Lifestyle
When a fox says ‘help’ in London, there’s often an ambulance on its way

PADDOCK WOOD, England (AP) — The injured fox is cornered in a cage, teeth bared and snarling at the woman trying to help it.
Nicki Townsend is unfazed. Wearing only rubber gloves and an outfit suitable for a yoga class, she approaches with soothing words. “All right, baby,” she coos as she deftly drapes a towel over his head, grabs him by the scruff of his neck, scoops up his wounded legs and moves him to a clean cage.
It’s not the way her day typically begins, but there’s nothing routine about rescuing foxes.
“You can never predict what you’re going to arrive at,” Townsend said.
While not as visible as phone boxes or double-decker buses, the red fox is a fixture in London, a city not known for its wildlife. But living on the streets, alleys and back gardens of a dense urban environment can be rough and when foxes need help, they have their own ambulance service — and Townsend may be on her way.
The foxes didn’t invade London so much as adapt and expand their range inward as the city spread to their habitat in the 1930s and suburbs grew.
Love ‘em or hate ’em
But people and the bushy-tailed member of the canine family have not always lived in harmony, and the species has admirers and adversaries.
For everyone enchanted seeing a fox trotting nonchalantly down their street at dusk or basking in a sunny backyard, there are plenty who see them as pests. They poop where they like, tear into garbage and the vixens in heat let out terrifying shrieks in the dead of winter when attracting a mate.
“It’s like Marmite with foxes,” Townsend said, referring to the food spread that is an acquired and divisive taste. “You either love them or hate them.”
The divide between the two camps led Trevor Williams to found what became The Fox Project nearly 35 years ago.
Once a bass player in the rock group Audience that opened for Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, Williams had been active in the campaign to stop fox hunting when he redirected his protection efforts to the city, where foxes were once routinely killed.
“Because of the myths that have occurred over the years, there’s still a lot of suspicion about what foxes might be,” Williams said. “You know, they’re going to bite the baby, they’re going to eat the cat, they’re going to run away with your husband.”
The project has since grown from providing information on deterring foxes to rescuing 1,400 a year, including 400 cubs, though only about half survive to be released.
City offers cheap eats and unique hazards
There are estimated to be 15,000 foxes in London. The project covers a swath of south London and its leafy suburbs while other organizations not devoted solely to foxes handle other parts of the city.
While the omnivores survive on small animals, bugs and berries in the wild, they favor easily scavenged leftovers in the city and handouts that make them more dependent on humans.
Their main urban menaces are cars, getting snagged in soccer nets or getting stuck in tight spaces. In their effort to get free, they often get nasty abrasions that can become infected. Many also suffer from mange, a parasitic infestation that leads to all kinds of problems.
Townsend pilots her VW Caddy on city streets, highways and narrow lanes that roll through lush hills, responding to calls about injured or ill foxes or cubs that have lost their mothers.
She’s seen a bit of everything since her first humbling call 2 1/2 years ago when the supposedly injured fox bolted.
“In my inexperience, I chased after him, which is comical because you’re never going to outrun a fox,” she said. “I just remember he ran very fast and I looked silly running after him.”
Despite many challenging situations — she once managed to rescue a fox that lost its footing atop a fence and ended upside down at eye level with its paw lodged between boards — she’s only been bitten once.
Heartbreak with hard cases
Her van carries the distinctly musky scent of foxes. The odor becomes unpleasant when an anxious passenger in a litter of cubs relieves itself enroute to being delivered to a foster care pen where they will stay until being released in the wild.
“Feel free to open the window,” said Townsend, who is accustomed to the stench. “This is a stinky job.”
On a recent day, she was dispatched to meet a heartbroken couple who found a cub with a puncture wound collapsed on their back lawn.
“We thought he was asleep at first, so we went to go and have a close look because we love them,” Charlotte English said. “Then he just didn’t move, so we knew something was wrong.”
That cub had to be put to sleep, as did the adult Townsend transferred at the start of her shift.
