Thursday, July 6, 2023

We can't adapt fast enough to keep up with the heating planet

Plus more health news |

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Human adaptation to heat can't keep up with human-caused climate change
By Lucas Wittmann
Editorial Director, Ideas

The Earth is hotter than it's been in some 125,000 years. Canada's boreal forest is aflame, the American Southwest recently experienced an epic heat dome, and global temperature records keep falling. It's clear that humans can't escape the heat that we unleashed on the planet. And it turns out we can't adapt fast enough to the heat either.

As bestselling nonfiction writer Jeff Goodell explains in an excerpt from his astonishing new book, The Heat Will Kill You First, humans have adapted remarkably well to heat since our ancestor Lucy first learned to stand up about 3.2 million years ago. She did that, perhaps, in order to stay cool and get away from the heat radiating off the ground. Since then, our bodies have adapted remarkably well to the heat thanks to developing sweat glands to cool our bodies and losing hair to keep from overheating. But now the planet is warming faster than we—and many other living things—can adapt.

Some quotes from Goodell's piece that stood out to me and tell the story:

  • "Humans became excellent hot‑weather hunters. They could venture out in the heat of the day when other animals couldn’t, giving them a predatory advantage."
  • "Heat management is a survival tool for all life on Earth, and the strategies to deal with it are as diverse and colorful as the animal kingdom itself."
  • "One recent study projected that over the next 50 years, 1 to 3 billion people will be left outside the climate conditions that gave rise to civilization over the last 6,000 years."

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What Else to Read
Signs Earth’s Climate May Have Entered Uncharted Territory
By ISABELLA O'MALLEY / AP
Dying coral reefs, extreme heat, and wildfire smoke are among the many signals of climate distress.
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What Climate Change Has to do With the Looming UPS Union Strike
By Aryn Baker / Macon, Ga.
Before union contract negotiations collapsed, UPS was prepared to air condition its vehicles, a long-overdue climate adaptation.
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Why Disconnecting From Your Phone Is So Good for You—and How to Do It
By Angela Haupt
Try batching your notifications, hiding social media apps, and setting your screen to grayscale.
Read More »
Nevada Secures $285M Opioid Settlement With Walgreens, Bringing State Total to Over $1 billion
By Associated Press
Nevada's agreement with Walgreen's brings the total amount the state has garnered in court from alleged opioid distributers to $1.1 billion.
Read More »
Why You Should Always Wash New Clothes Before Wearing Them
By Markham Heid
The chemicals used in manufacturing clothing are potentially bad for your skin. (Originally published in 2019.)
Read More »
ONE MORE FROM ELSEWHERE
How Cancer Turned Two Tennis Rivals Into Close Friends

Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, two of the greatest tennis players of all time, were intense rivals on the women's tour through the 1970s and 1980s. Writing for the Washington Post, Sally Jenkins tells the story of how the two—practically opposites in  background, temperament, and style of play (and literally in terms of handed-ness)—both developed cancer at the same time, and of the deep friendship that ensued.

Read More »

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Today's newsletter was written by Lucas Wittmann, and edited by Elijah Wolfson.

 
 
 
 
 
 

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