The heading is a bit optimistic, but… this is an interesting future to think about.
Originally shared by Danie van der Merwe
No More War, Pestilence, & Poverty: How Renewable Energy Will Alter The Global Geopolitical Calculus – A democratization of energy supply is underway
Oil reserves are not distributed equality around the world. Some countries have them, others don’t. Over the past century or so, humanity’s unquenchable thirst for oil has led to wars over who should have access to it — from Japan’s quest for oil to power its nascent economy prior to World War II to the US-led wars in Kuwait and Iraq designed to ensure America an adequate supply of liquid gold.
At the ninth annual conference of the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi last week, outgoing IRENA director-general Adnan Z Amin spelt out how renewable energy is thriving and what that will mean for the nations of the world.
The work was funded by the governments of Norway, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates, says PV Magazine. “When put together, a fascinating new geopolitical reality … is emerging in front of us,” said Grimsson. The report came to four main conclusions.
1. The high penetration of renewables will result in a new geopolitical map, marking a departure from a century dominated by fossil fuels
2. The new order will feature “enhanced leadership” from China
3. The changeover to renewables will offer many nations increased energy independence
4. A democratization of energy supply is underway.
Along with the democratization of energy thanks to renewables, the report envisions greater cooperation among nations as they find new ways to share the new found bounty of unlimited energy that is all around us, just waiting to be harvested.
We may well still see wars over water in the future but even abundant energy generation could mean cheaper options to desalinate seawater for example. Some countries are seeing where the future lies (especially those without oil) and are taking a lead in the renewables space.
As a practitioner of positive SFF (mostly noblebright fantasy) myself, I’m always pleased to see more of it, even though most of what I’ve read so far has tended to be disappointing as fiction. Full of expository lumps; sometimes not actually a vision of a better world; flat characters who are mainly viewpoint cameras; and not much plot per thousand words are among the failings I’ve seen in “solarpunk” and similar attempts at positive SF.
Let’s hope this new series doesn’t fall into those traps.
Here’s a radical proposal (similar to some from David Brin): put all public camera footage into a data repository, allow anyone to search it, but record that they did so – and make that information publicly available as well.
I can see downsides the article doesn’t mention (criminals will know where there are camera blind spots, for example). But the upsides are certainly interesting.
Originally shared by Singularity Hub
Big Brother Nation: The Case for Ubiquitous, Open-Sourced Surveillance in Smart Cities
Of interest for my secondary-world trams and pneumatic tubeways.
Originally shared by HACKADAY
What keeps the NYC subway from crashing trains using early 1900’s #electronics tech?
The year is 1894. You are designing a train system for a large city. Your boss informs you that the mayor’s office wants assurances that trains can’t have wrecks. The system will start small, but it is going to get big and complex over time with tracks…
❝ 1. In NYT’s Race/Related newsletter this week, I quote neuroscientist @NathanASmith1. He wondered how many scientists privately share Nobelist Jim Watson’s view that blacks are less intelligent than whites. I didn’t have space for the full story behind his quote. But here it is:
2. Shared with @NathanASmith1’s permission: “I will never forget something that happened to me during my first postdoc… [MORE]
3. “I remember emailing a really big guy in the field of neuroscience to discuss an issue I noticed in his transgenic mice. He didn’t know what I looked like but over the phone he thought I was white. So we finally met up at a Gordon Conference MORE
4. “and he was shocked that I was black. He said ‘I thought you were white.’ He kept repeating it and the other PIs in the vicinity of the conversation walked off. MORE
5. “I pulled him to the side and informed him everything he was saying was offensive but he was just so flabbergasted that I was not white that I doubt what I was saying was registering. MORE
6. “He said ‘this is impossible. Were you adopted, what do your parents do for work? The African American who worked for me does not talk like you.’ MORE
7. “This is why I strongly believe we need to address this issue. For Watson to say that it was ok for him to say this in private just makes me think back to my experience and how internal biases will hinder the diversification of science. MORE
8. “Once that guy saw that I was black he then assumed I was completely wrong about his mice.’’ MORE
9. Dr. Smith’s personal story, which I’m grateful to him for allowing me to share, relates to a lot of the convos I’m seeing/ hearing about my Watson reporting.
James Watson Had a Chance to Salvage His Reputation on Race. He Made Things Worse.
The Nobel-winning biologist has drawn global criticism with unfounded pronouncements on genetics, race and intelligence. He still thinks he’s right, a new documentary finds.
10. When my story ran, a number of scientists said I shouldn’t have reported on Watson resurfacing the views for which he’d once apologized. Hard to wrap my head around that but, paraphrasing: “scientists already know this & the public doesn’t need to.’’
11. Many also dismissed the idea raised in my story that, had biomedical research managed to train and hire more black scientists over the last half-century, Watson’s views on intelligence would have been tempered by what was in front of his own eyes.
12. But here’s a stat from my story deserving more attention: only 1.5% of @nih grant applicants are black. These grants are the main source of biomedical research funding -it’s only because so few occupy positions where they CAN apply that the # is so low diversity.nih.gov/building-evide…
13. And here’s a stat from the General Social Survey that continues to shock me: 23% of whites in America think whites are more intelligent than blacks.
Survey says 23% of Whites think Whites are more intelligent than Blacks
The assessment that Whites are more intelligent than Blacks is more common among male, older, less formally educated, and conservative Whites.
14. I interviewed four black scientists for this story. It’s a small sample size. But all of them said they felt Watson’s comments were a) all too relevant to their lives in science today and b) representation is not the solution to racist attitudes, but makes a difference.
15. I’ve interviewed a lot of biologists over the last year, every one of whom was deeply concerned about racism in America, and the extent to which science was being misused to help fuel it. Many were trying to combat it. I’m not casting aspersions on the field.
16. But I am saying, a) it’s too easy to dismiss Watson as an anomalous crank, because the view he holds is embarrassingly common b) it fuels discrimination everywhere including science c) if reporting on Watson brings out stories like @NathanASmith1’s, that’s good enough for me.
17. I’m thinking a lot about those neuroscientists who overheard a senior member of their field making a junior black scientist uncomfortable at a fancy conference and walked away.
18. Here’s a link to the Race/Related newsletter signup page. It collects NYT reporting on race in one place once a week with a short, often personal commentary from the great @laurettaland. Highly recommend. ❞