The Daily Valet. - 2/19/21, Friday

✔️ A Good News, Bad News Situation

February 19, 2021

Friday, February 19th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

The Perseverance rover is sending data from Mars, and my wifi doesn’t reach my bathroom.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

The Texas Crisis Continues

As electricity was restored to most Texans, the state is now dealing with serious water issues and the threat of more extreme weather

After days of living in the dark in crude conditions, power began to flicker back on across much of Texas on Thursday, bringing some relief amid the arctic blast that brought the state’s infrastructure to its knees.

About 350,000 remained without power, according PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages across the country. Still a lot, but down significantly from the 4 million that were powerless just 48 hours ago.

But now, millions across the state confronted another dire crisis: a shortage of drinkable water as pipes cracked, wells froze and water treatment plants were knocked offline, reports the New York Times.

More than 800 public water systems had been disrupted as of Thursday, affecting 13.1 million people. That means boiling the tap water that trickled through faucets, scouring stores for bottled water or boiling icicles and snow on the stove. Statewide, water pressure has fallen drastically because of frozen lines, Toby Baker, executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality told NPR.

What’s more, the National Weather Service had winter storm warnings in effect in Texas from San Antonio west to the U.S.-Mexico border. Starting on the other side of the state, an unbroken band of warnings also extended for hundreds of miles through northern Louisiana and up the East Coast.

If you’re fortunate enough to have running water and heat right now, one of the best ways to help those suffering is by donating money to organizations that will directly help those in need in Texas by providing food, water, warming stations and more. The Strategist has a helpful list, all of which have been vetted by Texas residents and activists in the know.

↦ A different storm: How Senator Ted Cruz’s ill-fated, last-minute Cancun vacation blew up from Twitter rumor to major scandal.

NASA’s Mars Rover Touches Down

A big win for America, and maybe humanity

Having blasted off in July on a 293-million-mile journey to the Red Planet, the Perseverance rover finally touched down on Mars Thursday.

NASA engineers watched nervously as Perseverance autonomously plowed into the Martian atmosphere at speeds reaching 12,100 mph and performing the high-wire act dubbed by engineers as the “seven minutes of terror”—the entry, descent and landing phases of the mission—making a beeline to touch down in a hazard-laden crater. (The drama was made all the more stressful by the 11-minute lag in communications between the planets.)

“I'm safe on Mars,” the rover announced on Twitter upon its arrival. “Perseverance will get you anywhere.” Our rover joins two other missions from Earth: The Hope orbiter from the United Arab Emirates Space Agency which arrived on Feb. 9 and has been orbiting the planet examining its atmosphere. And China's Tianwen-1 combination orbiter/rover that entered orbit on Feb. 10, and will remain there before descending to the surface in May.

Now that the red dust has settled, the rover will seek signs of ancient life in a location known as Jezero Crater that is widely believed to have been home to an ancient riverbed. According to Intelligencer, if life once existed on Mars, the microbe evidence would be here. The rover will attempt to capture humanity's first cache of Martian soil samples in airtight lipstick-size containers, which could return back to Earth as early as 2031.

↦ Meanwhile: For All Mankind, Apple TV+'s alternative history space show, returns for its anticipated second season today.

Raising the Steaks

Behold the 3D-printed, cruelty-free rib-eye steak

Juicy sirloin steaks hot off a 3D printer are on the menu this year as the booming faux meat market bids to lure even die hard carnivores.

Israel's Redefine Meat is targeting steak houses and other restaurants with its 3-D bio-printed beef cuts, reports Bloomberg. The startup has just raised $29 million in funding to build a large-scale pilot factory and begin sales later this year.

According to the New York Post, Israel's food science industry has pioneered the lab meat industry as of late, with food science companies such as Aleph—who also recently grew meat in space—as well as Future Meat Technologies developing cruelty-free alternatives within the nation's borders.

The process of printing meat may begin with plant-based ingredients, or, in the case of Aleph's steak, real bovine cells that have been cloned and cultivated in a lab setting. Not surprisingly, traditional animal agriculture has pushed back against plant-based meat—claiming common nomenclature was confusing to consumers, which has resulted in a flurry of litigation around labeling. It's not clear whether the USDA will approve cell-based products to be labeled as “meat.”

↦ FYI: Americans eat more than 50 billion burgers a year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Scientists Clone the First U.S. Endangered Species

A “bold step forward” for conservation efforts

A team of collaborators from San Diego Zoo Global, ViaGen Pets AND Equine, the Fish and Wildlife service and a biotech conservation group called Revive and Restore have collaborated to successfully clone the first U.S. endangered species: a black-footed ferret duplicated from the genes of an animal that died over 30 years ago.

Just look at her! The adorable yet still-wild weasel, announced Thursday, is named Elizabeth Ann, and was born on Dec. 10. The species has been listed as endangered since 1967, and is North America's only native ferret.

Cloning eventually could bring back extinct species. For now, the technique holds promise for helping endangered species including a Mongolian wild horse that was cloned last summer.

“Biotechnology and genomic data can really make a difference on the ground with conservation efforts,” Ben Novak, lead scientist with Revive & Restore told the Associated Press. Oliver Ryder, San Diego Zoo's director of conservation genetics, told National Geographic, “broadening the gene pool seems like a tremendous opportunity to help assure the long-term sustainability of the species.”

↦ FYI: A loss of habitat and prey are the biggest threats to this ferret species, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

In Other News

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Recycling

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Your Weekend Pairing

Minari + a Seoul Mule Cocktail

After Minari's show of force at the SAGs, everything's coming up roses for the Korean-immigrant drama: The film just debuted in “virtual cinemas” boasting glowing reviews, several Critics Choice nominations, and two spots on the Oscar shortlists.

A sweeping story about grit and resilience, Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to an Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. But the family dynamic changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother.

↦ Your Pairing:What else should you sip while watching this film than a Seoul Mule? This irreverent adaptation from Nomageddon is a twist on the classic Moscow Mule—using ginger infused soju instead of vodka. It also incorporates yuzu juice, from the Asian citrus fruit that tastes tart like a grapefruit but sweet like an orange.

What We’re Buying

Not quite jeans, but also not quite a classic athleisure pant either. Lululemon's ABC pant offers all-day comfort with the technical benefits of a high-stretch fabric. Inspired by the timeless details of your favorite 5-pocket jeans, you'll be getting the most comfortable pant in the game for half-off. I'd recommend grabbing a pair in both colors, but that's your call.

↦ Get It $128 / $59 at Lululemon