"It is one of the most potent greenhouse gases and responsible for a third of current warming from human activities." And it's the latest target of world leaders at the COP26 summit. The US and EU (and more than 100 countries) have signed onto a global partnership to cut emissions of the greenhouse gas methane by 2030. (Wouldn't it be nice if of some of our global goals weren't ten or more years out?) EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called the move "one of the most effective things we can do to reduce near-term global warming" and said it was "the lowest hanging fruit."
+ Over 100 global leaders pledge to end deforestation by 2030. (If you can hold your breath until 2030, you'll be in good shape.)
+ "This should have been a day of great triumph for America, marking its emergence from the Trump years—nothing the former President did caused as much international anger as withdrawing from the Paris accords, and Biden did apologize for that act. But, owing largely to Manchin, Biden arrived in Glasgow without the set of dramatic legislative victories that were supposed to unlock this conference." The New Yorker: As Biden Speaks at the Glasgow Climate Summit, Manchin Muddles the Message. (The Dems should hire a hostage negotiator to bargain with Manchin.)
+ AP: Tiny seedlings of giant sequoias rise from ashes of wildfire. "Ashtyn Perry was barely as tall as the shovel she stomped into barren ground where a wildfire last year ravaged the California mountain community of Sequoia Crest and destroyed dozens of its signature behemoth trees. The 13-year-old with a broad smile and a braid running to her waist had a higher purpose that — if successful — she’ll never live to see: to plant a baby sequoia that could grow into a giant and live for millennia. 'It’s really cool knowing it could be a big tree in like a thousand years.'" (By comparison, 2030 doesn't seem all that far off.)
2. Car Alarm
"They may be miners digging ore for steel in Finland, workers molding tires in Thailand, or Volkswagen employees in Slovakia installing instrument panels in SUVs. Their livelihoods are at the mercy of supply shortages and shipping chokeholds." How Car Shortages Are Putting the World's Economy at Risk.
+ Those shortages don't seem to be hurting the valuations of some car companies. The Amazon and Ford backed Rivian is set to IPO at a valuation near $55 billion. Investors are (glove) compartmentalizing the chip shortage news.
+ Even toy cars are taking a hit. Hasbro hit by supply chain woes as $100M in orders go unfilled.
3. Living in a Ninefield
"Parwana Malik, a 9-year-old girl with dark eyes and rosy cheeks, giggles with her friends as they play jump rope in a dusty clearing. But Parwana's laughter disappears as she returns home, a small hut with dirt walls, where she's reminded of her fate: she's being sold to a stranger as a child bride." CNN: She was sold to a stranger so her family could eat as Afghanistan crumbles. This is a truly terrible story.
4. Come Out Virginia, Don't Let 'Em Wait
It's election day in America (brought to you by Xanax) and all eyes are on Virginia where a handful of votes will result in lot of over analysis of what it all means for the country. NPR: The Virginia governor race is neck-and-neck, despite years of Democratic control.
5. Do Not Renter
"'We’re here!' the husband exclaimed. Kumra stared back blankly, unsure of what to do. The couple had 'rented' Kumra’s home after seeing an ad on Craigslist, she learned, and they’d driven there from Sacramento. The creepiest part, Kumra said, was that the couple told her they had texted the alleged owners just 10 minutes before arriving to tell them they were almost there and they had responded that they would be there to greet them." How a vacation rental scam led one woman to take matters into her own hands. Are Craigslist vacation rentals always a scam? (Let the buyer AirBNBeware.)
6. Location, Location, Chokation
"The EPA allows polluters to turn neighborhoods into “sacrifice zones” where residents breathe carcinogens. ProPublica reveals where these places are in a first-of-its-kind map and data analysis." Poison in the Air.
7. Throwing Window Shade
"Unlike those residences, he said, the dorms in Santa Barbara would have 'virtual windows'; students would have a knob to let them manipulate how much artificial light to let in to their rooms as a way to mimic daytime or evening ... 'If you want it romantic and dim, you can make it romantic and dim,' Mr. Munger said. 'When in your life have you been able to change the sun? In this dorm, you can.'" NYT: After a Billionaire Designed a Dorm, an Architect Resigned in Protest. "The basic concept of Munger Hall as a place for students to live is unsupportable from my perspective as an architect, a parent and a human being." (Maybe just turn up the sun a bit?)
8. Shot Clock Running Out
"'We're going to lose a lot of employees over this,' said Cornell Beard, head of the local Machinists union district. Many workers did not object to the vaccines as such, he said, but were staunchly opposed to what they see as government meddling in personal health decisions." From Boeing to Mercedes, a U.S. worker rebellion swells over vaccine mandates. (Looks like there's a pretty big geographic split in terms of where folks are balking and where they're coming around.)
9. Bear Arms
WaPo: How zoos persuade animals to get the coronavirus vaccine. "The bears got ice cream and whipped cream. To get the chimp to stay still, we gave her marshmallows and M&M’s." (What the hell, let's try that with humans...)
10. Bottom of the News
"Since very few people teach math on adult video platforms, and since there are so many people who watch videos on them, I thought that if I uploaded my videos there, a lot of people would see them." On P-rnhub, Math Teacher Makes His Mark Teaching Calculus. Breeding, Riding, and Arithmetic...
+ Sen. Josh Hawley says liberals' attacks on manhood are driving men to p-rnography and video games. (Beats being driven to sedition, Josh.)
+ 20 Words Merriam-Webster Is Adding to the Dictionary in 2021.