Thanksgiving, social media civil war, Warren Buffett, mortgage buydowns, retiring the climate villain narrative, Scottish wildcats
November 20, 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).
A time to be thankful – for people doing good work
Happy Thanksgiving! One of the things we are thankful for is the good work of people creating and implementing solutions to global problems on the local level. That’s why I wrote the story about the Bencheghib siblings in Triple Pundit (3P) published on November 17, 2023. “It Takes a Village: The Evolution of a Homegrown Solution to Ocean Plastic Pollution” tells the story of their efforts to clean up the rivers of Indonesia to keep plastic pollution from reaching the sea.
Political Divide
The Gettysburg Address – revised for a social media civil war
While we might not be in a real civil war, there is certainly a social media fueled, political civil war. Here is our take on Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address if it were to be given today.
247 years ago, our fathers brought forth a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now, we are engaged in a great political war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We fight on the great social-media field of that war. It is for us the living to be dedicated to the unfinished work which those who have fought for this freedom have thus far so nobly advanced. It is for us to be dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from those who have come and died before us, we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
A CEO’s role in standing up for American principles
“We need to have an environment in our country that is conducive to commerce and conducive to people. And that comes down to a set of principles we were all taught early in school in this country. There are certain things like the rule of law, the right to vote, equal treatment, and equal opportunity—that fundamental list of American values. And if … elected officials are abandoning or ignoring their responsibility to uphold those principles, it falls to the American people to ensure those principles are upheld. And I happen to think CEOs are among the most influential American people. So, if people have a responsibility to stand up for principles, then I think CEOs ought to stand up for those principles.” - Kenneth Frazier, former CEO of Merck
How Trump supporters are planning for a second term
At The Nett Report, we consciously avoid naming political figures in our reporting, preferring to focus on policy and news that tells us about the future. However, a November 13, 2023, report by the well-respected news platform Axios” reminded us that it is important to know about the policy and planning efforts of all serious presidential candidates, including former President Trump. The story reviewed how “former President Trump's allies are pre-screening the ideologies of thousands of potential foot soldiers, as part of an unprecedented operation to centralize and expand his power at every level of the U.S. government if he wins in 2024.” Screening is being “driven in part by artificial intelligence from tech giant Oracle … If Trump were to win, thousands of Trump-first loyalists would be ready for legal, judicial, defense, regulatory and domestic policy jobs. His inner circle plans to purge anyone viewed as hostile to the hard-edged, authoritarian-sounding plans he calls Agenda 47." The planning and recruitment effort is being orchestrated by the Heritage Foundation, “which already has published a 920-page policy book from 400+ contributors.
Climate Change
Should we retire the climate villain narrative?
Anthropocene’s Fixing Carbon newsletter recently asked a provocative question: should we retire the climate villain narrative? The story says many environmentalists view “a smiling businessman [who] smokes a cigar and counts his money while looming over a world in flames” as the epitome of a climate villain. This stereotype “ignores the role governments have had in perpetuating fossil fuels, and the technological challenges in equitably transitioning to a low-carbon economy … This adversarial narrative might be getting in the way of positive change,” according to the article. The narrative persists because:
1. Climate villains are real.
2. Anger is more productive than hope.
3. Humanity needs villains.
However, the article points out that insults don’t reduce atmospheric carbon and says we should:
1. Name innovators instead of shaming laggards.
2. See oil companies not as villains but as anti-heroes. “If today’s climate villains can change direction, they might just follow a classic redemption arc.”
3. The problem with climate clickbait. “Angry protests … may capture attention in the short term, but they can also alienate the very people who need to be engaged in the fight against climate change (the climate action equivalent of clickbait) … Instead of demanding perfection in our climate solutions, we should encourage a process where everyone, even imperfectly, actively contributes to the solutions.”
China and Texas – two unlikely climate leaders
While common perceptions have Texas and China as climate villains, Texas because of its oil industry, and China because of its carbon emissions, both are climate leaders according to several indicators. According to the November 7, 2023, issue of the Talking Climate newsletter, Texas has been the leading state for wind energy for several decades and now has passed California in the amount of utility-scale solar and, if it were a country, would be eighth in the world in solar development. On a similar note, the November 7, 2023, issue of electrek reported that “China invested over $130 billion into the solar industry in 2023. As a result, it will hold more than 80% of the world’s polysilicon, wafer, cell, and module manufacturing capacity from 2023 to 2026.”
