globalbriefs


News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefi ts all.


Airbnb Battle Corporate Interests Oppose Private Rentals


Local governments and hotels are struggling to come to terms with the growing phenomenon of Airbnb room rentals, which help residents fi nd short-term paying guests that often provide an economic lifeline to help them pay their bills, rent or mortgage. It’s an affordable, convenient and comfortable alternative for travelers. Critics claim the service removes affordable housing units and offi cial hotel rooms from the market by turning suitable


apartments into unoffi cial hotels. Consequently, proposed ordinances are in the works in several U.S. metropolitan areas where Airbnb entrepreneurs and industry groups are also active in trying to shape future laws. Other on-demand grassroots industries such as ride-hailing companies Uber and


Lyft, which have fl ourished in unregulated “gray areas”, have learned they need to employ teams of lawyers and lobbyists to fi ght a stream of restrictive laws and lawsuits.


Source: CNN


Planting Progress New Seed-Sharing Law in California


California is the fourth state to pass a law making it legal to swap seeds and collect them in non-commercial libraries. That’s good, because the U.S. Department of Agriculture Federal Seed Act, in place for 80 years, mandates that any activity involving non-commercial distribution of seeds must be labeled, permitted and tested according to industrial regulations that would be both costly and burdensome to the hundreds of local seed libraries operating in 46 states. Nebraska, Illinois and Minnesota also recently passed laws protecting non- commercial seed activity from regulatory requirements. Free seed libraries, swaps and exchanges increase access to local food and can play a large role in expanding and preserving biodiversity. Neil Thapar, the food and farm attorney at the Sustainable Economies Law


Center, says, “We wanted to create the legal framework for an alternative system that is not reliant on large companies to provide open-pollinated seed varieties. Seed sharing has a direct connection to building local economic resilience.” The center is taking action to try to get laws changed in all 50 states.


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Eco IKEA Designing Cabinets and Chairs Made from Recyclables


Swedish design fi rm and retailer IKEA is introducing a new line of “no waste” products that includes seating, vases and kitchen cabinets made of recycled materials. IKEA hopes that the design will help people see waste not as garbage, but as just another material that can be used in creating new and beautiful things. The Kungsbacka kitchen employs affordable, sustainable supplies that look stylish, including cabinet doors incorporating recycled plastic bottles and recycled wood; the entire cabinet is said to be 99.9 percent recycled. The Odger chair is 70 percent


recycled plastic and 30 percent renewable wood. The design, available in a range of colors and wood fi nishes, is the result of collaboration between Swedish designers at Form Us With Love and eschews the environment- harming plastics of other chairs. IKEA also melts recycled glass to turn it into beautiful vases. Each mouth-blown vase is unique, thanks to the materials.


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AlesiaKan/Shutterstock.com


BestPhotoPlus/Shutterstock.com


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