6/21 FRANCE'S WEEKLY RECOMMENDATIONS
Delivering curated weekly recommendations to critically engage with the world and foster a more just society, on and offline.
In an era where access to unprecedented amounts of information surpasses any other time in human history, people paradoxically find themselves less informed than previous generations. My "Weekly Recommendation" seeks to address this gap by providing a curated list of 6 thought-provoking things I’ve read, watched, or listen to each week, designed to equip you with the necessary knowledge and tools to navigate this pivotal moment in history and envision and create a more just society, on and offline.
I was very excited last week when, on 2 different occasions, people introduced themselves as subscribers to my newsletter. Def say hello if you see me out and about!
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Saudi Arabia Eyes a Future Beyond Oil
A few years ago, I read "An American War," an excellent sci-fi book set in the near future United States, devastated by climate change and disease. The storyline revolves around a Second Civil War sparked by conflicts over fossil fuel usage. What intrigued me most about the book was its depiction of this US internal strife as a proxy war fueled by Middle Eastern superpowers. These nations had the foresight to divest from oil, constructing thriving underground cities to survive escalating temperatures while simultaneously undermining America's ability to adapt. So, you can imagine my interest when I recently learned that Saudi Arabia is gradually reducing its oil drilling activities, aiming to derive about 50% of its energy from renewable sources like solar and wind by 2030. However, there's a stark contrast: the Saudis are depleting a different finite resource from the American Southwest—water. Saudi and Emirati companies have purchased over 9,600 acres of land in Arizona, and converted it into hay fields to feed – get this – cows back home. The water used to grow the exported hay last year was equivalent to the water used by about 1 million people in the state. It’s estimated that nearly half the wells in the area will be dry within only 10-25 years, leaving millions of people without drinking water in a place as hot as Arizona.
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