Users of the internet can ignore its physical underpinnings. But for technologies like artificial intelligence and the metaverse to work, others need to pay attention, argues Abby Bertics
Financial Times (January 17, 2024) – In a year in which more than half the world goes to the polls, acclaimed novelist Margaret Atwood asks whether democracy is fragile and easily destroyed or flexible and resilient.
This animated monologue is the first of four films examining the state of government, representation, rights and freedom.
The Economist (January 11, 2024) – Guam, an island in the northern Pacific, is just 48km long and has a population of about 170,000. So why is it so important to America’s strategy to defend Taiwan from a potential Chinese invasion?
Video timeline: 00:00 – Where is Guam? 00:13 – Why is it so important? 01:00 – What makes it vulnerable?
The Economist SPECIAL REPORTS (January 12, 2024): The latest issue is focused on ‘Philanthropy’ – Move fast and mend things. Charitable organizations are hoping to get money to the needy faster….
They are hoping to get money to the needy faster, says Avantika Chilkoti
A nudge is not always enough to force change within an industry. Sometimes a series of forceful shoves is required. In the rarified world of Western philanthropy, the shoves began in 2020. The covid-19 pandemic, protests for racial justice across America that summer and the outflow of refugees from Ukraine starting in early 2022 created a new urgency around charitable giving and revealed failings in how it worked. Donors began to consider how they could disburse money faster and with more impact.
CNBC (January 8, 2024) – CNBC Marathon explores the economics of waste management and how the United States is solving its trash problem. In 2019, the North American waste management market reached $208 billion.
Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:48 How Trash Makes Money In The U.S. (Published July 2021) 15:59 How Amazon, American Airlines And Subaru Burn Waste To Make Energy (Published May 2022) 32:24 How To Clean Up The World’s Most Polluted Rivers (Published August 2022) 46:16 Where Do EV Batteries Go When They Die? (Published March 2023)
Thanks to advancements in modern chemistry and support from municipal governments, landfills have seen astonishing financial success in recent years. Burning waste to make energy is a $10 billion industry in the U.S., and the fastest growing part of the business is waste from big companies like Amazon, Subaru, Quest Diagnostics and American Airlines.
They’re part of a growing corporate movement toward “zero landfill” as pressure mounts to reach sustainability requirements. It’s estimated that every year, millions of tons of plastic enter the ocean through rivers, and as global waste generation increases, the problem is poised to worsen.
But a host of companies from Baltimore, Maryland to Bengaluru, India are working on the issue, developing novel methods to capture trash from rivers before it reaches the ocean. Dozens of electric vehicles are scheduled to debut in the next few years and over 300 million electric vehicles are expected to be on the world’s roads by 2030.
The lifetime for an EV battery is estimated to be 12 to 15 years in moderate climates, but that doesn’t mean the batteries end up in landfills when they die.
The Wall Street Journal (January 5, 2024) – Iran-backed groups connect to form a land bridge across the Middle East and form an alliance that Tehran calls the ‘Axis of Resistance.’ This land bridge can be used to transport equipment and personnel, but also allows for positions in Iraq and Syria to attack U.S. interests or threaten Israel closer to its borders.
Video timeline: 0:00 ‘Axis of Resistance’ 0:37 Iran’s allies 1:44 Iran’s history 3:22 U.S. in the Middle East 4:14 Attacks since Oct. 7
WSJ explains what to know about the alliance that includes Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
The Economist (December 28, 2023) – What are the stories set to shape 2024? From the biggest election year in history, to how to control AI and even taxis that fly, The Economist offers its annual look at the world ahead.
Video timeline: 00:00 – The World Ahead 2024 00:33 – Vital votes 03:34 – Taxis take off 07:10 – AI rules 10:19 – Industry cleans up? 13:48 – BRICS build
Brightline, a private company that completed the final phase of the intercity rail line connecting Miami and Orlando, Fla., this year, secured the U.S. Department of Transportation grant as part of the historic infrastructure package, Nevada’s U.S. senators said. The rest of the funds for the $12-billion project are expected to be raised through private capital and bonds.
The trip on the 218-mile electrified line from Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas will take just over two hours, with stops in Hesperia or Apple Valley, according to Brightline. The trains can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour. The company already has the federal permits, the labor agreements and the land — a swath in the wide median of Interstate 15 — to build the line. Construction is expected to begin early next year.
Foreign Affairs (December 13, 2023): The new January/February 2024 issue features ‘The Self-Doubting Superpower’ – America shouldn’t give up on the World It Made; The Middle East Remade; Why Israel Slept; Hamas’s Advantage, and more….
Most Americans think their country is in decline. In 2018, when the Pew Research Center asked Americans how they felt their country would perform in 2050, 54 percent of respondents agreed that the U.S. economy would be weaker. An even larger number, 60 percent, agreed that the United States would be less important in the world. This should not be surprising; the political atmosphere has been pervaded for some time by a sense that the country is headed in the wrong direction. According to a long-running Gallup poll, the share of Americans who are “satisfied” with the way things are going has not crossed 50 percent in 20 years. It currently stands at 20 percent.
In a barbaric surprise attack launched by Hamas on October 7, more Jews were slaughtered than on any day since the Holocaust. Thousands of elite Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip infiltrated small communities and cities in southern Israel, where they proceeded to commit sadistic, repulsive crimes against humanity, filming their vile deeds and boasting about them to friends and family back home.
Wall Street Journal (December 6, 2023) – To help counter China, the U.S. military is racing to develop a fleet of next-generation drones. For the Pentagon, it’s not just a matter of gaining the technological edge.
Video timeline: 0:00 Autonomous systems 0:40 The need for next-generation drones 1:49 Scaling up 4:07 Keeping up with China
It’s a race against the clock, as Beijing has militarized islands in the South China Sea, and President Xi Jinping has ordered his military to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Some experts are skeptical the U.S. military can work fast enough to meet its goals.
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