No. 120: Protective Pollution

This week, we're diving into a new study with a surprising conclusion: pollution is your friend.

I'm kidding of course, but it's true that air pollution in major cities is slowing global warming in those areas. It sounds bonkers, and you're going to see more of those mechanisms at play in the future as a swath of companies, universities, and federal agencies are investing in geoengineering technology.

The featured job this week is fantastic. If you are early in your career, you don't want to miss this opportunity to engage your curiosity and report on the environmental issues in your community. I'm also sharing a resource to help you find a local government job – trust me, it's more exciting than it sounds!

~ Greg

What we're reading

A new study examined the rate of global warming at various locations around the world and found that heavily polluted cities were actually warming at a slower rate. (Grist)

• My jaw doesn't usually drop when I read a headline, but this one got me. It seems unintuitive at first glance: shouldn't the biggest polluters experience the most warming?
• Surprisingly, the pollution itself is reflecting the sun's rays. Aerosols in the atmosphere are acting like a shield.
  • This is not to say this is a good thing. I don't think any of us would want to relocate to a polluted city to stay cool.
• Part of why this caught my eye is because companies are starting to experiment with this type of geoengineering. The science is out on this one: there's a chance it could be helpful in combating the effects of climate change, or we could do irreversible damage to our atmosphere and affect the climate in unknown ways.
  • The United States is currently investing in a monitoring system to detect geoengineering attempts because of the risks, though it's early yet. Both NOAA and NASA are involved in early tests to establish baseline readings of particulate matter in our atmosphere so any rapid changes can be identified.

The Supreme Court is hearing a case from Utah that could impact the National Environmental Policy Act. (NBC News)

• NEPA requires federal agencies to evaluate the environmental impact of their decisions and dates back to 1970, when Richard Nixon signed it into law.
• At issue is a railway project that aims to increase oil production in the Uinta Basin. Critics have taken issue with the environmental risks, and approval for the project has been appealed to the Supreme Court.
• I'm keeping an eye on this because it reminds me of the Chevron deference case from earlier this year. The Supreme Court weakened federal agency oversight with that ruling, and they could do the same here.
  • The plaintiffs in this case want NEPA to be narrowed. For now, it looks like the Court disagrees – keep your fingers crossed.

Job of the week

If you read this newsletter every week, chances are you recognize the publication Grist as one of the main sources I use for climate-related journalism. I'm legitimately excited about three opportunities they just posted for 2025 as part of their fellowship program:

• Climate News Fellow
• Climate Solutions Fellow
• Indigenous Affairs Fellow

These are excellent opportunities for early-career individuals, and you can work remotely. In fact, the intent is that you report on issues from your local community – I can't think of a better way to get more engaged on the topics you care about and build connections with people in your area making a difference. Applications are due in January, and if you do get picked, you'd better point me to your first story so I can include it in the newsletter!

Community roundup

• Jaguar turned heads recently with a rebrand focused on electric vehicles. The new flagship is called the Type 00, and it's very pink. (The Guardian)
  • It reminds me a bit of the Tesla Cybertruck if the Cybertruck was allowed to have a few curves. I might have to rewatch Blade Runner 2049 – it feels like it's ripped out of that film at first glance.
• New Jersey has banned book bans in libraries and schools, which continues to be a flashpoint issue at the local level around the country. (The Hill)
• The Department of Energy has invested over $100 million into a renewable energy demonstrator on the Oregon coast that aims to convert ocean waves to electricity. (ABC News)
• A company called Strolll is building augmented reality technology to help Parkinson's patients walk more easily through the use of external visual and auditory cues. (WIRED)
• Google has unveiled a breakthrough in quantum computing based on a new computer chip called Willow. Quantum computing at a practical scale is still many years away, but they are now leaping ahead of our current supercomputer capabilities. (NYT)
  • Think of this like infrastructure for future breakthroughs in other fields, like drug discovery and artificial intelligence. Software is eating the world – we'll see what happens when it gets significantly more powerful.
• Major oil companies have been targeted in lawsuits over their impacts on the climate. This is a new one though: a small town in North Carolina is suing the local utility company, Duke Energy, over climate change. The lawsuit alleges that Duke Energy knew the impacts its coal and gas power plants were having but continued to operate them anyway. (NPR)

Hot job opportunities

• B2B Growth Marketing Manager – Grow Progress – Remote
• Head of Product – Mursion – Remote
• Corporate Strategy & Development Associate – Coursera – Remote
• Program Manager, Operations – Anthropic – San Francisco, CA
• Manager, People Experience – Wikimedia Foundation – Remote
• Account Executive, Mid Market – Classy – Remote
• ESG Intern – Beyond Meat – El Segundo, CA
• Director of Client Solutions – Stok – Remote
• VP, Growth Marketing – Posit – Remote
• Philanthropy Manager – Global Fund for Women – San Francisco, CA

Resource of the week

I made a new friend this week – I know, adults making new friends? – and hit it off partly because he works in tech in the public sector. We need more people putting their talents to work in local government, and inspired by my conversation this week, I went in search of ways to find related job opportunities – and not just tech jobs.

The best one I found, based on the volume of job opportunities, is GovernmentJobs.com. Currently, they're showing around 27,000 full time job opportunities, most of which are onsite or hybrid.

To that end, you can narrow your search if you check out the website for your local city, state, and county. You might be surprised by what you find: over half of the jobs available in Washington where I'm located had a salary above $80,000. They had 70 jobs focused on environmental issues alone. Perhaps there's a great fit right under your nose.

Test your knowledge

As extinct animals go, perhaps none are more recognizable than the dodo. Sailors hunted the bird to extinction in the 1600s, less than a century after its initial discovery, and the dodo has since become a mainstay in popular culture.

Next year, the new presidential administration is likely to roll back regulations affecting many of the social impact topics you know and love. Somewhat famously, the Trump Administration withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, only for the Biden Administration to rejoin it later. Could we see that again?

In what year was the Paris Agreement originally reached?

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

I went to ZooLights at the Oregon Zoo on Friday and had a great time. I’m a sucker for anything with lights this time of year. Maybe one day it will all be powered with renewable energy. You can find me on LinkedIn and Threads.