The Last of the Sea Women, Dolphins Are Breathing Out Plastic, Eco-Chefs, and More!

Hey climate heroes! Welcome to The Climate Roundup, where we round up the change, er the news about climate and the environment. As part of the Gen E community, we thank you for making climate action part of everyday life. (Reading this newsletter counts!)

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In Pop Culture:

🤿 “The Last Of The Sea Women” is a new documentary now playing on Apple TV+, about the female free divers of Jeju Island, most 60-80 years old, who harvest sea creatures as their livelihood, and their fight to protect a part of South Korean culture at risk due to ocean warming, pollution, and dying interest in work that is of the low-tech, physical, and simple variety. “Haenyeos are guardians of the sea and we have protected the ocean for hundreds of years.” Looks to be a beautiful film. Watch the trailer here.

In Enviro News:

❄️ NOAA’s annual winter predictions are in and it’s a mixed bag with some unpredictability, in part due to warmer than normal ocean temps. The Pacific Northwest is expected to be colder and wetter, while the South and Northeast are likely in for another disappointingly mild winter. I live in New York, and the idea of another snowless season makes me very sad. Perhaps I’ll have to follow in the footsteps of storm chasers and become a winter chaser. Is that a thing? It might have to be.

🚨 In an article about the IEA’s annual report on energy trends, this really struck me: “Global carbon-dioxide emissions are expected to fall just 3 percent by 2030 under policies that nations are currently pursuing, the agency said. Emissions need to fall 33 percent this decade to meet the ambitious climate goals that governments have agreed to at United Nations climate talks.” WHAT?! A measly 3% reduction by 2030 is all that humans are good for when life on our home planet is at stake?! It’s gonna get a lot worse than throwing soup at paintings if emissions don’t plummet as they need to in these next five years. Deep breath.

⚡️ Uber isn’t backing down from its decision to have an all electric fleet just because it’s harder to do than the status quo. They’re up front about where they are – only 10% of Uber rideshare miles are electric, company emissions are at their highest, and they most likely won’t hit their electrification goal dates. Still they move ahead full force, using tactics like lobbying for stricter laws requiring corporate fleets to be all-EV, including ride-share cars, and making EVs more affordable for their drivers. Listen to their CEO discuss all this here.

🐬 Scientists studying dolphins have found microplastics in their breath – that’s how deeply embedded the human-caused plastics crisis is. It’s thought that dolphins are intaking lots of these particles when they come up for air, because microplastics are in fact in the air. Like the climate crisis, the plastics crisis can feel overwhelming, and just like we need to stop burning fossil fuels, we need to stop or at least greatly reduce plastic production and end plastic pollution. A global treaty to address this is set to be finalized next month in South Korea.

😟 Another study finds that young people are worried about climate change and that it’s impacting their mental health. News flash, researchers, it’s not just the youth who’s feeling climate anxiety! Out of 16,000 politically diverse U.S. residents in all 50 states, aged 16-25, 85% are at least moderately worried, and 58% are “very or extremely worried” about climate change. 73% say they’re likely to vote for political candidates who support aggressive climate policy. If the latter is true, the choice is crystal clear. I’ll be interested to see how/if young Republicans and Independents vote next month if they truly care about taking action on climate change. Vote on climate.

🍛 School lunch offerings include more plant-based options than ever before in California, thanks to climate-conscious parents and students, plus state funding. In the state’s 25 largest school districts, 56% of middle and high schools have daily vegan options vs 36% in 2019. Also in the last five years, 60% of elementary school districts now offer weekly vegan meals, up from 16%. This allows students the choice to reduce their meat and dairy intake when they wish- an important action item on the roadmap to a climate-friendlier world.

Yes, Chef!

🧑‍🍳 The most exciting trend in food? Eco-conscious chefs getting creative about how they source their food and develop their menus, for the health of the planet. In Sonoma, a beverage manager creates her cocktail menu based on the food scraps that the kitchen is throwing away that week. In North Carolina, a restaurant only sources ingredients within a 15 minute radius. In LA, two-Michelin-starred Vespertine doesn’t have a trash can(!) because all parts are used. A Seattle chef features climate-resilient grains being developed at a university food lab. These and more here.