Boeing’s Safety Concerns, the Rise of Private Jets and Weight-loss Drugs Instill Fear: What We’re Reading This Week
Happy Friday, all! I hope you’ve had another fantastic and safe week.
As I write this, the sun is shining and the temperature is in the 50s, far from what I’ve seen some years in February. I’m seeing a meme that we’re in the “false spring” season, and it made me think about our own seasons. Where are you in your journey? What are you striving toward? What are you looking forward to?
Sometimes, I have these aha moments where I feel like there’s no getting away from safety. In the previous example, I can think of a dozen safety concerns, including players’ health and well-being, stadium security, safe food handling. Safety is such a driving force—and a powerful tool to connect with others.
For example, if you lead a safety talk about wintry weather conditions, an employee might tell their family or neighbors about the early signs of hypothermia. In doing so, you’re potentially helping not just one person but several people. If you’re struggling with your safety program, or your numbers aren’t headed in the right direction, I hope you can pause and reflect on your ability to help people and impact lives, even if you can’t see the results you want in the moment.
In the meantime, please comment below if there’s something EHS Today can do to help you. Until next time, be safe and be well!
Boeing’s Turmoil on the Ground and in the Air
You’ve likely seen Boeing in the news lately. A panel blowing off mid-air is just one of the problems the company has experienced in the past few years. Many aerospace experts are expressing disappointment given Boeing’s long-standing reputation for safety.
I only fly a few times a year. I'm not a fan, but I try to calm myself down by knowing that it is safer to fly than it is to drive. I am concerned by what's happening with Boeing lately. I'm not alone.
A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 40% of U.S. adults have a great deal of confidence that both pilots and air traffic controllers can maintain the safety of air travel. However, only about 20% of Americans are confident in the work federal agencies, commercial airlines or airplane manufacturers do to uphold air safety.
Chris Isidore’s reporting traces much of Boeing's current problems back to 1997, when the company acquired competitor McDonell Douglas.
“Boeing had a reputation before the merger of a company where engineers were high church,” Ron Epstein, an aerospace analyst at Bank of America, told Isidore. Boeing wasn't as profitable as some of its competitors. After the merger, "many of the leadership ranks became filled with McDonnell Douglas veterans, not Boeing executives.
"Many of them had financial backgrounds, not the engineering backgrounds of those who had run Boeing in the past. Or they came from outside of the company, such as from General Electric, where cost-cutting and improved efficiency was a near religion."
What's happening at Boeing is not unique. We’ve seen what happens when companies put profit over people. It’s not acceptable in any industry but it's not tolerated in airspace, which has strict regulations and standards to keep people safe.
I highly encourage you to read Isidore's in-depth analysis on Boeing here.
Private Jet Use is Heating up—and That’s Bad for the Planet
In all the run up to the Super Bowl, I didn’t expect to read a story about private aircraft. An estimated 1,000 private planes are expected to touch down at Las Vegas area airports for the big game, which begs the question of their environmental impact.
A professor in public policy sustainability told The New York Timesthat local greenhouse gas emissions will at least double average energy usage because of all the air traffic surrounding the Super Bowl. The article notes that the Super Bowl is one of the U.S.’s largest annual attractions for private planes.
It can be difficult to quantify the exact carbon dioxide emissions from a cluster of private planes, in part because most municipal authorities don’t track emissions.
An estimated one in every six flights handled by the Federal Aviation Administration is a private jet. Globally, the number of private jets has more than doubled in the past two decades, and sales of private planes is expected to continue this upward trajectory. This means it will only get more challenging to quantify environmental impact at the exact moment when climate experts warn we must curtail global warming emissions to 1.5 degrees Celsius about preindustrial levels—or face catastrophic consequences.
Read more about the impact of private jets descending in Las Vegas here.
Weight-loss Drugs Frighten Executives
I saw this story trending yesterday, and all I can say is wow. I don’t want to give too much away because the Bloomberg story is definitely worth a read but let me give you some background.
The new class of powerfully effective weight-loss drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, have are helping people achieve results that heretofore could only be seen medically with surgery. The ability to help people on their weight-loss journey and improve many aspects of their life, such as better diabetes management, seems like an all-around net positive.
I’ve read articles about the shortages and supply chain issues, how the new class of weight loss drugs are reshaping Denmark’s economy and debates about whether to cover these drugs under health insurance policies because of their high cost.
But I have not yet seen an article detailing concerns from other executives and companies in a wide range of industries that are grappling for “how a less hungry, potentially healthier customer will affect business.”
For example, authors Naomi Kresge and Madison Muller report that Conagra Brands’ CEO told analysts—perhaps as a way to reassure shareholders—in 2023 that the company employs a department of demand scientists to study changes in consumer behavior.
I encourage you to read the full article, which has one of the best headlines I’ve ever read, here.
