The Biggest Climate Lawsuits of 2024

Happy New Year!

We’re back and super excited to get started on our plans for 2024.

For those of you that are new here, welcome! This is our Monday newsletter, where we provide weekly news links that provide context on today’s biggest issues, and action steps you can take to move the needle.

Quinn’s essays come out on Fridays — if you missed last week’s on what to expect for 2024, you can read it here.

OK, let’s get up to speed on the news from the last couple of weeks.

This week:

• 🌍️ $250 billion in global losses from natural disasters

• 😷The ongoing Covid fight

• 🧑‍🌾 Climate resilient crops

• 📰 Substack’s stance on Nazis

• And more

Have a great week,

— Willow

This is science for people who give a shit.

Every week, we help 27,000+ humans understand and unfuck the rapidly changing world around us. It feels great, and we’d love for you to join us.

👉 New Shit Giver Michael wants to help solve “climate change, AI in terms of ethics and hyper-automation, education, the decline of civility and democracy, the advance of fascism and post-truth, and more. It's a lot...“

Check, check, check — you’re in the right place, Michael! And it is a lot. But we like to think of all of these issues as opportunities to build something better, and through compound action, something better is possible.

⚡️ Climate change:

• The estimated costs from last year’s extreme storms and natural disasters were about $250 billion globally, and less than half that amount was insured

• The lack of political response to the climate crisis has climate activists seeking climate justice in court. From Big Oil to Delta Airlines, these are the climate lawsuits in the US to keep up with in 2024

• Climate adaptation is an investment, not a sunk cost

• Is it possible to decarbonize cement production, which currently is responsible for 7% of emissions (that’s more than aviation)?

• All of this is underscored by what will be another record-breaking year of extreme heat

🦠 Health & Bio:

• Scientists are optimistic about a new antibiotic in our perpetual arms race against drug-resistant bacteria — which isn’t being helped by wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and elsewhere. What does help? Brushing up on whether or not you need an antibiotic to treat an illness

• What to expect in the fight for abortion access in 2024

• Bayer is developing a non-hormonal drug meant to treat hot flashes caused by menopause

• About one in ten people who catch Covid will develop Long Covid, a risk that accumulates with each infection and causes immune dysregulation and inflammation. It’s four years later, and we’re all tired, but the Covid fight isn’t over

💦 Food & Water:

• Your plastic water bottle contains hundreds of thousands of plastic particles, the vast majority of which are small enough to enter your bloodstream

• Extreme weather means we need to develop more resilient crops, and wild varieties may be the answer

• A possible solution to the mounting plastic pollution problem? Banning the “toxic two”: polystyrene (Styrofoam) and PVC

• AI and satellite imagery advancements have made it possible to map human activity at sea with great precision. Check out the maps to get an idea of the state of offshore infrastructure (from oil platforms to wind turbines) and vessel activity

• Research from California suggests that taxing groundwater by making farmers pay for using it is helping to maintain aquifers

👩‍💻 Beep Boop:

• Your medical data isn’t protected as well as it could be

• Instagram and Facebook will shift their content filtering policies to stop treating teens like adults, and will also roll out a “Link History” setting to track the links you click while in the Facebook app

• The list of tens of thousands of artists allegedly used to train Midjourney without consent, while the company faces pressure to mitigate the production of fake election images

• AI weather forecasters will soon be put to the test

• Substack has decided against demonetizing or removing Nazi accounts from the platform

Want more curated science news every week? Become a Member.

Last week’s (er, month’s?) most popular Action Step was going through your pantry and medicine cabinet to find healthier alternatives using the Yuka app (I love this app so much).

• Donate to Circle of Blue and support independent journalism providing essential information on the water scarcity crisis.

• Volunteer with a 350.org chapter in your community, or start one, and become part of the fight towards a world free from fossil fuels.

• Get educated about electrifying the school buses in your district with help from Highland Fleets.

• Be heard about codifying abortion rights, and tell your representative to support the “Women’s Health Protection Act”.

• Invest in green, sustainable companies and divest from fossil fuels using the Carbon Collective.

Together with your new homepage.

Don’t stay on top of the news — we’ll do it for you.

Doom-scrolling sucks. INI Members get daily access to my personal, curated news feed — only what’s most important, updated when I read it.

Search, sort, or filter by the INI-relevant tags to keep an eye on what matters the most.

Get it now on mobile and desktop for just $5/month or $50/year (a 17% discount).

The best stovetop you can buy

A favorite in our home electrification series with Rewiring America, we’ve outlined why induction is king when it comes to cooking.

It’s better for the planet, for your wallet, and for avoiding explosions or even small fires in your kitchen (I may or may not be speaking from personal experience here…ahem, how were your holidays?).

Learn more about the best options for your home 👇️ 

What is CRISPR?

It’s controversial and for good reason (see the “What The What” story linked in the section below re: consequences of technological advancements), but it could also do a lot of good.

Read our CRISPR explainer to get a better understanding of what the heck CRISPR even is and the ethical concerns around its use.

Support Our Work

INI is 100% independent and mostly reader-supported.

This newsletter is free, but to support our work, get my popular “Not Important” book, music, and tool recommendations, connect with other Shit Givers, and attend exclusive monthly live events, please consider becoming a paid Member.

Did you know that leaded gasoline and chlorofluorocarbons were invented by the same guy? I didn’t. This story about the potential long-term consequences of technological advancements — known and unknown — is wild 👇️ 

🙋‍♀️ Today’s Poll

In the last poll, 61% of you said that it is very important to you to reduce plastic in your home.

Want to talk climate strategy, investing, or anything else?

Work with me 1:1

Want to sponsor the newsletter?

Get your brand, product, or service in front of 27,000+ sustainably-minded consumers: