Hemp... our favorite four-letter word

Western states leading the EV revolution

The forward-leaning morning newsletter for those
who love all things green

January 23, 2023
Topics: Environment, climate change, Florida, agriculture, tech, Lensa AI, EVs, Gov. Newsom

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🌿Hemp to the rescue in Florida While Florida is the number one producer of processed citrus in North America, for many reasons such as hurricanes, and pests, it has been in a state of declining production. Hurricanes are beyond control, but years of constant use of sprayed insecticides is affecting the state's citrus acreage. Killing the pests as turned the soil toxic; resulting in a zero sum reality.

 Fi Bear is now teaming up with Floridian citrus growers using hemp to heal damaged farmlands. Hemp's outstanding ability to pull toxins from the soil is becoming more recognized in different parts of the world. In addition to cultivating hemp to clean up the soils, Fi Bear can use the hemp stalks to make other useful products, like hempcrete for buildings, toilet paper, bedding, and more.

Image: nasa.gov

🌪️Cyclones getting more intense? Global warming has caused significant damages to the Earth, and many fear it will do more harm in years to come. A new study by a research team of scientists, physicists and professors in climate and earth science departments shows hurricanes and typhoons could hit cities in mid-latitude regions, such as New York, Boston, Beijing, and Tokyo this century.  

According to these researchers, who backed their studies with the subtropical storm Alpha that made landfall in mainland Portugal in 2020 and the 2021 hurricane Henri that made landfall in Connecticut, tropical cyclones are expanding to the mid-latitude regions of the Earth due to greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, because the polar ice caps and glaciers are melting so quickly, the temperature difference between the Equator region and the poles has decreased, which affects the global jet stream and compounds the likelihood for more intense cyclones in the summer months. They bring destruction to building and lives.

🥸Tech steals from artists Technology has been evolving rapidly since the emergence of Artificial Intelligence. Today there is just so much that we can do with it, which is amazing and fascinating. Unfortunately, some of those things now happen at the expense of people’s jobs and even lives. Several AI-based software for art recently started trending on social media. 

An example of such software is Lensa AI, which has become popular on Instagram. Most users don't know that Lensa steals human-drawn art and uses it to create artistic renditions for them via a technology called Stable Diffusion Model. Artist Master Kim Jung Gi's art got fed into an AI model on October 3, the day after he died and without his family's consent. This violates intellectual property. Artists across social media have now started speaking out against the practice and the technology. Without regulations, AI apps can steal and use the art for profit without artists' consent and without crediting them. 

🚘Western state mandate Phasing out internal combustion engines is strong on in the U.S. west coast. California, having the highest zero-emission vehicle market in the U.S., looks ahead to phase out fossil fuel passenger vehicles by 2035. The Golden State approved the rule Advanced Clean Cars II in August 2022 to facilitate the full adoption of EVs, hydrogen fuel-based cars, and plug-in hybrids beginning in 2026. 

Oregon also approved that same rule in December, which is expected to drive down the cost of EVs. Oregon's Department of Transportation intends to invest $100 million in EV charging stations over the next five years. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has estimated that, by 2040, the Advanced Clean Cars II rule will reduce 54.1 million metric tons of passenger carbon emissions, save the state $8.7 million over pollution-related healthcare costs, and reduce 7,695 tons of air pollution. 

Washington is about to join their band wagon. A similar bill called the Clean Cars 2030 is on Governor Inslee's desk. The bill aims to phase out fossil fuel-based light-duty vehicles Asap. It mandates that all light-duty vehicles sold or registered in Washington must be electric by the latest 2030. There is also a plan to install thousands of EV charging stations in the state. 

Image: Donald G Kelley

🐻California's Gov. Newsom In his first term, Gov. Newsom raised California’s corporate revenues by 147% and the market capitalization by 117%. California also surpassed Germany to become the fourth-biggest economy in the world.

While addressing Californians days after his victory, Gov. Newsom said that his Democrat-led government would continue to invest in ESG (environmental, social, and governance). The method of investing has attracted the interest of forward-thinking people, including institutions and governments, in recent years. By continuing his investment in ESG, Gov. Newsom will continue prioritizing sustainability, free enterprise and capitalism, investment in renewable energy and industries/technologies of the future, climate actions, and job creation, among others. 

Stay Curious... Who are we?
Fun question of the day: Have you ever lived in a two story home?

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Who are we?
Last fun question of the day: Is coffee your favorite morning beverage?

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Thanks again for being you. Until the next issue, be sure to add more green to your life!

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