Do you really need four copies of the same album?

Hi friend,

I’m back on Taylor Swift’s case this week, partly because a reader accused me of giving her a pass on her lavish lifestyle as long as she uses her fame and influence to tell people not to eat meat.

Not quite what I was getting at, but also, I can’t control how people interpret this newsletter.

What I was getting at is that Taylor holds the power to convince a LOT of people (especially impressionable young people) to change their behaviours, regardless of how she lives her life.

We can’t stop her from jet-setting all over the place, but we can expect more from her considering her ability to whip the world into a frenzy with a single Instagram post. She could probably convince millions of people to reduce their plastic consumption or to have Meat Free Mondays simply by sharing a photo of her salad with dressing on the side.

But does she? No.

Instead, she releases her latest album on FOUR different-coloured vinyl editions, each with a different bonus track to incentivise fans to buy all four.

And this is why Taylor Swift is back on my shit list this week.

It’s not the first time she’s done this. Her Midnights album also came in four different vinyl variants, and although they had the same track list, the backs of each album had a quarter of a clock face, which when put together made a complete clock.

But that’s not all. Fans could also buy a separate “clock kit” to make a functioning and usable clock.

It’s ludicrous and unnecessary.

Taylor is not the first artist to produce different vinyl editions for a single album.

The Rolling Stones released 40+ variants of Hackney Diamonds with different coloured LPs and artwork. The difference? They all had the same track list. Fans are unlikely to buy 40 copies of the same album just because the artwork is different.

Billie Eilish did it, too. Her album Happier Than Ever was also released in four vinyl variants, but they were made from recycled vinyl wrapped in a material made from sugar cane.

But instead of more people speaking out against this excessive overconsumption, Taylor is being praised for reviving the vinyl industry.

In 2023, the “modern queen of vinyl” was responsible for 7% of all vinyl albums sold in the US, sending sales to their highest level in more than 30 years. She’s already broken that, erm, record. In the week of its release, 859,000 vinyl copies of The Tortured Poets Department were sold.

But it’s not just the vinyl. I don’t know many Gen Zers that have a turntable lying around. And on and on the cycle of consumption goes.

Taylor Swift strikes me as a competitive and driven type. She’s not going to stop now. Not when she and Jay Z are tied for second place for the most No. 1 albums of all time—second only to The Beatles. I have no doubt that she’ll accept this challenge and that we can expect more excessiveness from her in the future.

Or maybe she’ll surprise us.

Until then, don’t fall for the hype. Nobody needs four copies of the same vinyl album.

— Tarryn ✌️

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The good news

🇦🇺 Australia has unveiled its equivalent of the US’s Inflation Reduction Act. The Future Made in Australia Act aims to attract international investment to drive the development of clean energy projects. 

👏 US President Joe Biden has extended federal protections across millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness, blocking oil, gas, and mining operations in some of the most unspoilt land in the country. Biden has also denied a permit for an industrial road that the state of Alaska had wanted to build through the Arctic National Park to reach a large copper deposit.

😷 The Environmental Protection Agency has approved a regulation that requires coal plants in the US to reduce greenhouse pollution by 90% by 2039, one year earlier than initially proposed. We can expect massive pushback from coal companies.

🧑🏻‍🚒 The American Climate Corps is now open for job applications. The White House has already listed 273 jobs in everything from solar panel installation and home weather-proofing to coastal conservation and forest management. The US plans to open 2,000 positions to fight climate change.

❌ New legislation aimed at stopping the sale and distribution of Styrofoam products and single-use plastic cutlery went into effect in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the European Parliament approved a proposed law that would ban certain single-use plastic packaging, like mini shampoo bottles in hotels and thin plastic bags for groceries. The law still needs formal approval from EU countries.

💸 The US will unveil tougher standards meant to drive greater integrity for carbon markets — a bid to ensure the trading regimes drive real emission reductions and not just greenwashing. Meanwhile, indigenous activists have called for an end to carbon markets, citing detrimental effects on native communities and describing them as harmful and ineffective tools to stop climate change.

The bad news

😔 In the biggest study of its kind, research has found evidence that climate change impacts on Indigenous peoples and local communities are tangible, widespread, and affect multiple elements of their ecosystems. Researchers advocate for integrating local knowledge into climate research and policies to enhance adaptation strategies.

🌊 Ocean waves crashing on the world’s shores emit more forever chemicals, or PFAS, into the air than the world’s industrial polluters. A new study measured levels of PFAS released from the bubbles that burst when waves crash, spraying aerosols into the air. It found sea spray levels were hundreds of thousands of times higher than levels in the water. The chemicals can travel thousands of kilometres through the atmosphere before returning to land.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland has missed most of its recent annual climate targets, prompting a reevaluation of its goals. The country will no longer pursue its 2030 goal of a 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, although it aims to achieve net zero by 2045.

🌀 Wild weather:

• 🌊 Record rains caused massive flooding in China, forcing 110,000 people to evacuate their homes.

• 🌪️ Tornado kills 5 in Guangzhou, China.

• 🌪️ Tornado kills 4 in Oklahoma and flattens numerous towns.

• 🌡️ Europe is warming faster than any other continent globally. Average temperatures have risen to 2.3°C above pre-industrial levels, almost double the global increase.

• 🌧️ Torrential rain and flooding forces the closure of stock markets and banks in Mauritius.

• 🥵 Temperatures reach record highs in parts of southern Taiwan.

• 🌧️ Rain, floods, and landslides kill over 200 people in East Africa.

Business news

💀 The concept of “climate homicide” is gaining attention in law schools across the US. A Harvard Environmental Law Review paper argues that fossil fuel companies have been “killing members of the public at an accelerating rate” and that oil companies could be taken to court for every kind of homicide in the US, short of first-degree murder. The paper suggests the fact that oil giants were aware that their pollution could have lethal consequences fits within the definition of homicide.

👎 56 multinationals are responsible for more than half of the world’s plastic pollution, with six responsible for a quarter of that. The biggest culprits were Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Danone, Nestle, and tobacco companies, Altria and Philip Morris International.

💰 Companies that fail to respond in a proactive way to climate threats lose market value. Combining textual analysis of earnings calls with financial and patent data from firms, researchers found that markets reward companies that take a proactive approach to addressing climate risks, while those facing high transition risks tend to be valued less by investors. 

One small thing you can do

Don’t buy all four vinyl editions of Taylor Swift’s new album.

Better yet, don’t buy any if you don’t already have a turntable. You can’t lug one of those around with you everywhere you go.

Download the album to your phone and save your money.

Because lots of little actions combined can add up to something remarkable.

I'll leave you on this happy note...

Parrots talking to their babies ❤️

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