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- #5SmartReads - September 1, 2022
#5SmartReads - September 1, 2022
Hitha on smart glass, sex work, and making back-to-school work better for you
…and the its impact would be impressive, indeed. Get ready for a percentages/fractions lesson.
Did you know buildings are estimated to account for 27% of global carbon dioxide emissions, specifically the heating/cooling of them?
When they’re built with smart glass (glass with thin layers of metal oxide, which tint the class based on the sun and temperature exposure to block/allow light and natural heat). Buildings with smart glass can help reduce heating and cooling needs by about 20%, which helps reduce their load on the local energy grid.
Sounds good, right? It gets better - the Inflation Reduction Act is offering a 30% tax credit when smart glass is used in new constructions or replacing windows (though the glass is still expensive, as it’s a newer technology and hasn’t hit scale yet). And many smart glass companies are based and manufacturing this glass domestically, which only helps job creation.
I Was a Stripper in America's Most Male-Dominated State (Marie Claire)
So much of our view of sex work is filtered through the narratives that men (often white men who preach conservative, Christian values) have determined is the absolute truth.
That narrative fails to tell the many different stories in this world, and only holds us back from understanding and being more empathetic and respectful about the work - and the women who make up the majority of this workforce.
Reading Juniper Fitzgerald’s Enjoy Me Among My Ruins changed my perspective on sex work, and I’ve been seeking more articles and shows to both unlearn what I accepted as truth and learn from and respect the women in this industry.
While you wait for your copy of Juniper’s book, I highly recommend you read this piece (with zero judgement!) to understand the good, the not-so-good, and the honest experience of sex work.
I’m on the board of directors of Feminist Press, which published Enjoy Me Among My Ruins.
If you are able, please consider donating to Islamic Relief’s relief efforts in Pakistan. Here’s how they use the funds:“Islamic Relief teams on the ground have distributed 1,120 cash grants; 800 food packs with basic staples including flour, rice, and oil; and hundreds of hygiene kits, kitchen sets, and tents for shelter. Long-term efforts focus on providing shelter, non-food items, and multi-purpose cash grants to 30,000 families in Pakistan affected by flooding.” (source)
My heart (and money) is going to those in Pakistan whose lives have been forever changed. And not just because of the worst flooding in the country’s history.
“This calamity alone would have been disastrous. But Pakistan this year has also endured economic difficulties and a lethal heat wave that, as Vox’s Umair Irfan reported, strained public infrastructure and social services. All these crises have been exacerbated by the country’s political situation, with the government targeting the recent ousted prime minister, Imran Khan, and by the global economic plight.
“Pakistan has faced a series of crises this year: economic, political, now, a natural disaster,” Madiha Afzal, a foreign policy researcher at the Brookings Institution, told me. “Running underneath all of this has been the political crisis.””
We often view these disastrous weather events as isolated incidents. But despite that being the perspective we uphold, it’s not the truth. Plenty of human factors - and not just humankind’s contribution to the climate crisis - exacerbate the damage of weather catastrophes like these. And it’s not just happening abroad…
Jackson’s water crisis dates back to integration (The Commercial Dispatch)
…it’s also happening right here. In Jackson, Mississippi, specifically.
“In 1970, when Mississippi was finally forced to integrate its schools, white residents began fleeing the city. Jackson Public Schools saw 10,000 students leave in the first year of school integration, some to newly established private schools like Jackson Prep and Jackson Academy, but far more to neighboring Rankin and Madison counties.
By 2020, the city had lost 20 percent of its population, roughly 40,000 residents after an initial wave of white residents left to avoid putting their children in integrated schools. Half of the decline occurred in the last two decades as more middle-class Black families moved, and the city’s white population continued to drop from 52 percent in 1980 to 28 percent in 2000 to 17 percent in 2019, according to U.S. Census data.
Today, the city is 82 percent black. A quarter of its residents live below the poverty level.
A declining population and sinking property values left the city with a shrinking tax base even as the need for substantial investment in the city’s infrastructure increased. Outside investment in Jackson is at a virtual standstill.”
These are the facts, as much as those in power would like to omit them from the record or ignore them when it comes to equitable policy that gives everyone the ability to live with dignity.
How to Make School Mornings Run Smoothly - Tips from Real Moms (Mother Untitled)
I will spare you my deepest ire about the phase-in schedule I rant about at the beginning of every school year (just whyyyyy????), but I will share some of these great tips on how to make your school mornings go smoothly.
The donuts tip is stellar (I’m going to put our little donut maker to use with this recipe), as is the piggy back ride in the morning.
This is the first year the boys are going to the same school, which I hope will make the mornings run more smoothly. For my parents who are already a few weeks into back-to-school, I’d love to hear any of your stories (or rants) about the transition from summer to school.
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