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Safer States, an environmental health advocacy organization, is predicting that 28 U.S. states could change their laws about chemicals this year. Although the federal government maintains statutory authority under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, states can ban individual chemicals.

Manufacturing is changing, but popular perceptions of factory work are antiquated. Assembly lines and manual labor are being replaced by automation and analytics, yet many Americans seem unaware of these advances. For U.S. companies, misperceptions and a lack of information mean that manufacturing may not attract the skilled talent that it needs. For American students, missing out on manufacturing is a mistake.

Even small reductions in aircraft weight can result in significant savings on aviation fuel. Global oil prices have plummeted, but that’s not keeping the aerospace industry from exploring new ways to reduce engine weight. “Investment in new-technology aircraft will not stop,” said Frank Pray, Chief Executive of aircraft lessor Intrepid Aviation, in a January 2015 article in the Wall Street Journal.

The American economy has lost nearly 5.8 million manufacturing jobs over the last two decades. Today, over 75% of U.S. manufacturers employ 20 or fewer workers. Although these small companies account for just 9% of the country’s manufacturing jobs, “they are by and large the types of businesses that have been growing and creating jobs” since the Great Recession, writes Kim Gittleson of the BBC News.