Instant Karma Newsletter 8.18.20
  • Making buildings more environmentally friendly also makes them more virus-resilient, so why not fight climate change and COVID-19 simultaneously? 

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What do climate change, COVID-19, and your air conditioner have in common? As it turns out, a lot.

With any virus, the “aerosol effect” — how long contagious droplets of the virus stay in the air or on a surface after an infected person talks, sneezes or coughs — is a risk. Scientists have been studying the aerosol effect of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and while there are still unanswered questions, the research completed to date indicates that the coronavirus is more likely to survive and be transmitted in poorly-ventilated spaces — which include 41% of public schools in the U.S.

That’s where the unexpected but critical connection to climate change comes in.

Read more

In Other News: WhatsApp for WHO, Wind Energy Windfall

Why (and how) did WhatsApp become the COVID-19 messaging tool of choice for the WHO? A $265 million investment is the latest foray by a private equity firm into wind energy. Climate change is likely to hit southeast Asia the hardest. “COVID bonds” are replacing green bonds as the impact-friendly go-to. Let the battle for the Arctic begin! A Spanish startup wants to be the top tool for gig economy workers in Latin America. 

Levity Break

From sourdough starters to today’s quarantine trend: Galileo cosplay!