Essay: Shiny Things

Important, Not Important

This week:

How to be excited about the future, explained.

Plus, the news:

• 🌊 The tipping point for the Atlantic Ocean
• 👶 An RSV shot for babies
• 🥕 Examining the “N” in SNAP
• 🤖 Profiting from AI tools
• And more!

Here's What You Can Do:

• Donate to the Institute for Policy Studies to help turn transformative policy ideas into action.
• Join a Ride Spot Challenge by committing to replace car trips with bike rides. Biking is an easy way to lower your emissions and be part of the climate solution, even if you just start at one trip a week.
• Get educated about parking reform, which has the potential to impact climate change, equity, and housing.
• Be heard about climate change by helping Climate Cabinet elect candidates that give a shit about drafting legislation to combat the climate crisis.
• Invest in the world’s natural capital with ReGen.

News Roundup

Health & Medicine

• Yes, heat can be fatal. But it also has a plethora of non-fatal health consequences on both the body and the mind
• Infants can now get a preventative shot for RSV, which is the leading cause of infant hospitalization in the US
• A new analysis is skeptical that Biden’s Justice40 program will fix the racial gap in air quality
• Literally go and touch some grass. It’s scientifically proven to be good for you.

Climate

• Extreme heat is a key issue in UPS contract deals
• Differing theories of decarbonization could create rifts in climate coalitions and derail progress
• Federal regulatory agencies are starting to (think about) cracking down on dubious carbon offset programs
• Changes in the Atlantic Ocean are definitely not great, but exactly when we hit the tipping point of totally fucked is hard to predict

Food & Water

• What’s the price of water scarcity? The finance industry doesn’t know
• The “N” in SNAP is complicated
• The companies that make ultra-processed food should be held accountable for the damage they are doing to the health of their customers
• Some states are starting to step up and help families feed their kids with Child Tax Credits

Beep Boop

• No one is exempt from the impacts of climate change. Not even artificial intelligence.
• It’s time to start thinking about how AI creators intend to profit from it
• Cigna Healthcare used algorithms to deny health insurance claims, prompting a class action lawsuit
• iOS users can easily manage prescription drug treatment plans with the new “Medicine Cabinet” tool

Get more:

• Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at https://www.importantnotimportant.com/
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• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Take a nap you deserve it

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