The News Not Noise Letter: News That Doesn't Suck
Good news for hot cars (oh, and the environment). Plus: disinflating isn’t just for spy balloons, and the surprising psychological benefit of a lengthy commute.
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Here’s some news that doesn’t suck:
Park du Soleil: Have you ever left your car in a parking lot for just a few minutes on a sunny day and come back to find it scalding hot? If you’re parking in France, that won’t be a problem for much longer. Très magnifique! Lawmakers in France have passed a bill that will require all major parking lots in the country to erect canopies of solar panels above their parking spaces. These solar panels will play a dual role in shading parked cars and generating electricity. But how much electricity could that possibly generate, you ask? As much as 10 nuclear power plants! This plan also addresses three of the main criticisms of big solar initiatives:
Problem: Solar farms are unsightly. Solution: Most parking lots can’t get any uglier. A little solar makeover could be à propos.
Problem: Big solar farms are often located far from where people actually live and use the power. Au contraire! By covering the already-plentiful parking lots of urban areas with solar panels, France will generate energy very near to where people live.
Problem: Big solar farms compete with other land uses like agriculture for rural land spaces and wreak havoc on ecosystems. Solution: Repurposing parking lots in urban areas doesn’t disrupt rural ecosystems.
The French might be onto something with this avant-garde idea.
Disinflation? File this one under News That Probably Doesn’t Suck, We Think, Fingers Crossed: Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, says the process of “disinflation” has begun — and he’s talking about the economy, not the latest spy balloon (or whatever that latest flying object was). Powell said specifically that the inflation reduction process is underway “in the goods sector, which is about a quarter of our economy.” He noted that the rest of the economy hasn’t yet caught up and we are only in the “very early stages” of easing inflation. TL;DR: there’s still “a long way to go” but an end to the rapid inflation of the post-pandemic era is in sight.
The Power of Social Touch: Researchers say there’s a “highway to the brain” that, when activated, can ease feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and even physical pain. You might assume that highway is somewhere deep inside the body, maybe in your brain or a nerve along your spinal cord? Nope. The anxiety easing highway to your brain is in your skin, specifically sensory cells in the skin called C-tactile fibers. These cells are found throughout most regions of the skin, and they’re specially calibrated to sense social touch from other people. Every type of mammal that has been studied has these C-tactile fibers, and researchers found that stimulating them through a gentle caress can create profound impacts. One study found that individuals who “received laser-induced pain” (ouch!) experienced a reduction in that pain when their romantic partners comforted them with a slow, C-tactile fiber-stimulating gentle touch. How does this work? Social touch stimulates the brain to release oxytocin, often called the “love hormone,” which scientists believe plays a role in mitigating pain and anxiety. Researchers are optimistic that future therapeutic methods may activate these neurons in the skin as a way of treating trauma and depression. In case you want some specifics: These cells respond best to touch that is about the same temperature as human skin (aka skin on skin contact) and they are most responsive to a gentle stroke rather than something fast — ½ to 4 inches per second, if you’re curious. Care to share this information with a partner? You can tell them it’s backed by science.
Early Career Training: How can K-12 schools play a role in preparing students for career success in our changing economy? The superintendent of the Greenville County School District in Greenville, South Carolina is leading with innovation. He believes a high school diploma is no longer enough to allow most graduates to “get to work and earn a living,” and his school district is fighting to change that. Greenville is paving a way for its 77,000 students — 60% of whom live in poverty — to access industry certifications in middle and high school. That part alone is not revolutionary; 27 states have policies allowing students to earn these types of credentials during high school. What makes Greenville special is that it starts career education in elementary schools, with each individual school emphasizing a different field like engineering, arts, leadership, math and science, and foreign languages. Students have the option to attend schools outside of their geographical attendance zones, and can then elect to attend middle schools that have similar or different thematic focuses. Students still cover the general education requirements, but they’re also able to learn from visiting professionals about what various careers actually look like and to “try on” career pathways as they grow. This is especially valuable for students who may not have had knowledge of or access to these different career pathways without this sort of programming. The Greenville district is planning to open a Career Technical Education (CTE) “Innovation Center” this fall where students can train for such highly-specialized fields (and high-wage careers) as aerospace engineering, clean energy technology, and automotive research.
That’s A Lot of Green: JP Morgan announced last week that it spent $500 million to acquire 250,000 acres of timberland, and not to make way for new office space. The bank’s newly purchased forests could provide some amount of lumber, but the firm made it clear that most of the trees will be preserved in an effort to fight climate change through natural carbon sequestration and to protect habitats for wildlife. JP Morgan says the land they just bought contains 120 million standing trees that have sequestered the equivalent of 18 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, keeping the carbon out of the air and in the trees. And, no, JPMorgan hasn’t suddenly decided to become a nonprofit nature preserve; there’s big money to be made in carbon sequestration these days. Many companies are seeking to offset their carbon emissions by paying firms that own or maintain woodlands not to harvest their trees, and since the supply of offsets for sale is currently much lower than the demand, JP Morgan and other businesses like it can charge hefty fees. In fact, the bank has a wholly owned forest management and timber investment business. We’re choosing to see this as a sign of progress that it’s becoming profitable to invest in taking care of the environment. For those of you who’d argue with this, there is a healthy conversation to be had. Keep in mind, we need institution level change to keep our planet healthy.
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