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The World’s Biggest Polluter, China, Is Ramping Up Renewables (Maria)
The author writes, “China’s National Development and Reform Commission announced [last week] that the country would be investing in major renewable energy projects — developing new offshore wind farms and large scale clean energy bases that combine solar and wind farms. It’s the latest move by the country, both a leader in renewable energy and the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, to make inroads in the green energy transition. China’s renewable energy dominance has been a long time coming, experts say.”
What Trump Is Stealing From You. Part 1 (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “While most Americans have been watching their retirement savings shrink, wealthy players have been profiting from the disastrous market under Trump.”
‘Trump Is the Real Thing’ (Al)
From The New York Times: “With Donald Trump back in the White House, each new week produces an onslaught of radical policy initiatives. In an essay posted on Substack, Stephen I. Vladeck, a law professor at Georgetown, described a sequence — running from Feb. 21 to Feb. 27 — of what are, in effect, warnings designed to intimidate and even silence the nation’s legal community.”
‘Little Agency That Could’ Cheered for Act of Resistance Against Trump and Musk (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “Members of Elon Musk’s so-called ‘department of government efficiency’ (Doge) unit were barred from entering a small, independent federal agency promoting economic development in Africa on Wednesday after a tense standoff with staff they had been sent to fire. Workers at the US African Development Foundation (USADF), which Donald Trump has ordered to be closed, refused to allow Doge operatives to enter after they arrived at its Washington headquarters on Wednesday afternoon. But the Doge team returned on Thursday. … This time, they were able to gain access to the building, the official said, and no staff was present.”
Medical Schools Are Changing Treatments and Training to Respond to the Warming Climate (Laura)
From Inside Climate News: “As global warming spreads pests, diseases and toxins, new programs are developing to help medical professionals look at their patients’ health, lifestyles and treatments through a climate lens.”
From Crisis to Comeback: The Aral Sea’s Recovery (Dana)
From The Better: “The Aral Sea was once one of the largest lakes in the world. But within just a few decades, human actions nearly dried it up. The surrounding regions in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have faced drought, soil salinization, and severe sandstorms. However, in recent years, international cooperation has given the Aral Sea a second chance. Large-scale water redirection, resilient vegetation, and a dam are driving the Aral Sea recovery.”
Black Hole the Size of 36 Billion Suns Could Lie at the Heart of Cosmic Horseshoe (Sean)
The author writes, “In 2007, astronomers discovered the Cosmic Horseshoe, a gravitationally lensed system of galaxies about five-and-a-half billion light-years away. The foreground galaxy’s mass magnifies and distorts the image of a distant background galaxy whose light has travelled for billions of years before reaching us. The foreground and background galaxies are in such perfect alignment that they create an Einstein Ring. New research into the Cosmic Horseshoe reveals the presence of an Ultra-Massive Black Hole (UMBH) in the foreground galaxy with a staggering 36 billion solar masses.”
