⚡ Pandemic in our backyard
Good morning! If you missed yesterday’s edition, you can find it here.
Let’s get into it.
Once again: Trump vs. Climate Change
Today, the Trump administration will block California from setting stricter auto emission standards than the federal government. In early 2019, lawmakers from the Golden State struck a deal with carmakers to stick to Obama-era Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards—to produce cars that average 50 mpg by model year 2026. The White House instead wants to roll back the CAFE standards and keep mileage standards at 37 mpg. This move has major ramifications for states rights, and this is sure to turn into an epic showdown in the Supreme Court. If Trump wins, it will set a dangerous precedent where states won’t be able to self-regulate their greenhouse gas pollution, something that has never been done before.
Perspective: Idk about you, but this feels like Trump pushing for a strong central government. Mr. President, what do you really want?
👏Who👏is👏prepping👏you?
Andrew Yang, you need a new team.
Yang is asking voters to consider the experiences of Asian Americans throughout his election campaign. In primary debates, campaign speeches, and Twitter, he’s invoked stories about his family’s background, called out those who who have used racial slurs against Asian people, and more. However, at the same time, he has also used stereotypes about Asians as a joke, as seen in the recent health care debate—“I am Asian, so I know a lot of doctors.” This use of stereotypes is being criticized. According to Alton Wang, a law student:
“Yang is reinforcing the model-minority myth — the idea that some populations are substantially better off than others, particularly Asian American communities in the United States,” he wrote. “It’s a premise calibrated to make him palatable for non-Asians. But it’s also dangerous and exploitative. While Yang’s campaign purports to be a step forward for Asian Americans, his reliance on stereotypes sets us back, making it harder to grasp the struggles and dilemmas that many in our community face. In the process, he is also reinforcing more overtly negative ideas about other nonwhite communities.”
Don’t panic, but a pandemic could kill millions
The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), co-convened by the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), warned that epidemic-prone diseases are getting really hard to manage when the world’s consumed with violence, fragile states, extreme poverty, and forced migration.
With many people flying from one place to another on planes every day, an air-borne outbreak could now spread globally in less than 36 hours and potentially wipe out 5% of the global economy by killing an estimated 50-80 million people. Their report cited the 1918 “Spanish Flu” pandemic, which killed an estimated 50 million people.
TLDR: Issues like global conflict, unstable governments, forced migration, and extreme poverty make the managing of epidemic-prone diseases really difficult, which puts everyone in the world at risk.
In our backyard: On Tuesday, three Michigan adults died from rare mosquito-borne virus Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and four others have been sickened by the disease. Department of Health and Human Services urged people living in the affected areas to consider canceling, postponing or rescheduling outdoor events that occur at or after dusk.
Impact investing … so hot right now!
On the heels of the BRT announcement, the impact investing space has been getting a lot more attention. So, what exactly is impact investing?
“Impact investing is values-driven finance — you allocate capital to align with the world you want to see,” said Amrita Sankar, MBA ’20, co-president of the MIT Impact Investing Initiative. “My generation has grown up watching the world's most intractable problems become only more exacerbated — poverty, climate change, social injustice, and more. We see impact investing as an opportunity to use markets to correct for these kinds of issues by providing positive social and environmental returns.”
According to the Global Impact Investing Network, impact investing assets worldwide have jumped from $228 billion (2017) to $504 billion (today).
One size never fits all
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released their annual report card about the world’s progress towards the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. While the world has made progress, “billions of people in the world are projected to miss the targets that we all agreed represent a decent life.” Check out their report here (it’s a long one but 1000% worth the read).
Conclusion: Accelerating progress towards change requires a fundamental shift in the way we think about the world. We need to recognize that one-size-fits-all solutions don’t work, peel back the layers of inequality, and target the root cause of why some people are better off than others. This infographic paints the picture better than we ever could:
Sophia Amoruso, Founder of Girlboss
“The first thing I ever sold online was stolen.”
Check out this interview with Sophia Amoruso about how her mental health issues affected her childhood, how she recovered from the lowest point in her career, why we need to promote our personalities, how women can break the glass ceiling, and her best career advice.
Girlboss: We exist to redefine success for millennial women by providing the tools and connections they need to own their futures. Girlboss is a community of strong, curious, and ambitious women redefining success on our own terms. We are here to inform, entertain, and inspire action through the content and experiences we create. We are unapologetic in our beliefs and values of supporting girls and women who are chasing dreams both big and small.
Refugee Workforce: The Economic Case for Hiring the Displaced
Our friends at Amplio Recruiting) have just released a new book! “Refugee Workforce” weaves engaging, real-life stories with compelling statistics to present an economic case for hiring the displaced. We couldn’t be more excited about this important message.
Tej’s research on Refugee Inclusion is cited in the book!
UNGA Events: Check out all the amazing events happening around the UNGA Assembly in New York City! Many of them are public, so if you have time, we definitely recommend checking them out.
How to Build a Global Community in a World of Nationalism?: What could globalists learn from the powerful sense of belonging that nationalism has created? Faced with the injustices of the world's economic and political system, what should a responsible globalist do?
Digital Global Climate Strike: This September 20th, millions of people will join young climate strikers in a Global #ClimateStrike on the streets and demand an end to the age of fossil fuels. Anyone with an online presence has an opportunity to join in and “go green” with a digital strike.
If you’re in NYC, the strike will start at Foley Square (Centre and Worth) at 12pm EST on Friday. See you there!
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Tomorrow is a daily impact newsletter for changemakers who care about the world. Our purpose is to bring you the news and stories about people making a difference.