Cubs that recover are socialized in packs of five until they mature and are then released in a rural location while the adults are freed in the neighborhoods where they were found.
The fox does not say ‘Thank you’
Given a second chance, it’s not clear how well the foxes fare, because they are rarely tracked. A 2016 study in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science found that rehabilitated foxes were more likely to behave as if they had been displaced when returned to their original territory. They were tracked wandering farther away, potentially exposing them to more traffic and greater stress.
“It is a gap in the knowledge and there’s an assumption that when you release them, they thrive and I think that that assumption needs to be challenged more,” said Bryony Tolhurst, a University of Brighton honorary research fellow and lead author of the study.
For Townsend, fox deaths are offset by the joy of seeing little ones venture into the unknown or an adult darting into a neighborhood it instantly recognizes.
“Sometimes they look back and people like to romanticize that they’re saying ‘thank you,’” she said. “They’re just making sure we’re not chasing after them.”
Lifestyle
How to avoid heat-related illnesses if you want to play sports or exercise in extreme heat

Extreme heat makes it especially hard for your body to cool down, so you need to be extra careful if you exercise or play sports when it’s baking outside.
Your brain tries to keep your body within a degree or two of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), and it does so in part by triggering sweat. When sweat dries, it carries away heat from your body’s surface.
When sweat can’t do its job — because your body is generating a lot of heat or it’s too hot and humid to cool down — you are at risk of becoming dehydrated or even getting a heat-related illness such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
When heat is dangerous — and why humidity matters
The higher the temperature, the harder it is for the body to stay cool, but humidity plays a big role too. High humidity makes it feel hotter than the temperature because it makes sweating less effective. There’s so much water in the air already that it can’t take up much more — including the water in your sweat.
The heat index, which factors in humidity and is included on many weather forecasts, provides a sense of how hot it really feels — and what’s dangerous for prolonged exposure or strenuous activity.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says people should start exercising “caution” when the heat index reaches 80 to 90 degrees and “extreme caution” from 90 to 103 degrees. It labels everything over 103 “danger” or “extreme danger.”
NOAA has a chart that shows how the heat index is affected by humidity. For example, a day that is 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) can hit the “danger” level with 70% humidity.
Tips for staying safe if you exercise in the heat
If you want to exercise in the heat, here are some tips to say safe, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
— Time your exercise and outdoor activities for the coolest parts of the day.
— Try to exercise in the shade as much as possible.
— Take frequent breaks.
— Drink lots of fluids, and limit drinks that are high in sugar, caffeine and alcohol. Don’t wait until your are thirsty to drink more.
— Exercise with someone so you can check on each other, or pair up with a teammate.
How to recognize that you may be overheating
If you start to feel any of these symptoms, stop exercising, get to a cool place and seek medical care:
— Muscle cramping or muscle weakness
— Shortness of breath
— Dizziness
— Headaches
— Nausea
If you take it too far, you are risk for heat related illnesses
A common heat-related illness is heat exhaustion, which can be marked by rapid heartbeat, fast breathing, headache, nausea and muscle weakness or cramping.
It can develop into the more serious heat stroke, when your body can no longer control its temperature. Symptoms include confusion or slurred speech, seizures or even loss of consciousness.
Heat also increases your risk for a rare condition called rhabdomyolysis, which causes the rapid breakdown of muscles. If you think you or a fellow athlete are in danger, call 911, give them fluids — preferably water — and try to cool their bodies with cold water or cold compresses. ___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Lifestyle
Don’t let the season go by without making strawberry shortcake

On a recent visit to see my son at the University of California, Davis, I wandered into a lab at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science … as one does. A bunch of students were preparing for a tasting to evaluate some of the strawberry breeds they have been developing.
My food nerd heart swelled, and for the first time in decades, I missed school.
When strawberries are in season, it is incumbent upon us to make the most of those fleeting weeks.
And I can’t think of a better way to put them to use than in a classic strawberry shortcake. If you can find wild strawberries, or at least really flavorful ones from a farmers market (or if you are getting your PhD in food studies with a concentration in strawberries in California), this treat is nothing short of heavenly.
