Ocean photo winner, noncitizen voting, US blue and red by population, Thwaites Glacier, sea level rise and energy policy simulators, E2, training for leadership, Blue Angels, teal pumpkins
September 30, 2024
Every other week, the award-winning Nett Report provides readers with thoughtful perspectives helpful to navigating life in a changing world. Past issues.
Political Divide
“I confess that there are several parts of this constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them,” he said, “For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise.”- Benjamin Franklin in support of the new constitution in 1787
Noncitizen voting isn’t affecting state or federal elections: the facts
There has been plenty rhetoric suggesting that noncitizen voting is a problem. I had coffee recently with an attorney with expertise in international elections. I asked him what he thought about the threat to our democracy from noncitizen voters. He basically said it’s a non-issue. An April 13, 2024, analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice explains why. “Would you risk everything — your freedom, your life in the United States, your ability to be near your family — just to cast a single ballot? Of course you wouldn’t. It’s a federal crime for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. It’s also a crime under every state’s laws. In fact, under federal law, you could face up to five years in prison simply for registering to vote. It’s also a deportable offense for noncitizens to register or vote ... by committing the crime, you create a government record of your having committed it. In fact, it’s the creation of the government record — the registration form or the ballot cast — that is the crime. So, you’ve not only exposed yourself to prison time and deportation, you’ve put yourself on the government’s radar, and you’ve handed the government the evidence it needs to put you in prison or deport you. All so you could cast one vote. Who would do such a thing?”
When you are an empire, you can create your own reality
“In 2004 a senior advisor to President George W. Bush famously told journalist Ron Suskind that people like Suskind lived in ‘the reality-based community.’ They believed people could find solutions to problems through careful study of discernible reality. But, the aide continued, Suskind’s worldview was obsolete. ‘That’s not the way the world really works anymore,’ the aide said. ‘We are an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality— judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors … and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.’ We appear to be in a moment when the reality-based community is challenging the ability of the MAGA Republicans to create their own reality.” – From Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter, Letters from an American, September 25, 2024
Looking at the politics of the U.S. through the lens of population density
The traditional view of red states vs blue states looks at the states themselves as blue or red to visualize the predominant political party or, as in the first map below, the counties. However, looking at the country through the lens of population density tells a different story, as in the second map. This Reddit post is from 2022 but still gave me reason to think about it and to share it with readers who might not have seen it.
What Californians think about the election and the future
The Public Policy Institute of California conducted a statewide survey about Calfiornians and their government. The results were published on September 19, 2024. Here are some key findings.
Seven in ten likely voters would support electing a president by popular vote in future elections.
56 percent of California likely voters are satisfied with the choice of candidates.
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz (D) lead Donald Trump and J.D. Vance (R) by a 31 point margin (60% to 29%) in the presidential race.
Proposition 36 (increasing crime sentences) currently leads in terms of support, interest, and importance among the 10 state propositions. Seventy-one percent say they would vote “yes” on Proposition 36, and 41 percent say the outcome of this vote is very important.
Majorities of adults and likely voters think the state is headed in the wrong direction and expect the state to have bad times financially in the next 12 months.
Future of Work / The Economy
“My life is still trying to get up that great big hill of hope for a destination.” - What’s Up, Linda Perry, 4 Non Blondes
Esri’s Jack Dangermond on building an enduring business
In a September 2, 2024, article in Inc., Stephanie Mehta interviewed Esri founder and owner Jack Dangermond about how he and his wife Laura were able to create such a successful company (privately held but with “a couple of billion” in annual sales Dangemond says). Here are some insights from that interview.
The number one focus that we think a lot about here and talk about in all our meetings is our users — not our stockholders, but our users.
Laura and I didn’t come from money, and we were very conservative. We never borrowed money, and we weren’t interested in go-go growth.
The company invests 30 percent of its revenue in research and development. “For 40 years, we’ve taken any spare money and poured it into innovation,” he says. For comparison, software companies typically invest about 20 percent.
We’re not greedy. We’re interested in partnering to empower other tech companies. We can create a much bigger ecosystem of impact by just concentrating on our core.
What if you were as fit in business as a professional athlete?
Judy Hissong operates Nesso Strategies, a firm that “connects people, process, and performance for bottom line gain.” In a recent blog she asked “what if” corporate executives spent as much time training for their craft as professional athletes. “What if you committed time to practicing your leadership skills and growing and refining your talent? Where would you focus first? Would it be leading at your level and turning over the work of your direct reports to ... Your direct reports? Would it be attending to growing trust among your team, your peer group, or your organization? Either way, that starts with you. Athletes know that discipline, when no one is watching, will elevate what is seen. Give it a go, start small, practice and play. Watch your performance rise.”
