In September, state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and a group of environmental organizations sued Exxon Mobil, accusing the company of falsely promoting plastics as universally recyclable when, in reality, the vast majority of these products cannot be reused.

The goal of the bill. SB 707, is to reduce the millions of tons of unwanted clothing that typically end up in landfills across the state, support the development of upcycling and recycling across the state and address the environmental impacts of “fast fashion.”

“SB 707 isn’t just about recycling; it’s about transforming the way we think about textile waste,” Senator Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), the bill’s author, said in a statement. “The framework created by SB 707 will create new opportunities for every Californian to participate in a more sustainable future.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/17779430

A large percentage of threads I've created or participated in have been deleted. Worse is that when visiting the URL everything is completely gone.

This is much more drastic when compared with Reddit thread deletions, where the thread is there and so is the discussion. And the creator of the thread has access to their content.

The Lemmy method discourages people from participating in threads and creating high-quality content, much more so than the Reddit method.

A bunch of lively and useful discussions on Lemmy have completely disappeared. And it makes it seem like a waste of time to even contribute content here.

---

EDIT: I see that the "fediverse" link for posts has been removed. I posted this to lemmy.ml from a lemmy.world account and there's no way for me to get the lemmy.ml link now. And when I crosspost it it shows a lemmy.world link instead of the lemmy.ml one. I think this should be changed [back].

A large percentage of threads I've created or participated in have been deleted. Worse is that when visiting the URL everything is completely gone.

This is much more drastic when compared with Reddit thread deletions, where the thread is there and so is the discussion. And the creator of the thread has access to their content.

The Lemmy method discourages people from participating in threads and creating high-quality content, much more so than the Reddit method.

A bunch of lively and useful discussions on Lemmy have completely disappeared. And it makes it seem like a waste of time to even contribute content here.

EDIT: I see that the "fediverse" link for posts has been removed. I posted this to lemmy.ml from a lemmy.world account and there's no way for me to get the lemmy.ml link now. And when I crosspost it it shows a lemmy.world link instead of the lemmy.ml one. I think this should be changed [back].

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16659287

First, you need to understand the factors that contribute to one person being low functioning and another high functioning.

Human health, development, and function are multifactorial: Genetics, epigenetics, microbiome, diet, environmental/industrial pollution, socioeconomic influences, etc.

I have a two-step proposal.

1. The first step is to limit the impact of low-functioning individuals. https://www.highiqpro.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/IQ-Bell-Curve.png. Right now society is set up so that society is run by the wealthy and the low functioning majority. This results in these people voting for, and implementing policies that exacerbate the problems instead of fixing them.
2. The second step is to take action to raise the level of functioning of the human population. This second part probably takes the most learning for the average person. Most people seem to have a very very poor understanding of human health, development, and function. But I tried to condense it into that one article.

My suggestion for tackling the first step is to implement a cognitive (IQ, EQ, etc.) test for city, state, and federal representatives.

Having an IQ test to vote seems problematic. Firstly because of how things like that were used in the past to disenfranchise certain populations. Secondly, the problem right now is that not enough people vote, and that results in the wealthy controlling the government and laws.

I think a better solution is (at minimum) a cognitive test for anyone running for a government position so that can be factored into people's assessment of them. But possibly that won't be enough and it will be necessary to set some minimum requirements for test results.

This way you don't give the option for dumb people to vote for other dumb people. They only get to choose between two intelligent ones.

Some smart people may be corrupt or sociopathic, so this test should be a full psychological evaluation.

I'm curious if it would be possible to get people like Ibram X. Kendi (who gives an interview here on antiracism, anticapitalism and the eugenicist origins of IQ and SAT tests) to agree on both implementation of this solution and an appropriate IQ/psych test for it. I would base my argument to people like him on this type of data [1][2].

My position is also based on polling data from Australia which showed that a political group that is in the vast minority in most countries is the most intelligent, and largest (percentage-wise) supporters of evidence-based policy and holders of evidence-based beliefs. This coincides with the IQ graph I linked earlier. A cognitive test requirement like this should boost the influence of that party and its supporters.

---

My suggestions for tackling the second step by making people smarter are in this document (which I haven't updated for years). It's doable via a variety of biological and societal interventions.

The problem again is that it's low-functioning people preventing us from implementing these fixes. Possibly if enough intelligent people understand and agree on these fixes and be vocal enough about implementing them we could get it done.

In my opinion, Fecal Microbiota Transplants (FMT) are one of the most promising aspects of this second step. One problem is the people who qualify to be stool donors appear to be extremely rare. You can read more about the current status of FMT in this blog. If you have the ability to influence or fund clinical trials, read this.

As is, with the health of the population rapidly declining, I feel like I'm living in Idiocracy, and surely collapse will be inevitable if nothing is changed.

