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☆ Ocean water is rushing miles underneath the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ with potentially dire impacts on sea level rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica — nicknamed the “Doomsday Glacier” because its collapse could cause catastrophic sea level rise — is the world’s widest glacier and roughly the size of Florida. Thwaites, which already contributes 4% to global sea level rise, holds enough ice to raise sea levels by more than 2 feet. “This process of widespread, enormous seawater intrusion will increase the projections of sea level rise from Antarctica,” he added. Sea ice around Rothera Point, on Adelaide Island to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula. The researchers also used climate models to predict the potential speed of recovery from such extreme sea ice loss and found that even after two decades, not all the ice will return.

Persons: West Antarctica —, It’s, Thwaites, glaciologists —, Irvine —, ”, Eric Rignot, Finland’s, Rignot, Ted Scambos, it’s, James Smith, Noel Gourmelen, Gourmelen, Steve Gibbs, ” Louise Sime Organizations: CNN, National Academy of Sciences, Global, University of California, UC Irvine, University of Colorado, British Antarctic Survey, University of Edinburgh, BAS Locations: West Antarctica, Florida, Irvine, Antarctica, University of Colorado Boulder, Thwaites, Rothera, Adelaide

☆ World’s biggest waste-to-energy facility will power more than 100,000 homes
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Ana De Oliva | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Much of it ends up at a plant operated by the Warsan Waste Management Company. “Around 45% percent of Dubai’s total waste comes to this facility,” says Tim Clarke, the company’s CEO. Operational since March of this year, the Warsan plant will use 2 million metric tons of trash annually to produce electricity, enough to power approximately 135,000 homes, according to the company. However, since the plant produces power, replacing the burning of fossil fuels, Warsan Waste Management believes the overall result is positive. But some environmental groups, such as Zero Waste Europe, argue that burning waste to generate electricity discourages efforts to cut waste and initiatives to increase recycling.

Persons: ”, Tim Clarke, Clarke, “, Bryan Staley, Staley Organizations: Dubai CNN, CNN, Warsan Waste Management Company, “, United Nations Environment, Waste Management, Energy, Research, Education Foundation Locations: Dubai, Europe, Japan, China, UAE

☆ Scientists uncover ‘striking’ ancient arachnid that had large spiky legs
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The idea of coming face to face with a spider-like creature unexpectedly is enough to fill any arachnophobe with horror, let alone encountering one with large, spiky legs. The newly discovered long-extinct species is described as a “large spider-like arachnid” with “distinctive large spines on the legs” by the study’s authors. They were unable to place the creature within any known arachnid order due to the specimen’s lack of mouthparts, which scientists use to classify them. “You see sort of spiny legs in some arachnids, but we’ve never seen one that really has these big spines all the way along, at least the first parts of the legs. Scientists think the spiny legs were for defensive purposes.

Persons: we’ve, ” Dr, Jason Dunlop, Naturkunde, “, Bob Masek, David Douglass, Paul Selden, Dunlop, you’ve, ”, ” Dunlop, Douglass Organizations: CNN, Paleontology, Field Locations: what’s, Illinois, Masek, North America, Northern Europe, Europe

☆ The world faces a shortage of minerals needed for the energy transition
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —The world is facing a shortage of the minerals needed to make the electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels, and other clean energy technologies essential to ending its reliance on fossil fuels. The world is on track meet only 70% of global copper demand and 50% of lithium demand by 2035, the agency added. Prices for some critical minerals have returned to their lower pre-pandemic levels, the IEA noted, with those needed to make batteries falling particularly sharply. However, “today’s well-supplied market may not be a good guide for the future, as demand for critical minerals continues to rise,” it added. Concentration risksConcentration of critical minerals production in a small number of countries increases the risk of shortages, the agency warned.

Persons: Fatih Birol, “ Organizations: London CNN, International Energy Agency, Investment, IEA, ” Locations: Paris, China

☆ CNBC's Inside India newsletter: What's next for India's regulators?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

People stand in front of a Reserve Bank of India logo at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, India, 5 September, 2023. Instead, there's been a flurry of activity this month at a number of regulators across India's financial system. That frightened bank investors and immediately knocked off more than 3% from the India Nifty PSU Bank index. "RBI has been tightening the screws," Rajeev Agrawal, hedge fund manager and managing partner at DoorDarshi India Fund, told CNBC's Inside India. We also had hedge fund manager Andrew Holland, who spoke on India's infrastructure projects and the outlook for the country's economy.

