What little girls are made of

"Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of.” Bethany Hamilton, a champion surfer who lost her arm to a tiger shark and came back to compete with only one arm. See her surf here.

The Political Divide

“If you hold public office and still deny the outcome of the 2020 election, how are you explaining this to yourself?” Robert Reich, former U.S. Labor Secretary

---

More than 40% think a civil war in the U.S. is likely

An article published in The Guardian on August 30, 2022, found that “more than two-fifths of Americans believe civil war is at least somewhat likely in the next 10 years, according to a new survey – a figure that increases to more than half among self-identified “strong Republicans.” The survey was conducted by YouGovAmerica and The Economist.

---

Critics of ESG are denying the realities of capitalism

Several states have enacted laws "arguing that climate change should not factor into investment decisions," according to a September 6, 2022, opinion in Bloomberg News by owner Michael Bloomberg. He says “they are standing in the way of the most powerful force we can muster in the fight against climate change: the private sector. And the stakes could not be higher.” ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance, non-financial factors that Investors are including as part of their analysis to identify risks and growth opportunities.

---

Republicans think politicians who link wildfires to climate change lack understanding

According to a September 8, 2022, paper published in Science Advances, “politicians who link weather-related natural disasters like wildfires to climate change are viewed by Republicans as less understanding of wildfires and their causes, less likely to work to prevent future wildfires, and less sympathetic toward those affected by the wildfires.“ The findings are based on a survey with 3,103 respondents.

Climate Change

Has climate change brought us close to road’s end?

In January 1986, Discover magazine published a special report, Are We Close to Road’s End? - imagining an America 49 years into the future. Here’s the lead paragraph: “America in 2035? New York and other coastal cities are permanently flooded. Grain won’t grow in the nation's breadbasket, and everything west of the Rockies is a desert. If only politicians had heeded warnings about carbon dioxide build-up and global warming back in 1985.” Check it out and ask yourself if the story’s projections ring true.

---

8 billion humans: a plague on earth or a success story?

BBC Future on September 5, 2022, published a story: How many people can the earth handle? - reporting that the UN projects the planet's population will reach 8 billion people on November 15, 2022. The story asks if this growth is "a plague on earth" as described by English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author David Attenborough, or a success story with a need for more people? From Plato to Malthus to Paul Ehrlich, the story provides an in-depth view of the history of views on global populations and the ability of the earth to sustainably accommodate us.

---

Sixty more harvests – our agricultural future

Author Phillip Lymbery, in an article in The Scotsman on August 28, 2022, declares that “in one human lifetime, the planet has gone from being a bountiful Garden of Eden to a world in decline.” He writes that industrialization of agriculture and over-consumption of meat is at the center of the decline. One-sixth of global greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to animal farming, he says, yet the production of industrialized meat is increasing. Lymbery suggests regenerative farming that restores soils and biodiversity is part of the solution, along with changing to “a diet that is largely plant-based, with much less meat.”

---

La Niña to continue into spring. More drought in the west?

According to the NOAA Climate Prediction Center’s September 8, 2022, report. La Niña is favored to continue through Northern Hemisphere winter 2022-23, with a 91% chance in September-November, decreasing to a 54% chance in January-March 2023. When La Niña conditions are present, places like Indonesia and Australia typically get more rain than usual, and places like the southwestern United States are drier than usual.

---

NOAA 2021 climate report sees record sea level rise, GHG concentrations

As reported in Phys.org on August 31, 2022, NOAA’s 2021 annual State of the Climate report says “earth's concentration of greenhouse gases and sea levels hit new highs in 2021 … showing that climate change keeps surging ahead despite renewed efforts to curb emissions.” The concentration of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere stood at 414.7 parts per million in 2021, 2.3 parts higher than in 2020, the highest in at least the last million years based on paleoclimatic records. Sea level has risen 3.8 inches since 1993 when satellite measurements began. In addition, “last year was among the six warmest on record since the mid-19th century, with the last seven years all the seven hottest on record.”

Future of Work / The Economy

Baby Boomers' command and control style is dead

"We are witnessing a massive change in leadership from the Baby Boomers who have dominated for the past 30 years, to emerging leaders, which include Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. The Baby Boomers’ style of command-and-control leadership is dead. Younger employees simply will not accept it, or they will quit, which has contributed to the Great Resignation." - Bill George, former Medtronic CEO, in Fortune on September 1, 2022.

