral perfume with rose and geranium notes, the scents of rose and geranium might activate your fight or flight response, even though those are usually considered calming scents. If your abuser wore a cologne or deodorant with a lot of woodsy notes, you might want to avoid woodsy essential oils like cedarwood.

If at any point you start to feel triggered or activated when using aromatherapy, stop using that scent until you can speak to a therapist or counselor about your experience.

Helpful Essential Oils for Trauma Survivors

Note: Much of the information in this section comes from Elizabeth Guthrie's book, The Trauma-Informed Herbalist.

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia): The ultimate relaxing scent. Guthrie says that lavender "allows a person to completely relax. It is a wonderful tonic for a person who has been overthinking situations." Lavender is really helpful for anxiety and paranoia, especially if your anxiety takes the form of doom spiraling or thinking about worst case-scenarios.

Cedarwood (Cedrus virginiana): An excellent grounding scent. Guthrie says that cedarwood "is loved for its ability to help people reconnect to themselves." Be aware that Atlas Cedarwood (Cedrus atlantica) is endangered due to overharvesting -- try to use more sustainable varieties.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis): Great for mental clarity. Rosemary strengthens memory, and it can be useful for people who struggle with short-term memory or who are dealing with brain fog or gaps in memory as a product of trauma. Rosemary promotes alertness.

Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea): Promotes a sense of well-being and helps decrease feelings of stress.

Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana): Brings balance to the body and mind. Marjoram has a relaxing effect and can help release tension.

Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens): Another relaxing scent. Guthrie says that geranium "can also help a person who is feeling jumpy, as if they're living in a horror movie and a jump scare is just around the corner."

Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis): Reduces anxiety and relieves feelings of depression. Chamomile also famously helps with sleep issues such as insomnia.

Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin): Very strong grounding. Guthrie recommends patchouli to help reset the sleep-wake cycle for people struggling with insomnia and/or fatigue.

Bergamot (Citrus bergamia): Balances emotional energy and uplifts the mood. Guthrie recommends it for brain fog from exhaustion and for aid in letting go of anger.

Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus): A superstar for healing, whether physical, mental, emotional, or even spiritual. Guthrie recommends eucalyptus "to jumpstart the emotional healing process" and "to release the feeling that their trauma is part of their identity."

Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis): An uplifting and energizing scent. Great for bringing up the mood, promoting happiness, and helping with burnout.

Aromatherapy on a Budget

Listen, y'all. Essential oils are expensive. Ethically sourced essential oils are even more expensive. I save some money by 1.) using essential oils sparingly, and 2.) buying pre-mixed blends. I'll typically look for a blend that contains several oils that I want to work with instead of buying each oil individually. Right now I'm working with the "Harmony" synergy blend from Eden's Garden, which contains lavender, cedarwood, rosemary, clary sage, sweet marjoram, geranium, and chamomile.

If you can't find a blend that has all the qualities you want, you can still save money by buying a blend with most of the qualities you're looking for, then adding one or two low-cost oils. For example, I wanted a slightly more grounding effect than the blend I'm using has, so I add a little bit of patchouli oil to bring in that earthy, grounding quality.

Sources:

The Trauma-Informed Herbalist by Elizabeth Guthrie

"5 Benefits of Clary Sage Oil" by Corey Whelan

"Marjoram Essential Oil" on AromaWeb

"The 8 Proven Benefits of Chamomile Oil and How to Use It" by Jill Seladi-Schulman, Ph.D.

"Essential Oils & Pets" on Saje

"Are Essential Oils Safe for Kids?" by Teresa Carr

[iww-gnv]

Oregon OSHA has fined a Portland environmental services company a total of $118,800 for numerous safety violations that resulted in two workers passing out on the job. The fine against River City Environmental Inc. is one of the largest levied by the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division in recent years, division spokesman Aaron Corvin said. The citation lists 10 violations and notes that the problems date to last June, when River City assigned workers to clean filters inside a stormwater sewer at Widmer Brothers Brewing in north Portland. Widmer staff noticed the workers were not taking proper safety precautions and sent them away. They went again in mid-July for the same job, the citation said, and River City again failed to equip and train the workers properly but they were allowed to enter a maintenance hole at the brewery anyway. Their job was to clean, retrofit and remove filters in a tight space used to sift stormwater runoff from a large loading dock, an operation that’s performed yearly, according to the citation. The space was confined and dangerous: The oxygen levels were 12.5% compared with the 20.9% that’s generally in the air. Safety rules allow workers without ventilation or supplied air to enter a space as long as it has a minimum of 19.5% of oxygen. The citation said River City did not ensure that the work was supervised, failed to equip the workers with air testing and monitoring equipment, did not provide ventilation equipment, and did not give them rescue and emergency equipment. It also didn’t inform the workers on the potential hazards of the job or of the potential symptoms and consequences they could face, the citation said, and the company had no procedures to rescue the workers in the event of an emergency. The workers weren’t even trained in basic first aid or CPR, the citation said.

