Welcome to the week.
We’re back this week on the pod with a timely episode on bird flu! I know, I know, it’s kind of a downer that no one really wants to think about amidst everything else going on, but…we’ve gotta talk about it. Especially with the wonderful Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, an infectious disease doctor from the BU School of Medicine. Listen here.
Ok, now here’s what you came for.
This week:
🏦 Green banks
😷 Public health chaos
🌊 Desalination breakthroughs
🤖 AI regulation vs. investment
And more
Have a great week,
— Willow
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What's your favorite way to unwind and get your mind off worrying about the news and state of the world?
- Creative arts (painting, music, writing, etc.)
- Sports and physical activities
- Collecting (stamps, coins, cards, etc.)
- Gaming (video games, board games, puzzles)
- Nature activities (gardening, hiking, birdwatching)
- Crafting (knitting, woodworking, DIY projects)
- Cooking or baking
- Photography
- Something else (write in!)
Last week, we asked: How often do you pause to verify information before sharing it on social media?
You said:
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Always (43%)
“I always check what I am sharing and if it's coming from a credible source. I refrain from re-sharing posts just because it's popular and so many people are sharing it. Especially if these posts are related to things that can have misinformation around them - like science, and politics etc. ”
🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ Most of the time (40%)
“If I trust the creator, and there are some progressive creators!, I post their content. If I don't know you, typically I'll research or not post.”
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Sometimes (14%)
“It depends on the source. If the source is a known credible expert in that arena, I don’t fact check. If it’s information I’ve never heard of, I check, regardless of source.”
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Rarely (2%)
“I am usually only reading research papers written by scientists who adhere to the SCIENTIFIC METHOD when reporting their work. Sometimes, I read compilations of published works. These always quote citations which is great for those who seek more or detailed findings on the given topic(s).”
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Never (1%)
New Shit Giver Sam is here because “I am an endlessly curious individual, always drawn to learning and understanding the world through diverse perspectives. I was looking for a newsletter that not only delves into science but connects it to the broader societal challenges we face.“
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⚡️ Climate change:
Remember Biden’s Climate Corps? Feels like that was about 10 thousand years ago, but it was actually launched in 2024…and the program is already winding down with the new administration (not surprising), although many of the underlying jobs will continue, just with new (non-climate related) branding (Gizmodo)
Stepping back from climate leadership on a global scale creates opportunities for other countries (like China) to fill the vacuum and potentially threaten US interests (Heatmap)
🌎 The UK government is looking to expand three London airports to benefit from growth in the aviation industry, despite commitments to combat climate change (Bloomberg)
🌎 Australia is committing $2 billion into a government-owned green bank in order to catalyze billions in private investment for renewable energy and battery projects (Bloomberg)
🦠 Health & Bio:
Wildland firefighters face a heightened risk to contracting Long COVID due to their transient work conditions, smoke exposure, and limited sanitation in fire camps (The Sick Times)
🌎 Despite the fact that we now have 2 malaria vaccines and that over a thousand kids die from malaria daily, a lack of funding has slowed the rollout of getting the vaccines into kids arms (Vox)
A new discovery of location-specific immune cell adaptation is a significant advancement in understanding how the immune system coordinates responses and could lead to improved immunotherapy and vaccine development (The Allen Institute)
Like pretty much everything else over the past week, the world of public health is facing chaos and uncertainty under the new administration, with significant disruptions across public health agencies (despite all that, this article ends on a hopeful note, promise) (Your Local Epidemiologist)
💦 Food & Water:
H5N1 is continuing to cause significant disruptions in the US poultry industry, which is causing price instability (#thepriceofeggs) and of course increases the risk of a pandemic — should we start vaccinating chickens instead of culling them? (Slow Boring)
Researchers have found a way to efficiently remove boron from saltwater, which could significantly cut the costs of desalination (Interesting Engineering)
🌎 A grassroots, women-led, environmental initiative (all of my favorite things!) in Uganda is focusing on planting indigenous trees to combat climate impacts and soil erosion (Mongabay)
State officials in California argue that Trumps recent memorandum to put the needs of “people over fish” could actually ham both water supplies for people and endangered species (LA Times)
👩💻 Beep Boop:
OpenAI’s “Stargate” project is facing criticism over its job creation claims, as the goal appears to be automating office work (Vox)
🌏 The world can’t agree on how to regulate AI, with Western countries like the EU passing comprehensive regulations, and non-Western and developing nations prioritizing AI investment (Rest of World)
🌏 The EU has passed a new law that would require Google to build fact-checking into its ranking systems and algorithms. Google said ✨ no ✨ (Axios)
Some people are actually trying to use AI for good, like to help detect cancer, but that’s turning out to be challenging (MIT Technology Review)
🌎 = Global news
Here we go
Last week’s most popular Action Step was donating to the Climate Justice Alliance to amplify grassroots efforts fighting for a Just Transition.
🌏 Donate to Charity Water to bring clean and safe water to hundreds of millions of people without it worldwide, via community-owned water projects.
Volunteer with Reproductive Freedom for All to fight for abortion care access at the state and federal level.
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🌎 Be heard about making energy data open for researchers so we can make progress on climate change by contacting your energy minister.
🌎 Invest in global health and help vaccinate children everywhere with Gavi.
🌎 = Global Action Step
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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 can I do about bird flu?
That's today's big question and our returning guest is the wonderful Dr. Nahid Bhadelia.
We (Quinn) has been avoiding this question for quite a while.
I even wrote a few thousand words about it a couple of months ago and didn't publish it because it was a bit of a downer.
But that's kind of malpractice in a way because we promised we don't shy away from the hard stuff even if the goal is to help you understand what you can do about it.
Just like there's never really an optimal time in your life to get married, or have a baby, or get arrested, there's never a good time to talk about bird flu, which means it's always the right time to talk about bird flu, and especially when you've got the best of the best on the line.
Dr. Bhadelia is the founding director of the BU Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases. She's a board-certified infectious diseases physician and an associate professor at the BU School of Medicine.
She served as the Senior Policy Advisor for Global COVID-19 Response for the White House COVID-19 Response Team in 2022 and 2023, where she coordinated the interagency programs for global COVID-19 vaccine donations from the United States.
📖 Prefer to read? Get the transcript here.
What is a circular economy?
A circular economy applies the cyclical principles of nature to economics. It doesn’t make the world go round, yet, but maybe it should.
Read all about it 👇
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