What goes into designing that popular teapot or water bottle? 2 top creators discuss the process
By KIM COOK
Ever wonder how some of the stuff we use every day came to be?
How to save with the underconsumption trend
By Kimberly Palmer, NerdWallet
Spending less, it turns out, can be pretty trendy.
Social media influencers are celebrating the art of consuming less. They are thrifting, sharing no-buy challenges and buying items with longevity in mind, and showing followers how they can, too — all under the hashtag “#underconsumptioncore”.
“There is a discourse pushing back against overconsumption,” says Dana Miranda, author of “You Don’t Need a Budget” and the “Healthy Rich” newsletter on Substack. “Things have become so easy to get, including things we don’t value very much. We don’t need all this stuff in our lives.”
That stuff, adds Kasia Stolarz, a certified financial planner in Halifax, Nova Scotia, often “doesn’t make us as happy as we thought it would.”
While personal finance experts generally agree that consuming less is something to be celebrated, they also warn about taking this latest take on conscious spending too far. Here are five ways to save with the underconsumption trend without letting it negatively impact your lifestyle:
Troubled Florida citrus industry calls on lawmakers to continue funding research, advertising
TALLAHASSEE — Citrus growers called on lawmakers Tuesday to continue providing research and advertising money to help an industry that has seen production drop more than 90 percent in less than three decades.
Otherwise, they cautioned that more of the roughly 1,500 remaining citrus growers in the state could exit the industry.
Appearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday, Florida Citrus Mutual CEO and Executive Vice President Matt Joyner stressed the need to continue providing money for research in the long-running battle against deadly citrus greening disease.
Meanwhile, Department of Citrus Executive Director Shannon Shepp focused on money for marketing.
“We are admittedly an industry in need of your help on many levels,” Shepp said. “I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t hearken the words of Henry Ford, that, ‘Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping a clock to save time.’”
“There will be a renaissance in this industry,” Shepp added. “We need to maintain a market for these growers.”
Once a Trump critic, Mark Zuckerberg pivots toward the president
By Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times
Before Donald Trump kicked off his second term as president, Meta Platforms Chief Executive and founder Mark Zuckerberg took another big swing at hitting reset.
In a nearly three-hour conversation with Joe Rogan, a hugely popular podcaster and brash Trump supporter, Zuckerberg talked about the social media giant’s decision to stop using fact-checkers to combat misinformation. Instead, users would be left to keep one another in check.
Zuckerberg slammed the media and the outgoing administration, saying Biden officials would routinely yell at the social network’s workers during the pandemic to pull down what the government viewed as misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.
Rogan has millions of listeners, but Zuckerberg’s message of it being a new day at Meta had already reached the person he perhaps cared about most. A few days before the podcast aired, Trump commented that he was pleased with the changes at Meta. The company, he said, had “come a long way.”
Florida DOT targets Port Canaveral amid space policy recommendations
When Port Canaveral last year announced it wanted to take over areas used by the space industry for a future cruise terminal, the state Department of Transportation threatened to pull funding.
In the end, Canaveral Port Authority officials reversed plans, but the state DOT is now seeking an update to state policy “to safeguard Florida’s strategic position as America’s Preferred Space Launch State,” according to a press release highlighting parts of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposed state budget.
That includes “requiring Port Canaveral to receive state approval prior to utilizing any state funds intended for cargo and space activities for any other use.”
It’s unclear how the language differs from normal procedures any of Florida’s ports would go through when applying for state funding.
“Every grant the port applies for has requirements for being selected and conditions for being awarded the funding,” said Port Canaveral Director of Communications and Public Affairs Steven Linden. “We look forward to working with the state on future grant opportunities.”