Healthy U.s. Consumer Takes Spotlight This Week

Rather than fix systemic issues with U. S. transportation, Texas’s DOT—like other states—puts the onus on individuals. To learn why the United States is so abysmal at road safety, you could read through a pile of academic studies and investigations. But should you lack the time or inclination, there’s a shortcut: You can examine a single social media post from the police department of Cedar Park, Texas, an Austin suburb with around 75,000 residents.

As Florida reels amid climate change, Trump asks Big Oil for $1 billion and pledges to roll back Biden’s green agenda. This piece was originally published by Capital & Main, which reports from California on economic, political, and social issues.

A bipartisan public affairs group is out with its findings on what Republicans and Democrats really think about diversity programs—and how leaders can find common ground. The past few years have seen corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts evolve from corporate medal of honor to business standard to political landmine. In the past year alone, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has become the most controversial component of the ESG battleground, with the SCOTUS decision on Affirmative Action setting the frontlines for an all-out war between political parties.

Yaupon holly, a once-forgotten caffeinated plant native to North America, could be one of this year’s hottest food trends. The big-city dwellers drink it black, in ceramic mugs with intricate decorative patterns. Sure, it’s a luxury that has to be imported from faraway growers, but no big meeting gets started without the caffeinated buzz it provides.

A CalTech spinoff uses limestone to tackle carbon dioxide in shipping exhaust. The shipping company Lomar will soon begin testing the process. The thousands of cargo ships that are used to deliver everything from your next pair of jeans to your car emit around a billion metric tons of CO2 each year.

A drastically reduced guest list at this week’s global AI safety summit suggests waning interest in safeguarding against the tech. Six months ago, the world’s attention was on the U. K., where attendees from national governments and international tech companies convened for the first global AI safety summit to discuss the threat and potential of artificial intelligence as the world watched.