Edition 42: cutting hair to soak up oil spills
(This newsletter was sent to email subscribers on August 12, 2020.)
Happy Wednesday, muggles. There’s a new push for not just gender-inclusive boards, but racially-inclusive ones too. About 66% of board seats within Fortune 500 companies are held by white men, so TheBoardlist, a network created to help connect companies with qualified women board directors, is now offering its services to men of color as well.
SCIENCE
Using marijuana while pregnant linked to autism
Mon Aug 10
A new study found women who used marijuana while pregnant were 1.5 times more likely to have a child with autism. Researchers at Ottawa Hospital Research Institute looked at half a million women and children.
Other studies into marijuana use during pregnancy have linked cannabis usage to…
- Low birth weight
- Impulsivity
- Hyperactivity
- Attention issues
- Other cognitive issues
- Stillbirth
The women in the study said they used marijuana, but not tobacco, alcohol, or opioids. However, the type and amount of marijuana was not recorded.
SOURCES: CNN, The Denver Channel, NBC News
CHINA
Beyond TikTok: Trump’s fight with WeChat
Fri Aug 7
We’ve all been hearing a lot about Trump’s TikTok ban, but he also issued an executive order against WeChat.
What is WeChat?
WeChat is a popular Chinese messaging app and social media platform used by nearly 1.2 billion people each month. It’s described as a Facebook, LinkedIn, Venmo, Yelp, and Uber all-in-one. WeChat is owned by the Chinese company Tencent, which is the world’s largest gaming company.
Why does Trump want to ban WeChat?
In the executive order, Trump said WeChat captures user data that could allow the Chinese government access to American’s personal and proprietary information. To make matters murkier, Tencent…
- Doesn’t inform users when the Chinese Communist Party requests data
- Has been cited for lack of both freedom of speech protections and end-to-end encryption
So far, Trump has only mentioned WeChat (which isn’t widely used in the U.S.), but if it extends to other aspects of Tencent’s business that could include Riot Games and Epic Games, makers of the world-renowned games “League of Legends” and “Fortnite.”
SOURCES: White House, CNN, Bloomberg, Recode
ENVIRONMENT
People are using their hair to soak up the Mauritius oil spill
Mon Aug 10
In late July, a Japanese cargo ship hit the reef off the coast of Mauritius and it has already leaked more than 1,000 metric tons of oil. From endangering species to food security, this is very bad for the tiny island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeast coast of Africa for many reasons, ultimately resulting in a state of environmental emergency.
What’s happening now?
The current challenge is stopping the oil flow. The worry is that a crack inside the ship’s hull is getting bigger and the ship might split in half, which would release the remaining oil and fuel (about 1,800 metric tons).
The French government is assisting with disaster response and the local government is telling residents to stay home, but many are taking the cleanup into their own hands. They have been making barriers to contain and absorb the oil using:
- Their own hair
- Sugar cane leaves
- Plastic bottles
- Old stockings
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That’s all for today. Have a magical week.✨
