No. 129: Safe to Drink

Greg Rancourt -

Public policy is changing so quickly that it can be hard to stay on top of everything, but a story about water policy in Utah caught my eye this week. It ties into our discussion of medical research from a few weeks ago, where researchers are building on risky results – except this time, those results are losing context in the media and influencing policy.

On a more positive note, I met with two leaders in Spokane's climate space last week and have some resources to share about climate cafes. This is a great way to engage with other people concerned about climate impacts in a safe space.

Would you be interested in learning more from other readers about their work? Reply to this email with your thoughts or even just a "yes, please!" We have a lot of fantastic people in our community, and I'd love to help facilitate opportunities to connect with each other.

~ Greg

What we're reading

Utah could become the first state to ban fluoridated water if Governor Spencer Cox signs HB0081 into law. (NBC News)

  • I don't usually draw your attention to things that could happen, but it deserves a mention up front because of the data referenced by NBC News.
  • They cite a recent journal paper in JAMA Pediatrics that showed an inverse relationship between fluoridation levels and children's IQ scores, i.e., that higher fluoridation led to lower IQ scores.
    • That paper was a meta-analysis looking at 74 other studies to find trends. Here's where it gets interesting: 52 of those studies were cited as having high risk of bias. 45 of the 74 studies were conducted in China.
    • At this point, you're probably thinking of No. 127: Paper Mills from just two weeks ago: the amount of fraudulent research being produced and published, much of it from China.
  • At the time, I was thinking of this as an issue that risks slowing down future medical research as scientists sift through what's factual and what's not. Now I'm sensing a risk to public policy. News headlines are famously quick to summarize studies without the context.
    • Case in point, here's how CNN ran the story: "Children exposed to higher fluoride levels have lower IQs, a government study finds"
    • And the New York Times: "Study Links High Fluoride Exposure to Lower I.Q. in Children"
  • If you saw that in your news feed, you'd be quick to judge fluoride as a danger to children.
    • Buried in each of those articles, however, are statements that study's scientists do not recommend removing fluoride from drinking water, and that the amount of fluoride in the studies exceeds the levels used in the U.S. "High fluoride levels" is not contextualized in a way that the average person understands.
  • It seems to me that if we want to fix this type of misinformation, the kind where scientific consensus is excluded in favor of cherry-picked data, we need a few ingredients that are missing today: a respect for expertise, higher standards on the research community, and improvements in media literacy.
    • They are coupled, and I think it starts with weeding out the bad data. That builds trust in the research and the people who conduct it, which in turn reduces the risk that the media oversimplifies the conclusions to the detriment of policy makers trying to do right by their constituents.

Job of the week

I'm all about a hidden gem of a job, and boy does this week deliver. You might remember a while back that we discussed how governments and nonprofits are seeking out partnerships with Indigenous Peoples to advance conservation efforts. The featured organization this week, Nia Tero, is working on similar efforts to support Indigenous Peoples' guardianship of Earth and is establishing their first five-year plan to grow their impact.

To that end, they're hiring for multiple senior-level roles, including a Chief Communications and Engagements Officer who will report to the CEO. The company is based out of Seattle but the role can be located anywhere in the United States. This checks a lot of boxes for me: a strategic role where you can shape the organization's next steps, the opportunity to work with people around the world, and a novel approach to social impact. Be sure to check it out.

Community roundup

  • More than 80% of conservation funding goes towards vertebrates due to their appeal to donors – think pandas, elephants, rhinos and so forth. (The Guardian)
    • This excludes 94% of threatened species, funding which would help prevent further extinction. I think it's a good thing that we have "poster animals" so to speak that can encourage funding, but it seems like we should do a better job distributing that funding to other areas.
  • Texas is positioning itself to be a leader in nuclear energy. Universities are providing space to build nuclear reactors, and Dow Chemical plans to host reactors at their Gulf Coast complex. (Inside Climate News)
  • European countries have been sending their plastic waste to Turkey, upending the country's goal of becoming a zero-waste nation. (The Guardian)
  • One in three people living with Parkinson's experience anxiety that impacts their daily lives. Now, scientists have found that the deep brain stimulation used to treat the physical symptoms of the disease could also reduce anxiety; they tracked different types of brain waves and found that one in particular, the theta wave, was linked to more severe anxiety. (The Guardian)
  • Speaking of anxiety, cognitive behavioral therapy has made a difference for many people living with depression and anxiety, but scientists have found that although CBT reduces negative feelings, it doesn't necessarily restore positive feelings. Clinical psychologists are now developing new treatments based on CBT that aim to help people identify and amplify positive feelings like joy and excitement. (Scientific American)
  • Florida is suing Target over allegations that it defrauded investors due to the investment risks of selling Pride merchandise. (Forbes)
    • Really interested to see how this plays out. Can you boycott a company then claim it defrauded you when you lose money due to the boycott? We shall see.

