SCIENCE FOR PEOPLE WHO GIVE A SHIT
May 19, 2023

šŸŒŽ Gradually, and then all at once

This week:

Things feel pretty out of control. Get used to it.

Plus: The Canadian West is burning, Oregon bans PFAS, ChatGPT plugins for everyone, the All We Can Save project is hiring, and more

Here's What You Can Do:

  • āš”ļøWildfire smoke exposure is directly linked to myriad health impacts due to poor air quality. Know your daily risk by using this Purple Air outdoor air monitor.
  • āš”ļøWe need to heal ourselves to heal the planet. Find resources and community to help with your climate anxiety through the Climate Mental Health Network.
  • āš”ļøAct locally. Use ReFED to find current food waste policies and programs you can learn from and implement in your town.
  • āš”ļøWork in local government? Biobot Analytics provides wastewater testing tools so we can better estimate the number of COVID-19 (and other diseases) infections in the community

News Roundup

Health & Medicine

  • These are the cities withĀ most bike deathsĀ per capita (I share news like this to illustrate where we can make drastic improvements)
  • Not to be outdone, the South Carolina House passed aĀ six-weekĀ abortion ban
  • UnitedHealthcare wants doctors to get prior authorization for colonoscopies.Ā People are very pissed off.
  • Where AmericanĀ air pollutionĀ is improving, and getting worse

Climate

  • Our friends at theĀ All We Can SaveĀ project are hiring a Programs & Community Manager ā€” detailsĀ here!
  • CouldĀ enormous robotsĀ dramatically speed up solar farm construction? Sure!
  • How can weĀ restore oyster reefsĀ without oyster shells?
  • Octopus EnergyĀ continues to be a model forā€¦everyone else
  • The Canadian westĀ continues to burn, and climate change is a big reason why

Food & Water

  • OregonĀ bannedĀ PFAS (forever chemicals) in food containers
  • How plant-based food makers canĀ fight backĀ against meat and dairy disinformation
  • If growing one almondĀ requiresĀ 3.2 gallons of water out west, how do we reconcile that?
  • The women working forĀ food sovereigntyĀ on island territories
  • Undercover audio of a Tyson employee revealsĀ ā€œfree-rangeā€Ā chicken is bullshit (more onĀ humanewashing)

Beep Boop

  • OpenAI rolled out ChatGPTĀ pluginsĀ to everyone, should be fine
  • RansomwareĀ hackersĀ are zeroing in (again) on under-resourced cities and towns
  • The Supreme Court ruled Twitter and GoogleĀ arenā€™t legally liableĀ for terrorists using their platforms

COVID

  • This isnā€™t COVID-specific (I wrote thatĀ big updateĀ last week), but it could be monumental, if we do the work: the CDC released a new health-based indoor air ventilationĀ target, and the the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers released its own enhanced ventilationĀ standard.
  • Hereā€™s Joseph G. Allen onĀ why it could be a game-changer.

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