BBC (October 15)
“Silicon Valley is on the hunt for new sources of power to drive enormous data centres and in particular, the high-power chips that have become the backbone of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.” Nuclear power is capturing Increasing attention, especially small modular reactors (SMRs), which “sound like the perfect solution to the growing energy AI demand.” Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. The SMRs being discussed would only produce a small fraction of AI’s needs. Moreover, SMRs generate more nuclear “waste than larger conventional reactors.” Nevertheless, “big tech is making a big bet on nuclear – Microsoft has even recently joined the industry’s lobbying group, the World Nuclear Association.”
Tags: AI, Chips, Conventional reactors, Data centers, Lobbying, Microsoft, Nuclear power, Power, Silicon Valley, SMRs, Solution, Sources, Waste
Wall Street Journal (January 24)
“The financial industry has spotted an opportunity to make money by helping people feel good about themselves. Despite claims to the contrary, these investments don’t do much to make the world a better place…. The explosion of ESG investing… is mostly—but not completely—a waste of time.”
Tags: Better place, Claims, ESG investing, Feel good, Financial industry, Investments, Money, Opportunity, Waste, World
The Times (October 19)
“The pandemic has laid waste to high streets, costing thousands of jobs in the process.” A recent PWC study starkly illustrates the observation that “shop closures soared at a record rate in the first half of the year as coronavirus lockdowns hit the high street.” During that period, “Britain lost 6,001 more chain stores than it gained in the first half, up from a loss of 3,509 in the same period last year.”
Tags: Britain, Closures, Coronavirus, High streets, Jobs, Lockdowns, Pandemic, PwC, Shops, Stores, Waste
Ethical Corporation (June Issue)
“The fate of our plastic-clogged oceans is no longer top of mind in the face of the more immediate threat of a killer disease, leading to mountains of waste from millions of discarded face masks and gloves and other personal protective equipment.” Coupled with plunging oil prices that dramatically lowers prices, “the battle against single-use plastic finds itself in the teeth of a perfect storm.”
Tags: Discarded, Disease, Face masks, Fate, Gloves, Immediate threat, Oceans, Oil prices, Plastic, PPE, Waste
LA Times (July 26)
“Washington’s biggest problem isn’t gridlock or wasted dollars—it’s men…. Men tried to pass a bill that only 13% of Americans supported, contributing to the (true) perception that the majority of Congress does not give a damn about what ordinary citizens think.” Their errant attempts were initially thwarted women who stood up for their beliefs, something they continue to do “even in the face of massive dissent” and political strong-arming.
Tags: Beliefs, Citizens, Congress, Dissent, Gridlock, Men, Strong-arming, Support, Washington, Waste
Bloomberg (November 1)
“China should dethrone its GDP target.” While many expect the Government to lower its GDP target to around 6.5% in the coming five-year plan, it would be better to scrap the target altogether. “The government should do all it can to promote rapid sustainable growth— but now that China is a semicapitalist economy, what that number turns out to be is beyond official control.” Suggesting otherwise, ultimately undercuts Government’s authority with wasteful local investment and data fudging. “Scrapping the GDP target outright would be best.”
Tags: Authority, China, Data fudging, Economy, GDP, Government, Growth, Investment, Official control, Semicapitalist, Target, Waste
The Independent (August 30)
The second generation of biofuels may be drawing near. By using enzymes that allow elephants to digest “sugars which normally remain locked up in the cellulose structure of plant cells,” Swiss researchers were able to “convert 90 per cent of bio-mass, such as maize stalks or wheat straw, into ethanol—about double the rate until now.” This second generation technology would make it possible to “to mass-produce eco-friendly gasoline for the first time without relying on food crops.”
The second generation of biofuels may be drawing near. By using enzymes that allow elephants to digest “sugars which normally remain locked up in the cellulose structure of plant cells,” Swiss researchers were able to “convert 90 per cent of bio-mass, such as maize stalks or wheat straw, into ethanol—about double the rate until now.” This second generation technology would make it possible to “to mass-produce eco-friendly gasoline for the first time without relying on food crops.”
Tags: Biofuel, Food crops, Gasoline, Switzerland, Waste
