An article examines AI's energy consumption challenges, arguing that more efficient chips alone cannot address the broader environmental impacts of artificial intelligence, including electricity use, water consumption, and material extraction required for chip production.
Activists in Oakland are organizing opposition to a proposed data center development by Behring Companies, viewing it as an economic and environmental threat. The campaign, led by groups including the Party for Socialism and Liberation, seeks a temporary moratorium and permanent ban on data centers, while proponents argue such projects could boost the city's struggling economy.
The Environmental Protection Network is an organization of over 800 former EPA staff and appointees that provides objective analysis and scientific expertise to advance environmental policies, address climate change and environmental injustices, and support underrepresented communities in EPA workforce development.
NJ.com journalists investigated a potential cancer cluster in Keyport, New Jersey, discovering 485 cases near a shuttered landfill that leaked toxic waste for fifty years. The newsroom commissioned its own cancer incidence study showing residents near the site are 15 percent more likely to have cancer, prompting the state environmental agency to launch an investigation.
An opinion piece argues that AI systems, despite appearing useful, cause significant environmental, intellectual, and human harm through massive energy consumption, erosion of deep learning and expertise, and job displacement, urging resistance across all professions.
Jared Diamond discusses with Tyler Cowen whether any leaders in human history were truly irreplaceable, arguing that over long timescales no individual leader has made a lasting difference. They debate cases like Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and Genghis Khan, with Diamond suggesting environmental and climatic factors often matter more than individual agency in determining historical outcomes.