Welcome to the week.
Thanks to everyone who showed up to our phone banking session with EVP last week! Let’s keep that energy going beyond Earth Week.
And if you’re Canadian, don’t forget to vote today if you haven’t already! If you’re a progressive voter and are considering voting strategically (sigh, I know…) check out votewell.ca to see how polling is split between the parties in your riding, and then choose accordingly.
Alright, let’s get to the news.
This Week
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 often do you discuss climate concerns with friends, family, or colleagues?
Last week, we asked: What's your view on restricting cars in city centers?
You said:
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 I support car restrictions - they improve quality of life (68%)
“The car has dominated public space for much too long, time to give back the space to pedestrians, children, cyclists etc. But we need to allow some access to people who walk with difficulty, or can get around much.”
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I oppose car restrictions - they limit personal freedom (6%)
“People need their cars. Families need their cars. The elderly and disabled need their cars. To restrict cars is trapping people and forcing them to only stay in one area with little movement.”
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I'm neutral - depends on implementation (18%)
“Totally dependent on the quality of mass transit in the city!”
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ We need more data before expanding these programs (5%)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Something else (write in!) (3%)
“I support restricting cars in city centers, but people with mobility issues need to be considered in the implementation. ”
New Shit Giver Thumper is here because “I’m here to learn more about life; to broaden my base of knowledge in many different areas. I’m wondering if anyone cares besides me that we now live in a Fascist country? Will anyone care that a Civil War is coming to my country? Does anyone care that we will never have free elections again?
I’m old - retired - female, but still curious and interested in life and people.“
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⚡️ Climate change:
Cuts to NOAA and the Oceanic and Atmospheric Research office could eliminate Princeton’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, which produces world-leading climate models that are crucial for economic activity, natural disaster preparation, and national security (ProPublica)
🌎 The UK’s energy grid is facing some serious challenges due to aging infrastructure, reduce power generation capacity, and difficulties integrating renewable energy sources (Works in Progress)
🌎 Climate action appears to be in retreat globally, as other countries follow the US in backtracking on commitments, financial institutions withdraw from climate alliances, and corporations discuss it significantly less, despite growth in renewable energy (The New York Times)
A Colorado-based startup has raised $186 million to develop a low-temperature electrochemical process for refining iron ore, which could significantly reduce emissions currently produced by the steel industry (HEATMAP)
🌎The world’s most vulnerable populations are increasingly trapped in locations where they face severe climate change impacts (Mongabay)
🦠 Health & Bio:
Estrogen has a crucial role beyond reproduction, as a brain hormone that influences neurological development and diseases across the lifespan (The New York Times)
Repeat after me: Measles vaccines are highly effective and safe (Our World in Data)
The American Lung Association has found that nearly half of Americans breathe unhealthy air with ozone or particulate pollution (The New York Times)
🌎Malaria continues to plague Africa, and diminishing global funding, climate change, drug resistance, and new mosquito behaviors all threaten to reverse decades of progress, requiring renewed investment in prevention and community-based solutions (The Conversation)
A toxin called colibactin is 3x more common in early onset colorectal cancers than late onset cases, potentially explaining why colorectal cancer rates have been rising among young adults(Gizmodo)
💦 Food & Water:
The FDA plans to eliminate all petroleum-based food dyes from the US food supply by the end of 2026, though the plan is voluntary and recent staff cuts could hinder broader food safety regulation (Civil Eats)
Here’s what the science says about how eliminating synthetic food dyes could impact public health (Undark)
Scientific evidence shows that seed oils are healthy as part of a balanced diet, and the anti-seed oil movement is largely driven by misunderstandings about nutrition science and wellness industry marketing (Your Local Epidemiologist)
An ancient irrigation system in the Southwest is gaining renewed respect as a sustainable, democratic model for water management that could help farmers adapt to climate change (Civil Eats)
The Government Accountability Office has a new report confirming that generative AI systems require enormous amounts of water and electricity (404 Media)
👩💻 Beep Boop:
Courts have found that Google maintains illegal monopolies in both search and online advertising, which could lead to forced breakups of the tech giant (Platformer)
Meta is ending its collaboration with US fact-checkers while simultaneously revamping a program that pays creators for viral content. What could go wrong? (ProPublica)
🌍 There’s a hidden network of African digital workers in 39 countries who perform content moderation, data annotation, and other AI-related tasks for Western tech giants through outsourcing firms that allow companies to distance themselves legally and ethically from their workforce (Rest of World)
While most teens credit social media with helping them feel connected to friends, about one in five report that it hurts their mental health, and increasing numbers say they spend too much time on social media platforms (Pew Research Center)
AI models can spread stereotypes across languages and cultures by sometimes justifying stereotypes with fabricated science (WIRED)
🌎 = Global news
Last week’s most popular Action Step was donating to the Transgender Law Center to defend the rights of transgender people!
Donate to NeighborWorks America, which works with a network of organizations to transform communities into more affordable, sustainable, and safe places to live.
Volunteer with Stand Up America and demand a democracy that is for the people and by the people.
🌍 Get educated about the ideal places we should be restoring forests worldwide, so we can maximize the impact of reforestation with this interactive map from WRI.
Be heard about homelessness and join the advocacy work of the Coalition for the Homeless in NYC.
Invest in a better food system that support sustainable farming using Farm VC.
🌎 = 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.
Want an ad-free experience? Become a Member!
It’s Not A Vacation, It’s A Family Trip
This week on the Not Right Now podcast, Quinn and Claire dive into traveling with kids.
They share personal stories about family trips from their own childhoods and with their children now, covering everything from dealing with jetlag to bathroom emergencies at 30,000 feet.
Also discussed: the myth of "vacation" with children (let's just call it a "family trip"), tips and tricks for making travel less hellish, how to make travel more meaningful, the necessity of getting occasional breaks from your kids, and as always, the importance of low expectations.
📖 Prefer to read? Get the transcript here.
▶ Or watch the full episode on YouTube
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☎️ Work with Quinn 1:1 (slots are extremely limited) - book time to talk climate strategy, investing, or anything else.
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