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World

how to find sustainable travel companies

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People said the pandemic made them want to travel more responsibly in the future.

Now new data indicates they’re actually doing it.

According to a report published in January by the World Travel & Tourism Council and Trip.com Group:

  • Nearly 60% of travelers have chosen more sustainable travel options in the last couple of years.
  • Nearly 70% are actively seeking sustainable travel options.

But finding companies that are serious about sustainability isn’t easy, said James Thornton, CEO of tour company Intrepid Travel.  

“You see hotels saying they’re sustainable, and then you’re using these little travel bottles for shampoos and shower gels,” he said.

It’s all just “greenwashing,” he said, referencing the term that describes companies’ efforts to appear more environmentally sound than they are.

For a company to say they’re “100% sustainable” or they’re “eco-conscious” …  doesn’t mean anything.

James Thornton

CEO, Intrepid Travel

The term has risen in popularity alongside the increase in demand for sustainable products and services.

The result is a mix of those who are truly dedicated to the cause — and those who sprinkle eco-buzzwords and photographs of seedlings, forests and other “green” imagery in their marketing materials, with no real action to back up their claims.

Finding companies that are sustainable

Be wary of these tactics, said Thornton.

“For a company to say they’re ‘100% sustainable’ or they’re ‘eco-conscious’ …  doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “I would urge travelers to be very cautious when they’re seeing these words, and to really dig in and look in a bit more detail.”

Consumer interest in sustainable travel has changed considerably in the past two decades, said Thornton. He said when he joined Intrepid travel 18 years ago, “people would look at us like we’re a bit crazy” when the company talked about sustainability.

Now, many companies are doing it, whether they are serious, or not.

Thornton said he believes the travel industry is currently divided into three categories. One third have “incredibly good intentions, and [are] working very actively on addressing the climate crisis … and they’re making good progress.”

Another third have “good intentions but [aren’t] actually taking action yet. And often … they’re not quite sure how to take action.”

The final third “is just utterly burying its head in the sand and hoping that this thing is going to go away, and the truth of the matter is — it isn’t.”

To identify companies in the first category, Thornton recommends travelers look for three critical things.  

1. A history of sustainability

To ascertain whether a company may be jumping on the eco-bandwagon, examine its history, said Thornton.

He advises looking for “a long history of association with issues of sustainability, or is this something that only just appeared?”

Intrepid Travel CEO James Thornton.

Source: Intrepid Travel

If the messaging is new for the company, that’s not a deal breaker, he said.

“But that would then encourage the customer to probably want to look in a bit more detail to see if what a company actually does has rigor behind it,” he said, “Or whether it’s something that’s just being done for marketing sake — and therefore greenwashing.”

2. Check for measurements

Next, travelers should see if the company measures its greenhouse gas emissions, said Thornton.

“The honest truth is that every travel company is ultimately contributing towards the climate crisis,” he said. “So the best thing any travel company can start to do is measure the greenhouse gas emissions it creates.”

To do this, Thornton advised travelers to check the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.

“The Glasgow Declaration website lists the organizations that have agreed to actively reduce their emissions … and actually have a climate plan that shows how they’re doing that,” he said.

Signatories must publish their climate plan, which is monitored by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, he said.

“Consumers can use this as a way to check if the company they’re booking with is serious about decarbonization,” he said, adding that more than 700 organizations are on the list.

Thornton said travelers can also check the Science Based Targets Initiative, which is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Its website has a dashboard that details emission-reducing commitments made by more than 4,500 companies worldwide, including American Express Global Business Travel, the United Kingdom’s Reed & Mackay Travel and Australia’s Flight Centre Travel Group.

3. Look for accreditations

Finally, travelers can check for independent accreditations, said Thornton.

One of the most rigorous and impressive is the B Corp Certification, he said.

“It took Intrepid three years to become a B Corp,” he said.

Other companies with B Corp status include Seventh Generation, Ben & Jerry’s, Aesop — and Patagonia, which Thornton called “arguably the most famous B Corp in the world.”

To get it, companies are reviewed by the non-profit B Lab and a certification lasts for three years, said Thornton.

Kristen Graff, director of sales and marketing at Indonesia’s Bawah Reserve resort, agreed that B Corp is the “most widely respected” certification.

“The other one is the Global Sustainable Tourism Council,” she said. “These actually do an audit and are legit.”

