No. 105: Shrinking Salt Lake

Things are looking pretty salty for the Great Salt Lake. Water levels have dropped significantly in recent years, bringing a host of environmental concerns. How will states adapt when the most essential of natural resources dries up?

It's not all doom and gloom though: I found a really cool HR role at one of the biggest sustainability companies in the world, and if you are interested in using your design skills for good, this week's resource ought to help you find your people.

~ Greg

What we're reading

A new study reports that the Great Salt Lake is releasing significant greenhouse gas emissions as its water levels recede. (Guardian)

• Water levels have dropped significantly as a result of population growth, agriculture requirements, and climate change.
• The first time the decline caught my eye was a few years ago. At the time, the focus was on toxic minerals in the lake bed being released into the air.
  • Normally, the lake keeps the arsenic, mercury, and lead in check, but now the particulates are drifting. The greenhouse gas report adds another layer.
• Utah, of course, is not the only state facing a water crisis. States are going to have to start making tough decisions in order to remain sustainable.
  • It seems like population growth is one of the first places to start. At some point, the infrastructure can't support the number of people moving in, at least not indefinitely. Zoning and permitting could help align new development to water usage.
  • Bringing water in from another source might help in the short term, but it's likely to cause conflicts between states in the long term. See the Colorado River discussions for an example of that.
• I think we're going to start seeing climate change factor into where people choose to live in the near future, at least at higher scale. It's already causing forced migration in the Americas, and we can't expect cities to grow indefinitely in areas that don't have the resources to support life.

Congress is working on legislation that would make it easier to get permits for renewable energy projects which has been a constraint on their development. However, permitting reform would also make it easier for fossil fuel projects as well. (Grist)

• Politics is the art of compromise, and there are concerns from both sides of the aisle that they're giving up too much ground. That said, the legislation passed through the Senate committee with bipartisan support.
• My gut instinct is to take the compromise and let other market forces dictate which energy solution gets more development. I've written in the past about how large corporations can't meet their sustainability goals without utilities transitioning to renewable energy. Likewise, there are still massive subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act to promote the development of renewable energy infrastructure.
• I live in a certain bubble – for all I know, people in other states would have a similar optimistic outlook on fossil fuels. That is probably a contributor to why this passed committee with bipartisan support.
• I'm just happy to see progress on this front. We're seeing major investments in solar in particular, but the grid hasn't been able to keep up. Now there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Job of the week

I highlight a lot of lesser-known companies each week, but sometimes I find an opportunity at one of the giants that can't be overlooked. AES is a major name in renewable energy, and they're looking for a Director of Human Resources to join their team in Virginia.

One of the things that caught my eye was their focus on supporting data centers with renewable energy. This is a big deal right now as both cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence are driving the need for a lot more energy which could have negative impacts if we don't back it up with renewables. Being such a large company, they have many other opportunities available if HR isn't your thing. You can check out their careers page here.

Community roundup

• OneBlood, a major blood-donation nonprofit serving the southeast, was hit with a ransomware attack. You may remember that blood donations are at significant lows, and the attack jeopardizes deliveries from OneBlood to local hospitals. (CNN)
• The Biden Administration's Title IX rule changes now include sexually-explicit deepfakes as a form of sexual harassment. (The 19th)
  • This is when people use AI to create images, such as when celebrities' likenesses are used in explicit material. According to the Associated Press, Meta has recently taken down tens of thousands of sextortion accounts on Facebook and Instagram, and students have been targeted.
• Alabama is headed to federal court over whether it is illegal to help someone in the state access an abortion outside it, such as offering advice or covering travel costs. (NBC News)
• New York is banning realistic active shooter drills using actors and props and will start using age-appropriate drills to avoid traumatizing students. (CNN)
• Rising temperatures are contributing to a mismatch where plants bloom before pollinators emerge from "hibernation" and could have an adverse impact on the agricultural industry. (Grist)
• A fun one to wrap things up: the U.K. has a concert series called Forest Live that, as the name implies, takes place in forests and raises money for Forestry England. (ABC News)
  • I'd love the idea of something like this stateside – now I need to find it.

Hot job opportunities

• Office Administrator – Cypress Creek Renewables – San Francisco, CA
• Manager, Software Engineering – Sunrun – Remote
• Senior Manager, EHS – NBCUniversal – Universal City, CA
• Specialist, Paid Media, Digital Marketing – The Humane Society of the United States – Remote
• Junior Software Developer – Smart Surfaces Coalition – Remote
  • This is a part time role for a student that lasts at least a year – if you're currently in college and want to dip your toe into social impact, this is a great opportunity.
• Senior Pricing Analyst - Product Marketing – Komodo Health – Remote
• Business Development Executive – Inspire11 – Various, including Minneapolis, Chicago, and Atlanta
• Corporate Sustainability Manager – SBA Communications – Boca Raton, FL
• Principal Product Designer, Design Systems – Zocdoc – Remote
• Digital Content Specialist – Environmental Defense Fund – Remote

Resource of the week

Finding a social impact job is a niche on its own, but you can niche down even further if you know where to look. I've featured Tech Jobs for Good in the past, and this week I wanted to share Design Gigs for Good with you.

As the name implies, these are opportunities aimed at product designers, UI/UX designers, and related fields. What stands out to me is the community aspect: jobs are posted to a Google Group, and they set up a Slack community for mingling with other designers who want to make a difference.

We all know the value of a referral in a hiring decision – if you fancy yourself a product or design person, the community here could point you in the right direction.

Test your knowledge

Last week, I quizzed you on Fair Trade practices, essentially ensuring that workers on the other side of the supply chain get a fair shake. If you're shopping at a grocery store, for example, keep an eye out for a Fair Trade logo – it's an easy way to vote with your dollar for better working conditions.

The school year is about to start for many families, so I was reminded of the surge of student activism a few years ago. It doesn't make as many headlines these days, but it inspired this week's question:

What movement got its start after Greta Thunberg and other young activists skipped school to demand action on climate change?

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

I'm not usually one to scroll social media on a regular basis, but I love that Threads is inundated with Olympics love right now – can't get enough of the clips and celebrations. You can find me on LinkedIn and Threads.