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There may soon not be enough gas to meet demand in the Australian state of Victoria, and this could happen as soon as next year according to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

This is pushing more and more Victorians to switch off their gas, especially as their energy bills are getting steeper.

“It’s just the savings. Like obviously, environmental impact is important, and the health implications. But I reckon it’s probably just halved our bills,” explains Sarah Anderson, homeowner and former gas customer.

In a survey from last year, it was found that 90 percent of Victorians rely on gas for their household appliances with cooktops, hot water systems, heaters, and ovens coming first in terms of usage.

All of the survey participants said they could consider using electricity for one of these appliances, but only half of them said they would be willing to switch off their gas consumption completely.

Moving away from gas will help Victorians reach their sustainability targets but it may also become necessary. The Australian Energy Market Operator says there could be gas shortfalls from 2028 and shortages in winter as soon as next year as Bass Strait supplies dwindle.

"The real problem here is that not enough is being found to meet our ongoing demands. That is why it’s really critical that we take the actions that we are (taking) because we know that gas is a finite resource," says Victoria's Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio.

The Victorian government is pushing citizens to get off gas by banning it in new homes and offering discounts to households that decide to replace gas appliances with electric ones. But that could come at too high a cost for some households and not everyone is on board with the idea.

"The Victorian government has an ideological approach to energy and an ideological approach to gas. We say that gas is part of the future and our big gas distribution system should be regarded as an opportunity by the government, not something to be pulled out and stripped away," says Victoria's Shadow Energy Minister David Davis.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Solar panels dot rooftops across sprawling Lagos, a Nigerian city that is undergoing a transformation as it adopts solar power. Nearly a decade ago, things looked quite different.

Climate technology was new in Africa, and it was tough to get funding for start-ups that would eventually enable the region’s electrification.

But the ecosystem has since changed, and in recent years, venture capital and private equity firms are increasingly funding climate-tech startups, with businesses raising more than $3.4 billion since 2019.

Rensource Energy, a company that provides solar and battery-based power subscription packages to individuals and businesses, is benefitting from the recent uptick in private funding.

“Automatically if you are using fossil fuel generation, which is the mainstay in this side, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing more on West and Central Africa right, you have a lot of carbon emission and these things are not good for their atmosphere and what businesses like us try to do is to address such issue by using clean and sustainable energy at a scale that is equal to what the grid does, or equal to what larger fossil fuel diesel generators do,” says CEO Prince Ojeabulu.

Ojeabulu says financial backers were initially hard to find, they needed to be convinced they were investing in a good business model.

But there’s still a long way to go, with the continent requiring $277 billion annually to meet its climate goals for 2030 according to the funding database Africa: The Big Deal.

Experts say to unlock financing and fill this gap, African countries need to address risks like currency instability which deters investors.

At the same time, investors are being urged to expand their scope of interest to other climate-related industry sectors like flood protection, disaster management and heat management, and to use diverse funding methods.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Nationally, most teachers report feeling stressed and overwhelmed at work, according to a Pew Research Center survey of teachers last fall. Waning job satisfaction over the last two decades has accompanied a decline in teachers’ sense of autonomy in the classroom, according to a recent study out of Brown University and the University at Albany.

At Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Henderson, administrators allow their staff high levels of classroom creativity—and it works.

“There is a lot of our own individual input allowed in doing the activities that we want to do in the classroom,” said Vanessa Stevenson, a middle school science teacher. “It’s a bit of trial and error because there’s nothing being handed to you saying, ‘Do it this way.’ You just have to figure it out,” she said.

Joel Herbst, superintendent of Henderson and its sibling FAU High School calls the faculty his “secret sauce” and argues the school’s success can be duplicated anywhere—if administrators cede some control. When that happens, he said, teachers create hands-on programs that help students “not only show their understanding but gain more depth.”

“Give (teachers) the freedom to do what they do best, which is to impart knowledge, to teach beyond the textbook,” he said.

Portland State University education professor Madhu Narayanan, who studies teacher autonomy, said independence has a high correlation to faculty morale and success. But autonomy must be paired with administrative support.

“It can’t be, ‘Here is the classroom, here is the textbook, we’ll see you in six months.’ Those teachers have tremendous autonomy, but feel lost,” he said.

Even at a school where teachers exude enthusiasm, elementary art teacher Lindsey Wuest stands out—she can’t stand still while describing how her lessons center on science.

In her Science as Art class, Wuest and a visiting artist are showing third graders how to make clay bobblehead dolls of endangered species—while also teaching the chemistry of why glazes change color in the kiln.

“Hopefully, those students who love art can also develop a love of science,” she said. “Project-based learning sticks with the kids for longer.”

“We have fun while we create stuff about science,” said third grader Maximus Mallow.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says the company’s leaders should spend more time in stores and focus on coffee drinks as they work to turn around flagging sales.

In a LinkedIn post, Schultz said many people had reached out to him after Starbucks reported weaker-than-expected quarterly sales and earnings.

