Clarisa Diaz

It makes the world go ’round Growing and selling wheat is a trade that has been around since the advent of farming thousands of years ago. Wheat is believed to have been initially grown in neolithic times as a way to provide sustenance for families, much like its purpose today, making it a strong culinary connector to our prehistoric roots. As long as there has been wheat, there has been bread. The oldest loaf likely dates back to 14,000 years ago, and there’s evidence that cured meat was eve…

It makes the world go ’round Growing and selling wheat is a trade that has been around since the advent of farming thousands of years ago. Wheat is believed to have been initially grown in neolithic times as a way to provide sustenance for families, much like its purpose today, making it a strong culinary connector to our prehistoric roots. As long as there has been wheat, there has been bread. The oldest loaf likely dates back to 14,000 years ago, and there’s evidence that cured meat was eve…

Olive oil prices have gone from bad to worse. Extreme heat, wildfires, and drought are cutting harvest yields for producers, prompting shortages—and higher prices. In May, the global price of olive oil reached a 26-year high. It’s since gained another 32%, setting an all-time record. Nearly $6,000 per metric ton in May, the global price now tops $9,000. Spain, the world’s largest exporter and importer of olive oil, has yielded only half what it normally would this year, thanks to extreme heat a…

Around 13% of 17 million US households were food insecure at some time during in 2022, according to a new report by the USDA. That means those households were unable to acquire enough food, or uncertain of being able to acquire it, because they had insufficient money or other resources. The number is 2.6% higher than in 2021, when 13.5 million households struggled with food security. The rise also comes as the US government pulls back on its food benefits for low-income households. Pandemic-er…

A total of nearly 6 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions were produced by 100 companies or entities in the US in 2020 alone, according to analysis from the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Over half a billion metric tons of those emissions were from facilities owned by ten companies, many of which supply electricity for utilities, including Vistra Energy, Duke Energy, Southern Company, and Berkshire Hathaway. The US government as an entity wa…

New applications for mortgages have fallen 6.9% from a week ago, a decrease in demand that hasn’t been seen since 1995, according to a survey released today (Oct. 18) by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The association keeps a weekly index tracking changes in mortgage applications. Applications for a 30-year conventional mortgage to purchase a home are 21% lower than the same week one year ago, showing that potential homebuyers are continuing to pull back and reassess their strategies for…

Wildfires are costing the US economy between $394 billion and $893 billion each year, according to a new report by Joint Economic Committee Democrats. The committee found the highest cost to the economy is loss of real estate value—with $337.5 billion going up in smoke in the last year—further pinching supply for those looking to become homeowners or seeking housing. Mitigating exposure to wildfire smoke is the next biggest cost at $202.5 billion per year. The report findings explore the downwin…

The first company to sign up for Google Ads was a lobster delivery company started from scratch by Dan Zawacki in Chicago with only $1,000 in 1989. The company now makes around $6 million in revenue with 26 employees. Initially a more affordable idea for gifting clients the crustaceous delicacy instead of wining and dining them during the 1980s, Lobster Gram was birthed right alongside the dot com boom to become one of the first mail order seafood and gourmet food businesses on the internet. Qua…

The highly anticipated inflation gauge is out. It shows that consumer prices in September rose 0.4% from the previous month, and 3.7% from a year ago, steady from the 3.7% increase posted in August, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. The shelter index—mostly composed of rental costs—increased 7.2% over the last year. That accounted for 70% of all price increases minus food and energy, with gasoline also a major contributor to the rising inflation. The good news Th…

Global inflation, still high following the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is starting to cool slightly this year. But people everywhere keep feeling the strain on their wallets. National governments, most recently in Britain, have been responding with minimum wage hikes. Amid a cost-of-living crisis, the UK announced on Monday (Oct. 2) that it’s raising the minimum wage to at least £11 ($13.40) per hour. That hike, due to take effect next April, follows the guidance of the countr…

Out-of-pocket healthcare expenses cost women $15 billion more per year than men in the US, according to a recent report (pdf) by Deloitte. The report analyzed health insurance data from 2017 to 2022, and raises questions about how businesses and health insurers can help close the gap. Women ages 19 to 64 experience disproportionately higher out-of-pocket medical expenses compared to men, even when excluding pregnancy-related services. The analysis excludes pharmaceuticals. On average, female e…

An intense summer of wildfires, flooding, and record scorching heat may transition into another season of terrible weather. El Niño, a natural climate pattern which warms the Earth, will bring a mild and wet winter for many, but also a prolonged, colder winter for others. Meteorologists are forecasting that parts of the US may experience a colder and drier winter with more snowfall than usual this year due to the continuation of El Niño. While the western region of the US will experience warm…

While buildings only contribute to 6% of global emissions, accounting for the use of more electricity and a structure’s materials can triple the size of a building’s carbon footprint, according to a new report by Generation, a sustainable investment firm. Historical data from the International Energy Association (IEA) shows that buildings haven’t made big strides in reducing their carbon footprint, remaining more or less the same since 2010. But as the energy transition points toward more electr…

As the US housing market keeps testing buyers and sellers, realtors in some states are selling homes slower than their peers elsewhere, with the Northeast struggling the most. Sales over the past year took longest in New York, averaging about 60 days or two months to close, according to a new analysis by realty firm RubyHome Real Estate using data from Zillow. The national average to close the sale of a home is 33.5 days. New Jersey follows New York with an average of around 48 days until close…

The US imports more sugars and sugar confectionary than any country in the world—it spent $6.48 billion dollars for sugar in 2022. But growth in demand for honey in the US has increased significantly over the last three decades, according to data from the USDA. While per capita consumption of sugar has increased by about 7% since 1990, honey consumption has seen an almost 60% increase in growth. Demand for honey and its products remains elevated While Americans consume far more sugar tha…

The North Atlantic ocean is getting less frigid, with 2023 shaping up to be the warmest year on record. Sea surface temperatures for June 2023 across the North Atlantic were 0.91°C above average, according to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. This is around 0.5°C more than the previous warmest June, recorded in 2010. Since May, daily sea surface temperatures have reached higher than the two degree range above the historical mean, indicating extreme warming conditions. Abo…

Growth in the market for used clothing might outpace fast fashion as more consumers become aware of the environmental, social, and economic benefits of thrift shopping. The global secondhand apparel market is expected to grow 127% by 2026, three times faster than the apparel market overall, according to a recent report by thredUP, an online consignment and thrift store. In 2022, the market for secondhand apparel grew 24% from the year before, to $119 billion dollars. The report from thredUP sh…

Global sales of heat pumps grew by 11% in 2022, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA). But Europe saw the highest increase, almost doubling its growth compared to the previous year, from 22% to 41%. The report indicates that rising sales were the result of high natural gas prices and efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Last year, the European Union set a goal of installing 50 million heat pumps by 2030, the maximum that its current electrical grid can handle.…

Construction of privately owned housing units started in February at higher levels than expected

The finding reveals an urgent need for plastic reduction