I posted this on Reddit a few years ago. Thanks to everyone moving communities over to Lemmy so we no longer have to use and link to Reddit.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16659287

First, you need to understand the factors that contribute to one person being low functioning and another high functioning.

Human health, development, and function are multifactorial: Genetics, epigenetics, microbiome, diet, environmental/industrial pollution, socioeconomic influences, etc.

I have a two-step proposal.

1. The first step is to limit the impact of low-functioning individuals. https://www.highiqpro.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/IQ-Bell-Curve.png. Right now society is set up so that society is run by the wealthy and the low functioning majority. This results in these people voting for, and implementing policies that exacerbate the problems instead of fixing them.
2. The second step is to take action to raise the level of functioning of the human population. This second part probably takes the most learning for the average person. Most people seem to have a very very poor understanding of human health, development, and function. But I tried to condense it into that one article.

My suggestion for tackling the first step is to implement a cognitive (IQ, EQ, etc.) test for city, state, and federal representatives.

Having an IQ test to vote seems problematic. Firstly because of how things like that were used in the past to disenfranchise certain populations. Secondly, the problem right now is that not enough people vote, and that results in the wealthy controlling the government and laws.

I think a better solution is (at minimum) a cognitive test for anyone running for a government position so that can be factored into people's assessment of them. But possibly that won't be enough and it will be necessary to set some minimum requirements for test results.

This way you don't give the option for dumb people to vote for other dumb people. They only get to choose between two intelligent ones.

Some smart people may be corrupt or sociopathic, so this test should be a full psychological evaluation.

I'm curious if it would be possible to get people like Ibram X. Kendi (who gives an interview here on antiracism, anticapitalism and the eugenicist origins of IQ and SAT tests) to agree on both implementation of this solution and an appropriate IQ/psych test for it. I would base my argument to people like him on this type of data [1][2].

My position is also based on polling data from Australia which showed that a political group that is in the vast minority in most countries is the most intelligent, and largest (percentage-wise) supporters of evidence-based policy and holders of evidence-based beliefs. This coincides with the IQ graph I linked earlier. A cognitive test requirement like this should boost the influence of that party and its supporters.

---

My suggestions for tackling the second step by making people smarter are in this document (which I haven't updated for years). It's doable via a variety of biological and societal interventions.

The problem again is that it's low-functioning people preventing us from implementing these fixes. Possibly if enough intelligent people understand and agree on these fixes and be vocal enough about implementing them we could get it done.

In my opinion, Fecal Microbiota Transplants (FMT) are one of the most promising aspects of this second step. One problem is the people who qualify to be stool donors appear to be extremely rare. You can read more about the current status of FMT in this blog. If you have the ability to influence or fund clinical trials, read this.

As is, with the health of the population rapidly declining, I feel like I'm living in Idiocracy, and surely collapse will be inevitable if nothing is changed.

This is important because "SIBO" has become a really popular "internet diagnosis", and the primary intervention is an antibiotic with potentially severe side effects.

Key points

• The SIBO-IBS hypothesis has stimulated significant research into the role of the microbiota in symptoms of DBGI but remains unproven.
• This hypothesis has resulted in serious unintended consequences, namely the use of poorly validated breath tests to diagnose SIBO and the resulting injudicious use of antibiotics.
• The lactulose breath test (LBT) is primarily a measure of intestinal transit and has very low sensitivity and specificity to diagnose SIBO.
• The glucose breath test (GBT) has better performance characteristics if the pre-test probability is high, as found in conditions underlying classical SIBO, but also has a high false-positive rate in DGBI.
• Future studies in DGBI are needed to better understand the impact of bacterial communities, their metabolites, and diet-host interactions in the small and large intestine on DGBI symptoms and move away from the sole focus on absolute numbers of bacteria.

In this review, we examine why the SIBO hypothesis remains unproven and, given the unintended consequences, discuss why it is time to reject this hypothesis and its reliance on breath testing.

More info & discussion.

Because they’re near the bottom of the food chain, shrimp don’t generally tend to accumulate the environmental toxins, like mercury or dioxins, found in big predators such as tuna or swordfish.

Mercury and arsenic can build up in the sludge under shrimp ponds. However, even the highest levels of heavy metals Dr. Martín has found in Ecuadorean farmed shrimp were half of what one sees in the least contaminated tuna.

Frozen shrimp may contain preservatives like sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium bisulfite, which people with sulfite or phosphate sensitivities may want to avoid.

In many countries, shrimp farms also use large amounts of antibiotics to keep the animals healthy. [...] has found banned antibiotics in imported shrimp, as well as unlabeled preservatives.

Wild-caught shrimp are more expensive but also tastier and less likely to be contaminated with environmental toxins.

When it comes to the health of the oceans, many experts say shrimp is among the most damaging foods you can eat.

