Hi, all, and happy Sunday. Of course, it’s really not. It’s a moment of global grief, and no newsletter can—or should—try to change that. All I can do, instead, is offer you a moment of respite from the calamitous news. For even in the midst of so much sorrow and loss, good things are happening.
On a day like this, these "WINS" are sorely needed; Thank You Jessica!!! But, if I may, the story of turning ocean water into clean drinking water is not just a good story, it is a world-changing event that, in any other time in history, would be demanding lead-story, front-page status.
While it sounds good, and there's no doubt about the engineering achievement, the article says nothing about the major externality of desalinization, which is disposal of the highly concentrated and potentially toxic brine that results when most of the water is removed. We'd all be much better off if we concentrated on purifying waste water and, if you we can't end our addiction to water in plastic bottles, at least make Nestle, Danone, Coke, Pepsi and the other corporate vendors pay an appropriate price for the resources they extract and for the recycling or disposal of the waste they generate.
Oct 8, 2023·edited Oct 9, 2023Liked by Jessica Craven
Dave, as you've probably surmised, I'm NOT an engineer! But I LOVE the idea. And with that, I sometimes get, as the late great George Carlin called them, "brain droppings". Here, my droppings are wondering if the resulting brine could possibly be added to the waste from nuclear power plants to negate that toxicity?? And in regards to waste water, there is a company I'm aware of that takes waste water, processes it to remove the hydrogen for industrial use, and fully cleans the water that is left, to be put back into the ecosystem. It is thoroughly cleaned and perfectly safe water. And the "sludge" that is left is then processed with other ingredients ( sorry, I don't remember exactly what they are ), to become fertilizer! The company is called SunHydrogen, and I think they have a bright future. Anyway, FWIW, I never use bottled water, for the reasons you cited. Have Fun!!
Wasn't sure how to share this... Marc Elias shared a story about small actions making a difference, and what keeps him going. Seems right up our alley, motivation-wise:
One thing I've noticed is that as bad as the Supreme Court is, they simply don't have the time to hear every case put before them. So they have to pick their battles. If we continue to elect good leaders and get good lower-court judges appointed, SCOTUS won't be able to keep up with the tide of progress. Yes there will be awful rulings, but they'll be fighting a losing battle long term.
I agree. And I’m heartened by the wide resistance that has grown up to them, and to judicial activism in general. We’re not gonna be able to fix all of it for quite some time, but I am certain we will be able to fix it eventually. And yes, I agree about state courts as well. We really have a lot of power there and need to pay attention to it.
Thanks again for doing the research it takes to compile these always welcome Sunday newsletters. I love the story about the army of king crabs going after the algae that destroys coral reefs. I will think of them as The Army Corps of Crab Engineers.
Thanks for sharing the good news in such a respectful setting, Jessica. I'm in awe at how many you find. And I'm loving your TikTok/Instagram reels! Blessings,
I do apologise, my uncouth manners. You are the host, and I visit your home and not say thank you... Tut tut... I do thank you, for your wonderful work you share with the world. Your focused positivity has a beautiful dimension to it, to counter anxiety triggering news which assaults from all over the place.
(Blinken is as good as Obama on stage, not forgetting Clinton & his saxophone, whom I didn't see.)
Permission Slip app has some very serious data privacy issues and as a data professional would advise against its use. For example it sends all your email addresses to companies in the hope of increasing the chance they find all your data, however what actually happens is they give those companies additional email addresses with which to dig into to your privacy. Very much not cool however good their intentions are.
Data privacy is very complex because data is needed to discover data privacy and determining the minimum amount of data required to meet the need faces the same challenge for both legitimate use by organizations and data privacy inquiries. Organizations initially defaulted to getting the maximum amount of data possible even when they only actually used some of it. That practice caused the data privacy issues we face today and champions of data privacy are now falling victim to the same challenge and for the same reason: it is much easier to figure out after you have all the data what you actually need.
On a day like this, these "WINS" are sorely needed; Thank You Jessica!!! But, if I may, the story of turning ocean water into clean drinking water is not just a good story, it is a world-changing event that, in any other time in history, would be demanding lead-story, front-page status.
While it sounds good, and there's no doubt about the engineering achievement, the article says nothing about the major externality of desalinization, which is disposal of the highly concentrated and potentially toxic brine that results when most of the water is removed. We'd all be much better off if we concentrated on purifying waste water and, if you we can't end our addiction to water in plastic bottles, at least make Nestle, Danone, Coke, Pepsi and the other corporate vendors pay an appropriate price for the resources they extract and for the recycling or disposal of the waste they generate.
