⚡Corruption
Good morning! If you missed yesterday’s update, here it is.
Everyone on this newsletter probably agrees, but the science of the global heating is clear. If we remain on our current course, we will hit some dire challenges in the future.
The constant wildfires in California serve as a reminder that the global crisis is here and presents tangible and real threats to life, order, and (if those don’t get you) your portfolios.
🚒 If you want to help California’s wildfire victims, you can donate here. While families look for shelter, some funds have been set up to help evacuees deal with the damage they’ll face when they return home.
If you enjoy reading Tomorrow, please hit the ❤️ button above.
Let’s get into it!
Location > Alternative Energy Type
Renewable energy investments around the world have been on the rise, with the market valued at $928 billion in 2017 and expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2025. However, a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health “has found that the locations where renewable energy sources are built in the US matter as much, if not more, than the type of renewable energy.”
According to the study, in order to maximize health benefits or maximize planet benefits, renewable energy should be built in the Great Lakes or in the upper Midwest — with the benefits four times higher for those in the Midwest than those living in California.
Show me the money. The authors used the social cost of carbon metric, a way to give the negative effects of climate change a dollar value, to calculate that 1 megawatt hour of energy produced from California is worth $28 vs. $113 in the upper Midwest. This metric looks at factors like air quality, agricultural disruption, displacement, and infectious diseases.
Why these regions. The study looks at what types of non-renewable energy the renewable versions would replace. In the Great Lakes, renewable energy would replace mostly coal, whereas in California, there are already a ton of sustainable energy sources.
Coal is getting smacked. The great news is that coal is on the downswing in middle America anyways — according to the Sierra Club, 298 coal-fired power plants have either shut down or have announced they will since 2010. Yesterday, one of the largest coal companies in the country, Murray Energy Corp. filed for bankruptcy.
In other energy news:
FlixBus, a startup based in Germany, is bringing electric busses to the US. On Monday, a bright green electric bus drove from SF to Sacramento, juiced up, and drove back.
Energy storage costs are down as a result of massive investments in the space — VC firms have invested $1.4 billion into energy storage companies in the first half of 2019 alone with $150 billion previous and planned investments through 2023. This will drive battery performance higher while pushing costs as low as $87/kWh by 2025, as opposed to $187/kWh today. This is huge news for renewable energy.
We’re seeing such an incredible amount of traction behind renewable energy. As the industry has continued to mature, there is far more clarity behind the dollar value of renewable energy, both to business bottom lines (as seen in the declining battery costs) and society more broadly (as seen in the location question). This will make these alternative forms of energy far more sustainable over the long run as companies won’t need to make the choice between saving money and saving the environment — they’ll be able to do both. As the effects of climate change get more real, evidenced by the raging California wildfires, we need to continue pushing the needle on these energy types.
Fight Against Corruption
For nearly two weeks, protesters have been staging nationwide demonstrations, resulting in the resignation of Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri yesterday.
Over the edge. Protests in Lebanon ignited when the government announced a tax of six dollars a month on Internet voice-call services, such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
Looking back. Tensions have been high. In September, the government declared a state of economic emergency because —
Unemployment had risen to 20% (US is 3.7%) and youth unemployment to 30%
People were unable to withdraw US dollars from Lebanese ATMs, which impacted their ability to pay for any imports.
Hariri’s family-owned media company was suspended after not paying 400 employees for months
Plus, on October 15, Beirut experienced its worst wildfires in decades that burned down large parts of the countryside. They had privately donated firefighting aircrafts that could carry a thousand gallons of water, but they remained grounded after the state had failed to repair them five years ago.
It’s not just Lebanon. Protests are erupting pretty much everywhere: Hong Kong, Sudan, Egypt, Chile, Indonesia, Peru, and in Iraq, where security forces have killed over two hundred people in recent weeks. Around city squares, the slogan from the Arab Spring — “the people want the fall of the regime” have started to echo in city squares. People cannot and will not stand for corruption anymore.
Pro-nationalist movements vs. sectarian politics. Protesters in Lebanon and Iraq are transcending societal divides in order to challenge political systems fundamentally built on division. A shared desire for change towards a better economy and more government accountability have begun uniting people across ethno-religious lines. In these countries, political parties are built on polarized camaraderie. Now, the people are now asking for them to be dismantled because they feel the government is not delivering to citizens.
People have had enough of corruption and broken governments. Even as governments are reacting with violence, they will not be deterred. The real question, however, is what comes next. Yes, these protests have the power to topple governments — the Arab Spring showed us that. However, it also showed us how difficult it is to achieve a democratic and peaceful society. Nearly a decade later, Tunisia is the only Arab Spring country that has been able to maintain a democratic system — but it’s also on extremely thin ice. How can we ensure these protests and transitions of power result sustainable democratic systems? Please reply to this email and let us know if you have any thoughts!
Short Takes
There’s a new TB vaccine out there that can save millions of lives. Scientists have reported that this new vaccine has protected about half the people who got it. Yes, that seems like a low success rate — but with 10 million diagnosed each year and 1.6 million of them dying, even a partially effective vaccine is pretty awesome.
Good and bad news for artificial meat. Meati Foods is transforming mushrooms into steak and chicken breasts that look very similar to the real thing, but Beyond Meat stock is down 22 percent as insiders rush for the exits.
The EU released its Gender Equality Index and it doesn’t look great. The biggest gap is in positions of power — women make up less than a third of government ministers / MPs and a quarter of board members of public companies.
Tomorrow Today
🎟️ Community Event
Change cannot be achieved alone, only together. In that spirit, we are kicking off community events at our space in New York City. Mark your calendars for our very first event on Thursday, December 5 — we’ll be sending out more details soon!
Igniting Tomorrow
💰 Funding
Many of you are either already working on a number of world-changing things or have ideas bursting out of you everyday. Our goal is to see unconventional activists like you succeed. Let us help connect you into the space and access the financing you need to get started. If you’d like to share your ideas (or know a friend working on something exciting), please reply to this email!
If you like what you read, please click on the heart below & continue sharing this newsletter!
Also, please continue to support us by liking our Facebook page and following us on Instagram.
If you ever want to share any feedback or have anything you’d like us to include in the newsletter, please just reply to this email.