Repurposing Trash, Heat Monitoring and Happiness Lessons: What I'm Reading This Week
I learned a new word, and I want it to be my mantra from here on out (or at least the summer). Insouciance (in-SOO-see-unss) is a formal word that refers to a feeling of carefree unconcern, according to Merriam-Webster.
There’s a lot going on in the world right now, and there’s a lot of unsafe workplaces, neither of which lend themselves to embracing an attitude of insouciance. But that’s precisely why I, and perchance you, need to be more carefree—at least when we’re off the clock.
It’s lilac season, which is basically Mother Nature’s reminder to stop and smell the flowers. I will happily do so, and I hope you can, too.
Until next time, stay safe, be well and be kind!
Repurposing Trash
Reading about climate change and the environment usually leaves me anxious or distraught, but this article from The Wall Street Journal leaves me hopeful.
Journalist Yusuf Khan details a venture that would eliminate household waste while simultaneously cleaning the atmosphere and power homes and businesses. Here’s how it works: Household waste is sorted, and the organic waste is burned. The incinerator plant has a carbon capture system that would collect 90% of emissions, which would then be compressed, shipped and stored under the ocean floor.
A group of U.S. technology companies have invested nearly $32 million in this carbon-capture-and-storage project in Norway, in conjunction with the Norwegian government and the country’s largest supplier of district heating. The goal is to remove 100,000 metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere between 2029 and 2030.
That’s not even the most exciting part. This group of companies, Frontier, is designed to scale. Khan writes that this waste-to-energy project can be replicated at 500 other sites—and that’s just in Europe. And that’s not even getting into the carbon tax, which could further incentivize investments.
There is much work to be done to mitigate and even reverse some effects of climate change, and there are plenty of known (and unknown) obstacles in the way. Nevertheless, I find it incredible and truly awesome that scientists, researchers and other experts have developed such an ingenious solution to address one of the biggest challenges of our lifetime.
Read the full story here.
Heat Monitoring
Over the past few summers, I’ve written about how different regions are responding to the heat. This week, I read about another, highly personalized program in the low-income Indian neighborhood of Vanzara Vas, around 325 miles north of Mumbai.
Journalist Sibi Arasu explains that when it gets really hot, residents seek refuge outdoors because their tin-roofed houses can be even hotter. Residents are used to warm temperatures, but the mercury is rising higher and higher, earlier and earlier. It was already 109 degrees Fahrenheit in early April.
About 200 residents have been given a smartwatch as part of a year-long study to see how heat affects vulnerable communities around the world. The smartwatches are tracking participants’ heart rate, pulse and sleep; they also get weekly blood pressure checks. Some participants have had their roofs painted with reflective paint to see whether it can help households and their inhabitants.
“In the summer of 2010, the city witnessed nearly 1,300 excess deaths — how many more people died than would be expected — which experts found were most likely due to high temperatures,” Arasu writes. As the global mean temperature rises, researchers predict that much of those heat-related deaths would occur in South and Southeast Asia and Africa.
Read the full story here.
Happiness Lessons
Life can be serious and heavy much of the time. That’s why it’s important to make time for fun, find joy and seek refuge in those positive emotions. Jancee Dunn’s piece on happiness definitely made me happy this week.
She compiled nuggets of advice she’s received over the years from people who study health and well-being as well as people who have very serious jobs.
One of my favorites was to find a “mini version” of your favorite vacation activity to prolong the good vibes from a trip. It’s so simple and yet so brilliant, because I (like many of you) feel like I’m my truest and best version of myself when on PTO.
I encourage you to read the advice and find ways to incorporate more happiness into y our daily routine. As a bonus, there’s also a quiz to learn what makes you happy.
