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PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
BP Criticized for Plan to Spend Billions More on Fossil Fuels Than Green Energy (Maria)
The author writes, “BP has been accused of prioritizing fossil fuels over green energy as it plans to spend as much as double the amount on oil and gas projects than on renewable investments next year. The FTSE 100 company has earmarked up to $7.5B for oil and gas projects, compared with a range of $3B to $5B for green energy. BP expects to increase spending on ‘resilient hydrocarbons’ — oil and gas, refining and bioenergy projects — by up to $1B in 2023. … BP has racked up bumper profits this year after a rise in wholesale gas prices, fuelled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Trump’s Legal Team Better Be Able to Get Him to Plead Insanity at Trial, A Harvard Law Professor Says (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “A Harvard law professor suggested that former President Donald Trump’s legal team should get him to plead insanity if he goes on trial. In a tweet on Sunday, the professor, Laurence Tribe, an expert on constitutional law, commented on Trump’s video message to the House select committee on January 6, 2021. ‘If this is the “defense” at Trump’s forthcoming trial, I don’t envy the lawyers who agree to represent him,’ Tribe tweeted.”
Pennsylvania Politics Are Heated. It Soon Could Be Utter Chaos (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “The state House is a mess, with each side claiming they are in the majority and Republicans potentially passing amendments after Democrats won more seats.”
Ukraine War: Five Ways Conflict Could Go in 2023 (Sean)
From the BBC: “The conflict in Ukraine is about to enter its second calendar year. We asked several military analysts how they think events on the ground will unfold in 2023. Could it conclude in the coming year and how — on the battlefield or at the negotiating table? Or might it grind on to 2024?”
The Year TikTok Made the Multiverse Real (And Murdered the Newsfeed in the Process) (Russ)
From Vanity Fair: “Over the past year, one platform in particular has morphed from a savvy contender for online attention into a fearsome force rewiring the rules of the internet itself. In our search for the next feed, TikTok has now come unnervingly close to delivering the product that the original Web 2.0 visionaries only dreamed of: unlimited, fully customized content tailored to passive consumption, without the bothersome searching or following or liking or hearting or profile dressing. And it’s changing everything.”
For Planet Earth, This Might Be the Start of a New Age (Mili)
From The New York Times: “The official timeline of Earth’s history — from the oldest rocks to the dinosaurs to the rise of primates, from the Paleozoic to the Jurassic and all points before and since — could soon include the age of nuclear weapons, human-caused climate change and the proliferation of plastics, garbage and concrete across the planet. In short, the present. Ten thousand years after our species began forming primitive agrarian societies, a panel of scientists on Saturday took a big step toward declaring a new interval of geologic time: the Anthropocene, the age of humans.”
This Is What Might Happen if an Asteroid Crashed Into Your Town (Dana)
The author writes, “If an asteroid made of pure gold, with a diameter of 2,600 feet and blasting at 77,000 miles per hour, came in at an angle of 48 degrees and hit New York City’s Upper East Side, aka around where I live, I unfortunately now know what would happen. Myself and 6,363,353 people would be vaporized within the space rock’s resulting crater, a massive chasm over half a mile deep. The shard would release more energy than the last volcanic eruption of Yellowstone, a colossal disaster that, thousands of years ago, spewed ash, magma and debris far enough to cover most of the continental United States. Or at least that’s what I learned from an asteroid simulation website this afternoon while sipping on a cup of coffee.”