Civic corner

  • The head of the EPA, Lee Zeldin, is trying to recover $20 billion in investment that was provided to banks as part of a program called the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The program gave the government money to distribute to nonprofit lenders who would be able to back local clean energy improvement projects: think small business loans to fund energy efficiency upgrades or a tribal community building a solar farm. (Grist)
    • As with other lending programs, one benefit is that the interest from the loans becomes an opportunity to invest again. It's like carving out a long-term climate support fund. It remains to be seen whether Zeldin is successful; efforts to block funding have been challenged in the courts.
  • When a major natural disaster hits, your first thought for recovery services likely turns to FEMA. However, FEMA sometimes doesn't have enough money or the right "color of money" earmarked for current recovery needs. In those cases, Congress can provide additional funding through a Department of Housing and Urban Development program called the Community Development Block Grant. It is essential for recovery efforts as costs have skyrocketed from a few hundred million dollars a year to multiple billions of dollars a year. (NYT)
    • This isn't about the funding, however: the administration plans to remove more than 80% of staff, which would almost certainly curtail its ability to support communities after disaster strikes. Separately, the administration has been floating the idea of limiting disaster relief from FEMA and putting more responsibility on states to fund their own disaster relief.
  • I noticed quite a few protest stories over the past week, but the one that gave me a warm fuzzy was a demonstration in Yosemite National Park where members of park staff hung an American flag upside down to signal distress. As you know, hundreds of members of the National Park Service have lost their jobs: 1,000 positions were eliminated by the administration, and another 700 reportedly took the "fork in the road" package. (NBC News)
  • After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, one of the major concerns was that SCOTUS could upend their own precedent on other court cases related to personal freedoms. Justices Thomas and Alito in particular have signaled interest in revisiting decisions on free speech outside abortion clinics and gay marriage. (NBC News)
    • In order for those decisions to be revised, new cases need to be brought before the court. Resolutions targeting Obergefell v. Hodges have recently passed in Michigan, Idaho, Montana, and the Dakotas and will almost assuredly be met by legal action. Whether those cases find their way to SCOTUS remains to be seen; the takeaway is the sheer volume of legislation being developed in local governments that could find its way to a national stage in the near future.

Hot job opportunities

Resource of the week

Last year, I wrote about the increasing popularity of climate cafes where people can meet to discuss their fears and anxieties around climate change in a safe space. The concept was completely new to me at the time, and last week I was lucky enough to meet with a few people who help facilitate an eco-anxiety cafe in Spokane, WA to learn more about their work and vision of community resilience.

Big shout out to Elle and Bill for their time, and if you happen to be in the Spokane area and would like to participate in their next eco-anxiety cafe on March 1st, you can RSVP here. Many cities have self-organizing climate cafes: just hop over to Google and search "climate cafe" with your location, and you may find the gathering you've been looking for.

We also had the chance to discuss Transformational Resilience Coordinating Networks or TRCNs, and I suspect the concept will resonate with you as much as it did with me. The idea is to build a local coalition of civic, public, private, and nonprofit leaders to respond to the public health impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss. If you're looking to take action in your community, this is another resource to consider.

Test your knowledge

Know you your Bono? Last week, I asked about the nonprofit organizations he cofounded: they are ONE and (RED). You have probably seen the latter because they partner with brands to release red products that raise money to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

Apple famously released (RED) versions of their iPods and iPhones, although they appear to be phasing that out – a real shame if you ask me.

I remember reading about top issues from The Nature Conservancy a few years ago, and I was reminded that it's not all about climate – it just draws the most attention. Are you familiar with this other issue?

What term describes the variety of life found in an ecosystem?

Email me your guess, and I'll send one lucky winner a couple of One Work stickers!

I went to the Oregon Auto Show over the weekend, and it was my first chance to browse a bunch of electric vehicles in one place. If you've been reading for a while, you know I have a particular love of Polestar because of their approach to sustainability – I even wrote about their vision for a net zero vehicle in 2023.

So after many years of watching their progress, I finally got to sit in both the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4. The Polestar 4 in particular blew me away. Maybe I'll never own one – I barely drive as it is – but I came away inspired.