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In Uganda’s Mbale district, famous for its production of arabica coffee, a plague of plastic bags locally known as buveera is creeping beyond the city.It’s a problem that has long littered the landscape in Kampala, the capital, where buveera are woven into the fabric of daily life. They show up in layers of excavated dirt roads and clog waterways. But now, they can be found in remote areas of farmland, too. Some of the debris includes the thick plastic bags used for planting coffee seeds in nurseries.Some farmers are complaining, said Wilson Watira, head of a cultural board for the coffee-growing Bamasaba people. “They are concernedthose farmers who know the effects of buveera on the land,” he said.Around the world, plastics find their way into farm fields. Climate change makes agricultural plastic, already a necessity for many crops, even more unavoidable for some farmers. Meanwhile, research continues to show that itty-bitty microplastics alter ecosystems and end up in human bodies. Scientists, farmers, and consumers all worry about how that’s affecting human health, and many seek solutions. But industry experts say it’s difficult to know where plastic ends up or get rid of it completely, even with the best intentions of reuse and recycling programs.According to a 2021 report on plastics in agriculture by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, soils are one of the main receptors of agricultural plastics. Some studies have estimated that soils are more polluted by microplastics than the oceans.“These things are being released at such a huge, huge scale that it’s going to require major engineering solutions,” said Sarah Zack, an Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Great Lakes Contaminant Specialist who communicates about microplastics to the public. Why researchers want to study plastics in farm fields Microparticles of plastic that come from items like clothes, medications, and beauty products sometimes appear in fertilizer made from the solid byproducts of wastewater treatmentcalled biosolidswhich can also be smelly and toxic to nearby residents depending on the treatment process used. Some seeds are coated in plastic polymers designed to strategically disintegrate at the right time of the season, used in containers to hold pesticides or stretched over fields to lock in moisture.But the agriculture industry itself only accounts for a little over 3% of all plastics used globally. About 40% of all plastics are used in packaging, including single-use plastic food and beverage containers.Microplastics, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines as being smaller than five millimeters long, are their largest at about the size of a pencil eraser. Some are much smaller.Studies have already shown that microplastics can be taken up by plants on land or plankton in the ocean and subsequently eaten by animals or humans. Scientists are still studying the long-term effects of the plastic that’s been found in human organs. Early findings suggest possible links to a host of health conditions including heart disease and some cancers.Despite “significant research gaps,” the evidence related to the land-based food chain “is certainly raising alarm,” said Lev Neretin, environment lead at the FAO, which is currently working on another technical report looking deeper into the problem of microplastic pollution in soils and crops.A study out this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that microplastics pollution can even impact plants’ ability to photosynthesize, the process of turning light from the sun into energy. That doesn’t “justify excessive concern” but does “underscore food security risks that necessitate scientific attention,” wrote Fei Dang, one of the study’s authors. Climate change making matters worse The use of plastics has quadrupled over the past 30 years. Plastic is ubiquitous. And most of the world’s plastic goes to landfills, pollutes the environment, or is burned. Less than 10% of plastics are recycled.At the same time, some farmers are becoming more reliant on plastics to shelter crops from the effects of extreme weather. They’re using tarps, hoop houses, and other technology to try to control conditions for their crops. And they’re depending more on chemicals like pesticides and fertilizers to buffer against unreliable weather and more pervasive pest issues.“Through global warming, we have less and less arable land to make crops on. But we need more crops. So therefore the demand on agricultural chemicals is increasing,” said Ole Rosgaard, president and CEO of Greif, a company that makes packaging used for industrial agriculture products like pesticides and other chemicals.Extreme weather, fueled by climate change, also contributes to the breakdown and transport of agricultural plastics. Beating sun can wear on materials over time. And more frequent and intense rainfall events in some areas could drive more plastic particles running into fields and eventually waterways, said Maryam Salehi, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Missouri. Can agriculture escape the plastic problem? This past winter, leaders from around the world gathered in South Korea to produce the first legally binding global treaty on plastics pollution. They didn’t reach an agreement, but the negotiations are scheduled to resume in August.Neretin said the FAO produced a provisional, voluntary code of conduct on sustainable management of plastics in agriculture. But without a formal treaty in place, most countries don’t have a strong incentive to follow it.“The mood is certainly not cheery, that’s for sure,” he said, adding global cooperation “takes time, but the problem does not disappear.”Without political will, much of the onus falls on companies.Rosgaard, of Greif, said that his company has worked to make their products recyclable, and that farmers have incentives to return them because they can get paid in exchange. But he added it’s sometimes hard to prevent people from just burning the plastic or letting it end up in fields or waterways.“We just don’t know where they end up all the time,” he said.Some want to stop the flow of plastic and microplastic waste into ecosystems. Boluwatife Olubusoye, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Mississippi, is trying to see whether biochar, remains of organic matter and plant waste burned under controlled conditions, can filter out microplastics that run from farm fields into wterways. His early experiments have shown promise.He said he was motivated by the feeling that there was “never any timely solution in terms of plastic waste” ending up in fields in the first place, especially in developing countries.Even for farmers who care about plastics in soils, it can be challenging for them to do anything about it. In Uganda, owners of nursery beds cannot afford proper seedling trays, so they resort to cheaply made plastic bags used to germinate seeds, said Jacob Ogola, an independent agronomist there.Farmers hardest hit by climate change are least able to reduce the presence of cheap plastic waste in soils. That frustrates Innocent Piloya, an agroecology entrepreneur who grows coffee in rural Uganda with her company Ribbo Coffee.“It’s like little farmers fighting plastic manufacturers,” she said. Walling reported from Chicago. The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Melina Walling and Rodney Muhumuza, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
