New climate map shows 12 locations that can save the Earth
Plus: The first in a revealing series on the history of Shang-Chi.
Southern China. Madagascar. Central America. The Caribbean.
These are only a few of the locations on the planet that could help slow or even reverse climate change.
They are high-priority zones that must be conserved just as they are, say climate scientists in a new scientific analysis published in the journal Nature.
It’s the subject of a new story by Inverse nature writer Tara Yarlagadda, who spoke to the scientists behind the data that informed this world-saving map.
I’m Nick Lucchesi, and this is Inverse Daily. Tell a friend to subscribe using this link. Keep reading for more on that map story, plus more, in this Friday dispatch.
This is an adapted version of the Inverse Daily newsletter for Friday, August 27, 2021. Subscribe for free and earn rewards for reading every day in your inbox. ✉️
The hero Shang-Chi, as imagined for Inverse by artist Isip Xin.
How Marvel's Shang-Chi had to "destroy" its own racist origins — In the first of a three-part series ahead of the release of Marvel’s Shang-Chi movie, senior staff writer Eric Francisco writes how the villain in the upcoming movie (it’s out September 3) is based on a wildly racist stereotype from more than 100 years ago — Fu Manchu. Here’s "Yellow Peril" got started and how Marvel had to update its villain:
You could say the Marvel Cinematic Universe happened because of Fu Manchu.
The villain who kidnapped Tony Stark, the Mandarin, was unseen in 2008’s Iron Man, the movie that kicked off the genre-defining Marvel Cinematic Universe. But the origins of the MCU supervillain begin even decades before his 1964 comic book debut.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which opens September 3, 2021, features a composite Mandarin blended with pulp fiction villain Dr. Fu Manchu, a mad scientist and mystic created in 1913 by British novelist Sax Rohmer. Marvel licensed Fu Manchu to be Shang-Chi’s evil father in the cult comic book series Master of Kung Fu in 1973.
Asian Americans now have the power to remake the villain.
Go deeper:
- Shang-Chi review: Marvel's kung fu epic is a triumphant knockout!
- Does Shang-Chi have a post-credits scene? Here’s what you need to know.
- Shang-Chi writer: “America can be a very different country for different people”
A map of the highest priority areas for biodiversity, water, and carbon conservation.
Map: 12 places could be the key to saving the planet — Nature writer Tara Yarlagadda interviewed scientists who created a map of the highest-priority areas of the world for biodiversity, clean water, and carbon storage:
Some days, it just feels like the world is ending. Between a global biodiversity crisis causing the “unprecedented” decline of nature and a climate crisis sparking ever more extreme weather events, we are entering into an era where the future of planet Earth is increasingly in peril.
But as sobering as the data around the environmental degradation may seem, scientists still say there is hope to conserve Earth’s wildlife and save our planet from the climate crisis, according to this map published Tuesday in the journal Nature.
Go deeper:
- UN climate report: 3 big findings you need to know ASAP
- Ancient ice filled with viruses may reveal the future of Earth’s microbiome
- Satellite images reveal a climate crisis nightmare in Siberia
The toxic workplace at Activision Blizzard (the brand responsible for Call of Duty, Doom, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and more) has been on full display in the weeks since the state of California filed suit against it.
Trans employees of Activision Blizzard speak out — At video game giant Activision Blizzard, LGBTQ+ employees say they experienced a toxic work environment and were forced into the closet. Staff writer Dais Johnston heard their stories:
“I never really felt like it was a safe place, to begin with.”
Alex* worked on the Community team at Blizzard, the popular video game development company, for over four years. In all that time, they never came out as nonbinary to their coworkers. It was all too clear that Blizzard wasn’t the place for LGBTQ+ people to be open about or advocate for themselves or their identities.
“I remember several coworkers complaining about the ‘SJW’ and the ‘Alphabet people.’ How we only wanted attention,” Alex tells Inverse. They say those colleagues also griped that “trans people just want to be special.”
The toxic workplace at Activision Blizzard (the brand responsible for Call of Duty, Doom, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and more) has been on full display in the weeks since July 21, when the state of California filed suit against it. The allegations are sobering: constant sexual harassment, unequal pay, and workplace retaliation.
Go deeper:
- Jacksepticeye calls out “Chad energy” in Activision and wider gaming culture
- Activision Blizzard lawsuit: There's only one way to fix this toxic industry
- Nearly a thousand Activision Blizzard employees slam its response to harassment suit (The Verge)
2021 PH27’s unstable orbit takes it closer to the Sun than Mercury, and it won’t be visible from Earth again until early 2022.
This asteroid can unlock Solar System secrets — The asteroid 2021 PH27 was first spotted on August 13. It's speeding on a lopsided orbit past Mercury and Venus -- the fastest asteroid in the Solar System. Card story editor Jenn Walter has put together a dynamic, visual explainer:
Our Solar System is home to over one million asteroids. Some have predictable orbits, moving elliptically around a planet. Others behave more erratically. Take 2021 PH27, for example:
Read the full story and see the gallery.
Related asteroid reporting:
- Lucy: NASA mission goals, October launch date, and Beatles Easter egg
- A volatile element may explain a weird asteroid and a glorious meteor shower
- Why the asteroid Bennu has a minuscule chance of hitting Earth — NASA
That’s it for this Friday edition of Inverse Daily. Look out for our weekend edition on Saturday and Sunday Scaries this Sunday.
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