Electricity demand is growing faster than clean energy
According to a November 20, 2023, article in The New York Times, “carbon-free electricity has never been more plentiful … but it hasn’t been enough to halt the rise of coal- and gas-burning generation … because global demand for electricity has grown even faster than clean energy, leaving fossil fuels to fill the gap.” Even though China might be a leader in solar module manufacturing, new coal plants are coming online alongside wind and solar farms “to power meteoric growth.” It’s the same for India and other developing countries. The charts below provide some examples of where fossil fuel use is falling and where it is growing.
Health
Hearing aids may slow cognitive change
A July 21, 2023, story by Johns Hopkins University isn’t exactly breaking news; however, given the epidemic of dementia in the U.S., a solution that could be helpful is important to spread. According to the Johns Hopkins, “Epidemiological studies over the last several years suggest that hearing loss may be the largest contributor to dementia out of all known risk factors.” The study recruited 25% of the candidates from “older adults who were already participating in the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) study (ARIC), which for the past 30 years has followed a random sample of older adults to monitor cardiovascular health ... the other three-quarters of the sample were healthy community volunteers who responded to advertisements about a healthy aging study … ARIC participants who had the hearing intervention had half the rate of cognitive change over three years than people in the control group.”
Future of Work / The Economy
Warren Buffett on wasting money
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett was interviewed in a story on GoBankingRates about what people waste money on. He provided these 12 items:
Neglecting Personal Development
Relying on Credit Cards
Frequenting Bars and Pubs
Chasing the Latest Technology
Overspending on Clothes
Buying New Cars
Unused Gym Memberships
Unnecessary Subscription Services
Over-Reliance on Skincare Products
Regular Nights Out
Gambling
Smoking
Shark Tank star tells what to do instead of buying “stupid stuff”
In a November 7, 2023, story in yahoo!finance, Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary says people waste 15 to 20% of their income doing “stupid stuff” like paying $5.50 for a cup of coffee and buying lunch at work every day. He says small everyday purchases add up and instead recommends the following:
Never spend more money than you earn.
Save about 20% of your income. Invest it in the market over a 20- to 30-year period earning 6 to 8% and you will have $1.5 million in the bank even if you only earn $54,000/year.
Be intentional with your purchases. “Don’t buy the crap, just buy the good stuff, and buy less of it,” Try to avoid purchasing a lot of cheap, fast fashion and opt for more sustainable, long-lasting pieces that will be better for the environment and your wallet.
Don’t forget to reward yourself. Never go into debt for something you can’t afford, but feel free to treat yourself as a reminder that you’re doing well and hitting your financial goals.
Start your own side hustle. If you have a good skill set, consider starting your own side hustle outside of your main job. “I don’t believe in the 9-to-5 job market anymore. We have people working for us all around the world; we somehow are very, very productive, and that’s the new economy.”
In another November 7, 2023, article, this one in Entrepreneur, O’Leary warns consumers to be ready to downsize because of high-interest rates. Those higher rates will limit the size of houses consumers will be able to afford and the cars they will be able to buy. “That’s downsizing,” he says.
Builder mortgage buydowns are inflating home values
Rather than lower the reported price of new housing, developers are paying cash to reduce the interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages. According to a story in American Economy Daily, a house listed for $500,000 might effectively be sold for $450,000 if the seller takes $50,000 to pay down the mortgage rate from the current rate to something less. “This has significant implications for the real estate market. It artificially boosts the comparable sales (comps) in a neighborhood, which in turn inflates the value of other homes in the area. This can lead to homeowners having an inflated sense of their home's value and purchasing power.”
The Nett Light-Side
“Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.” - Vince Lombardi, Green Bay Packers legendary coach
Domestic cats are making Scottish wildcats instinct
They don’t wear kilts, but Scottish wildcats have been native to Great Britain for hundreds of thousands of years, according to a November 6, 2023, story in Science. They have overlapped with domestic cats for more than 2,000 years and never interbred. However, about 70 years ago, domestic cats began to mate with the Scottish wildcats. “In the span of mere decades, the genome of the Scottish wildcat—the last remaining wildcat in Great Britain—has become so corrupted that the animal is now effectively extinct.”
Lost city near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, unlike anything else on Earth
A November 19, 2023, article in sciencealert described the Lost City Hydrothermal Field, the longest-lived venting environment known in the ocean. Nothing else like it has ever been found. Discovered in 2000, the field is more than 700 meters (2,300 feet) beneath the surface. “Creamy carbonate walls and columns appear ghostly blue in the light of a remotely operated vehicle sent to explore the area. The columns range in height from tiny stacks the size of toadstools to a grand monolith standing 60 meters (nearly 200 feet) tall,” looking like a lost city.
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