For weeks, President Donald Trump has said he’ll be imposing a range of fresh tariffs on imports from other countries this Wednesday, April 2, calling it “Liberation Day” and the “big one.” But what does that even mean? “For DECADES we have been ripped off and abused by every nation in the World, both friend and foe,” Trump explained in his own words in a post on Truth Social. “Now it is finally time for the Good Ol’ USA to get some of that MONEY, and RESPECT, BACK. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!” On Wednesday, Trump is expected to announce his plans for “reciprocal tariffs,” in which the U.S. charges the same import tax on goods into the country as other countries charge on our good into theirs, while also compensating for other trade barriers like regulatory requirements that make it harder for American exports to enter other nations. As we have seen with the administration’s recent 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, (currently paused until April 2), slapping taxes on our neighbors and trading partners has escalated fear in the markets, sending them tumbling as we grow closer to full-blown trade wars with some of our greatest allies and trading partners. However, Trump has indicated the size and scope of the tariffs might not be as extensive as his rhetoric might lead us to believe. Recently, Trump indicated a reciprocal tariff policy on “all countries” would be “very lenient,” and has also said, “I don’t change. But the word flexibility is an important word.” What we do know is that the goal is to slap a broad range of tariffs on countries with whom the U.S. has large trade imbalances. Those countries include Germany, Ireland, Italy, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, and of course, China, according to CBS News. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “on April 2, we are going to produce a list of other countries’ tariffs” with the expectation they will roll them back, otherwise “we will put up the tariff wall to protect our economy, protect our workers, and protect our industries.” The details of who or what is on the list has yet to be released, but what we do know is that Trump is hoping to achieve three things through his “Fair and Reciprocal Plan”: increase American manufacturing jobs at home; decrease our current $1.2 trillion trade deficit; and gain leverage over our trading partners, according to CBS News. Last week, Trump said Wednesday’s planned reciprocal tariffs “may give a lot of countries a break” and confirmed he’ll announce tariffs on autos, semiconductors, and lumber “down the road,” according to Business Insider. Many critics have said this package of tariffs will likely result in greater costs for Americans, who will likely foot the bill as companies hike prices and pass them on to consumers. The tariffs on April 2 could take effect that same day, which would give businesses little time to pivot, with Trump predicting the economy will need an “adjustment” period.
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E-Commerce
Elon Musk gave out $1 million checks on Sunday to two Wisconsin voters, declaring them spokespeople for his political group, ahead of a Wisconsin Supreme Court election that the tech billionaire cast as critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda and “the future of civilization.”“It’s a super big deal,” he told a roughly 2,000-person crowd in Green Bay on Sunday night, taking the stage in a yellow cheesehead hat. “I’m not phoning it in. I’m here in person.”Musk and groups he supports have spent more than $20 million to help conservative favorite Brad Schimel in Tuesday’s race, which will determine the ideological makeup of a court likely to decide key issues in a perennial battleground state. Musk has increasingly become the center of the contest, with liberal favorite Susan Crawford and her allies protesting Musk and what they say is the influence he wants to have on the court.“I think this will be important for the future of civilization,” he said. “It’s that’s significant.”He noted that the state high court may well take up redistricting of congressional districts, which could ultimately affect which party controls the U.S. House.“And if the (Wisconsin) Supreme Court is able to redraw the districts, they will gerrymander the district and deprive Wisconsin of two seats on the Republican side,” Musk said. “Then they will try to stop all the government reforms we are getting done for you, the American people.”A unanimous state Supreme Court on Sunday refused to hear a last-minute attempt by the state’s Democratic attorney general to stop Musk from handing over the checks to two voters, a ruling that came just minutes before the planned start of the rally.Two lower courts had already rejected the legal challenge by Democrat Josh Kaul, who argues that Musk’s offer violates a state law. “Wisconsin law prohibits offering anything of value to induce anyone to vote,” Kaul argued in his filing. “Yet, Elon Musk did just that.”But the state Supreme Court, which is currently controlled 43 by liberal justices, declined to take the case as an original action. The court gave no rationale for its decision.Kaul had no immediate comment on the court’s order.Musk’s attorneys argued in filings with the court that Musk was exercising his free speech rights with the giveaways and any attempt to restrict that would violate both the Wisconsin and U.S. constitutions.The payments are “intended to generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate,” Musk’s attorneys argued in court filings.Musk’s political action committee used a nearly identical tactic before the presidential election last year, offering to pay $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second amendments. A judge in Pennsylvania said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through Election Day.Liberals currently hold a 43 majority on the court. All four liberal justices have endorsed Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, the Democratic-backed candidate.Musk’s attorneys, about four hours before the rally was to begin, asked that two liberal justices who have campaigned for CrawfordJill Karofsky and Rebecca Dalletrecuse themselves from the case. His attorneys argued their work for Crawford creates “the specter of inappropriate bias.” If they did recuse, that would leave the court with a 3-2 conservative majority.Both justices rejected the request and said they would spell out their reasons why at a later date.One of the court’s conservative justices has endorsed Schimel, who wore a “Make America Great Again” hat while campaigning Sunday.Schimel said in a national television interview that he does not control “any of the spending from any outside group, whether it’s Elon Musk or anyone else” and that all Trump asked was whether he would “reject activist judges” and follow the law.“That’s exactly what I’ve committed to anybody, whether it’s President Trump, Elon Musk or any donors and donors or supporters or voters in Wisconsin. That’s my commitment,” Schimel told “Fox News Sunday.”The contest has shattered national spending records for a judicial election, with more than $81 million in spending.It comes as Wisconsin’s highest court is expected to rule on abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power and voting rules that could affect the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election in the state. Associated Press writer Gary Fields in Washington contributed to this report. Thomas Beaumont and Scott Bauer, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
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