Climate Change

Nettleton Strategies Opinion

Climate change is here. And as much as it is about the environment, the economic and social upheavals are what affect people. As California fires and another Louisiana hurricane have shown us this week, followed by flooding in New York, we are powerless against these impacts. People in New Orleans lined up for miles to get food and water, their cars the only places with air conditioning in 100-degree heat. Residents of Lake Tahoe lined up for miles to escape the Caldor fire. And this is in the wealthiest country in the world. Never mind the 1.5 million drought-displaced farmers becoming refugees in Syria, the drought-caused famine in Somalia, the fires in Australia in recent years, the flooding in Europe, or the urban areas facing water shortages. These are not anomalies. This is climate change. It’s here, and it’s only the beginning. The question is: when will we summon the courage to do what needs to be done?

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Some factoids about California and climate change

Last week, Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) published “An Economic Imperative: Climate Action in the Golden State,” which reviews the damage to California’s economy from recent climate-related disasters and risks from future, unabated climate change. The study compares those disasters and risks to the potential impact climate action policies could have on job and economic growth in the state’s core industries. Here are some factoids from the report. (Disclaimer: I am on E2’s state and federal advisory committees and co-chair the San Diego chapter.)

• $55 billion — direct property damage from California wildfires, 2017–2020
• $47 billion — economic activity in California’s clean ocean economy under threat from sea level rise and ocean warming
• $50.5 billion — overall production value of California’s 77,500 farms, which now face regular threats from droughts and other climate change-related impacts
• 484,980 jobs — people employed in California’s clean energy economy, representing 28% of the state’s construction workers and 3% of California’s economy-wide workforce
• #1 export — electric vehicles were the state’s most valuable export in 2020, producing nearly $5.7 billion in revenue

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New Jersey proposes $16 billion project to prevent flooding

California isn’t the only state worried about and working to address climate change. According to the U.S. News & World Report in an August 19, 2021, story, New Jersey is looking to address sea level rise by building huge gates across the mouths of three inlets that could be slammed shut when major storms approach, constructing closable barriers that would cut parts of two bays in half, and raising 19,000 homes. The $16 billion project would address back bay flooding, one of the major sources of storm damage at the Jersey Shore.

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Glasgow to ban climate laggards from COP26 climate conference venues

According to Glasgowlive in an August 21, 2021, story, the Glasgow, Scotland, City Council is banning  businesses that “deny, ignore or willfully contribute to catastrophic climate change” from venues it operates during the annual COP26 climate conference put on by the United Nations. The city council is reportedly excited to “be in a position to reject applications and send a strong message to the world: that we will not support polluters at COP26, and that they have no place in influencing our response to the climate crisis.” COP26 will be held November 1-12, 2021.

Covid-19

Israeli study says having Covid provides greater protection against Delta than vaccine

Science Magazine reported that vaccines remain vital despite findings that “people who once had a SARS-CoV-2 infection were much less likely than never-infected, vaccinated people to get Delta, develop symptoms from it, or become hospitalized with serious COVID-19.” The August 26, 2021, story said “the natural immune protection that develops after a SARS-CoV-2 infection offers considerably more of a shield against the Delta variant of the pandemic coronavirus than two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.” The Israeli study analyzed tens of thousands of patient records. The scientists cautioned that getting the disease is not a substitute for the vaccine, since it can result in death.

The Political Divide

“The minority who refuse to be vaccinated, which requires the rest of us to wear masks, are depriving us of our life, liberty, and happiness. We have the ability to defeat this, but a minority of the population and a few politicians are stopping us from getting there.”
Paul Krugman, New York Times columnist, on MSNBC, Aug. 20 2021

The Future of Work / The Economy

Fed to start scaling back stimulus, says inflation surge is temporary

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell says the Fed will “begin reversing its easy-money policies later this year.” He is also of the opinion that the recent surge in inflation will fade over time. In an August 27, 2021, Wall Street Journal article, Powell was quoted as saying “it could be appropriate to start reducing the pace” of the Fed’s $120 billion in monthly asset purchases this year. Any tapering isn’t likely to occur before the Fed’s meeting in early November.

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Some offices may remain closed for two years

Delays in returning to the office because of Covid-19’s resurgence might last for nearly two years for some companies. In an August 22, 2021, Wall Street Journal story, major companies like Intel, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Prudential Finance, and Lyft provided their views on when returning to work might happen. Executives are concerned that “the longer people stay at home, the harder or more disruptive it could be to eventually bring them back.” WSJ reports that “many employees are ‘bombarded’ with messages from recruiters and friends, attempting to lure them elsewhere.”

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How to prepare for a return to the office

Whether its two years from now or next week, Wired Magazine in an August 30, 2021, story, provided employees with tips to help make smoother the adjustment to returning to the office.

• Before your first day back in the office, have your entire family practice their morning routine. Pick a routine, get organized, communicate it, and be consistent in executing it.
• Create a list of morning tasks and set a countdown clock for each task you want to complete before you leave for work. 
• Use the commute (might be as long as it was before the pandemic) to do something you truly enjoy, such as podcasts or audiobooks to give yourself something to look forward to on your commute. Listening to something interesting can keep you calm and not focused on the aggravations of traffic.
• If your office has staggered schedules, ask for a schedule that keeps you separate from coworkers that you find annoying. And socially distancing can help with avoiding co-workers, too.
• Schedule shopping trips on work-from-home days, if possible.
• Try not to compare working from home with working in the office. Find the benefits of your new routine rather than dwelling on what you miss from the work-at-home routines you developed.

The Nett Light-Side

Could a jump to hyperspace be real?

So you want to travel to Alpha Centauri, a system of the closest stars and exoplanets to Earth's solar system, 4.37 light-years (1.34 parsecs) from the Sun. Using current modes of space travel, it would take 73,000 years. Now, a German scientist has proposed that a theoretical warp drive could allow travel faster than the speed of light and reduce the trip to four years, according to an article in Yahoo!news on August 27, 2021. Could the ability to jump to hyperspace imagined in Star Wars be real?

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Five steps to remembering names

Zapier, a software company that produces automation tools, has provided a handy list of five ways to remember people’s names in an August 11, 2021, blog. Here’s the list:

• Stop saying that you're bad at names.
• Say their name back to them.
• Make associations in your head.
• Say their name slowly and intentionally one more time before parting ways.
• If you do forget, own up to it and ask.