A Message From The Pope

Welcome to the week, Shit Givers.

There’s a lot going on in the world — a lot — so if you’re tired and/or sad or overwhelmed, I see you. Remember to do all you can do, and then remember that’s all you can do, and rest.

(And then remember that since the Paris Agreement, the world’s 60 largest banks have continued financing fossil fuels to the tune of $5.5 TRILLION).

Let’s get to work.

This week:

• 💡 A lack of diversity in public utility commissions

• 🚭️ The cigarette tax paradox

• 🐄 Dairy subsidies

• 🤖 Large language models, explained

• And more!

Have a great and safe week,

— Willow

This is science for people who give a shit.

Every week, we help 23,000+ humans understand and unfuck the rapidly changing world around us. It feels great, and we’d love for you to join us.

❤️‍🩹 👵 New Shit Giver Sarah wants to help solve “physical and emotional support for women as they journey through peri into menopause.“

I couldn’t agree more, Sarah.

🔥 Climate change:

• Pope Francis is calling for a turning point in tackling the climate crisis, urging world leaders to act and defending climate protesters

• Many universities have divested from fossil fuels, but their board members haven’t

• Public utility commissions need more people of color (or to start with, literally any people of color)

• Half the world’s lithium is in the Andes, putting ecosystems and water there at risk

• Here’s some good solutions-oriented climate news as a treat, you deserve it

🦠 Health & Bio:

• Forever chemicals (which may soon/one day be banned in US food packaging) have been found at dangerous levels in freshwater fish

• Cigarette taxes were successful at reducing smoking…which now means that children’s programs funded by those taxes are now at risk…because people are smoking less

• Kaiser workers went on strike. Here’s what made this strike unique.

• The divide between premature death in the US may not be between college grads and non-grads.

• Check out the Model State Indoor Air Quality Act, which uses science-based regulatory standards to ensure indoor air doesn’t make you sick

💦 Food & Water:

• Arizona is taking steps to block a Saudi company from using groundwater in the state

• The American Heart Association says food is medicine

• Your taxes are subsidizing dairy, which is why alt-milk is so much more expensive

• The South American monsoon is reaching a tipping point that is bad news for the Amazon

• Solar panels in California could help farmers save water

👩‍💻 Beep Boop:

• Meta trains its AI on your social media posts

• Large language models (here’s a lovely little primer that makes them easier to understand. Also this amazing explanation using visuals and storytelling) present a whole new world of online security risks

• MrBeast isn’t happy about AI deepfakes, and current methods of watermarking aren’t effective

• Another report that government agencies are illegally using smartphone location data, even with no investigative purpose

Last week’s most popular Action Step was signing the No More Dirty Banks petition to stop the financing of climate change and violations of Indigenous rights.

• Donate to the National Center for Science Education to help students overcome science misconceptions about topics like climate change and evolution.

• Volunteer with the Measles and Rubella Partnership to help reduce childhood disease worldwide.

• Get educated about the communities in the U.S. that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change with The U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index.

• Be heard about maximizing IRA impacts in your community, and forward this local clean energy roadmap to your local officials.

• Invest in companies working to lower carbon emissions and empower minority communities with Betterment’s Socially Responsible Investing options.

Together With Bookshop

Want to read what the people working on the frontlines of the future are reading?

Every week, I ask our podcast guest, "What’s a book you’ve read this year that’s opened your mind to a topic you haven’t considered before, or that’s changed your thinking in some way?"

And every week, we add their picks to a list on Bookshop, where every purchase on the site financially supports independent bookstores.

Want an ad-free experience? Become a Member.

⚡️A home electrification guide for renters 

If you don’t own your home, you likely don’t have a ton of control over electrifying your home.

But you still have options!

We’ve put together a guide for renters with everything you can do to reduce your reliance on fossil fuels. Read it now 👇️ 

🏭️ When the grass isn’t greener

Poor and marginalized communities are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards, and the nations that have contributed the least to climate change are being impacted first and worst.

We can’t have climate action without climate and environmental justice. Get up to speed by reading our explainer 👇️ 

Support Our Work

INI is 100% independent and mostly reader-supported.

This newsletter is free, but to support our work, get my popular “Not Important” book, music, and tool recommendations, connect with other Shit Givers, and attend exclusive monthly live events, please consider becoming a paid Member.

What goes up still must apparently come down. Click to read the full article👇️

🙋‍♀️ Today’s Poll

Last week, 38% of you said you value the news links in the newsletter the most. Heard loud and clear 🫡 

Want to talk climate strategy, investing, or anything else?

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