Take the survey - what candidates could forge bipartisan leadership? air travel rebounds, modern images of historical leaders, toxic nectar
December 4, 2023 - The Nett Report
Every other week, the award-winning Nett Report provides readers with thoughtful perspectives helpful to navigating life in a changing world. Past issues can be found here (recent) and here (past three years).
Political Divide
A NETT REPORT POLL
Who would be the best candidate in each party to forge bipartisan leadership?
In his November 27, 2023, LinkedIn column, American billionaire investor Ray Dalio says, “There would have to be smart, bipartisan leadership on both sides controlling their parties so that they operate in smart, bipartisan ways. So, rather than rooting for any one candidate or any one side, I am rooting for smart bipartisanship on both sides.” In his view, a majority of Americans don’t want either Donald Trump or Joe Biden to be president. If neither Biden nor Trump were available, who do you think would be the best person in each party to achieve Dalio’s vision? Please take the survey below and vote for both parties. Names are in alphabetical order. If you think there are other better candidates, please list them in the comments.
Thoughts on what it will take to have lasting peace in the Middle East
“It has to be based on two things. The Israelis have to have security. And the Palestinians have to have hope.” – former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
Climate Change
Annual 2023 climate conference to assess climate change progress
According to a Triple Pundit (3P) story on November 23, 2023, this year’s United Nations Climate Conference (COP28), currently underway in Dubai, will be “the first Global Stocktake to evaluate the world's progress in achieving the climate goals set in the 2015 Paris Agreement, signed by 195 nations at COP21.” The UN says,” It’s a moment to take a long, hard look at the state of our planet and chart a better course for the future.”
Changes to revenues from household solar are affecting employment
California rules that went into place in April have had a depressing effect on the state’s solar industry. According to a November 30, 2023, story on KPBS, the changes “cut the value of electricity generated by residential solar panels by 75% … making it harder for residents to recover the cost of installing new systems.” The change is causing layoffs and cutting sales. The California Solar & Storage Association projects 17,000 residential jobs will be lost by the first quarter of next year and says the market is 80% below where it was last summer.
El Niño redux – we are in a big one, but it's dry in the West
As reported in the October 23, 2023, issue of The Nett Report, a big El Niño (defined as when the sea surface temperature in the Eastern Pacific is greater than or equal to 1.5o C of average) doesn’t mean there will be a big rainy season in the U.S. West, only the likelihood of greater than average precipitation. We are in the middle of a large El Niño, yet according to a December 1, 2023, press release from California’s Department of Water Resources, the agency has initially allocated only 10% of requested water supplies for 2024, “based on current reservoir storage and an assumption of very dry conditions.” Snow pack so far in the Sierras is between 20% and 30% of average for this date, and statewide precipitation is 48% of average. The Upper Colorado River Basin snow pack is 52% of normal, and Lake Mead storage is at 34%. The rainy season stretches from October 1 – April 1, so one third of the season has passed. There’s still time for a wet winter, but it hasn’t started yet.
Future of Work / The Economy
“Monetizing lies has become a big business in America. It’s one of the core challenges to democracy.” – former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich
“Prosperity goes hand in hand with sustainability.”- David Gitlin, CEO of Carrier
Flights return to pre-pandemic levels, high-speed rail is elusive in the U.S.
Business travel remains below pre-pandemic levels, but leisure travel has soared, offsetting teleconferencing among workers. According to the November 30, 2023, Climate Coach newsletter, few alternatives to flying exist in the U.S. A study by the International Council on Clean Transportation found high-speed rail could replace 54 percent of domestic flights which would make a difference relative to climate change. Flying contributes 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The fastest train in the U.S., Amtrak’s Acela from Boston to D.C., operates at just half the speed of high-speed rivals overseas. California’s planned high-speed rail from San Francisco to Los Angeles does not have a planned opening date yet.
Relative clarity comes from a principled pursuit of profit
In the November 20, 2023, edition of CEO Daily, Fortune CEO Alan Murray has this to say about the economic model that should take us into the future: “Count me as one who prefers the for-profit model. A new technology with massive value for society should make the people who invent it wealthy and will concentrate power in their hands. That’s how capitalism works. You are unlikely to change that by declaring your business a not-for-profit, dedicated to the benefit of all. Instead, you replace the relative clarity that comes from a principled pursuit of profit with the confusion that comes from a committee empowered as keepers of true purpose. Neither system is perfect. But the first has a far better track record of delivering value to society.”
Health
“We know how to treat depression, we know how to treat mental illness, and we have not had the political will in our country to make it happen.” - former First Lady Rosalynn Carter
80% of pregnancy-related deaths were preventable
According to the December 3, 2023, edition of Meet the Press, based on a 2021 CDC report, “Data from 2017-19 showed Black women had a maternal mortality rate that was 2.6 times higher than for white women.” The segment included an interview with 11-time Olympic sprint medalist Allyson Felix. She was diagnosed with preeclampsia, a life-threatening condition that led to an emergency C-section childbirth at 32 weeks. Her life was saved, but “Tori Bowie, who was on the 2016 Olympic 4x100m relay with Felix, was found dead, with an autopsy later revealing she died from complications of childbirth.” A third teammate, Tianna Madison, nearly died in a 2021 childbirth. The CDC study showed that more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths were preventable.
New guidance says more ex-smokers should be screened for lung cancer
Historically the American Cancer Society (ACS) had recommended that people between 55 and 74 years old with a 30-pack-per-year history should be screened for lung cancer unless they had quit smoking more than 15 years ago. According to November 6, 2023, article in Smithsonian, “anyone between 50 and 80 years old who currently smokes or used to smoke should undergo a low-dose computed tomography (CT) scan every year - even if they have no symptoms of lung cancer.” Five million more people should now receive that screening as a result of the new guidance. Take the screening quiz here.
The Nett Light-Side
“Difficult and meaningful will always bring more satisfaction than easy and meaningless.” - Maxime Legace, Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender
AI creates realistic modern images of historical figures
We’ve seen the statues and the old paintings, but now artificial intelligence can take those images and create new ones that show how historical figures might look in a modern setting. The story on Vacation1st.com is from December 1, 2022, but we couldn’t resist sharing the images of dozens of famous figures from the past like Michelangelo (above).
Indian pitcher plant has toxic nectar and eats insects
The Southeast Asian pitcher plants grow in nitrogen-poor soil but get their nutrients from “the dissolved flesh of small animals, mostly insects, that slip into their bulbous traps,” according to a November 30, 2023, story in Science. The plant “produces a sweet nectar containing a potent neurotoxin that could make them [the insects] lose their balance at the pitchers’ edge.” Then they fall into the mouth of the pitcher plant. It is the first known example of nectar acting both as a lure and a poison.
About Carl Nettleton
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.
Nettleton Strategies
www.nettstrategies.com
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