[GWSG] Missed pollinators; honey apocalypse; speciesism; climate inactive House; saltwater battery; to the Great Lakes?

[Tilley, Al]

1. Loss of pollinators is already causing 500,000 early deaths a year by reducing healthy foods—fruit, nuts, and vegetables—which would have prevented deaths from diabetes, heart disease, strokes, and some cancers. About 1% of all deaths can now be attributed to the 3-5% decline in healthy foods. “’A critical missing piece in the biodiversity discussion has been a lack of direct linkages to human health,’ said Dr Samuel Myers, at Harvard University’s TH Chan School of Public Health and senior author of the study. ‘This research establishes that loss of pollinators is already impacting health on a scale with other global health risk factors, such as prostate cancer or substance use disorders.’” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/09/global-pollinator-losses-causing-500000-early-deaths-a-year-study



2. Pollinator populations include, of course, bees. In Turkey, fires in the pine forests are producing a honey apocalypse. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/10/pine-forest-wildfires-destroy-bees-turkish-honey/671872/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly-planet&utm_content=20230111&utm_term=The%20Weekly%20Planet



3. Speciesism in Biology and Culture: How Human Exceptionalism is Pushing Planetary Boundaries, an open access eBook, compares racism to the stance that species are fundamentally different and that human are a superior species. We would do better to think of ourselves as part of a large family of life forms (including pollinators). The link to the book is at the bottom of the article. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-speciesism-racism-imperils-humanity-planet.html



4.  The new US House majority is not good news for efforts to deal with the climate crisis. https://grist.org/politics/what-the-house-speakers-deal-with-ultraconservatives-means-for-climate/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=daily



5. After Hurricane Ian about a dozen electric vehicle batteries caught fire after saltwater flooding. A new vehicle battery developed at the U of Central FL using saltwater in place of flammable solvents in the electrolyte is impervious to floods. It is as powerful as the current Li-ion batteries, more stable, and charges in a few minutes. https://cleantechnica.com/2023/01/10/new-ucf-developed-battery-could-prevent-post-hurricane-electric-vehicle-fires/



6. People in US regions hit by a disrupted climate are beginning to think of finding a safer place to live. Great Lakes communities? They too have their climate problems, though less daunting than in other regions; they have cities with room to grow, though the cities are something of fixer-uppers. Detroit and other cities are seeing themselves in a new role.  https://climatecrocks.com/2023/01/10/extremes-events-have-americans-looking-for-climate-havens-great-lakes-area-getting-prepared/

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