Posts

Salkeld called much of northwest California a

  Salkeld called much of northwest California a  “hyper endemic” area for Lyme disease. Sierra, Santa Cruz, Mendocino, Mariposa and Humboldt counties have the highest rates of Lyme in the state, according to the latest California Department of Health report on vector-borne disease. However, these levels are still below those of many areas on the East Coast. After a particularly wet year in 2017 in the Bay Area, the following spring saw elevated levels of ticks — which could also be the case next spring, Salked said. It takes about 18 months for the western black-legged tick to go through its life cycle. “It may well be next spring that ticks are really booming

Moscow relies on income from oil and gas

  Moscow relies on income from oil and ga s  last year around 11.6 trillion roubles - to fund its budget spending, and has been forced to start selling international FX reserves to cover a deficit stretched by the cost of the Ukraine conflict. SANCTIONS While some Russian officials have sought to downplay the efficacy of price caps and embargoes on Russian energy exports , Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said last year that a price ceiling on Russian oil could widen the budget deficit in 2023. As a consequence of sanctions, Moscow has been forced to sell energy at a large discount and, although the 2023 budget is based on a Urals price of $70.10 per barrel, the average price for Russia's main blend in January was $49.48 a barrel, down 42% on January 2022. The ministry said on Monday it was studying ways to switch to an alternative price indicator for tax purposes, as the Urals oil price was becoming less representative of export prices for Russian oil.