Jason Lomberg

Welcome to the July issue! This month, we celebrate the semiquincentennial of a very special little experiment that most of us call home. She may not be perfect (who is?), but she’s afforded me and countless others a wealth of opportunities over 2 ½ centuries, and I consider myself extraordinarily fortunate. Here’s to you, Griswold Inn! Oh, and happy birthday, America! Over the last month, schools have let out across the nation, and with it, summer has bludgeoned us with an insufferable heat wave.

Singaporean-based commodities company Trafigura just signed a massive $1.1 billion, 10-year offtake agreement with US-based refiner Nth Cycle. The goal – to recover 2,000 metric tons of nickel in mixed hydroxide precipitate and 1,500 metric tons of lithium carbonate from mostly lithium-ion batteries and some manufacturing scrap. Apparently, these critical minerals will come from 12,000 metric tons of battery “black mass,” and indeed, the need for staunch action on e-waste has never been greater.

ÂIllinois Gov. JB Pritzker just opened up a huge can of worms by passing a social media tax that could allegedly generate about $200 million in annual revenue for the state. Though even the staunchest social media foes have to admit this is a tad controversial.... According to tax specialist Avalara, the social media toll structure is as follows: ·      100,000 to 499,999 users: $0.10 per user per month. ·      500,000 to 999,999 users: $40,000 per month, plus $0.25 for every user above 500,000.