There is nothing difficult about strawberry shortcake. A few components come together in a gorgeous stack of sweetness.
First, the biscuits
I like my shortcake biscuits slightly sweet, but not overly sugary. The natural sweetness in the sliced strawberries will be augmented with a bit of sugar to amp up those ruby red juices. Plus there’s the whipped cream, which can be as sweet or restrained as you like.
Cut out the biscuits as close together as you can, with as little dough left behind on the cutting board as possible. Yes, you can roll the scraps up and cut out another couple of circles, but the more you handle the dough the less tender it becomes.
The tops of the biscuits are brushed with a bit of half-and-half or milk and sprinkled with sugar before they go into the oven, resulting in a beautifully browned and slightly crunchy top.
Make biscuits with some height to them, as you will be cutting them horizontally and then filling them with the strawberries and cream.
The layers
I like a double-decker strawberry shortcake, which definitely requires a knife and fork.
To assemble: The bottom half of the biscuit goes first, then some whipped cream, then strawberries. Then the top half of the biscuit. And then, yes, more whipped cream and more strawberries.
The addition of sour cream to the whipped cream is a pastry chef hack that I learned over the years. It adds more richness, stability and body to the whipped cream, and gives the whole shebang a whole other layer of lushness.
Strawberry Shortcake
Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted
6 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
¾ cup half-and-half or whole milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 pints (4 cups) fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
For the Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
2 tablespoons sour cream, crème fraiche or mascarpone (optional)
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Very lightly flour a clean counter or work surface.
2. Combine the flour with 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar, the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or use your fingers to rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Or, pulse the butter into the flour mixture in a food processor.
3. Add the ¾ cup half-and-half or milk and stir until just barely combined. Turn the mixture onto the lightly floured surface. Use your hands to lightly mix the dough until it barely holds together. Pat it out into a circle or a rectangle 1/2-inch thick.
4. Use a 3-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut out the shortcakes, keeping them as close together as possible to minimize extra dough. Use a sharp biscuit cutter rather than a glass, and press down and pull straight up, without twisting; twisting will hinder their rising as they bake. If you dip the biscuit cutter in flour between each biscuit cutting, it will help prevent sticking. Collect the scraps and re-pat them out into a ½-inch disk, and cut out another 2 or 4 circles when you are done. Try to handle the dough as little as possible.
5. Butter a baking sheet or spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer half the biscuits to the sheet. Brush the tops with a bit of the melted butter. Top the butter-brushed dough with the remaining cut-out biscuits. Brush the tops with a bit of milk or half-and-half. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar over the shortcakes.
6. Bake for about 15 minutes, until light golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
7. Meanwhile, put the berries in a medium bowl and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, or to taste. Toss with a fork, and lightly crush some of the berries so you have some different textures going on and some of the juices are released. Let the berries sit for at least 15 minutes.
8. Once the berries are macerating, make the whipped cream. Place the heavy cream, sour cream, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla in a clean bowl (if you chill it first, the cream will whip up faster.)
9. Use a whisk or a handheld electric mixer on high speed to beat the cream until it starts to form stiff peaks. Refrigerate until ready to use.
10. Just before serving, cut each biscuit crosswise. Place the bottom halves on plates, layer on some strawberries, then some whipped cream. Replace the top of the shortcake, then spoon over some more strawberries and whipped cream. Serve immediately.
___
Katie Workman writes regularly about food for The Associated Press. She has written two cookbooks focused on family-friendly cooking, “Dinner Solved!” and “The Mom 100 Cookbook.” She blogs at https://themom100.com/. She can be reached at [email protected].
___
For more AP food stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/recipes.
Lifestyle
If EPA closes Energy Star offices, you can still find energy efficient appliances that save money

TWINSBURG, Ohio (AP) — When Judy Sautner recently walked into Power Appliance, a store in a southeastern suburb of Cleveland, she had one goal in mind: replace her daughter’s broken dryer with something that worked and didn’t break the bank.
