Exothermic is the leader in self-reliance brand marketing, but we like to share our wisdom with the world. Here are the top stories we’ve identified this week in our markets:

Survivalism

• In a sign of the times, Girl Scouts can now earn a cybersecurity badge, According to Girl Scouts CEO Sylvia Acevedo, the decision to add a cybersecurity badge was largely driven by the troops themselves. The executive told CNN that the Scouts were surveyed to determine which skills they were most interested in mastering.
• Alibaba’s Jack Ma – New technology ‘may cause the Third World War‘, “The first technology revolution caused World War I,” Ma told CNBC. “The second technology revolution caused World War II. This is the third technology revolution.”
• AT&T offers state governments its emergency LTE network, Local governments now have half a year to opt in or out of FirstNet’s and AT&T’s offerings.
• As urban agriculture gains followers in Idaho and beyond, some cities loosen codes, “When Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the U.S., is selling little chicken coops and chicken feed, that shows (urban homesteading) is a long-lasting trend,” said Gretchen Anderson of Eagle, a leader in the urban homesteading movement.
• Arizona so hot weather map almost runs out of colors, Arizona had an extreme heat wave taking place this week. The high temperature map nearly ran out of colors to depict it.
• Farmers Take Out Millions In Loans To Raise Chickens For Big-Box Retailers, Tim Mueller has raised corn and soybeans on 530 acres near Columbus, Neb., for decades, but now he is planning to take a huge gamble.
• Researchers can now desalinate seawater with the power of the Sun, A team of researchers from Rice University have developed a new technique that not only drastically reduces the amount of energy needed but can decouple the process from the power grid altogether.
• The Tick That Gives People Meat Allergies is Spreading, One bite from the lone star tick—which gets its name from the Texas-shaped splash of white on its back—is enough to reprogram your immune system to forever reject even the smallest nibble of perfectly crisped bacon.
• Death pools can bring financial security for the long-lived, Modern-day enthusiasts hope to revive an ancient financial instrument.

Sustainability

• We Could Soon Be Painting Our Houses with ‘Solar Paint’ for Clean Energy, The technology could be used alongside traditional solar panels and hit the market in five years.
• Obama’s Energy Secretary is starting a low-carbon energy think tank,
  Energy Futures Initiative will offer analysis to “policymakers, industry executives, and NGOs.”
• The Rise Of Wind Energy Raises Questions About Its Reliability, Unlike a coal plant, wind can fire up quickly to meet the demand for power. But when the wind isn’t blowing, grid operators have to find ways to adjust.
• U.S. gets 10 percent of energy from wind and solar for first time, The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that increased capacity of both types of renewable energy sources over the past year along with seasonal increases in wind and solar power were to thank for the new record.

  

• California Named US State With Worst Air Quality, Yet Again, The state of California has again been named by the American Lung Association as the US state with the worst air quality — mostly as a result of having the highest ozone/smog levels out of any state in the country, but also high particle pollution levels.
• Nevada Governor Kills Renewable Energy, Community Solar Bills With Deregulation Pending, Sandoval said adopting the legislation was “premature,” echoing concerns from the state’s powerful casino lobby group.
• Scientists Declare End to Global Coral Reef Bleaching Event, “About three-quarters of the world’s delicate coral reefs were damaged or killed by hot water in what scientists say was the largest coral catastrophe,” reports Phys.Org.
• U.N. Says World’s Population Will Reach 9.8 Billion By 2050, The document tallies the current population at 7.6 billion people, up from 7.4 billion just two years ago.

Self-Improvement

• Millennials are the most likely generation of Americans to use public libraries, A new analysis of Pew Research Center survey data from fall 2016 finds that 53% of Millennials (those ages 18 to 35 at the time) say they used a library or bookmobile in the previous 12 months. That compares with 45% of Gen Xers, 43% of Baby Boomers and 36% of those in the Silent Generation
• This New Meal Kit Delivery Service Isn’t For Tired Home Cooks–It Fights Hunger, The Fed40 program will deliver 40 days of a simple meal for free, to help the 13% of Americans who are unsure where their next meal might come from.
• Blue Apron and Delivery Hero price IPOs following Amazon’s big buy, Blue Apron updated its prospectus to price its IPO between $15 and $17 a share, which would translate to proceeds as high as $510 million. Berlin-based Delivery Hero, meanwhile, plans to raise as much as €996 million ($1.1 billion) in an offering priced between €22 and €22.5 a share.
• Meal-delivery startup Freshly raises $77 million in funding round led by Nestlé, As if you’re not tired of hearing about meal delivery services yet – Freshly announced a new Series C funding round.

  

• NASA Calls Bullshit on Goop’s $120 ‘Bio-Frequency Healing’ Sticker Packs [Updated], There’s no shortage of things to be mad about in late capitalism. Pretty high on the list, though, is the Eat, Pray, Love brand of pseudoscience promoted by Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop.
• Don’t Fall for the ‘Memory’ Pills Targeting Baby Boomers, “Prevagen is a dietary supplement that has been clinically shown to help with mild memory problems associated with aging,” its marketing materials say. The thing is, though, there’s no evidence the drug works.
• Scientists Can Erase Specific Memories From a Snail’s Brain, A new study of snail neurons suggests it’s possible to wipe out specific memories in snails, and scientists think that a drug could be developed to do the same with humans in the future.
• Study Finds Yoga Can Help Back Pain, But Keep It Gentle, With These Poses, If you’re tired of popping pain medicine for your lower back pain, yoga may be a good alternative.
• It’s Now Possible To Hack Someone’s Muscles, An experimental technology called Wired Muscle has profound implications in everything from sports to rehabilitation. It’s not without risks, though.
• Not-So-Zen At Headspace As Layoffs Hit The Company, As the beloved meditation startup pulls back on its marketing efforts, at least 13 staff positions are axed.
• BabelOn is trying to create Photoshop for your voice, One day, an app could translate your words into another language — in your own voice.