Bawah Reserve, a resort in Indonesia’s Anambas Islands, is applying for B Corp certification. The resort uses solar power and desalinates drinking water on the island.

Source: Bawah Reserve

Other travel eco-certifications are less exacting, said Graff.

“Many of them are just a racket to make money,” she said.

Bawah Reserve started the process to become B Corp certified in November of 2021, said Graff. “We anticipate it will take about a year to complete,” she said.

B Corp uses a sliding scale for its certifications fees, which start at $1,000 for companies with less than $1 million in annual revenue.

“The cost is fairly minimal,” said Thornton, especially “if you’re serious about sustainability.”

He said Intrepid pays about $25,000 a year for the certification.

Other advice

Thornton also advised travelers to ask questions like:

  • Are you using renewable energy sources?
  • Is the food locally sourced?
  • Are employees from local communities?
  • Who owns the hotel?

He said there are places that are perceived to be sustainable but that are “actually owned by a casino.”

Lastly, Thornton recommends travelers look to online reviews.

“Often a little bit of research on Google … can give you a really good indication around whether a hotel or a travel experience is doing what it says it’s doing — or whether they’re actually greenwashing.”

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Business

Sustainable aircraft from NASA, Boeing could fly in 2030s

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(CNN) — Greener commercial flight technology may be on the horizon.

NASA and Boeing will work together on the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project to build, test and fly an emission-reducing single-aisle aircraft this decade, according to an announcement from the agency on Wednesday.

“Since the beginning, NASA has been with you when you fly. NASA has dared to go farther, faster, higher. And in doing so, NASA has made aviation more sustainable and dependable. It is in our DNA,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in a statement.

“It’s our goal that NASA’s partnership with Boeing to produce and test a full-scale demonstrator will help lead to future commercial airliners that are more fuel efficient, with benefits to the environment, the commercial aviation industry, and to passengers worldwide. If we are successful, we may see these technologies in planes that the public takes to the skies in the 2030s.”

The WEF’s Lauren Uppink Calderwood discusses the “Clean Skies For Tomorrow” coalition which has pledged to replace 10% of global jet fuel supply with sustainable aviation fuel by 2030.

The first test flight of this experimental aircraft is set to take place in 2028. The goal is for the technology to serve approximately 50% of the commercial market through short- to medium-haul single-aisle aircraft, Nelson said.

Airlines largely rely on single-aisle aircraft, which account for nearly half of aviation emissions worldwide, according to NASA. Developing new technology to reduce fuel use can support the Biden administration’s goal of achieving net-zero aviation carbon emissions by 2050, as laid out in the US Aviation Climate Action Plan.

Boeing estimates that the demand for the new single-aisle aircraft will increase by 40,000 planes between 2035 and 2050.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson holds a model of an aircraft with a Transonic Truss-Braced Wing.

Joel Kowsky/NASA

The design that NASA and Boeing are working on could reduce fuel consumption and emissions by up to 30% compared with today’s most efficient aircraft, according to the agency.

It’s called the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing concept, which relies on elongated, thin wings stabilized by diagonal struts that connect the wings to the aircraft. The design’s shape creates less drag, which means burning less fuel.

The Sustainable Flight Demonstrator will also incorporate other green aviation technologies.

CNN’s Pete Muntean reports on United Airlines’ first successful flight completed by 100 percent sustainable fuel.

“NASA is working toward an ambitious goal of developing game-changing technologies to reduce aviation energy use and emissions over the coming decades toward an aviation community goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” said Bob Pearce, NASA associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, in a statement.

“The Transonic Truss-Braced Wing is the kind of transformative concept and investment we will need to meet those challenges and, critically, the technologies demonstrated in this project have a clear and viable path to informing the next generation of single-aisle aircraft, benefiting everyone that uses the air transportation system.”

The benefits of increasing the aspect ratio of the wing have been known for a long time, but the challenge of structuring the design has required advancements in materials and construction to reach this point of development, Pearce said.

By partnering on the project, NASA and Boeing can take on more risks than the aviation industry can do on its own, he said.

“This is an experimental aircraft,” he said. “This is not a commercial development of an aircraft that passengers are going to fly in today. And the reason we need to do this is because this is high-risk technology. We’re trying to validate technology.”

The partnership, supported by the Funded Space Act Agreement, will rely on technical expertise and facilities and $425 million from NASA over seven years. Meanwhile, Boeing and its partners will contribute the remaining $725 million and the technical plan.

