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Welcome to the week.
First: In case you missed it, we published our 2024 gift guide this week, and I think it might be one of our best ones yet, so check it out!
Speaking of the holiday season, I hope you can protect your peace at the dinner table during this politically fraught time, but whatever the conversations sound like, knowledge is power, so let’s get to the news while we still have it! 🙃
This week:
🏭China’s historical emissions top EU
💊Antibiotic development hurdles
🫘The magic of beans
🌐Breaking up Google’s monopoly
And more
Have a great Thanksgiving,
— Willow
{{active_subscriber_count}}+ people who give a shit got this post in their email, for free.
🙋♀️ Vote!
What would most help you take action on the issues you care most about (climate, health, food, tech, etc.)?
Last week, we asked: How has your social media usage changed over the last few years?
You said:
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ It hasn't (14%)
“I do not subscribe to or use social media.”
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ I use it more often (19%)
“Still on Facebook.”
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 I use it less often (35%)
“My work (hospice chaplain and parish priest) is very intense, I need time to recover. I found that being on FB was also intense, too much to sustain with my current work load. As much as I love the connections and stimulation, I need to disengage and simplify my emotional life.”
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I've quit or taken a break (15%)
“My mental health is impacted by the use of all types of social media. I avoid now.”
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I've changed what platforms I interact with (14%)
“I moved off of X entirely months ago, and for a while was on Spoutible, which I still would support, but I've just stopped doing the text thing. I'm on Instagram and I've become more active on certain forums on Reddit.”
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Something else (write in!) (3%)
“I don't do social media; too many wierdos.”
New Shit Giver Jojo is here because “I work in the solar energy space doing strategy and I went to school for environmental science! Want to stay up to date on science news as life can get busy sometimes.“
Hell yeah! So happy to have you here.
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⚡️ Climate change:
🌍 Cumulative historical emissions in China have now passed the EU (but are still far behind the US)
🌎 COP29 has wrapped, with countries agreeing to a $300 billion climate finance deal (many developing nations say this is still insufficient)
Sunbirds are the new snowbirds, with climate impacts spurring a reverse migration North instead of South
Forecasters have consistently and systemically underestimated the solar boom due to prioritizing short-term forecasts over long-term projections
McKinsey & Company is playing both sides of the climate movement by publicly positioning itself as a champion of decarbonization while simultaneously working with major fossil fuel companies, including helping them develop strategies to maintain oil dependency
🦠 Health & Bio:
🌍 Air pollution in India and Pakistan has reached astronomical levels, causing officials to declare a medical emergency and asking people to stay home
Another reminder and another chart on how stunningly effective vaccines are at eliminating infectious diseases. Print it on a T-shirt and wear it to Thanksgiving
Fluoride in our water supply is very effective at reducing tooth decay, which is especially important in a country where dental care is inaccessible for many people
Among the many false or misleading public health claims RFK Jr has made, include categorically false claims about HIV/AIDS that could become a global problem
🌎 Despite the urgent need to develop new antibiotics to combat drug-resistant infections, low ROI is making pharmaceutical companies reluctant to invest in development
💦 Food & Water:
Beans are the ultimate superfood, but they need better PR
🌎 Denmark is a country with an intensive factory farming system and deep cultural connections to meat production, and yet is leading the transition to a more plant-based food system
🌎 Plastic waste is clogging a hydroelectric dam in Congo and causing regular power cuts
The Biden administration is clarifying that it actually doesn’t support production caps on plastic as countries negotiate a global treaty to limit plastic waste
The rest of the world is nervously watching the US response (or lack thereof) to the bird flu outbreak
👩💻 Beep Boop:
SafeRent, an AI screening tool for landlords, has settled a discrimination lawsuit for disproportionately rejecting people (mostly people of color) using housing vouchers
The government plans to break up Google’s monopoly by forcing Google to sell its Chrome browser
🌍Although 57% of the population is already connected, the rate of new mobile internet users is slowing globally
Niantic is training AI that can navigate the real world based on data generated by Pokémon Go players, how fun!
Hollywood writing — over 53,000 movies and 85,000 TV episodes in fact — is indeed being used to train AI
🌎 = Global news
Climate shocks to climate action
Last week’s most popular Action Step was joining the #BreakFreeFromPlastic movement to be part of the solution to the plastic pollution crisis.
Donate to the Food Animal Concerns Trust to advocate for the rights of food producing animals.
🌎 Volunteer with your local 350.org group and activate your community to transition to a fossil fuel free world.
🌎 Get educated about practicing mindfulness and meditation so you can effectively show up in your community with this guide from Vox.
Be heard about homelessness and affordable housing by urging your representatives to support the Yes In My Backyard Act.
🌎 Invest in mutual funds and ETFs that don’t contribute to climate change using Fossil Free Funds.
🌎 = Global Action Step
NEW: Find the action steps that mean the most to you at WhatCanIDo.Earth
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What is lab grown meat?
We know that developing nations especially need to be eating less meat to reach climate goals. But is lab grown meat the answer?
Learn more about what lab grown meat even is anyway with our explainer 👇
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