[styxhealthnsafety]

Dear fellow Styx Health and Safety fans,

We, the h&s team at Styx, would like to take this opportunity to address a recent issue that has come to our attention – a comment made on our social media which questioned our commitment to environmental responsibility. We understand that the comment in question caused concern among our fans and we want to clarify that it was not an accurate representation of our company's values or practices...

Styx Laboratories is committed to sustainable and eco-friendly practices in everything we do. From the design of our facilities to the development of our products and treatments, we strive to minimize our impact on the environment and improve the communities we serve. We believe in the power of ingenuity and technology to create a more sustainable future, and we are committed to being a leader in this important field.

We apologize for any confusion or concern that our response may have caused. As a collective, we value honesty and transparency, and we regret that our response in this instance fell short of those values. We want all of our customers and fans to know that we take environmental responsibility seriously, and we will continue to strive to make positive changes to our operations and the world around us.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support of Styx Laboratories.

Sincerely,

Your Friends at Styx Health and Safety (who are NOT being held hostage)..

[ardhasneoehs]

NeoEHS: Transformative Case Studies in EHS Management

Explore real-world success stories with NeoEHS. Discover how our EHS management software empowers organizations to thrive in safety, compliance, and operational excellence. https://www.neoehs.com/case-studies

[loominggaia]

ZAREENITE POLITICAL PARTIES

Elections are held every 10 years in Zareen Empire. Zareenite citizens may choose a new Great Leader from 3 political parties: the Industrialist party, the Naturalist party, and the Technologist party.

Each party typically holds power for several decades before the Zareenite people grow weary of the status quo and elect a new one. Historically, the order tends to flow in a circular fashion: Industrialist to Naturalist to Technologist, then back to Industrialist. Zareenites call this the “Forward Cycle”.

Occasionally the order is disrupted, and the cycle runs backwards or jumps around at random. Usually this disruption is caused by election interference, either by foreign or domestic entities. Zareen Empire seems to function at its best when the cycle flows forward, and experiences major instability when it flows out of order.

Though these 3 parties are fiercely competitive with each other and try to hold power for as long as possible, the truth is that they each need the support of the others to survive. If just one party was removed, the other two would eventually collapse behind it. Each party has its own strengths and weaknesses, and none of them are sustainable for longer than a few decades.

It is typical for one party to lead for 2 to 6 terms in a row (20 to 60 years) before a new one is elected. Terms shorter or longer than that are considered abnormal and are likely due to election interference.

⚙️INDUSTRIALIST PARTY⚙️

Industrialists prioritize economic prosperity above all else. This party is supported by corporations, the military, and the industrial sector.

Top sponsors:

High Empress Qara (Great Leader of Zareen Empire)

Zottan Industries (General manufacturing company)

Masterlite Energy (Electric company)

Chippo (Commercial goods distributor)

Zareenite Department of Defense (Military)

Lor Galor (Media conglomerate)

Under Industrialist leadership, Zareenites enjoy a cheaper cost of living, abundant blue collar jobs, and the freedom to say whatever is on their mind, no matter how distasteful it may be. Media companies are free to publish controversial content with little regulation. Likewise, corporations are free to extract and process resources with reckless abandon, dumping their pollution wherever they please. The military is free to provoke other nations and plunder even more resources.

Industrialists reduce funding to education because educated workers are not interested in the blue-collar and military jobs they provide. Zareen Empire experiences a “brain drain” under Industrialist leadership, where white-collar jobs are reduced and educated workers leave for foreign lands to find work. Industrialists fill the labor gaps by making immigration easier, welcoming workers from less desirable lands.

Industrialist Manifesto:

-Less government regulations across the board.

-War is good for the economy.

-Pollution is a natural byproduct of commoners and should not be demonized.

-The empire should provoke foreign powers to obtain resources.

-The environment should be sacrificed for the good of the economy.

-The Nymph Pact is detrimental to the economy.

-Iron is a sacred resource that should be subsidized.

-The empire should cater to commoners above everyone else.

-The immigration process should be easier.

-Automatons are best used as weapons.

-Less funding for education, more funding for defense.

