Climate Change, Gen Z and a Bittersweet Graduation: What I’m Reading This Week
Happy Friday! I’m looking forward to this gorgeous summer weather and having a cookout with my dad this weekend.
If you are a father or celebrating with a father or father figure on Sunday, I hope you have a wonderful day filled with laughter and good food. If this day is difficult for you, I hope you can find some space and a way to still see the beauty and goodness in the world.
Until next time, stay safe and be well.
How Climate Change Affects the Food We Eat
We have seen how climate change is affecting weather patterns, causing monsoons, flooding, heatwaves, droughts and more. We have seen pictures of the destruction of natural landscapes, cities and homes.
This story from The Wall Street Journal discusses how climate change is affecting the some of life’s simple pleasures, such as a good cup of coffee.
Author Jon Emont notes that wine, olive oil, coffee and cocoa grow in only a few parts of the world. If those regions experience changes in climate, that could affect the global market. For example, severe weather events caused global wine production to be at the lowest levels since 1961.
People are trying to get ahead of the change by growing crops in new regions, such as grapes in Sweeden and olives in Austria, and experimenting with new drought-resistant versions of crops or other growing techniques. That could help the markets stabilize, but characteristics like flavor might not be reproducible.
German consumer group Stiftung Warentes tested 23 different olive oils and found the average quality had declined compared with previous studies.
“Droughts and heat in Mediterranean countries leave their mark,” it said. “Products of the highest quality—extra virgin—often taste rancid or pungent.”
Read the full story here.
Gen Z Makes Trades Cool Again
I’ve seen this story from The Wall Street Journal making the rounds on LinkedIn this week. It seems that some young adults aren’t interested in going to college and facing underemployment, unemployment, multiple jobs and thousands of dollars in crippling debt upon graduation. (Who can blame them?)
The trades have always offered steady work, fair pay and the opportunity to be your own boss. That’s resonating with Gen Z, who are learning about electrical work, plumbing, building and welding from social media influencers. TikTok is reporting posts with the hashtag #bluecollar are 64% higher year over year, with similar increases for the trades themselves.
"We've made it more appealing. We have nice vehicles. We own homes. We are successful," says Matt Panella, 27, a carpenter to The Wall Street Journal. In addition to his full-time work, his YouTube channel earns him more than $200,000 in annual sponsor income from companies such as 3M.
More and more people are getting wind of the trades. The number of students enrolled in vocational-focused community colleges rose 16% last year to its highest level since the National Student Clearinghouse began tracking such data in 2018.
Read the full story here.
A Bittersweet Graduation
I heard about a graduation this week that stopped me in my proverbial tracks.
This is the year that the 20 first graders who died in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting would’ve graduated high school. When I saw the interview George Stephanopoulos did with six survivors, I paused everything to watch. Then I wept for the children who went to school and never returned, parents who lost their babies and for the children who lost their classmates—and so much of that childhood innocence that day.
In the interview, one survivor mentioned the years she has spent in therapy trying to process, grieve and heal from the day a gunman walked into her classroom and opened fire. Another talked about how his mom’s relief at seeing him alive scared him like he’s never seen before, or since.
These young adults were thrust into a position no one of us ever wants to be in, let alone in first or second grade. It’s awful to think about the 20 students and their families who aren’t able to celebrate. However, hearing these six survivors speak gave me hope for a better tomorrow.
You can watch the video here. You can also read a moving report of how the victims were remembered on graduation day here.