---

Small business rent delinquency hits 40%

According to Alignable's August Rent Report, small businesses' rent delinquency has hit 40%, up from 34% in July. “The last time this rate was this high was in March 2021, nearly 18 months ago in the middle of the pandemic.” The data is worse for minorities and women. Alignable found that 53% of minority-owned businesses and 42% of women-owned firms could not pay their rent in full and on time.

---

All poverty is energy poverty, you can’t eliminate poverty without more energy

A fascinating September 4, 2022, article in the Ombudsman, a Substack publication, says that “all poverty is energy poverty.” Energy is required to power refrigerators to preserve food, for refrigerated trucks to deliver food, for distribution systems to provide clean water, and much more. “You can't eliminate it (poverty) without using a lot of energy. As it happens, this is also true of infant mortality— as well as a number of other variables that we might care about.” The average person in the U.S. uses 77,000 kWh per year. The figure is 400 kWh in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The article suggests that more efficient use of energy in the developed world could balance increased use of energy in the developing world to create more stable and equitable economies. However, that doesn’t take into account the projected growth of the world's population from 8 billion to more than 10 billion in the next four decades, the potential need for energy to desalinate seawater, and more – all while trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

---

Are we in an economic superbubble?

Respected investor Jeremy Grantham, in an August 31, 2022, article in Fortune, says he believes the economy could be in the middle of a "superbubble" that is ready to pop. “If the bear market has already ended, the parallels with the three other U.S. superbubbles - so far so strangely in line - would be completely broken. This is always possible. Each cycle is different, and each government response is unpredictable,” he said. "But if history repeats, the play will once again be a Tragedy. We must hope this time for a minor one." Grantham is "well known for having predicted Japan's asset price bubble in the 1980s, the dot-com bubble of the late '90s, and even the U.S. housing blowup that came before the 2008 financial crisis."

Covid-19

The impact of Covid on the world’s children

According to Washington Post’s Coronavirus Newsletter, Covid has had a heavy impact on the world’s children. Some facts quoted by the Post:

• The pandemic has killed more than 6.5 million people worldwide.
• More than 10.5 million children are now without one or both parents, or primary caretakers as a result.
• Children in countries with lower vaccination rates and higher fertility rates were more likely to be affected.
• Southeast Asia and Africa were hardest hit — one out of every 50 children lost a parent or caretaker.
• Only two countries, Peru and the United States, have committed to addressing “Covid-associated orphanhood.”

---

Covid hit Indigenous people the hardest, Native American life expectancy dropped by 6.6 years

A September 8, 2022, article in the New York Times’ The Morning Newsletter says “Covid’s death toll in Indigenous communities has no modern precedent.” According to the CDC, from 2019 to 2021, the life expectancy for Native Americans fell from 71.8 years to 65.2. Covid was largely to blame. The article compares the death rates of various populations and the relationship between poverty and historical health problems within the populations.

The Nett Light-Side

With lots of gloom and doom in this issue, I’m glad there are a number of fun items for The Nett Light-Side as listed below!

• What you don't know about Costco’s $1 hot dog. Mashed
• Hundreds take part in a hilarious dash at U.S. racecourse with competitors wearing T-Rex costumes (video). SWNS
• How does life emerge on an Icelandic volcanic island? Living Bird Magazine
• Spellbinding drone footage over Mt. Everest. Adventure Journal
• Bay Area squirrels are splooting amid a recent heat wave. SFGate
• Whale gently pushes paddleboarder with fin. Caters Clips
• Humpback whale songs spread from pod to pod across the Pacific Ocean. Phys.org

Nettleton Strategies — Helping People to Think

Carl Nettleton is an award-winning writer, speaker, thought partner, facilitator, and subject-matter expert regarding water, climate, sustainability, the ocean, and binational U.S. Mexico border affairs. Nettleton Strategies, the consultancy he founded in 2007, is a trusted source of analysis and advice on issues at the forefront of public policy, business, and the environment. He helps people to think strategically about their options for change. He is also the founder of OpenOceans Global, a nonprofit addressing ocean plastic in a new way.