The Seattle coffee giant said revenue dropped 2% in the January-March period as store traffic slowed around the world. It was the first time since 2020 that the company saw a drop in quarterly revenue. Starbucks also lowered its sales and earnings guidance for its full fiscal year.

Schultz, who bought Starbucks in 1987, is credited with growing the company into the global behemoth it has become with nearly 39,000 stores worldwide. He has been the chairman emeritus of the company since last fall when he stepped down from Starbucks’ board.

In his post, Schultz said senior leaders—including board members—need to spend more time talking to baristas in the company’s stores. “The stores require a maniacal focus on the customer experience, through the eyes of a merchant. The answer does not lie in data but in the stores,” he said.

Laxman Narasimhan, who became Starbucks’ CEO last spring, has been working a half-day shift in Starbucks stores once a month.

At some points in his post, Schultz seemed to be questioning Narasimhan’s turnaround plans. In a conference call with investors, Narasimhan mentioned several new products he thinks will drive customers to stores later this year, including boba drinks, sugar-free options, and the brand’s first energy beverage.

But Schultz said coffee is what differentiates Starbucks and reinforces the company’s premium positioning.

Narasimhan did announce plans for coffee pop-up stores in the U.S. and elsewhere last month. Starbucks plans to use the stores to experiment with limited-edition coffee drinks, teach younger customers about coffee, and learn about customers’ preferences.

Schultz also said the company should update its mobile ordering and payment platform to “once again make it the uplifting experience it was designed to be.” Narasimhan said last fall that Starbucks is accelerating the introduction of new digital features and trying to personalize the customer experience within its app.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Spicy, steaming, slurpy ramen may be everyone’s favorite Japanese food. In Tokyo, long lines circle around blocks, and waiting an hour for your favorite ramen is normal. Ramen has also surged in popularity in the U.S., South Korea, and other countries in the past 15 years or so.

Menus at the top 500 U.S. restaurant chains have 6% more mentions of ramen than they did a year ago, according to Technomic, a research and consulting company for the restaurant industry.

Technomic is also starting to see more versions of ramen beyond the traditional soup. Del Taco, a Mexican chain, recently introduced Shredded Beef Birria Ramen, for example. “There’s all kinds of different ramen styles today,” says Frank Striegl, a Filipino American who grew up in Tokyo. “Even wacky ramen on the tour, for example, there’s pork bone ramen with pesto.”

“Noodles and soup around the world is consumed in so many different countries,” says Striegl. “I think because of that, it’s a dish that’s easy to understand. It’s a dish that’s easy to get behind.”

Katie Sell, a graduate student taking part in Striegl’s tour, says ramen is different from the American food she grew up with. “It’s so soothing and so warm and it’s got such depth of flavor [...] that doesn't often pop up in the other food that I eat,” she says.

While ramen has never been more popular in Japan, ramen places have struggled because of the pandemic, the weakening Japanese yen, and the higher cost of wheat imports and energy, according to a study by Tokyo Shoko Research.

One beneficiary of the pandemic is a home delivery service for frozen, professionally-cooked ramen. Called takumen.com, it boasts some 500,000 subscribers in Japan.

Another Tokyo operation, Gourmet Innovation, has signed on 250 of Japan's top ramen joints to sell packaged versions of their soup, noodles and toppings, which can be heated up in boiling water and served at home.

Co-founder and executive Kenichi Nomaguchi hopes to expand his business overseas. Unlike pasta or curry, ramen is difficult to replicate at home, says Nomaguchi.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Thousands of negotiators and observers representing most of the world’s nations gathered in Ottawa to craft a treaty to end the rapidly escalating problem of plastic pollution.

The scale of the plastics problem is daunting, but not for the volunteers collecting waste on a Cape Town beach.

Cleanup on this scale may be considered a drop in the oceans of plastic, but here it's the message that counts as thousands of delegates representing scores of countries arrive for the International Plastics Negotiations in Ottawa, Canada, last month.

The aim is to craft a treaty to stop the rapidly escalating problem of plastic pollution, but no one expected that to happen in April, the UN has set the deadline for this towards the end of this year.

In March 2022, 175 nations agreed to make the first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, including in the oceans, by the end of 2024.

Each day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans, rivers and lakes, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. People are increasingly breathing, eating and drinking tiny plastic particles.

Negotiators must streamline the existing treaty draft and decide its scope: whether it will focus on human health and the environment, whether it will limit the actual production of plastic, and whether it will restrict some chemicals used in plastics.

These are elements that a self-named “high-ambition coalition” of countries wants to see.

Alternatively, the agreement could have a more limited scope and focus on plastic waste and greater recycling, as some of the plastic-producing and oil and gas exporters want. It’s an extremely short timeline for negotiations, meant to match the urgency of the problem.

This is the fourth of five meetings of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution. Plastic production continues to ramp up globally and is projected to double or triple by 2050 if nothing changes.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.