In 2015, The Associated Press revealed the wide use of slave labor in the Thai shrimp industry. The U.S. Department of Labor has also called out shrimp production in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Cambodia for using child or forced labor. More recently, investigative reporting from The Outlaw Ocean Project offered a damning look at shrimp farming in India, the biggest shrimp importer to the United States, that raised concerns not just about labor practices, but also banned antibiotics and environmental damage.

Fishing practices in the United States and Canada again tend to be less harmful to ocean life than they are elsewhere. Otherwise, look for shrimp certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.

But experts said the most important thing you can do is simply ask about sustainable options. That signifies that there is a desire for sustainable seafood.

It was probably largely what the episode was based on. Eg: this blog post discussing searching for top athletes https://www.humanmicrobes.org/blog/the-evidence-and-rationale-supporting-our-donor-criteria.

I know this isn't meme format, but I saw another discussion post here and thought people would find this interesting :)

Firefox’s Enhanced Tracking Protection (Strict Mode) is known to cause issues on x.com

There were no "issues"; everything was working completely fine. This is a deliberate decision to force people to turn off tracking protection.

I saw a recommendation to use Firefox's container extension https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/containers, but it's disabled in private browsing windows, and I always use private browsing windows.

Submitting from a lemmy.world account to a mander.xyz community.

I've tried it multiple times, and this submission to ![email protected] worked without issue.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/12989654

I'm a novice so I chose the most novice-friendly option I could find - Squarespace. But I've had lots of problems with them, and they keep raising their prices, and they hide features like javascript code behind even higher prices.

I learned about SSGs https://jamstack.org/generators, which create fast and secure sites that can be hosted for free on Netlify and other similar sites. The downside is they're limited to static content -- IE: you can't have a contact form without paying a 3rd party.

I found a novice-friendly SSG theme for wikis/documentation -- MKDocs Material -- but I haven't been able to find anything for a regular business site.

This seems to be one of the most popular Jekyll themes https://mmistakes.github.io/minimal-mistakes/about/ but it seems to be mainly for blogs and documentation, and doesn't seem to have all the design options that Squarespace does.

I read that healthcare.gov used Jekyll https://medium.com/devseed/new-healthcare-gov-is-open-cms-free-41c25249cf38 in conjunction with https://prose.io. So I looked it up and found this https://github.com/CMSgov/HealthCare.gov-Styleguide which actually seems pretty decent; but also not complete enough. Their newer version https://github.com/CMSgov/design-system seems more complete/extensive, but also quite technical. It looks like it requires too much coding for me.

Weebly seems to be a slightly cheaper alternative to Squarespace but it's missing some features and Square might end it in a few years.

I've never used Wordpress but now that I've hosted a few websites I'm thinking about purchasing Oxygen https://oxygenbuilder.com/ and hosting a Wordpress site myself. Oxygen is like a more advanced version of Squarespace with a 1-time payment equal to 1 year of Squarespace. Then you just have the monthly costs of hosting the server, which should be $5-10 (no idea how this scales with amount of traffic, do you?). There is a plugin/addon to export a static site, but it might not be worth the trouble.

According to https://servebolt.com/articles/calculate-how-many-simultaneous-website-visitors/ a 2-core server ($5) with a webpage that takes 300ms to load can serve:

• 400/minute
• 24,000/hr
• 288,000/12 hrs

A lot of people use Wordpress, but also seem unsatisfied with it https://jamstack.org/survey/2022/#content-management-systems.

The Gutenberg editor may be new since the last time I tried Wordpress https://www.hostinger.com/tutorials/gutenberg-wordpress, and it looks pretty similar to Squarespace. So maybe I don't even need Oxygen. I looked up "Gutenberg vs Oxygen" and people were saying to go with Gutenberg.

I've been considering Grav https://getgrav.org/ too, but similar to the SSGs, it doesn't seem to have all the design capabilities without coding them yourself.

I've seen people say you can get chat GPT to write HTML code for you but I've never used it and it seems like it would be difficult to design a website that way. I looked for a video but only found one covering writing content, not code.

I found out about Hostinger Website Builder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUjjGIfjh-4 which uses AI and looks very similar to Squarespace's builder. But there's no demo so I can't see exactly what it can do. But Hostinger is much cheaper than Squarespace, and you can choose to use Wordpress with it instead of the Hostinger builder.

I checked GreenGeeks and they say "We offer drag and drop website builders like Weebly and SitePad". Sitepad is $12/yr and makes static sites, but it looks like you need one of the popular GUI web panels to use it https://sitepad.com/docs/admin/supported-control-panels/. Similar to Weebly, it's also a bit more limited -- IE: you can't open a contact form in a lightbox from a button https://sitepad.com/docs/enduser/contact-form.

