Friday Morning Links

Assorted content to end your week.

- Natalie Alms reports that Elon Musk's attempt to manufacture a fraud scandal at the Social Security Administration has failed miserably - except to the extent his real goal was to undermine service levels for people entitled to benefits. Andrew Buncombe reports that the activities being arbitrarily slashed by DOGE include the cleanup of nuclear waste. And Joshua Kaplan, Brett Murphy, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski report on the U.S. government's use of diplomatic pressure and funding cuts to get African countries to hand both money and control over vital infrastructure to Musk's Starlink. 

- Josh Toussaint-Strauss et al. examine how PFAs have come to be ubiqitous in our bodies and our living environment, while CBC maps out where they're most concentrated in Canada. And Tobi Thomas reports on new research showing that early exposure to air pollution has lasting health consequences. 

- Alyssa Sinclair et al. compare the effectiveness of different motivational strategies, and find that a focus on future impacts rather than present-day accounting is more effective in spurring people to action. Katie Surman reports on the Union of Concerned Scientists' latest study documenting how dirty energy companies have misled the public about the long-known dangers of climate change. 

- Jonathan Ames reports on a warning that homebuyers (and the professionals who advise them) are at risk if they don't consider climate impacts on property use and value. Lauri Myllyvirta reports on a new analysis showing that China has lowered carbon pollution in the context of economic growth by shifting toward clean energy. The Guardian's editorial board writes about the need for environmental standards (including using solar panels and heat pumps) in new housing construction, while Alison Takemura notes that carbon-free construction is particularly important in rebuilding from climate disasters such as wildfires. And Andrew Lawrence notes that contrary to its billing as apocalypse-proof, the Cybertruck has proven unable to hold up even under normal use. 

- Izzy Romily writes about the value of low-traffic neighbourhoods in creating healthier communities. Abdul Matin Sarfraz calls out Doug Ford for pouring massive amounts of public money into increasing gridlock while eliminating healthier alternatives to single-vehicle traffic. And Hilary Beaumont notes that the climate breakdown is resulting in the collapse of ice roads, making remote communities even less accessible than they previously were. 

- Finally, Charlie Angus points out that the Alberta separatists being treated as the most important people in the world by both the UCP government and the corporate media are bound up in a history of racism and bigotry. And CTV News reports that even the corporate bigwigs who benefit from an angry and distracted public are making clear they have no appetite to support the destruction of Canada.