Welcome to the week.
If you’re among the millions of users moving from X to other platforms, like Threads or Bluesky, this week (here’s a guide to alternative platforms if not), it can be a bit daunting to rebuild your following lists to make sure you are getting quality information from reputable sources.
We’re partial to Bluesky, so here’s a (growing) list of starter packs you can use to build science-backed newsfeeds! Follow:
And of course, our What Can I Do? account
Alright, to the news.
This week:
💲Climate finance
👩⚕Women’s health gaps
🍔Unhealthy diets costs
🛰Government surveillance
And more
Have a great week,
— Willow
{{active_subscriber_count}}+ people who give a shit got this post in their email, for free.
🙋♀️ Vote!
How has your social media usage changed over the last few years?
Last week, we asked: How important is it for you to reduce plastic in your home?
You said:
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Very important (72%)
“I don't buy individually plastic packaged items if I can choose. Absolutely no plastic food storage. I do my best.”
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Somewhat important (25%)
“We invest quite a bit of effort in this - choosing products with less packaging, buying in bulk, recycling, reusing etc. - so we're doing what we can....and there's STILL so. much. plastic. in the d*** house. Argh!!”
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Not important (3%)
“Plastic use is not the main problem, especially not in developed nations with good waste management systems. Far better to reduce GHG emissions via highly leveraged means, like better renewables policy or dietary change.”
New Shit Giver Cam is here because “my insurance was not renewed on my summer bungalow on Long Island after Sandy - now I only have liability insurance on that property that I was allowed to add to my primary home insurance. I am concerned about all the typical liberal topics - climate - fairness - LGBTQ, AI, etc.“
All things we cover! Welcome.
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⚡️ Climate change:
🌏 Deforestation in Brazil dropped over 30% in the last year, reaching the lowest levels since 2015
🌏 This year’s COP focused on climate finance, aiming to set a new climate financing target to aid developing countries hit hardest by climate impacts — and to determine who pays
New York is implementing a congestion fee on polluting cars and trucks in heavily trafficked areas, a policy already implemented in cities around the globe, with the goal to finance public transit infrastructure
Though a complete rollback of the IRA is unlikely, some clean energy tax credits are at a higher risk of being cut than others
The WWF has co-created a new tool for banks to help them reduce their risk to environmental crimes (by not funding them — learn how you can green up your own portfolio here)
🦠 Health & Bio:
As women stockpile abortion pills and contraception amid post-election fears of a national abortion ban, here’s how to keep abortion plans private and safe
🌎 The global health community is also bracing for the new administration, with worries that there will be cuts to programs that control diseases globally
While states largely control vaccine policy and 88% of people believe in the benefits of vaccines, here’s how the federal government can indirectly influence policy
Smart-rings are stepping in to fill the research gap in women’s health to better understand menstrual cycles and perimenopause
🌎 A virologist with breast cancer took matters into her own hands and chose to self-experiment by injecting the tumor with lab-grown viruses — and now she’s cancer-free
💦 Food & Water:
🌍 Unhealthy diets in the UK cost an estimated £268bn, including spending by the NHS, social care and welfare services, loss of productivity due to sick workers, and human costs
🌎 Denmark’s comprehensive national effort to address agricultural environmental challenges is a model for other countries in balancing production with emissions reduction
Puerto Rico has a new marine protected area, thanks to a 16-year grassroots effort from local communities and NGOs
🌏 Although the EU has added a loophole to weaken its anti-deforestation law, Brazil is adopting full beef traceability
A second Trump administration could lead to higher food prices for less nutritious and more likely contaminated food
👩💻 Beep Boop:
A new AI tool can help detect cases of Long Covid
Read this guide on how to evade digital government surveillance (because btw, you may have agreed to have the Secret Service access your location data without a warrant)
The Biden administration is rushing funding out the door — like a $6.6 billion CHIPS Act grant
🌎 Africa is an overlooked player in the race for AI dominance, with AI researchers on the continent developing tools for Africans, in their own languages
🌎 = Global news
Let’s do this
Last week’s most popular Action Step was combatting the proliferation of mis and disinformation by taking the Media Literacy Crash Course.
Donate to reproductive justice funds to support abortion access across states were abortion is severely restricted or banned.
🌍 Volunteer with Break Free From Plastic to demand solutions to the plastic pollution crisis.
Get educated about preventative measures you can take to protect your home against wildfires, and how to get discounts offered by insurers with Wildfire Prepared Home.
Be heard about protecting a free press and urge your Senators to pass the PRESS Act.
🌎 Invest in climate solutions and fight climate change with your capital by scaling climate tech with Carbon Equity.
🌎 = Global Action Step
NEW: Find the action steps that mean the most to you at WhatCanIDo.Earth
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.
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What is ocean acidification?
Excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing the acidity of the ocean, which is bad for marine life (and of course, the industries that rely on them!).
Get the basics, so you can be part of the solutions 👇
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