A benefit of using Hostinger or GreenGeeks is probably that I don't have to worry about a surge in traffic causing my site to go down. That's why I'm thinking they're a better option vs self-hosting on a VPS.

I found this video that seems quite good and covers more options I didn't know about: Ultimate Website Builder Comparison 2024 | Find the BEST One for You + Why I Hated Squarespace

Anyone know of better places/forums to discuss this type of thing? There seems to be hundreds of thousands of people using the jamstack SSGs but I haven't found a place where people discuss them. I've tried:

• https://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1909999

• https://community.centminmod.com/threads/cheaper-squarespace-alternative-novice-friendly-static-site-generator-for-wikis-general-sites.24382/

• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39216383

I'm a novice so I chose the most novice-friendly option I could find - Squarespace. But I've had lots of problems with them, and they keep raising their prices, and they hide features like javascript code behind even higher prices.

I learned about SSGs https://jamstack.org/generators, which create fast and secure sites that can be hosted for free on Netlify and other similar sites. The downside is they're limited to static content -- IE: you can't have a contact form without paying a 3rd party.

I found a novice-friendly SSG theme for wikis/documentation -- MKDocs Material -- but I haven't been able to find anything for a regular business site.

This seems to be one of the most popular Jekyll themes https://mmistakes.github.io/minimal-mistakes/about/ but it seems to be mainly for blogs and documentation, and doesn't seem to have all the design options that Squarespace does.

I read that healthcare.gov used Jekyll https://medium.com/devseed/new-healthcare-gov-is-open-cms-free-41c25249cf38 in conjunction with https://prose.io. So I looked it up and found this https://github.com/CMSgov/HealthCare.gov-Styleguide which actually seems pretty decent; but also not complete enough. Their newer version https://github.com/CMSgov/design-system seems more complete/extensive, but also quite technical. It looks like it requires too much coding for me.

Weebly seems to be a slightly cheaper alternative to Squarespace but it's missing some features and Square might end it in a few years.

I've never used Wordpress but now that I've hosted a few websites I'm thinking about purchasing Oxygen https://oxygenbuilder.com/ and hosting a Wordpress site myself. Oxygen is like a more advanced version of Squarespace with a 1-time payment equal to 1 year of Squarespace. Then you just have the monthly costs of hosting the server, which should be $5-10 (no idea how this scales with amount of traffic, do you?). There is a plugin/addon to export a static site, but it might not be worth the trouble.

According to https://servebolt.com/articles/calculate-how-many-simultaneous-website-visitors/ a 2-core server ($5) with a webpage that takes 300ms to load can serve:

• 400/minute
• 24,000/hr
• 288,000/12 hrs

A lot of people use Wordpress, but also seem unsatisfied with it https://jamstack.org/survey/2022/#content-management-systems.

The Gutenberg editor may be new since the last time I tried Wordpress https://www.hostinger.com/tutorials/gutenberg-wordpress, and it looks pretty similar to Squarespace. So maybe I don't even need Oxygen. I looked up "Gutenberg vs Oxygen" and people were saying to go with Gutenberg.

I've been considering Grav https://getgrav.org/ too, but similar to the SSGs, it doesn't seem to have all the design capabilities without coding them yourself.

I've seen people say you can get chat GPT to write HTML code for you but I've never used it and it seems like it would be difficult to design a website that way. I looked for a video but only found one covering writing content, not code.

I found out about Hostinger Website Builder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUjjGIfjh-4 which uses AI and looks very similar to Squarespace's builder. But there's no demo so I can't see exactly what it can do. But Hostinger is much cheaper than Squarespace, and you can choose to use Wordpress with it instead of the Hostinger builder.

I checked GreenGeeks and they say "We offer drag and drop website builders like Weebly and SitePad". Sitepad is $12/yr and makes static sites, but it looks like you need one of the popular GUI web panels to use it https://sitepad.com/docs/admin/supported-control-panels/. Similar to Weebly, it's also a bit more limited -- IE: you can't open a contact form in a lightbox from a button https://sitepad.com/docs/enduser/contact-form.

A benefit of using Hostinger or GreenGeeks is probably that I don't have to worry about a surge in traffic causing my site to go down. That's why I'm thinking they're a better option vs self-hosting on a VPS.

I found this video that seems quite good and covers more options I didn't know about: Ultimate Website Builder Comparison 2024 | Find the BEST One for You + Why I Hated Squarespace

Anyone know of better places/forums to discuss this type of thing? There seems to be hundreds of thousands of people using the jamstack SSGs but I haven't found a place where people discuss them. I've tried:

• https://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1909999
• https://community.centminmod.com/threads/cheaper-squarespace-alternative-novice-friendly-static-site-generator-for-wikis-general-sites.24382/
• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39216383