Musical interlude

Counterpoint - While The Universe Unfolds

 

Saturday Afternoon Links

Assorted content for your weekend reading.

- Simon Mundy examines the growing recognition that the combination of solar power and batteries - both of which are plummeting in price - makes for a more reliable and efficient power supply than relying on fossil fuels. And Dan McCarthy zeroes in on the rapid installation of grid-scale batteries in particular. 

- Karl Nerenberg writes about Mark Carney's determination to subsidize dying industries rather than working toward a transition toward the energy sources of the future. And Jimmy Thomson calls out the Orwellian nature of the attempt to label export subsidies and emission deregulation as a climate policy. 

- Which isn't to say some windfall profits aren't being made while people are trapped in fossil fuel dependency. On that front, Amy Fan and Rebecca Elliott discuss the winners and losers of the oil price shock caused by Donald Trump's war of choice in Iran - with the U.S. and Russia emerging as the main profiteers. 

- Anna Bawden reports on an expert recommendation that the climate crisis be labeled and dealt with as a global public health emergency. 

- Finally, Charlie Warzel warns that the plan of AI carnival barkers is to overwhelm us so we can't resist reliance on it - even as he highlights the absurdity of its supposed benefits. And John Ainger reports on the sharp power price increases being inflicted on the public as AI data centres use far more energy than can manageably be spared. 

Thursday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Thursday reading.

- Carl Meyer explains how the Carney Libs are looking to push resource extraction at the expense of social and environmental realities to an extent beyond even the Harper Cons. And Corporate Europe Observatory criticizes the European Commission for likewise trashing needed regulations and subsidizing fossil fuels. 

- Meanwhile, Keith Brooks calls Mark Carney out for managing to turn even an electrification strategy into a means of prolonging fossil fuel dependency. And Alex Ballingall reports that after scrapping nearly every other means of limiting carbon pollution other than the industrial carbon price, Carney is now allowing Danielle Smith to undermine that.

- And in case anybody was under the illusion that there aren't superior alternatives to fossil fuels already available, Ben Feshbach, Ellie Garland and Julia Meisel highlight how the U.S. (like Canada) has immense geothermal power potential which is going unused due to the policy choice to favour dirty energy. 

- Elizabeth Elder and Neal O'Brien study the polarization of health outcomes in the U.S., as the anti-science ideology of Republicans is systematically resulting in shorter and sicker lives. And Joe Vipond, Dick Zoutman and Kashif Pirzada warn that the scattered response to the ongoing hantavirus outbreak signals that we've utterly failed to learn necessary lessons from previous contagions. 

- Finally, Maximillian Alvarez discusses how the wealthiest few are using their riches to try to untether us from reality. And Atrios rightly notes that in the case of Donald Trump and his ilk, the only responsible media response is to preface any coverage with a warning about their history of lying. 

Tuesday Night Cat Blogging

Paper-pushing cats.

Sunday Afternoon Links

This and that for your Sunday reading.

- Nicholas Kristof rightly characterizes the Trump/Musk demolition of US foreign aid as reflecting the world's wealthiest and most powerful men attacking the world's poorest children. And David Dayen points out the childishness of the thinking of the financiers gathered at the Milken Global Conference on Iran and other serious issues. 

- Ross Macfarlane discusses how to end silence on the urgency and importance of addressing the climate crisis. And Chris Rapley rightly argues that we should treat our living environment with no less respect than astronauts - who would never think to voluntary pollute or destroy the life support systems they rely on. 

- Jan Rosenow examines how Spain's shift to renewable energy has given it some of the lowest power prices in Europe. And Allan Olingo reports on the shift toward electric vehicles in Ethiopia and other African countries as the combination of improved EVs and fossil fuel shortages makes a transition inevitable.

- Finally, James Hannay points out that the forces seeking to let corporate-friendly market forces dictate the availability and affordability of food are no more beneficial for agricultural producers than for consumers. And Gustova Indart discusses some of the advantages of publicly-operated grocery stores as a means of meeting people's needs.