Dave, as you've probably surmised, I'm NOT an engineer! But I LOVE the idea. And with that, I sometimes get, as the late great George Carlin called them, "brain droppings". Here, my droppings are wondering if the resulting brine could possibly be added to the waste from nuclear power plants to negate that toxicity?? And in regards to waste water, there is a company I'm aware of that takes waste water, processes it to remove the hydrogen for industrial use, and fully cleans the water that is left, to be put back into the ecosystem. It is thoroughly cleaned and perfectly safe water. And the "sludge" that is left is then processed with other ingredients ( sorry, I don't remember exactly what they are ), to become fertilizer! The company is called SunHydrogen, and I think they have a bright future. Anyway, FWIW, I never use bottled water, for the reasons you cited. Have Fun!!
Great discussion and I would only add that I believe we absolutely must get rid of our addiction to plastic bottles no matter what comes next.
Wasn't sure how to share this... Marc Elias shared a story about small actions making a difference, and what keeps him going. Seems right up our alley, motivation-wise:
https://post.news/@/marcelias/2WUeA9u7eyldown2hojmU0z14RL
That’s a great one!
SOS Anthony Blinken ROCKS!!!!
His voice is unexpectedly amazing! I saw this a week ago and was kind of blown away.
One thing I've noticed is that as bad as the Supreme Court is, they simply don't have the time to hear every case put before them. So they have to pick their battles. If we continue to elect good leaders and get good lower-court judges appointed, SCOTUS won't be able to keep up with the tide of progress. Yes there will be awful rulings, but they'll be fighting a losing battle long term.
I agree. And I’m heartened by the wide resistance that has grown up to them, and to judicial activism in general. We’re not gonna be able to fix all of it for quite some time, but I am certain we will be able to fix it eventually. And yes, I agree about state courts as well. We really have a lot of power there and need to pay attention to it.
Thanks again for doing the research it takes to compile these always welcome Sunday newsletters. I love the story about the army of king crabs going after the algae that destroys coral reefs. I will think of them as The Army Corps of Crab Engineers.
Love that!
Thanks for sharing the good news in such a respectful setting, Jessica. I'm in awe at how many you find. And I'm loving your TikTok/Instagram reels! Blessings,
Thank you very much, Terry!
Thanks, as always for all the good news!! I especially liked Victor Shi’s article. It gives me so much hope for the future!!
As does the all the climate news.
And who would have thought Anthony Blinken could get down like that!! He keeps it hidden well.
I agree I love knowing that he has such a secret hidden talent. Or perhaps not that secret anymore
Thanks- really needed to see all the positive news today.
Of course. I think we could all use a little bit of hope in all of this darkness.
Thank you, I needed this...my heart is shattered for Israel.
Mine too.
Your Sunday efforts, Jess, are so welcome each week. Many thanks.
Happy to be of service
Blinding Blinken Blinker....Superb...thank you Mr Blinken 💙💙💙💙🧘🌌
Dear Jessica Craven
I do apologise, my uncouth manners. You are the host, and I visit your home and not say thank you... Tut tut... I do thank you, for your wonderful work you share with the world. Your focused positivity has a beautiful dimension to it, to counter anxiety triggering news which assaults from all over the place.
(Blinken is as good as Obama on stage, not forgetting Clinton & his saxophone, whom I didn't see.)
💙🫂From London 🧘🌌
Thank you, Mahesh!
This and Jay Kuo’s Xsheets and Giggles are my favorite Substack reads of each week. Thank you Jessica for all this positive news.
I look forward to Jay’s email all week. Although it was a little easier to read before Twitter became so broken.
Thank you
Anthony Blinken is great on the electric guitar!
More than ever, Jessica, you are needed and appreciated. Thanks so much!
Appreciate that, Margaret!
Permission Slip app has some very serious data privacy issues and as a data professional would advise against its use. For example it sends all your email addresses to companies in the hope of increasing the chance they find all your data, however what actually happens is they give those companies additional email addresses with which to dig into to your privacy. Very much not cool however good their intentions are.
Oh no really? I’m so surprised because it was created by consumer reports and they are obsessed with data privacy or so I thought.
Data privacy is very complex because data is needed to discover data privacy and determining the minimum amount of data required to meet the need faces the same challenge for both legitimate use by organizations and data privacy inquiries. Organizations initially defaulted to getting the maximum amount of data possible even when they only actually used some of it. That practice caused the data privacy issues we face today and champions of data privacy are now falling victim to the same challenge and for the same reason: it is much easier to figure out after you have all the data what you actually need.