Faulty Cancer Research

Welcome to the week!

We’ve gotten a lot of feedback that there is a strong interest in more international (that is, less US-focused) news stories and action steps.

We hear you, and one of our goals for 2024 is to actively work on including content that is more relevant outside of the US and globally where we can.

We have a lot more to come on this, but for now, we will use this emoji:🌍️ next to news stories and action steps that aren’t US-specific so you can scan for that content if you choose!

Now to the news.

This week:

• 🤒 Measles outbreaks

• 🚚 Phasing out diesel trucks

• 🍬 Understanding processed foods

• 📧 Microsoft’s cybersecurity breach

• And more

Have a great week,

— Willow

This is science for people who give a shit.

Every week, we help 27,000+ 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 Ann wants to help solve “the confusions that unregulated AI is going to cause.“

Welcome, Ann! Everything with AI is moving so fast, and we’re doing our best here to keep up as we hurdle into this brave new world.

At its best, AI is a tool that is fueling some truly remarkable innovation that could help solve a lot of the issues we cover here — and undoubtedly, create new ones we have yet to foresee.

🦠 Health & Bio:

• One of the biggest cancer treatment and research facilities in the US is being asked to address allegations of faulty data in 58 studies

• 🌍️ A study out of Scotland has found zero (zero!) cases of cervical cancer in women who received the HPV vaccine before age 14

• 🌍️ Europe had 40 times more measles cases last year than in 2022, largely due to children not getting immunizations

• An 11-year-old boy can hear for the first time due to a successful gene therapy treatment

⚡️ Climate change:

• The development of new LNG terminals has been paused by Biden. Woohoo! What does that mean about the climate movement politically?

• Dozens of communities are campaigning to replace their investor-owned, for-profit utility companies with publicly owned ones. Is making the switch worth it?

• 🌏️ The EU has made a deal on a “near phaseout” of diesel trucks by 2040. It’s not perfect, but when every 10th of a degree counts, it’s a good start

• State transportation agencies are receiving billions in federal funding, but most are still focusing on road expansion instead of addressing climate change

💦 Food & Water:

• 🌍️ Clean cookstove projects can have major health and environmental benefits in the developing world. But the climate benefits of the carbon credit programs funding them have been largely overstated

• 🌍️ The EU is cracking down on greenwashing, banning misleading environmental terms that rely on offsetting, and this includes the food sector where claims such as “climate-friendly beef” are often made

• 🌍️ The EU is also relaxing regulations on genetically modified plants produced using new genomic techniques (NGTs)

• Despite consumers indicating they are prioritizing cutting processed foods out of their diet, many have a misunderstanding of what processed foods are

👩‍💻 Beep Boop:

• 🌍️ Microsoft corporate emails that didn’t have multifactor authentication enabled were hacked by a Russian state-sponsored group

• The majority of top news sites block web crawlers from collecting data to train AI…but leading right-wing outlets like Breitbart and NewsMax allow them.

• Outlets like 404 Media are attempting to prevent their work from being ripped off by AI and maintain a successful journalism business, while media outlets are failing weekly, by asking for your email address

• 🌍️ The vast majority of climate tech funding in the last five years has gone to physical solutions, rather than software solutions

Last week’s most popular Action Step was putting your tech skills to better the planet by checking out the Tech Jobs for Good job board.

• 🌍️ Donate to the Against Malaria Foundation so that more people have access to life-saving insecticidal nets.

• 🌍️ Volunteer with World Central Kitchen to feed communities in crisis.

• 🌍️ Get educated about data privacy and follow the Markups “Gentle January” series to receive a daily practical privacy tip.

• Be heard about clean air and urge the EPA to strengthen its Clean Trucks Plan.

• Invest in mutual funds and EFTs that avoid fossil fuels using Fossil Free Funds.

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The best EV you can buy

…other than an e-bike, that is.

If walking, biking, or public transit aren’t options for you, there are now more options (and tax credits) for EVs than ever before.

Check out our guide to EVs (made in partnership with Rewiring America) to get up to speed on everything you need to know before purchasing an electric vehicle.

What is ocean acidification?

The ocean is basic, but its pH is dropping due to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide that is dissolving into the ocean, which is bad news for coral reefs and other marine life.

Read more about ocean acidification, and how we can stop it 👇️ 

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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.

It’s all connected. Click for the full story 👇️ 

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