One Big Thing to Chew On
California and other Western states are experiencing a historic drought and heat wave this summer that scientists say are exacerbated by climate change. Last year was California’s worst fire season on record, and this year is on pace to top it. (Morning Brew)
Also, the IPCC report came out - read more in the Green Theory this week.
What We’re Listening to This Week
Podcast:
Two totally opposite ways to save the planet, by Freakonomics. Climate ideologies clash - prophets vs. wizards, who will win? This is an entertaining little envi 101. Shoutout to Anna Haigh of Via who gave us the rec.
Selected Deal Flow by Category
Transportation
HopSkipDrive, a six-year-old, L.A.-based student ride-share service, has raised $25 million in Series C funding led by Energy Impact Partners, partly to electrify their fleet. (TC)
Voi, a Stockholm-based micromobility startup, raised $45M led by The Raine Group. They say the funding will go towards R&D for tech to improve safety and scooter management. (TC)
CPG
OffLimits, a New-York based plant-based cereal startup, raised $2.3M pre-seed from Science Inc. and others. (Yeah, I thought every cereal was already plant-based too - not so for Cheerios or many others) (TC)
Fable Food, a two-year-old, Sydney, Australia-based plant-based food startup that relies on mushrooms, has raised $6.5 million AUD (about $4.8 million) in seed funding led by Blackbird Ventures. (TC)
XpertSea, a nine-year-old, Quebec, Canada-based company whose tech allows farmers to harvest shrimp more sustainably, has raised $20 million in Series B funding. QED Investors and Atlantico co-led the round. (Forbes)
v2Food, an Australian plant-based meat startup, has raised $45M Series B+ led by Astanor. (TC)
80 Acres Farms, a six-year-old, Hamilton, Oh.-based vertical farming company focused on pesticide-free produce, has raised $160 million in Series B funding led by General Atlantic. (YN)
Other
44.01, a year-old, Muscat, Oman-based carbon removal startup, has raised $5 million in funding led by Apollo Projects. (TC)
One Actionable Item
Do cleaner laundry
Easy one this week. Laundry can use a lot of water and energy, so in the face of California’s ~unprecedented~ drought, here are some tips to doing cleaner laundry from the National Park Service:
Wash cold - 90% of the energy consumed by washing machines goes into heating the water.
Only do full loads - and if you have an efficiency sensor, use it.
Wear clothes more than once - I’m a fan of the smell test, my girlfriend not as much
Buy products approved by the Environmental Working Group, a 501(c).
Buy (or encourage your landlord to upgrade to!) ENERGY STAR certified machines.
Green Theory
The IPCC report (37-page summary, full report) that came out early this week has painted grim headlines across the world’s papers. While the existing impacts of human-caused climate change are troubling, and the projections of a world of inaction even more terrifying, we hope that context around the report, and less sensational views, will help channel negative feelings around the IPCC’s findings into positive action for our shared benefit.
Many people begin their climate journey through a catalyzing event, or series thereof. Whether via living through a natural disaster, reading a shocking book, or an empathetic realization of the voicelessness of the largest victims of climate change--individual moments can play a large role in our perspectives on the planet.
Though an epiphany may begin with agony, despair alone provides no productive path to healing. Along those lines, this climate report primarily establishes the scientific methods that will guide the analysis of subsequent reports. Yes, the conclusions are grim, and likely the next report, coming in February 2022, will be as well. At the same time, naming and quantifying a problem is only the first step--rest assured the IPCC will deliver a mitigation-focused report one month later!
Similarly, as The Sixth Extinction, or other problem-oriented resources, may ignite your dread, Drawdown, and solution-focused works, can counter with hope and inspiration. Uplifting as learning about mitigation strategies and technical innovations may be on its own, knowledge of the underlying issues heightens the value and possibility of deeply studying solutions.
Readers of the latter book will recognize an excerpt from Pope Francis’ letter to all Catholic Bishops around the world: “May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope.”
No doubt, the need for systemic change and disruption of the few dozen companies responsible for outsized emissions must come. Nonetheless, do not underestimate your personal impact and influence on your family, friends, community, and--ultimately--global society in which you live.
The Closer
No meme this week, just a cool picture of a California sea lion eating an octopus.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc5b37b54-7aee-44a5-bd0a-647f88356f34_951x1179.png)
Second mushroom meat feature in a little over a month!
I suggest a new section called Greenbites (or The Green Bite) where you highlight an on-the-market green-food. I'm imagining vegan-alternatives to existing products (beyond meat, impossible meat, yadda yadda), but I'd be just as happy to see a review of carrots.
Let me know if you need a taste tester/food critic.