“We’re honored to continue our partnership with NASA and to demonstrate technology that significantly improves aerodynamic efficiency resulting in substantially lower fuel burn and emissions,” said Todd Citron, Boeing chief technology officer.

The aviation sector is preparing to ramp up production of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) made from cooking oil, clothing, steel production emissions and other renewable sources.

Top photo: An artist’s concept shows commercial aircraft featuring the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing configuration from NASA and Boeing’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project.

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Health

Stanford Study Reveals Secrets to Sustainable Weight Loss: Behaviors and Biomarkers Exposed

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Stanford Medicine researchers have discovered biomarkers that can predict an individual’s ability to lose weight and maintain weight loss long-term. These biomarkers include signatures from the gut microbiome, proteins made by the human body, and levels of exhaled carbon dioxide. The study found that the bacteria in the gut and the amounts of certain proteins the body produces can impact an individual’s ability to sustain weight loss. Additionally, the research found that some individuals lose more weight on low-fat diets while others have better results on low-carb diets.

A new analysis of data from a yearlong weight-loss study has identified behaviors and biomarkers that contribute to short- and long-term weight loss.

Strictly following a diet— either healthy low-carb or healthy low-fat — was what mattered for short-term weight loss during the first six months. But people who maintained long-term weight loss for a year ate the same number of calories as those who regained weight or who did not lose weight during the second six months.

So what explains this difference?

According to the study, the bacteria living in your gut and the amounts of certain proteins your body makes can affect your ability to sustain weight loss. And some people, it turns out, shed more pounds on low-fat diets while others did better on low-carb diets.

Stanford Medicine researchers have identified several biomarkers that predict how successful an individual will be at losing weight and keeping it off long-term. These biomarkers include signatures from the gut microbiome, proteins made by the human body, and levels of exhaled carbon dioxide. The researchers published their findings on December 13 in the journal

“Weight loss is enigmatic and complicated, but we can predict from the outset with microbiome and metabolic biomarkers who will lose the most weight and who will keep it off,” said Michael Snyder, PhD, professor and chair of genetics and co-senior author on the paper.

Willpower does not drive weight loss

The data came from 609 participants who logged everything they ate for a year while following either a low-fat or low-carb diet made up of mostly high-quality, minimally processed foods. The researchers tracked participant exercise, how well they followed their diet, and the number of calories consumed.

The study showed that just cutting calories or exercising were not enough to sustain weight loss over a year. To try and understand why, the team turned their focus to biomarkers of metabolism.

“We found specific microbiome ecologies and amounts of proteins and enzymes at the beginning of the study period — before people started following the diet — that indicated whether they would be successful at losing weight and keeping it off,” said Dalia Perelman, research dietician and co-lead author on the paper.

Throughout the study, the researchers measured the ratio of inhaled oxygen to exhaled carbon dioxide, known as a respiratory quotient, which serves as a proxy for whether carbohydrates or fats are the body’s primary fuel. A lower ratio means the body burns more fat, while a higher ratio means it burns more carbohydrates. So, those who started the diet with a higher respiratory quotient lost more weight on a low-carb diet.

“There are people who can be eating very few calories but still sustain their weight because of how their bodies metabolize fuels. It is not for lack of will: It is just how their bodies work,” Perelman said.

In other words, if your body prefers carbs and you’re predominately eating fat, it will be much harder to metabolize and burn off those calories.

“If you are following a diet that worked for someone you know and it is not working for you, it might be that that specific diet is not as suited for you,” added Xiao Li, PhD, co-lead author of the paper, a former postdoctoral fellow at Stanford Medicine who is now at Case Western University.

For now, focus on nutrients

The predictive information gleaned from the gut microbiome, proteomic analysis, and respiratory quotient signatures is laying the foundation for personalized diets. Snyder said he thinks tracking amounts of certain gut microbe strains will be a way for people to determine which diets are best for weight loss.

We’re not there yet, so until then, according to the researchers, the focus should be on eating high-quality foods that are unprocessed and low in refined flours and sugar.

The research team identified specific nutrients that were correlated with weight loss during the first six months. Low-carb diets should be based on monounsaturated fats — such as those that come from avocados, rather than bacon — and high in vitamins K, C, and E. These vitamins are in vegetables, nuts, olives, and avocados. Low-fat diets should be high in fiber, such as is found in whole grains and beans, and avoid added sugars.

