Plastic Bank helps people earn a living going door-to-door or through the streets collecting plastic in third world countries. By doing so, plastic never leaves land  that could prove harmful to the ocean and its sea life if it were washed out to the ocean during the rainy season from rivers. At the end of the day, the collectors  bring it back to one of the Plastic Bank’s locations, where it is weighed. The value of the plastic is transferred into a personal online account for the collector.

Last year, animator-turned-portrait-artist Rich Wilkie made it his mission to paint 100 portraits of Ukrainian child refugees. Now, he’s finally reached his goal and all 100 of his paintings will be on display to the public as a fundraiser. The show is  titled Eyes of War — Eyes of Hope which will bring together four Santa Barbara charities to help Ukrainian refugees.Featured here is Danilo, a  Ukrainian refugee in Romania who fled the Ukrainian conflict with his mother and sister because they lived near a nuclear power plant. Painting by Rich Wilkie

The bipartisan American Innovation and Jobs Act  enacted in June 2023 supports innovative businesses and helps create jobs. This  law provides  incentives for long-term research and development (R&D) investment by allowing companies to deduct  annually R&D expenses.  It will increase the cap over time for the refundable R&D tax credit for small businesses and startups.

Bees are important to crop production in the United States. Bee vectoring technology (BVT)  uses commercially reared bees to deliver targeted crop controls through pollination and replacing chemical pesticides with an environmentally safe crop protection system. The scientifically designed bumblebee hive allows bees to pick up a small amount of pest control powders on their legs that they disperse when they travel within the field. This innovation  improves sustainable farming, crop yield, and soil quality. BVT’s solution works on farms of all sizes