The World’s Best Hope to Beat Climate Change Is Vanishing–Bloomberg
Not happy reading but a must-read to grasp easily and comprehensively what’s going on. In brief, key economies and industries are off-track with respect to their crucial emissions targets, all pegged to 2030 deadlines and crucial to avoid the most devastating impacts of global warming. Far from being in retreat, carbon dioxide emissions hit a new record last year, meaning that the world faces a steeper, far costlier and more disruptive journey to reach net zero by 2050. And that was before the re-election of Donald Trump. Read on to understand what needs to be done now. Contains many useful graphs.
Mexican Schools Have 6 Months to Ban Junk Food Sales or Face Heavy Fines–Associated Press
The government is banning junk food in schools, as authorities confront what they call the worst childhood obesity problem in the world. Mexico’s children get 40% of their total caloric intake from junk food and a recent survey of over 10,000 schools found that junk food was available in 98% of them, with sugary drinks in 95%. The new rules target products that have become staples for generations of Mexican school kids, from sugary fruit drinks to chips. School administrators who violate the order will face fines equivalent to between $545 and $5,450 (which could be as much as their annual salaries) and which could double for a second offense. New President Claudia Scheinbaum said schools will have to offer water fountains and alternative snacks, like bean tacos. However, the vast majority of Mexico’s 255,000 schools do not have free drinking water available to students.
A Ridiculous, Perfect Way to Make Friends–The Atlantic
Group fitness classes aren’t just about exercise. The author explains that many of the good friends she has at age 35 are people she met in exercise classes she attended regularly. These experiences have convinced her that group fitness classes are simply the best place to make friends as an adult—an idea supported by research that suggests that the glow of exercise’s feel-good chemicals has powerful interpersonal benefits.
Ozempic Could Crush the Junk Food Industry. But It Is Fighting Back–The New York Times
For decades, Big Food has been marketing products to people who can’t stop eating, and now, suddenly, they can. With the prospect of tens of millions of people in the US alone cutting their caloric intake down to 1,000 calories a day, the industry is alarmed. Takers of the drugs report that they no longer desire ultra-processed foods (GLP-1s, by regulating the release of dopamine, seem to make their flavor profiles unpalatable) and that they instead desire fresh, real food alternatives. Big Food is nothing if not resourceful, and they are now busy trying to find new products that appeal to weight-loss drug takers. But we’re in the very early days and innovation is ahead.
A Striking Stat:
Nearly three-quarters of US adults are now overweight or obese, double the rate from 1990. For girls and women aged 15 to 24, obesity rates have nearly tripled, to 29%.
Source: A sweeping new study in The Lancet.