“Your mindset should be on what you can include in your diet instead of what you should exclude,” Perelman said. “Figure out how to eat more fiber, whether it is from beans, whole grains, nuts, or vegetables, instead of thinking you shouldn’t eat ice cream. Learn to cook and rely less on processed foods. If you pay attention to the quality of food in your diet, then you can forget about counting calories.”

Reference: “Distinct factors associated with short-term and long-term weight loss induced by low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet intervention” by Xiao Li, Dalia Perelman, Ariel K. Leong, Gabriela Fragiadakis, Christopher D. Gardner and Michael P. Snyder, 13 December 2022, Cell Reports Medicine.
DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100870

Christopher Gardner, professor of medicine and co-senior author on the paper, also contributed to this work.



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Business

Bitcoin Spikes Above $21,000: Is The Move Sustainable Or Just Speculative Mania? – Cardano (ADA/USD), Bitcoin (BTC/USD)

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The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Bitcoin BTC/USD has spiked above the psychologically important barrier of the $21,000 mark. Saturday’s move brought cheer to the subdued markets, which have been rattled by the collapse of several high-profile companies, including cryptocurrency exchange FTX FTT/USD.

The rally in prices of major cryptocurrencies like Polygon MATIC/USD and Solana SOL/USD and memecoins like Dogecoin DOGE/USD and Shiba Inu SHIB/USD, is fuelled by optimism that digital currencies may have bottomed.

This is the first time since Nov. 8, 2022, that Bitcoin has crossed $20,000, having experienced 11 consecutive days of upward movement.

Other notable cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum ETH/USD and Cardano ADA/USD also saw substantial gains, pushing the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market over the $1 trillion mark for the first time since November.

The current spike in Bitcoin’s value comes after the Labor Department issued data showing that top-line inflation rose by 6.5% in December, down from 7.1% in November.

On Thursday, Federal Reserve policymakers expressed relief that the inflation rate continued to decrease in December.

Bear Market Not Over

Anndy Lian, Chief Digital Advisor, of Mongolian Productivity Organization tells Benzinga says investors should take a cautionary stance and not become too bullish on the digital currency.

“This does not mean that the bear market is over. Firstly, the lack of Bitcoin trading volume around the region of $18,000 and RSI shows that bitcoin is over-bought, showing that the rally could be short-lived.  Secondly, the massive layoffs by the crypto companies and the SEC’s new charges on Genesis and Gemini for the Unregistered Offer and Sale of Crypto Asset Securities looks like it would take a longer time to see a real sustainable bull run,” he says.

He added that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies tend to respond more quickly to macroeconomic changes and shifts than stocks do and that we may be currently witnessing such a shift.

“I do see more investors putting more capital over the week. Overall, this is still a positive sign for the market,” he adds.

Also read: SingularityNET’s AGIX Token Soars 245% — Is It The Next Big Thing In AI?

Mainstream Adoption Will Lead To More Stability

According to Scott Tripp, a member of redecentralise.com, a not-for-profit organization, the increasing mainstream acceptance and institutional adoption of Bitcoin will lead to more stability in its price over time, the current rally is driven by speculative mania and may not be sustainable in the long run.

Bitcoin May Shoot Up Further Over 2024

Raj A Kapoor, the founder of India Blockchain Alliance, predicts that 2024 could be the year when Bitcoin experiences a significant price increase due to the halving event.

According to Kapoor, this event could be responsible for the current positive sentiment and upward trend in Bitcoin’s value.

“I also feel that large investors or Bitcoin Whales have resumed their Bitcoin holdings. The large Bitcoin whales are keeping between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC in their wallets, according to data from Santimen clearly indicating that investors have been stocking up on Bitcoin, which may be a hint of a recovery in the price of Bitcoin,” Kapoor adds.

Next: FTX Scandal: Media Companies Push For Public Disclosure Of Former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250M Bond Co-Signers

Photo: courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Business

Look inside Storylines’ 753-foot ‘sustainable’ residential megaship

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If you love cruises and the idea of living out the rest of your days on a luxury megaship sounds like paradise, you’ll want to start saving up for 2025.

That’s when Miami-based residential shipbuilder Storylines plans to launch its new $1.5 billion, 753-foot megaship filled with 547 private residences. Storylines bills the cruise ship, called the MV Narrative, as “the world’s first environmentally sustainable private residence ship.”

