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Fears AI Will Speed Up Climate Change ‘’Overstated’: Report (Maria)
The author writes, “While plenty of fossil fuels will power data centers, a big new report argues that fears about AI speeding up climate change ‘appear overstated.’ Weighing AI’s electricity thirst against ways it can help cut emissions is a wild card in the global energy and carbon future. The International Energy Agency just dropped a detailed analysis of the AI-energy-climate nexus. … IEA doesn’t really see AI as a climate devil or savior.”
The US Ends Lifesaving Food Aid for Millions. The World Food Program Calls it a ‘Death Sentence’ (Laura)
From the Associated Press: “The Trump administration has ended funding to UN World Food Program emergency programs helping keep millions alive in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and 11 other impoverished countries, many of them struggling with conflict, according to the organization and officials who spoke to The Associated Press. The World Food Program, the largest provider of food aid, appealed to the US to roll back the new cuts in a social media post Monday. The unexpected round of contract cancellations has targeted some of the last remaining humanitarian programs run by the US Agency for International Development, according to two US officials, a United Nations official and documents obtained by the AP.”
‘Every Fraction of a Degree Matters’: Why Climate Action Needs a New Narrative (Sean)
The author writes, “Scientists say droughts, floods and storms will get more severe past the 1.5°C global warming limit. Vulnerable communities worldwide are already reeling from climate disasters, such as floods in 2022 that killed over 1,700 people in Pakistan, to record heatwaves in the 40-50°C range across Asia last year. Generally, the 1.5°C limit refers to temperature averages that occur longer than a year, and the world still has marginal leeway according to decadal metrics. Beyond stepping harder on the emissions reduction brakes, some sustainability professionals say a broader framing of climate targets and action could be more relatable and effective in driving action.”
WA College Students’ Visas Revoked With No Notice by Trump Administration (Reader Steve)
From The Seattle Times: “The Washington students are among hundreds across the US who were stripped of their legal status and ordered by the Department of Homeland Security to leave the country, according to universities and media reports. The universities did not provide details about the students, such as their home countries, citing federal student privacy laws. Some students have been targeted over pro-Palestinian activism or past criminal convictions, though others said they were unaware of the reasons they had been targeted.”
The Last Days at Voice of America (Sean)
The author writes, “VOA’s final broadcast went out; its website was updated one last time. For the first time since its creation, in 1942, to combat Nazi propaganda, VOA went silent. As a press freedom reporter, I’ve spent the past few years constantly interacting with groups like the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders. But this time, it was my editor, Jessica Jerreat, and I who reached out to sound the alarm. I wasn’t acting in an official capacity — in fact, I had been ordered not to work — but I felt I had to do something. Dozens of VOA staffers in Washington are on J-1 visas, and if they lose them, they may have to return to countries whose governments have a record of jailing critics. Two VOA contributors are imprisoned in Myanmar and Vietnam, and I didn’t want them to be forgotten.”
Elon Musk’s DOGE Is Getting Audited (Laryn)
From Wired: “Over the last few months, DOGE operatives, many of them with connections to Musk’s companies but little to no government experience, have infiltrated dozens of federal agencies as part of Musk’s plan to push out tens of thousands of government employees. They have also gained initial access to untold amounts of sensitive data, from Treasury payment systems to tax records, and appear to be attempting to connect purposefully disparate data systems. While a number of Democratic officials have sounded the alarm on DOGE’s activities, this audit is one of the first real signs of possible accountability and oversight. The GAO’s review is expected to be completed by the end of spring, according to records reviewed by WIRED. Congressional sources say it will yield a report that will be made public.”
Titanic Scan Reveals Ground-Breaking Details of Ship’s Final Hours (Dana)
The authors write, “The exact 3D replica shows the violence of how the ship ripped in two as it sank after hitting an iceberg in 1912 — 1,500 people lost their lives in the disaster. The scan provides a new view of a boiler room, confirming eye-witness accounts that engineers worked right to the end to keep the ship’s lights on. And a computer simulation also suggests that punctures in the hull the size of A4 pieces of paper led to the ship’s demise.”
