Anna
I think I’ve already mentioned at least once that “I (heart) Justin Trudeau.” Well, it looks like I might as well make a weekly thing of it. Check out what he has to say about feminism and the importance of men identifying themselves—and comporting themselves—as feminists and teaching their sons to be feminists, too. Amen.
It’s almost the end of January, and I’ve been looking at research about sticking to New Year’s resolutions beyond the “honeymoon phase.”
- First, here are New Year’s resolutions by the numbers. (Spoiler: surprise, surprise—exercising and eating better top the list. And not many pull it off for a whole year.)
- Best way to break a bad habit? Do it on vacation where you won’t find the usual cues and triggers. (Also, blame your basal ganglia.)
- One study says you can manufacture food aversions to help you diet—even yummy stuff like strawberry ice cream.
- The Only Human podcast is teaming up with behavioral economist Dan Ariely (known for his research on irrational behavior, like not saving for retirement) and his Duke Center for Advanced Hindsight (yeah, for real!), to test a phone app designed to help people stick to their resolutions to get more exercise. You can join the study or just listen as they present the findings in March.
Alan
Since I heard him speak in college in the early 1980s, I’ve loved Amory Lovins. Last week, he was in Fortune, talking about oil and stock markets: “Oil prices go down because they went up before, and they go up because they went down before. Get used to it. Commodities do that; it’s their job. If you don’t like it, don’t buy them. Buy constant-price, and usually cheaper, efficiency and renewables instead, as the national and global market is doing.”
Serena
A unique conference will take place in Portland next month exploring the “unexpected and significant impact of food and drink on our everyday lives.” Topics range from growing indoor edibles to future food production challenges, from food’s own “last mile” problem to the delicious promise of ugly produce and reduced food waste. Fascinating, right? View the entire schedule for the February 20 conference here, with tickets (going fast!) here.
An 11-year-old “tired of reading about white boys and dogs” has started the #1000BlackGirlBooks project to collect books with strong black female protagonists.
Behold: the first feature film shot entirely on a Prius backup camera.
Eric
This week brought several interesting developments in the Thin Green Line:
- The Lummi totem pole created by master carver Jewell James was erected by the Northern Cheyenne tribe, whose leaders called it a “symbol of solidarity” in the opposition movement to coal exports.
- The state Attorney General’s office published a blistering critique of the big Tesoro oil train project proposed for Vancouver, Washington.
- Speaking of oil trains, the AG’s analysis syncs up with what’s happening in Canada where oil-by-rail developments may be subject to much of the same scrutiny as pipelines.
- Trade industry press indicates that a propane-by-rail proposal is coming to British Columbia’s north coast.
- Speaking of propane trains, the only remaining such scheme in the US Northwest looks increasingly dicey, according to new documents that surfaced about the project backers.
- In a long-form radio appearance, Tacoma activist Claudia Riedener explains what’s wrong with the proposed Northwest methanol refineries.
- Speaking of Tacoma, I was smitten by the work of that city’s acclaimed guerilla poster artists, Lance Kagey and writer Tom Llewellyn.
- Finally, I think my favorite PR firm, Strategies 360, is just trolling me now. According to a press release they emailed me, they’ve recruited a former staffer for Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a leading backer of the oil industry, who will aid their work rigging the democratic process to expand coal, oil, and gas in the Northwest.
Keiko
Exciting! Seattle’s Sound Transit announced this week that the Capitol Hill and University District light rail stations will open on March 19th! Good news: it will only take me a reliable eight minutes to get to work! Bad news: my bike commute won’t be the fastest way to work anymore…
Madrid plans to build more parks and ban more cars. What would a carbon-neutral city look like in Cascadia?
Speaking of sustainable and livable cities, Seattle’s Josh Feit over at Publicola reported on the recent Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) work plan launch and some collected great quotes, including a strong statement on home appreciation rates from single-family homeowner Sara Maxana:
Its value has skyrocketed because the housing shortage in this city is driving up the value of all of our existing homes. And while that benefits me as a homeowner, it’s hurting others. It’s pushing up rents across the city and pricing people out of ownership. And I don’t see why one class of people, homeowners, should be getting a windfall from the same phenomenon that is causing other people in Seattle to struggle.
And if you’re new to HALA, here’s a great recap on the housing recommendations.
Do you work with media and often wonder about best practices for reaching out to diverse communities? Look no further! The Communications Hub at Fuse, Latina Creative Agency, Washington CAN, and Sightline Institute are hosting a rad panel discussion that will present the perspectives of ethnic media leaders in Seattle and explore ways to best engage with the Rising American Electorate. Space is limited, so don’t forget to RSVP.
John
In the category of “climate change is already with us,” Elizabeth Kolbert wrote a piece in the New Yorker, reporting frequent flooding in the Miami area, along with interviewing a certain presidential candidate.
More recently, Grist reported that 15 South Florida mayors sent an open letter to that same candidate, asking that he meet with them and consider the damage that climate change threatens to real estate values.
And in the “very scary” category, Grist also reported that officials in El Salvador are urging women to avoid becoming pregnant until 2018. The climate connection? Mosquitoes, whose range increases as temperature rises, and who spread a virus (i.e., the Zika virus) that leaves newborns with small heads and brains.
