Content related to world events and other things happening outside my daily life
We were a little late in getting our COVID vaccines this fall because we caught it over the summer. In all reality, I actually enjoy getting my shots to justify a day of guilt-free loafing around the house. But with vaccine skeptics in the highest levels of government, I worry about the rise of misinformation and ever-dropping rates of vaccinations in the US and abroad.
The hardest thing any pet parent will have to do is make the choice to end suffering. It’s not something we care to think about, but it is perhaps the most important way we can show up for the ones who love us the most. My vet supported me through the worst experience of my life, but I realized that these professionals need support too.
Giving up animal products entirely may not be a feasible option for many of us, but more people are eating less meat and cheese – and really making it count when they do. While I may never be a full vegan, it is important to me that I try to match my behaviors to my values, and that means eating less cheese more often.
For years I’ve incorrectly believed that sheep cheese has a lower carbon footprint than cow cheese because sheep emit far less methane than cows. They also produce far less milk, which balances the scales. In reality, cheese has an extremely high carbon footprint, higher than some meats. For that reason, it seemed like time to reevaluate whether my actions are still aligned with my values.
Judicial elections are often overlooked by voters in Pennsylvania. While they don’t command the attention of executive or legislative elections, they are critically important and impact how our laws are interpreted and carried out. Although the judicial branch of government was intended to be nonpartisan, more frequent partisan efforts are attempting to influence the makeup of the courts at multiple levels of government.
We use AI for countless tasks in our daily lives, but different activities have different carbon footprints. Analyzing and creating content uses a lot more energy than a simple internet search, and we’re relying on AI for more of that over time. That isn’t good for our brains or the environment, especially since we’re building more fossil fuel-powered data centers to meet growing demand.
Our search results shape how we view the world, and (with nearly 90% market share) Google shapes our search results. Data privacy has been a major criticism of Google for years, but the objectivity and accuracy of the results should be a concern too. With AI-generated overviews to take the place of doing our own research, we’re more susceptible than ever to groupthink.
The extra energy required for Artificial Intelligence to process pleasantries, such as “please” and “thank you,” apparently costs tens of millions of dollars, to say nothing of the environmental impact of generating that energy. Whether the query results are improved or the AI will deign to spare kind humans in the upcoming revolution, it seems there are some arguments in favor of being polite.
The human race has used cannabis for 5,000 years. But for the last (almost) 100, it has been vilified in the United States as a “gateway drug” that will “fry your brain.” Federal prohibitions have limited opportunities for the scientific community to study the benefits (not just the harms) of this plant, particularly when it comes to stress reduction and a healthier Endocannabinoid System.
You can get more done with efficiency – to a point. Unfortunately, many of us believe multitasking is efficient, even though it usually makes us even less productive in the end. Multitasking can reduce our effectiveness as well as our capacity for critical thought, meaning that the real key to success is identifying critical tasks and prioritizing them, rather than trying to do it all.