“I wasn’t really worried about all the bells and whistles,” said Sautner.
Jay Buchanan, the store’s owner, said many customers are like Sautner, and what they are looking for frequently ends up being an appliance with the Energy Star symbol.
The U.S.-based program claims that its blue seal of approval on efficient appliances saves households an average of $450 on their bills per year. Since its launch in 1992, Energy Star appliances have also prevented 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the main cause of climate change.
But the program’s future is unclear. The Environmental Protection Agency has announced an agency reorganization plan that would eliminate its Energy Star offices. That would make it more difficult for customers to find energy efficient appliances.
Here is a look at Energy Star along with tips to find energy efficient appliances if the program goes away:
How Energy Star works
The EPA may shut down its Energy Star offices, making it harder to find energy-efficient appliances and access savings. Here are some tips to help you navigate the changes.
Energy Star is a voluntary labeling program. The EPA sets energy efficiency standards for various machines, and then companies that produce them can try to hit or exceed those standards. If they do, they get the Energy Star sticker certifying it works as well as a standard product and uses less energy.
Companies are incentivized to make products that earn that sticker because state and local utility rebate programs, along with federal tax incentives, base qualifying appliances on the program. Consumers who want to save money through incentives and lower gas and electric bills know to look for it. And according to the program’s website, roughly 90% of households recognize the symbol.
Qualifying specifications vary depending on the appliance, but requirements include the amount of energy consumed when a machine is turned off, the inclusion of a low-power or “sleep” mode and a minimum efficiency rating when it’s operating.
If Energy Star goes away
Finding and buying energy-efficient products without that certification wouldn’t be impossible, just difficult, said Elizabeth Hewitt, associate professor of technology and society at Stony Brook University.
“You have to become a really savvy shopper,” she said.
It would mean consumers searching for, say, a dishwasher, would have to put together a list of options, gather specifications that come with each product, compare them, and recognize which numbers indicate that the dishwasher is energy efficient.
Specifications for a washing machine, for example, might include how many clothes can fit in a load, the gallons of water per load and the electricity required to run a cycle, while a furnace’s specs focus on how good it is at converting energy into heat, how much of that heat leaks and how well its fan does at blowing hot air into the house.
Converting all those numbers into a single seal of approval would be complicated.
“Unless they’re deep into analytics, they’re not gonna freakin’ know,” said Buchanan.
Buchanan said his customers usually ask for help finding energy efficient appliances. So if that seal of approval disappears, it’ll change his life more than the lives of his customers. He said he’ll have to do the work to figure out which appliances will save on energy bills.
The concern, said Executive Director Ben Stapleton with U.S. Green Building Council California, a nonprofit focused on sustainable building, is that extra set of steps will deter people from prioritizing energy efficiency.
“If we’re just relying on the manufacturer and relying on people to go through the manual to see what the power draw is, it’s hard to imagine that being effective,” he said.
Tips for picking appliances
Many utilities are incentivized to help households and businesses buy efficient appliances.
If Energy Star were to go away, utilities would need to figure out a new way of determining which appliances qualify for their incentive programs, said Mark Kresowik, senior policy director with the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Calling and asking them about qualifying appliances would be a good place to start, he said.
Consumer Reports, an organization that does independent product reviews, can provide information about appliances and their performance, although it requires a subscription to access some of its more detailed information.
The Consortium for Energy Efficiency, a collaboration with primarily utilities, has its own energy efficiency standards. Right now those standards are designed with Energy Star in mind, but Kresowik said incentive programs could shift to using product specifications.
The fate of Energy Star is still uncertain. The broad reorganization at the EPA reported last month would eliminate or reorganize large parts of the offices that keep the program running, but the EPA has not directly confirmed a plan to shut it down or provided a timeline.
Regardless of what happens to Energy Star or what appliances are bought, Stapleton said consumers always have agency to use products in an energy-efficient way, such as washing clothes in cold water or avoiding the water-heavy dishwasher settings. It always helps to choose the right sized products.
“Maybe I don’t need the largest microwave that’s on the market,” he said.
___
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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