The residences, which range in size from 237 to 1,970 square feet, are on sale now — and they aren’t cheap. Storylines says the residences cost between $1 million and $8 million, with ownership lasting for the “lifetime of the vessel,” which the company estimates as roughly 60 years.

For a shorter and cheaper buying opportunity, you can try to land one of the “limited number” of residences with 24-year leases that start at $647,000 for the total duration of the lease.

Storylines’ MV Narrative will offer 547 luxury private residences with anywhere from one to four bedrooms.

That’s a lot more than you’d pay to go on a cruise vacation, but the ship’s attraction is that you’ll be able to “travel the world from the comfort of home,” Storylines CEO Alister Punton said in a statement in August.

Storylines and Croatian shipyard Brodosplit are currently in the design-and-engineering phase of building the massive ship, which the companies say will be the first of its kind to be powered by liquid natural gas propulsion. The method lowers carbon emissions by about 25% compared with traditional diesel power.

Source: Storylines/Brodosplit

The residences range from one- to four-bedroom living spaces, and most of them come with balconies to overlook the surrounding seas and various ports of call.

People who live on the MV Narrative will get to circumnavigate the globe every three years. Sailing from the ship’s home port in Croatia, the ship will spend up to five days in major ports around the world. Sample itineraries on the Storylines website tout stops from the Mediterranean to Australia and South America.

The MV Narrative will have 20 different restaurants and bars for residents to patronize.

In addition to the private luxury residences, the ship is set to offer 20 different restaurants and bars, a post office, a school, library, a hospital, a bank, office spaces and several pools.

Also included: a bowling alley, a micro-brewery, a movie theater, an open-air fitness deck with “racquet sports, yoga sun deck and running track” and a waterfront marina for personal watercrafts like jet skis and power boats.

The ship also boasts “the largest wellness center at sea,” which includes a spa, gym and anti-aging clinic in a 10,000-square foot space.

The MV Narrative’s residents will have access to a waterfront marina for personal watercrafts.

In addition to the eco-conscious propulsion system, Storylines says the ship’s focus on sustainability will include systems to convert waste into energy, while a “zero-waste farmer’s market” will feature locally sourced products including produce grown in the solar-powered hydroponic garden.

If the thought of a life at sea does appeal to you — and you can afford it — you certainly won’t be alone. Multiple other residence shipbuilders, like The World and Clydebuilt’s Dark Island, are also selling luxury suites aboard megaships for people who want to live, or even retire, on the sea.

Those other units aren’t any cheaper: The World’s luxury suites range from $2 million to $15 million, and Clydebuilt’s Dark Island has suites starting at $10.7 million.

Want to earn more and work less? Register for the free CNBC Make It: Your Money virtual event on Dec. 13 at 12 p.m. ET to learn from money masters like Kevin O’Leary how you can increase your earning power.

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Technology

IDC: “All eyes will be on Apple” as Meta’s VR strategy “isn’t sustainable”

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Enlarge / The Oculus Quest 2.

A recent media release from market research firm IDC predicts that Meta (the parent company of Facebook) may not be able to compete in the mixed-reality business in the long run if its strategy remains unchanged.

The media release offers a bird’s-eye view of the virtual reality hardware marketplace. In the release, IDC research manager Jitesh Ubrani said that, while “Meta continues to pour dollars into developing the metaverse, [the company’s] strategy of promoting low-cost hardware at the expense of profitability isn’t sustainable in the long run.”

A similar concern was raised by tech industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo late last month. Kuo predicted that Meta would make moves to scale down investment in virtual reality, creating an opening for Apple and other competitors. He also wrote that Meta’s practice of selling VR headsets at a loss is unsustainable.

Currently, Meta owns 90 percent of the VR headset market, according to the IDC release. In distant second is ByteDance’s Pico, at just 4.5 percent. Overall, VR headset shipments jumped 241.6 percent year over year in the first quarter of 2022. But the industry faced significant supply issues in Q1 2021, contributing to “a favorable comparison” for this year’s Q1.

Like Kuo a couple of weeks ago, IDC research director Ramon Llamas said that “all eyes will be on Apple as it launches its first headset next year.” Apple’s headset is expected to be much more expensive than Meta’s offerings, driving up the average unit price for the product category across the board, and Llamas believes Apple’s offering “will appeal primarily to a small audience of early adopters and Apple fans.”