Companies are firing Gen Z employees not long after hiring them
A September 23, 2024, story in Newsweek reports that “companies are rapidly firing Gen Z employees just months after hiring them.” Based on a report from Intelligent, the story says “a whopping six in 10 employers had already fired college graduates who were hired in 2024. One in seven said they might refrain from hiring new college grads next year as well.” Companies have concerns about “how prepared they are for the work as well as their communication skills and professionalism.”
Sentiment toward AI turns more skeptical
In a September 19, 2024, Goldman Sachs blog, Eric Sheridan, the firm’s U.S. Internet Research Analyst, reports that “sentiment toward AI has recently turned much more skeptical, and many are now wondering whether AI’s potential has been overstated.“ He says “I don’t think the promise is overblown, but AI is still squarely in the build mode. And if you go back and look at almost every computing cycle we’ve been through – and I have been a combination of investor and analyst through a number of them – there’s a product that captures imagination, there’s a build cycle, and then there’s always a bit of disillusionment on the time between the build cycle and applications that have utility.” His experience tells him that “we’re moving deeper into the build cycle, which is putting an upward pressure on capital expenditures. But we haven’t yet had the unlock moment on either the consumer side or the enterprise side.”
Climate Change
“The state of our world is unsustainable. We can’t go on like this.” - António Guterres Secretary-General of the United Nations in his opening address to world leaders at the United Nations General Debate on September 24, 2024
IEA says global renewable energy can triple by 2030
The International Energy Agency released a report on September 24, 2024, indicating that it will be possible “to triple global energy capacity by 2030 and cut fossil fuel use,” according to a story in Reuters on the same date. There is a caveat, however. It will require “a huge push to unlock bottlenecks such as permitting and gird connections.” The details include the need for countries to “make a concerted push to build and modernize 25 million kilometers of electricity grids by 2030 ... The world would also need 1,500 gigawatts (GW) of energy storage capacity.”
3.5 million Americans in 3,000 counties are building the U.S. clean energy economy
According to Environmental Entrepreneurs’ (E2) recent Clean Jobs America report, “Every day, nearly 3.5 million Americans across 3,000 counties and all 50 states go to work building the U.S. clean energy economy.” The report notes that clean energy companies added 150,000 jobs in 2023, growing more than three times faster than overall U.S. employment to 3,460,406 clean energy jobs. The report includes interactive maps of clean energy jobs by state and county. Disclaimer: I am on E2’s state and national advisory committees.
New web site explores sea level change in the coastal U.S.
A new multi-agency web site, Rising Seas, Changing Coasts, “provides federally supported data visualizations … showing how sea levels are changing regionally. The interactive National Sea Level Explorer site provides a foundation to inform decision-making related to coastal planning, resource management, and emergency operations. Eight U.S. federal agencies coordinated on developing the site. In a related article, Kilaparti Ramakrishna and Daniel Reifsnyder wrote in the Tampa Bay Times on September 23, 2024, that “We know already that rising seas are taking their toll on lives, livelihoods, and critical infrastructure around the globe on an almost daily basis.”
Policymakers can assess energy policies with new simulator
Another new website helps policymakers “evaluate decarbonization policies and visualizes cash flow, job growth, emissions, power plants, and more.” Developed by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and Energy Innovation, the Energy Policy Simulator projects emissions and does a benefits analysis to help policymakers prepare Comprehensive Climate Action Plans.
Antarctica’s most vulnerable glacier seems to have stabilized
The melting of the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica could raise sea level globally 65 centimeters (2.1325 feet) “And because it is a keystone that holds back other ice sheets from flowing into the ocean, its disappearance could unlock a total of more than 3 meters of global sea level rise.” A September 19, 2024, story in Science concluded that the glacier may have stabilized and that “some of the worst-case scenarios—such as the runaway collapse of the iceberg-calving front of the glacier, which juts into the ocean as an ice shelf—are unlikely this century.”
Health
Teal pumpkins support kids with dietary restrictions
If you see teal pumpkins on porches this Halloween, it’s not just a fad. According to a September 26, 2024, story in Parents, the Teal Pumpkin Project is a national effort to identify houses that put out “allergen-free items, like toys, as a candy alternative that anyone could put in their trick-or-treat bag.” Food allergens can be life threatening and the project creates awareness of food allergies in the community.
The Nett Light-Side
“Love the life you live. Live the life you love.” - Bob Marley
Blue Angels wow the neighborhood
Earlier this year I had an opportunity to receive a private tour of the Blue Angels winter training base in El Centro, California. This weekend, my neighborhood was treated to the annual Blue Angels demonstration air show from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. People parked and walked for blocks to see the show from local parks or clustered in their neighbors’ driveways. It was an amazing show.
Ocean Photographer of the Year contest features amazing images
Each year, Oceanographic Magazine hosts the Ocean Photographer of the Year Contest. As reported in Smithsonian Magazine on September 12, 2024, the images are stunning, like the first prize winner above of a Bryde’s whale about to devour a bait ball.
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 and organizations 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.