Issue 160: Personal choices and climate change
Welcome to Backstory, a weekly newsletter turning global technology shifts into a three-minute read. This week, we’re thinking about climate change. – Mary Ames, Director of Strategy
THE BIG TAKE
Personal choices and climate change
The 28th edition of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28, is underway in the UAE. The conference is one of the world’s most important forums for global leaders to gather and work through solutions to the climate crisis. We will dive deeper into the headlines emerging from COP28 in the next edition of Backstory. This week, we are thinking about how our personal decisions can make a difference in climate change. Little decisions do matter when it comes to more significant issues. But with climate change, there is a limit to the impact one person can have. Let’s consider our diets.
We are what we eat. During COP28, the United Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organization is expected to publish new guidelines concerning food production and the goals of the Paris Climate Accord to keep global warming to less than 1.5C. The guidelines will advise wealthier countries to eat less meat. Food systems focused on meat production account for about a third of global greenhouse gas emissions from farm to fork, and much of that footprint is linked to livestock farming — a significant source of methane, deforestation, and biodiversity loss.
Loving avocados at any price. Damaging food production isn’t reserved just for meat. For example, America’s love of Mexican avocados is leading to massive deforestation in the country. But there is more to this story than hungry Americans. Ironically, Mexican companies have been pushing the country’s avocado sector recently with ads during the Super Bowl highlighting the country’s prize crop. Their PR campaign has worked so well that the avocado industry is booming and leading to an environmental crisis. This story highlights just how much is beyond the control of individual consumers. We all have a role in the climate crisis, but we must keep our limited position in perspective. One of the best ways to fight against climate change is to educate ourselves about how the global economy works and influences human climate impact.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The path to all great things passes through silence.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche
CHART OF THE WEEK
This week, we are thinking about global temperatures. Temperatures keep rising, and that’s a significant challenge for climate change solutions. There is a lot of work to be done at COP28.
OUR VIEWS THIS WEEK
Digital well-being: It's time to get serious about well-being. Let’s face it: the world is still a wild place. The pandemic remains an ever-present threat. The global economy is up and down. Complicating matters is that we have never been more addicted to scrolling on our phones. Getting off one’s phone is much easier said than done, but even thirty minutes daily can make a big difference in one’s mental health. This is especially true if that screen time break happens before bed. We explore more tips and tricks in this piece published by Xische about digital health.
How to fix bias in AI: The problem with bias in AI and advanced algorithms is not technical; it’s human. Those gifted programmers and coders who create the algorithms that guide our lives are the root (and solution) of the bias problem. This week, we considered ways to address the challenge of bias. Small states with large technology sectors, such as the UAE, have an advantage in addressing these challenges. Read our piece to find out why.
SPOTTED ELSEWHERE
Data centers and clean energy. Powering the internet requires an incredible amount of energy. Every photo, email, and web search runs through a data center. Those data centers demand massive amounts of energy to keep our content accessible. Google just unveiled a data center in Nevada that will run on clean energy. As reported in The Verge, this project could mark a new era in using clean energy for a vital public good. Let’s hope the project meets everyone’s expectations and our data storage needs will soon be solely powered by clean energy.
Words of the year. It’s that time of year. Lists of the most popular items, from books to songs, will soon dominate everyone’s timelines. One of the oldest versions of these lists Is Merian Webster’s Words of the Year. The dictionary just released their top words for 2023. Among the words that defined 2023 are “Authentic,” “Rizz,” “Deepfake,” and “Coronation.” Do you think they got it right or missed the mark? What was your word of the year?
Like what you're reading?
