The climate crisis is reflected in spiking ocean temps |
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In honor of Earth Day on Monday, we're zeroing in on the financial and social implications of the climate crisis — and the business trends shaping its future. Tech names led yesterday's losses as the S&P 500 fell for the fifth straight day, its longest L streak since October. Netflix stock fell after hours when the streamer reported strong subscriber growth but said it would stop sharing sub #s next year. Set to report next week: Microsoft, Google, and Meta. 🌱Grow your brain with our weekly Snacks Seven quiz. Test your memory and try the first Q: |
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Storm watch… The US last year endured 28 weather and climate disasters that each cost at least $1B — the highest annual total on record. Zooming out over the past 40 years, weather and climate disasters have cost the country more than $2.6T. (2022's Hurricane Ian alone caused $110B in damages in Florida.) These events are becoming more frequent as the climate crisis stirs up extreme weather: 2023 was the hottest on record, and the fourth in a row that the US experienced more than 18 billion-dollar disasters. Financial impacts… A report from last fall said that the global cost of the climate crisis is $391M/day — or $16M/hour. As heat waves, floods, and hurricanes cause significant structural damage, insurance premiums have skyrocketed in areas especially hard hit. Insurers like State Farm have ditched home coverage in disaster-prone states like California. In Florida, home-insurance premiums could reach $12K this year, 4x the national average. It's not just rebuilding costs: violent changes in weather have badly harmed key crops and spiked food prices. One recent example: cocoa. Heavy rainfalls followed by intense heat waves in West Africa (which produces 70% of cocoa) have resulted in disastrous harvests, sending cocoa costs up 150% to almost $11K/ton — pricier than copper. The forecast… America's hurricane season this year could see 25 or more named storms develop, far beyond the typical 14. As oceans get warmer (fueling hurricanes), experts say more intense and costly storm seasons could become the norm. By mid-century, the climate crisis is expected to cost the world economy $38T/year. |
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A brand new strategy… The world's most influential brands know how to talk. That's why major companies spend huge marketing budgets making their voices heard — but reaching the right audience is harder to nail down. With the advent of AI, it no longer needs to be a guessing game. RADical idea? RAD AI decodes the language of the internet into actionable insights. Uniquely focused on influencer marketing, RAD's technology analyzes historical content patterns to get brands closer to their target customers. That generates 3.5X ROI across campaigns, clients and channels. Hasbro, Skechers, and more of the world's highly recognizable brands are seeing the impact of RAD AI — while big backers are seeing the potential. RAD AI's 6500+ investors include executives from Google, Amazon and Meta, not to mention the company is also backed by The Adobe Fund for Design. There's 10 days left to get in on RAD AI's current investment round — discover the offering.* |
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Checkin' the traffic… The transition from gas-guzzlers to electric cars is key to reducing global emissions from fossil fuels, which last year hit a record high. But EV makers are slowing their roll after making more plug-ins than folks wanted to buy. It's not all doom and e-gloom: EV sales grew over 50% last year, making up nearly 8% of US new-car sales. But overeager carmakers have put billions of electric investments on ice as sales growth cools: GM and Ford scaled back EV production and factory spending last year, while Rivian and Tesla walked back production targets for this year. Last quarter, Tesla had its first annual delivery drop since 2020. Congestion ahead… Tesla is old news in the EV biz as OG carmakers and bright-eyed startups flood the space with models from electric F-150s to luxury sedans. Tesla, Ford, and Chevy have all followed in Rivian's footsteps to roll out electric pickups. Meanwhile, startups Rivian, Lucid, and Fisker are burning cash to become the next Tesla (and losing $$ on every car they sell). But the biggest competition could come from abroad: China's BYD overtook Tesla last year to become the world's biggest EV seller. The roadmap… EV makers have been slashing prices to overcome buyers' sticker shock. (The average EV cost ~$5K more than a gas-powered whip as of last year.) But as Tesla's shrinking deliveries show, price cuts haven't been enough to rev demand. Folks are also struggling to overcome range anxiety as sparse charging infrastructure makes roadtrips stressful. As demand settles into a slower pace, EV makers have switched lanes to focus on hybrids. In January and February, hybrid sales surged 50%, easily pulling ahead of fully electric cars. |
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Electronic landfill… Even as people and corporations try to shrink their carbon footprints, waste is piling up. A recent UN report said that a record 62M tons of electronic waste (think: microwaves, vapes, cellphones) was produced in 2022. E-waste often contains toxic chemicals, which can be released into the environment with greenhouse-gas emissions. While some US states and retailers, like Staples and Best Buy, offer e-waste recycling options, mass consumption has caused e-waste to rise 5x faster than it can be recycled. New players… While the world slowly adopts renewable-energy sources like solar panels and wind power to lower emissions, emerging technologies are countering progress. Energy-intensive industries like bitcoin mining and AI computing require tons of electricity. And in the US electricity is mostly generated through natural gas. Last year, crypto miners used up to 2% of all US electricity (the same as the state of Utah). Meantime, training a single AI model can emit over 284 tons of CO2, or the lifetime emissions of five average American cars. AI's carbon footprint is nearing 1% of annual global emissions. The forecast… Global e-waste is expected to grow another 30% by 2030. Crypto's total electric demand could jump a further 40% by 2026, and the US gov't said it'd start tracking crypto miners' energy use more closely. Recent research suggested that by 2027, AI servers could annually use as much electricity as Argentina. And by 2026, AI and crypto mining could double data-center energy use. |
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| A global problem… From deadly European heat waves to flooding in Dubai, experts say that failure to address the climate crisis could sap trillions each year from global GDP. Estimates put the price tag of a fix at $8T/year — every year for the next 25 years — in an Earth-size effort that would include overhauling energy grids and creating net-zero fuels. Government efforts… G20 countries including the US, China, India, and Germany are responsible for 80% of the world's emissions. In the States, it's estimated that 2022's Inflation Reduction Act could lead to $121B in green spending and another $235B in industry-boosting tax credits. In Australia, officials have passed legislation that set a net-zero emissions target by 2050. And in the EU, a human-rights court just ruled that member nations must protect citizens from the climate crisis. Corporate pledges… Mega techies including Google and Microsoft have pledged to be net-zero (or even net-negative) by 2030, and yesterday Apple said it had cut its emissions in half since 2015. Still, 40% of the world's top 1K companies haven't made a net-zero commitment. And of those that have, experts say, the #s sometimes don't add up (think: fuzzy climate accounting, greenwashing). Still, many corporates have determined that going green can save them green. Plus, scientists and startups are trying innovative ideas, including shooting reflective particles 60K feet in the air to cool the atmosphere and dumping thousands of gallons of chemicals into the ocean to lower its acidity. |
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- Earnings expected from American Express, Procter & Gamble, and Fifth Third Bancorp
- F1 Chinese Grand Prix weekend begins
- NBA playoffs start Saturday
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Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and shares of: Apple, Alphabet, GM, Microsoft, and Tesla |
*Advertiser's Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for RAD AI's Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.radintel.ai. Equity crowdfunding investments in private placements, and start-up investments in particular, are speculative and illiquid. They involve a high degree of risk and those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest in start-ups.
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