In other words, don’t expect the first Apple headset to ship vastly more units than Meta’s Oculus Quest 2 right out of the gate. It’s just a first step in a long-term plan to own the mixed-reality market. As several reports over the past couple of years have noted, that plan will ultimately involve low-cost AR glasses and other products that will seek to broaden the user base for mixed-reality hardware.

Apple and Meta are not the only companies working on mass-market mixed-reality hardware products. We reported in April that Amazon posted several job listings soliciting candidates who can help the company build an “advanced” AR/VR product. And in December, we learned from job listings that Google plans to build a new augmented-reality device and operating system.

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Sports

Alabama football coach Nick Saban says Texas A&M ‘bought every player,’ questions whether current NIL model is sustainable

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Alabama coach Nick Saban singled out Texas A&M for “buying” its top-ranked signing class and threw a spotlight on the unintended effect of name, image and likeness rights on recruiting during an event with local business leaders Wednesday night in Birmingham.

“I mean, we were second in recruiting last year,” Saban told the audience. “A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team — made a deal for name, image, likeness. We didn’t buy one player, all right? But I don’t know if we’re gonna be able to sustain that in the future because more and more people are doing it. It’s tough.”

Saban said Alabama players made $3 million “doing it the right way” last year and that only 25 players were able to leverage NIL opportunities.

He isn’t the first coach to call out the Aggies by name. In February, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin quipped, “Texas A&M was going to incur a luxury tax in how much they paid for their signing class.”

That prompted a stern response from Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, a former Saban assistant, during his signing day news conference the following day when he said that coaches spreading rumors about deals promised to recruits were “clown acts” and “irresponsible as hell.”

The problem with NIL, Saban said Wednesday, is “coaches trying to create an advantage for themselves.”

Saban said coaches know how much money is available from their school’s collective — a group of program supporters who pool their resources to offer deals to athletes — and “how much he can promise every player.”

“That’s not what it was supposed to be,” he said. “That’s what it’s become. And that’s the problem in college athletics right now. Now every player is saying, ‘Well, what am I going to get?'”

Saban said people blame the NCAA, “But in defense of the NCAA, we are where we are because of the litigation.”

Last summer, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that said limiting education-related benefits violated antitrust laws. In the wake of that decision, the NCAA adopted rules that were far less restrictive, including allowing athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness.

NCAA rules prohibit a school or its employees only from paying athletes directly for their NIL rights.

“If the NCAA doesn’t get some protection from litigation, whether we gotta get an antitrust or whatever it is, from a federal government standpoint, this is not going to change because they cannot enforce their rules,” Saban said. “Just like [Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats] said, we have a rule right now that says you cannot use name, image, likeness to entice a player to come to your school.

“Hell, read about it in the paper. I mean, Jackson State paid a guy $1 million last year that was a really good Division I player to come to the school. It was in the paper, and they bragged about it. Nobody did anything about it. I mean, these guys at Miami that are going to play basketball there for $400,000, it’s in the newspaper. The guy tells you how he’s doing it.”

The Jackson State player Saban was referring to is Travis Hunter, a five-star prospect who flipped his commitment from Florida State and signed with the HBCU program during the early signing period in December. Jackson State coach Deion Sanders denied the rumor that Hunter had been offered more than $1 million.

Sanders responded strongly to Saban’s comments Wednesday night, tweeting: “You best believe I will address that LIE Coach SABAN told tomorrow. I was & awakened by my son @ShedeurSanders that sent me the article stating that WE PAYED @TravisHunterJr a Million to play at @GoJSUTigersFB! We as a PEOPLE don’t have to pay our PEOPLE to play with our PEOPLE.”

Saban’s comments on Miami referred to former Kansas State men’s basketball player Nijel Pack, who transferred to the Hurricanes in April. Shortly after, it was announced that he signed a two-year, $400,000 NIL deal with Florida-based health tech company LifeWallet.

Saban said he has told players that they will all get the same opportunities from Alabama’s collective but made the distinction that, “You can go earn however much you want.”

“I tell the recruits the same thing: Our job is not to buy you to come to school here,” he said. “And I don’t know how you manage your locker room. And I don’t know if this is a sustainable model.”



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Sports

Alabama football coach Nick Saban says Texas A&M ‘bought every player,’ questions whether current NIL model is sustainable

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Alabama coach Nick Saban singled out Texas A&M for “buying” its top-ranked signing class and threw a spotlight on the unintended effect of name, image and likeness rights on recruiting during an event with local business leaders Wednesday night in Birmingham.

