Hello, and welcome to what has accidentally turned into a monothematic issue of the Weekly Filet, the newsletter that provides you with the best of the web every Friday.
The reason is quite simple: In this week leading up to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, I’ve read and watched and listened to almost exclusively climate-related pieces. And so when considering the five best things I’ve seen this week, I ended up with climate only. I’d still say that it’s a diverse bunch of recommendations, giving you five rather different perspectives on how to think about the climate and our moment in time. Hope you enjoy!
1. The case for a more radical climate movement
Andreas Malm is a professor of human ecology in Sweden, and he wants to blow up pipelines. Well, sort of. His argument: The climate movement in its current form will not achieve the drastic changes needed. It needs a more radical wing, one that will literally «destroy the property that’s destroying the planet». In this hour-long conversation, he lays out his case in detail, and responds to obvious objections. Thought-provoking. Start listening now.
2. Yes, There Has Been Progress on Climate. No, It’s Not Nearly Enough.
If you’re looking for a brief big-picture summary of where we stand (as a species on this heating planet), this is your article. In fact, they managed to distill everything in a single chart: 1. We’ve made significant progress compared to the horrible pre-Paris trajectory. 2. We’re still far behind what we pledged to do. 3. Those pledges are far from enough. So, yeah, not great. Have a look.
3. Analysis: Why climate-finance ‘flows’ are falling short of $100bn pledge
As always: follow the money. This is a thorough analysis of everything that’s happening and not happening with that number you’ll hear a lot in the coming days: 100 billion dollars. It’s the amount of money per year rich nations (aka those who created this mess) have pledged to give to poorer nations (aka those who will suffer the most) to deal with climate change. Read it now.
4. To Build a Beautiful World, You First Have to Imagine It
«The climate crisis is also a crisis of imagination.» With the climate crisis, our attention is usually on dire scenarios for the future and how to avert them. This short essay (by one of the hosts of the excellent Hot Take podcast) reminds us to think of it in other terms as well: What does a more liveable world look like? If you were to build that world, what would you do? Read it now.
5. Should we kill trillions of animals to save the planet?
Here’s a moral dilemma: On an individual level, eating meat is a major contributor to climate change. Most people aren’t going to stop or significantly reduce their meat consumption anytime soon. So it might make sense to get people to switch to the type of meat that is by far the most climate friendly: chicken. This, in turn, means that we dramatically increase the level of animal suffering and death. Which of two bad options do you choose? Read on.
What else?
20 years ago, the iPod was launched. The very first commercial didn’t exactly scream icon of pop culture (seems like a wise decision to replace that guy with black silhouettes in later commercials…)
New landing page, same old embarrassingly hard game. You’re welcome.
Winning images from Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021.
This and nothing else on my headphones this week: The Invisible EP, by Ólafur Arnalds.
Next-level Halloween makeup (slightly NSFW)
«I don't treat my calendar as a blank surface to pile events onto. I think of it as a ledger of how many times I've traded my time away.» — Julian Shapiro
Thanks for reading. This is where I usually wish you a nice weekend (and just to be clear: I do wish you a nice weekend!), but this weekend will be a little special. At least in the realm of this humble newsletter. Watch out for a special filet delivery on Sunday. See you then!
— David 👋