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Welcome to the week.

We have Jennifer Raynor on the pod this week to chat about her research tracking and mapping industrial fishing vessels (from space!), and how that data can be used to make better decisions about ocean management.

The conversation also dives into the economic benefits of wolves (that’s right), don’t miss it!

Ok, news time.

This week:

• ⚡️ The Senate backs nuclear power

• 👓️Public health measures to reduce blindness

• 💧River restoration progress

• 🤖Safe Superintelligence

• And more

Have a great week,

— Willow

This is science for people who give a shit.

Every week, we help 35,000+ humans understand and unfuck the rapidly changing world around us. It feels great, and we’d love for you to join us.

🙋‍♀️ Vote!

Last week, we asked: How important is it for you to reduce plastic in your home?

You said: 

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Very important (65%)

“We've known for a while we needed to cut back and have as much as possible while shopping primarily at grocery stores. However, the movement towards more sustainable packaging, including no packaging when possible, is our goal.”

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Somewhat important (24%)

“We already take a number of steps like bringing glass jars to the bulk store, switching to reusable zipper bags, selecting things to buy in paper cartons, buying clothes made with natural fibers etc. While we look for ways to do more, I feel like we are more likely to get more make-a-difference out of other steps (like pushing our local utility to offer clean power). ”

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Not important (11%)

“So many types of plastics and recycling requires separation by types. Plastics are a miracle of our time reducing the use of other resources and adding convenience to our lives. ”

New Shit Giver Ed wants to help solve “curable diseases killing millions of people each year (tuberculosis, malaria, etc.)“

100%. This is so, so solvable — check out some Action Steps below to get started. Thanks for being here!

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⚡️ Climate change:

• 🌎️ So far this year has seen heat records obliterated worldwide, from the US to India to Greece to Mali to China and on and on and on. A reminder that we’re all in this together.

• While scientists are still unclear on the health implications of wildfire smoke, it’s probably not great, and as they become increasingly common, governments have yet to outline a clear plan for protecting people from it

• The Senate overwhelmingly passed the ADVANCE Act, a bill designed to boost and support the nuclear energy industry

• Youth climate activists in Hawaii have won a legal settlement that will force the Department of Transportation to accelerate the decarbonization of the transportation system. Hell yes, let’s keep it going

• 🌎️ The EU is cracking down on deforestation beyond its borders, asking importers to show that their commodities aren’t resulting in a net loss of trees — the US wants more time to comply

🦠 Health & Bio:

• 🌎️ Trachoma is an infectious disease that causes blindness worldwide, but with successful public health efforts, it can be eliminated

• 🌍️ As pharmaceutical companies shift their priorities to manufacturing pens that inject weight-loss drugs, South Africa has run out of insulin pens, forcing a switch to vials and syringes which are more difficult to use

• Parole and probation further complicate and restrict abortion access for women living in states with abortion bans or heavy restrictions.

• And since we’re on the topic, here’s a research roundup of the history and safety of the abortion pill mifepristone

• 🌍️ Air pollution is the second biggest killer globally — worse than tobacco use, and kills thousands of kids a day (second only to malnutrition for kids under 5). It really, really, really doesn’t have to be this way

💦 Food & Water:

• Amazon is getting rid of plastic aid pillow packaging in North America, and replacing it with recycled paper

• At the same time, pro-plastic lobbyists have successfully blocked a bill in New York to reduce plastic waste

• 🌏️ While they certainly don’t have nearly the environmental impact as animal products, unfortunately, avocados do have a relatively high carbon footprint and require a lot of water (while being grown in water-stressed areas)

• The Klamath River restoration project — the biggest in US history — will include returning tribal lands to the Shasta Nation

👩‍💻 Beep Boop:

• The Amazon Labor Union is teaming up with The Teamsters to take on the e-commerce giant

• 🌎️ Meanwhile, Amazon is powering AI cameras on UK trains to monitor crowds and detect theft and trespassing

• Attempts to continue funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program, an internet subsidy program, are falling flat

• Sam Altman says that OpenAI is considering switching its governance structure to a for-profit business

• And OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever has launched a new company called Safe Superintelligence with a mission that is exactly what it sounds like, although the jury is still out on whether that is possible

🌎️ = Global news

A thousand times yes! Let’s go 👇️ 

Last week’s most popular Action Step was sharing the From Plate to Planet report with your local officials to use the food system to combat climate change locally.

• 🌎️ Donate to the Against Malaria Foundation, where 100% of your money goes towards providing long-lasting insecticidal nets to people who need them.

• 🌎️ Volunteer with Partners in Health to improve access to quality health care worldwide.

• Get educated about all things health-related with our Health & Bio booklist on Bookshop.

• 🌏️ Be heard about making life-saving medical tests and treatments affordable to low- and middle-income countries, and join TBFighter’s #PeopleOverProfits campaign, using their resources to contact the Danaher Corporation.

• 🌏️ Invest in the Gavi Matching Fund to get more people vaccinated worldwide.

🌎️ = Global Action Step

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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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How do we stop overfishing if we don't know who's doing the fishing?

That's today's big question, and my guest is Jennifer Raynor.

Jennifer is an Assistant Professor of natural resource economics at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Before entering academia, she conducted policy-relevant economic research for the U.S. federal government for nearly a decade, most recently at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries.

Jennifer's research focuses on improving the efficiency and sustainability of fisheries and wildlife management, primarily using methods from economics, data science, and remote sensing.

She serves on the board of trustees for Global Fishing Watch, and what her team discovered about who's trawling our oceans and where, could set in motion policy the world over to make fishing drastically more sustainable and safe for everyone on every front.

📖 Prefer to read? Get the transcript here.

▶️ Or watch the full episode on YouTube.

Elephants are people too 👇️ 

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