“I mean, we were second in recruiting last year,” Saban told the audience. “A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team — made a deal for name, image, likeness. We didn’t buy one player. All right? But I don’t know if we’re gonna be able to sustain that in the future because more and more people are doing it. It’s tough.”

Saban said Alabama players made $3 million “doing it the right way” last year and that only 25 players were able to leverage NIL opportunities.

Saban wasn’t the first coach to call out the Aggies by name. In February, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin quipped that, “Texas A&M was going to incur a luxury tax in how much they paid for their signing class.”

That prompted a stern response from Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, a former Saban assistant, during his signing day news conference the following day when he said that coaches spreading rumors about deals promised to recruits were “clown acts” and “irresponsible as hell.”

The problem with NIL, Saban said on Wednesday, is “coaches trying to create an advantage for themselves.”

Saban said coaches know how much money is available from their school’s collective — a group of program supporters who pool their resources to offer deals to athletes — and “how much he can promise every player.”

“That’s not what it was supposed to be,” he said. “That’s what it’s become. And that’s the problem in colleagues athletics right now. Now every player is saying, ‘Well, what am I going to get?”

Saban said people blame the NCAA, “But in defense of the NCAA, we are where we are because of the litigation.”

Last summer, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that said limiting education-related benefits violated antitrust laws. In the wake of that decision, the NCAA adopted rules that were far less restrictive, including allowing athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness.

NCAA rules prohibit a school or its employees only from paying athletes directly for their NIL rights.

“If the NCAA doesn’t get some protection from litigation, whether we gotta get an antitrust or whatever it is, from a federal government standpoint, this is not going to change because they cannot enforce their rules,” Saban said. “Just like [Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats] said, we have a rule right now that says you cannot use name, image, likeness, to entice a player to come to your school. Hell, read about it in the paper. I mean, Jackson State paid a guy $1 million dollars last year that was a really good Division I player to come to the school. It was in the paper and they bragged about it. Nobody did anything about it. I mean, these guys at Miami that are going to play basketball there for $400,000, it’s in the newspaper. The guy tells you how he’s doing it.”

The Jackson State player Saban was referring to is Travis Hunter, a five-star prospect who flipped his commitment from Florida State and signed with the HBCU program during the early signing period in December. Jackson State coach Deion Sanders denied the rumor that Hunter had been offered more than $1 million.

Sanders responded strongly to Saban’s comments on Wednesday night, writing on Twitter: “You best believe I will address that LIE Coach SABAN told tomorrow. I was & awakened by my son @ShedeurSanders that sent me the article stating that WE PAYED @TravisHunterJr a Million to play at @GoJSUTigersFB! We as a PEOPLE don’t have to pay our PEOPLE to play with our PEOPLE.”

Saban’s comments on Miami referred to former Kansas State men’s basketball player Nijel Pack, who transferred to the Hurricanes in April. Shortly after, it was announced that he signed a two-year, $400,000 NIL deal with Florida-based health tech company LifeWallet.

Saban said he has told players that they’ll all get the same opportunities from Alabama’s collective but made the distinction that, “You can go earn however much you want.”

“I tell the recruits the same thing: Our job is not to buy you to come to school here,” he said. “And I don’t know how you manage your locker room. And I don’t know if this is a sustainable model.”

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Sports

Alabama’s Nick Saban: CFB Is Not ‘Sustainable’ with Transfer Portal, NIL Contracts | Bleacher Report

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Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Thanks to the transfer portal and amended rules regarding compensation for name, image and likeness for athletes, college football has undergone a significant transformation in a short amount of time. Alabama head coach Nick Saban isn’t convinced the new normal can last.

“I don’t think what we’re doing right now is a sustainable model,” Saban said to the Associated Press’ Ralph D. Russo.

He expressed concerns with what he believes is a warping of the aim behind the NIL legislation:

“The concept of name, image and likeness was for players to be able to use their name, image and likeness to create opportunities for themselves. That’s what it was. So last year on our team, our guys probably made as much or more than anybody in the country. …

“But that creates a situation where you can basically buy players. You can do it in recruiting. I mean, if that’s what we want college football to be, I don’t know. And you can also get players to get in the transfer portal to see if they can get more someplace else than they can get at your place.”

Saban isn’t the first, nor will he be the last, to lament what has become a Wild West in college sports, particularly football.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney told ESPN’s Chris Low the landscape is “out of control,” “not sustainable” and “an absolute mess and a train wreck.”