Pros of Industrialist Leadership:

-Thriving economy, abundant blue collar jobs

-More social freedoms

-Uncensored media

-Cheaper goods for consumers, cost of living decreases

-More subsidies for business owners

-More benefits for soldiers, police, and veterans

Cons of Industrialist Leadership:

-Citizen health and safety declines

-Underfunded schools

-White-collar crime increases

-Foreign war inevitable

-Environmental pollution increases

-Welfare programs cut, poverty increases for vulnerable populations

🌳NATURALIST PARTY🌳

Naturalists prioritize society’s well-being above all else. This party is supported by environmentalists, social rights groups, and the civics sector.

Official sponsors:

-Gaia Defense League (Environmentalist campaign)

-Labor Rights for Zareenites (Workers' rights group)

-Litti & Goss Law Firm (Legal practice)

-Mothers for Morality (Media censorship activists)

Zareenite Department of Health (Government healthcare program)

-Empire Sports League (Athletes guild)

Under Naturalist leadership, Zareenites reap the benefits of worker’s rights, a cleaner environment, and improved healthcare. They can also rest easy knowing that Naturalist leaders will never provoke a foreign war. Naturalists prioritize everyone’s right to safety and equality, so they silence hate speech and place restrictions on the media, ensuring that citizens are not exposed to programs that glorify antisocial behavior. These kinds of restrictions extend to just about every aspect of a citizen’s life, for better or worse.

The Naturalist party upholds the Nymph Pact by halting tech advancement, restricting goods production, and shuttering some industries completely. This improves citizen health, safety, and pollution levels significantly, but also causes the economy to stagnate and corporations to lay off many workers. Naturalists support this under-employed population with welfare. This welfare is taken from the defense budget, which was previously inflated by the Industrialists.

Naturalist Manifesto:

-More government regulations across the board.

-War is detrimental to society.

-Pollution is harmful to people and should be eliminated.

-The empire should placate foreign powers to keep the peace.

-The economy should be sacrificed for the good of the environment.

-The Nymph Pact is beneficial to society.

-Iron is a harmful substance that should be banned.

-The empire should cater to allkind equally.

-Immigrants should be vetted based on morals.

-Automatons should never replace people.

-Less funding for defense, more funding for welfare.

Pros of Naturalist Leadership:

-Citizen health and safety improves

-No foreign wars and less domestic conflict with nymphs

-More welfare programs increases quality of life for citizens

-Society is more accommodating to diverse populations

-Environmental pollution decreases

-Improvements to all civic services (parks, museums, public transportation, etc.)

Cons of Naturalist Leadership:

-Stagnant economy, cost of doing business increases

-Media censorship

-Higher taxes, cost of living increases

-Tech innovation halts

-Blue-collar crime increases

-Increase in poverty

🔍TECHNOLOGIST PARTY🔎

Technologists prioritize technological innovation above all else. This party is supported by academics, scientists, and the research sector.

Official sponsors:

Tungsten Body Company (Robotics manufacturer)

Zygrow (Artificial fertility service)

ChroMight Technologies (Biotechnology laboratory)

Beryl Technical Institute (S.T.E.M. college)

Zareenite Department of Science (Research institution)

World Athenaeum (International knowledge repository)

Under Technologist leadership, Zareen Empire is thrust into a new era of innovative technologies. Advanced gadgets become more accessible to the average citizen, providing convenience and more free time for leisure. The Technologist party prioritizes automatons in particular, campaigning for equal rights for both biological and artificial life.

Technologists need bright minds to make their dreams a reality, so they cut many of the Naturalist’s welfare programs and divert those funds toward education. These educated citizens develop more advanced automatons that are capable of more types of work. But in order for these robots to function in society properly, infrastructure must be made more accommodating to their artificial senses. Urban planning is then designed around the needs of automatons, and citizens find their once charming cities becoming more bland, uniform, and grid-like.

Technologist Manifesto:

-Less regulations on industry, more regulations on society.

-Wars should be fought cerebrally, not physically.

-Pollution can be curbed by innovation and clean energy should be pursued.

-The empire should work with foreign powers to obtain knowledge.

-The economy and environment should be sacrificed for the good of innovation.

-The Nymph Pact is detrimental to progress.

-Iron is a useful material but technology can produce suitable replacements.

-The empire should cater to automatons above everyone else.

-Immigrants should be vetted based on intelligence.

-Automatons are best used as tools to benefit allkind.

-Less funding for welfare, more funding for education.

