Fight to Repair Daily: Monday October 17, 2022
Proposed FTC rule will require repair instructions for major appliances. Maine right to repair law takes step closer to ballot. And: in Kansas House race, candidate touts support for Right to Repair.
All Major Appliances May Soon Ship with Repair Instructions, Thanks to a New FTC Rule
The Federal Trade Commission has just upped the stakes in its recent work to ensure consumers have a right to repair all the things in their lives. In a unanimous, bipartisan decision, the FTC has proposed new rules that would require all products displaying the Energy Guide label come packaged with repair instructions.
This is a big deal. Energy Guide, best known for those big yellow stickers on appliances and water heaters at US retailers, is an important and influential label that consumers take into consideration when shopping for items like refrigerators, washers, and air conditioners. Millions of appliances are shipped with the label every year—and, if the FTC’s proposed rule goes into effect, those millions of products would ship with repair instructions, too. (iFixit.com)
Candidate for Kansas House seat touts support for agricultural Right To Repair
James (“Jimmy”) Beard, a Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives in Kansas’ 1st Congressional District is touting his support for a federal right to repair and a right to repair law for the agriculture sector. In a candidates Q&A, when asked about his top priorities, Beard cited passing a federal right to repair. Asked about reducing the financial burden on farmers, Beard said that the United States government “by enacting laws establishing an agricultural right to repair, our farmers can save money and time on maintaining their equipment.” (themercury.com)
In Maine, ’Right to Repair' question gets approval to start collecting signatures for 2023 ballot
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has approved a petition to allow auto repair and parts store operators to collect signatures for a question about the "right to repair" on the 2023 ballot. The proposed question aims to let Mainers get their vehicles diagnosed and repaired at any independent repair shop or even do it on their own. (WGME.com)
Investing in next-gen farmers will create resilient food systems
On June 1, the United States Department of Agriculture revealed a historic Food System Transformation plan, a framework that will invest over $2 billion in strengthening local and regional food supply chains, and which I believe has the potential to improve health and wellness in rural and urban communities across the country. Further, these investments are clearly designed to encourage resilience principles — such as connectivity and diversity across our food systems.
In announcing this plan to transform our food systems, Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack promised that there would be another big announcement this summer focused on land access and equity. Later in the summer, the secretary and the department delivered an announcement with $550 million made available to improve access to land, capital and markets; and to build a pipeline of agricultural professionals. (Greenbiz.com)
What to do with your old phones, gadgets and other e-waste
The issue of e-waste is about much more than just cleaning out space in your junk drawers.
The US Environmental Protection Agency says large swaths of e-waste are shipped to developing countries that lack the capacity to reject these imports or infrastructure to safely recycle them. The World Health Organization also warned that children, with their smaller hands, are often used to process mountains of e-waste in developing nations in search of valuable elements such as copper, silver, palladium and more. The WHO said more than 18 million children are exposed to a range of negative health impacts as they engage in this informal e-waste processing industry. (Erienewsnow.com)