NCAA President Mark Emmert has called upon Congress to “find a single legal model by which NIL and other relationships with student-athletes can be regulated” because different states have different NIL laws.

Of course, there’s a level of irony in seeing well-paid coaches and administrators wring their hands now that college athletes can earn their share of the financial pie and keep things above board.

Those athletes are also getting to enjoy the same freedom of movement that has been afforded to coaches.

The professionalization of big-time college athletics has been happening for decades, and the ongoing arms race has only widened the gulf between the haves and have-nots. When the University of Alabama rolls out a plan to spend $600 million to upgrade its athletic facilities, the horse was out of the barn before the NIL reforms.

While it’s difficult to see how the NCAA can close Pandora’s box, the market may correct itself.

The boosters lining up NIL deals and helping to fund NIL collectives expect to see some return on their investment, be it financial or through success on the field of play. If they don’t see the results they hoped, then it stands to reason they might shy away from future support.



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Science

Kombucha cultures make excellent sustainable water filters, study finds

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Enlarge / Close-up of fresh SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) used in kombucha.

The refreshing kombucha tea that’s all the rage these days among certain global demographics might also hold the key to affordable, environmentally sustainable living membranes for water filtration, according to a recent paper published in the American Chemical Society journal ACS ES&T Water. Experiments by researchers at Montana Technological University (MTU) and Arizona State University (ASU) showed that membranes grown from kombucha cultures were better at preventing the formation of biofilms—a significant challenge in water filtration—than current commercial membranes.

As we’ve reported previously, you need three basic ingredients to make kombucha. Just combine tea and sugar with a kombucha culture known as a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). The culture is also known as the “mother,” tea mushroom, tea fungus, or Manchurian mushroom. (Kombucha tea is believed to have originated in Manchuria, China, or possibly Russia.)

Whatever you call it, it’s basically akin to a sourdough starter. A SCOBY is a firm, gel-like collection of cellulose fiber (biofilm), courtesy of the active bacteria in the culture creating the perfect breeding ground for yeast and bacteria. Dissolve the sugar in non-chlorinated boiling water, then steep some tea leaves of your choice in the hot sugar-water before discarding them.

Once the tea cools, add the SCOBY and pour the whole thing into a sterilized beaker or jar. Then cover the beaker or jar with a paper towel or cheesecloth to keep out insects, let it sit for two to three weeks, and voila! You have your own homebrewed kombucha. A new “daughter” SCOBY will be floating right at the top of the liquid (technically known in this form as a pellicle).

Beyond its popularity as a beverage, kombucha holds promise as a useful biomaterial. For instance, scientists at MIT and Imperial College London last year created new kinds of tough “living materials” out of SCOBYs that could one day be used as biosensors. These materials could help purify water or detect damage to “smart” packing materials. The scientists couldn’t use the wild yeasts typically used in kombucha because the yeasts are difficult to modify genetically. Instead, the researchers used lab-grown yeast, specifically a strain called Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or brewer’s yeast. They combined the brewer’s yeast with a bacteria called Komagataeibacter rhaeticus (which can create a lot of cellulose) to create their “mother” SCOBY.

Enlarge / Water filters made from a kombucha culture with living bacteria and yeast (left) are more resistant to clogging than traditional membrane filters (right).

ACS ES&T Water 2021

That team was able to engineer the cells in the yeast to produce glow-in-the-dark enzymes that could sense pollutants and then break them down after detection. One of their prototype materials senses the pollutant estradiol, while another could detect luciferase, a bioluminescent protein. Any number of other strains can be swapped out to achieve different functional properties.

And now we have the possibility of SCOBY-based water filters. According to the authors of this latest paper, contaminated drinking water has been linked to 2,000 deaths of children globally each day. Commercial polymer-based filters are compact and versatile, and they can strain off many dangerous contaminants, including bacteria, parasites, and even some viruses. However, the pores of these filters eventually become clogged, decreasing the rate of filtration and water flow, thanks to the accumulation of clays, oils, minerals, and bacterial biofilms. The latter are especially persistent and difficult to remove once they form. Scientists are developing materials, methods, and chemical treatments to combat the adhesion of biofilms to the filters. But perhaps a more promising strategy would be to focus instead on developing materials that inhibit bacterial growth. That’s where the kombucha SCOBYs come in.

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