Pros of Technologist Leadership: 

-Education is improved and more accessible

-Crime is reduced overall

-More white-collar jobs available

-Existing technologies improved, new technologies developed

-Less foreign conflict

-Advanced technologies are cheaper and more accessible to citizens

Cons of Technologist Leadership:

-Reduction of blue-collar jobs

-More domestic conflict with nymphs

-Unethical experimentation on animals and people

-Society accommodates automatons over citizens

-Mental health of citizens decreases

-Citizens’ dependence on electricity increases

THE FORWARD CYCLE

Zareen Empire sees a great economic boost under Industrialist leadership. The media becomes a free-for-all of uncensored content and unvetted information, which influences citizens’ hearts and minds with outrageous entertainment. But eventually, Zareenites grow weary of the pollution, war, and behavioral sink of its citizens. They wish for peace, better health, a cleaner environment, and a more ethically-minded society, so they elect the Naturalists into power.

The Naturalists clean up the pollution and resolve the foreign conflicts left behind by the Industrialists. They also place regulations on every aspect of life, ensuring safety for body and mind. Power is shifted away from big business and into the hands of its workers, and urban planning is shaped around the needs of peoples rather than trucks and automatons.

All this over-regulation begins wearing on the Zareenites’ nerves after a while. They grow weary of the stagnant economy, of increasing censorship and dependence on welfare. Nothing around them seems to be progressing except for tiresome social discourse. They become sick of the Naturalists, but the horrors of Industrialist leadership are still fresh in their minds and they don’t wish to return to the past. They wish for a new era of innovation and fresh ideas, so they elect the Technologists into power.

The Technologists immediately dump funding into education, providing Zareenites with upward economic mobility as a wealth of new tech and research jobs are created. This education boost reduces crime significantly, and advanced devices that were once unobtainable to the working class are now cheap and abundant. Every aspect of life becomes more convenient as menial tasks are shifted into the backs of automatons. However, this convenience eventually turns to loneliness as citizens spend more time with their fancy new technology than with each other. Their jobs are being stolen by robots left and right. Worse yet, more robots and fancy gadgets require more electricity, and the empire spirals ever closer to its impending energy crisis.

The Zareenites decide enough is enough–they’ve had it with these Technologist eggheads and their machines! The empire needs more resources to sustain all this new technology, so the Industrialists are elected again. The Industrialists convert a large chunk of the working robots into soldiers and send them to plunder resources from foreign lands, opening more blue-collar jobs for citizens. The economy improves, pollution increases, and foreign relations sour.

And the cycle continues…

SEE ALSO

High Empress Qara Zareen

Bucketheels

ChroMight Mechaskema

Ask: Zareen

Ask: Qara

Ask: Politics

Ask: Technology

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

[insatiablelesbianism]

Norfolk Southern, the US railway company responsible for the toxic spew of vinyl chloride, has now offered a $25,000 donation to assist the area’s nearly 5,000 residents who were ordered to evacuate their homes, or face death.

with $25,000 they could directly pay each resident $5

with $5 they cant put gas in their car to flee. they cant buy respirators. they can't purchase a hotel. they can't buy food on the road - or at all. $5 doesn't take away the irreparable damage to their bodies. cannot take away the effects if carcinogens. cannot bring back the health if their children. their pets. of their live stock.

norfolk southern is worth

$56.18 BILLION DOLLARS

with 56.18 billion dollars they could give each of those 5,000 people

$11,236,000

why is this fucking company not giving every dime they have to TRY to make up to the damage this has on the residents - the PEOPLE living in and around East Palenstine Ohio will forever be affected. Norfold Southern needs to physically pay for what they have done and work with non-police officials to prevent further harm. Norfolk southern needs to invest in their safety. in their employees. this was PREVENTABLE. NEVER LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN.

please reblog with mutual aid/relief funds and donation centers.

[follow-up-news]

The federal government agreed to a $15 million fine for Norfolk Southern over last year’s disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and the railroad promised to pay more than $500 million to complete the efforts to improve safety that it announced after the crash and address community health concerns. Residents who had to evacuate their homes after the derailment were generally underwhelmed by the deal the Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department announced Thursday that doesn’t include any criminal charges. This federal settlement comes two days after a federal judge signed off on the railroad’s $600 million class action settlement with residents whose lives were disrupted. In addition to the civil penalty, Norfolk Southern agreed to pay $235 million in past and future cleanup costs and set up a $25 million health care fund to pay for 20 years of medical exams in the community. The railroad will also pay about $30 million for long-term monitoring of drinking water, groundwater and surface water in the area. Many East Palestine residents feel this settlement doesn’t do nearly enough to a company that just reported a $527 million profit in the fourth quarter of last year and $53 million in the first quarter after the derailment costs. The railroad’s CEO received $13.4 million in total compensation last year.