Persons: Niharika Kulkarni, there's, Nirmala Sitharaman, SEBI, Rajeev Agrawal, Agrawal, Shailendra Singh, India's, they've, Dinesh Kumar Khara, Andrew Holland, Sri Jegarajah Organizations: Reserve Bank of, Global, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Reserve Bank of India, Futures Industry Association, Bombay Stock Exchange, Reuters, India Nifty, DoorDarshi India Fund, Peak XV Partners, Sequoia Capital, CNBC, CNBC Pro, U.S ., State Bank of India, U.S . Federal Reserve, Center Locations: Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai, India, Sequoia, Sequoia Capital India, Southeast Asia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Sri, Japan, Indian, Chennai

☆ Did dinosaur blood run hot or cold? Both, according to a new study
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Were dinosaurs warm-blooded like birds and mammals or cold-blooded like reptiles? Clues from dinosaur eggshells and bones have suggested that some dinosaurs were warm-blooded and others were not. These dinosaurs may have evolved endothermy, or the ability to internally generate body heat, according to the study. “Warm-blooded animals are generally more active, for example, cold-blooded animals usually don’t build nests,” said lead study author Dr. Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Royal Society Newton International Fellow at University College London’s department of Earth sciences. Her 2022 study suggested that ornithischians were more likely cold-blooded and sauropods were warm-blooded.

Persons: Big John, Sarah Meyssonnier, ornithischians, ”, Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza, Brontosaurus, ” Chiarenza, “, Jasmina, ” Wiemann, Chiarenza, Anthony Fiorillo, ” Fiorillo, wasn’t Organizations: CNN, Royal Society Newton International, University College London’s, Field, UCL, Universidade de, New, New Mexico Museum, Southern Methodist University Locations: Paris, Chicago, Spain, New Mexico, Dallas

☆ A deadly heat wave worsened Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. It was fueled by climate change, new data shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The WWA report divided the heat waves into three areas: West Asia, the Philippines and a region spanning South and Southeast Asia. However, the impact of climate change there was greater, increasing temperatures by about 1.2 degrees. Climate change also played a pronounced role in this region, according to the analysis, making the heat 45 times more likely and 0.85 degrees Celsius hotter. “Many cities have seen extreme losses of green space,” Pereira said, increasing the impacts of extreme heat on residents. If not, she added, “extreme heat will lead to even greater suffering in Asia.”

Persons: Jehad, ” Friederike Otto, El, Idrees Mohammed, Otto said, ” Otto, Carolina Pereira Marghidan, ” Pereira, ”, Mariam Zachariah Organizations: CNN, WWA, Getty, Grantham Institute, Climate, Environment Locations: Gaza, West Asia, Philippines, South, Southeast Asia, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Rafah, Anadolu, Delhi, Manila, Asia, West, Raipur, India, AFP, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, , Bangladesh, Thailand

☆ Ancient trees unlock an alarming new insight into our warming world
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

And it’s an alarming signal as some scientists warn 2024 is on track to be be even hotter still. Under the Paris Agreement in 2015, countries agreed to restrict global warming to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Using data taken from temperature instruments during this period, the scientists found the Northern Hemisphere summer in 2023 was 2.07 degrees Celsius warmer than the pre-industrial period. To do this, they used detailed sets of tree ring records from thousands of trees across nine regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including North America and Scandinavia, but excluding the Tropics which lack good tree data. While the study can place the extraordinary Northern Hemisphere heat into historical context, it cannot be applied on a global scale, Esper said.

Persons: Bruna Casas, don’t, Richard A, Brooks, Jan Esper, ”, Kim Cobb, Esper, “ I’m, Laura Paddison Organizations: CNN, Northern, Central America, Getty, Johannes Gutenberg University, Brown University, Southern Hemisphere Locations: Paris, Northern, North America, Scandinavia, Europe, Central, Barcelona, Spain, Tokyo, AFP, Germany

☆ Fossil Catches Starfish Cousin in the Act of Cloning Itself
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Jack Tamisiea | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Some brittle stars give an arm and a leg (and still another appendage) to reproduce. This process, known as clonal fragmentation, is practiced by almost 50 species of existing brittle stars and their starfish relatives. However, scientists have found it difficult to determine when brittle stars, a gangly group of echinoderms, started reproducing this way. A recently discovered fossil from Germany pushes the origin of cloning sea stars back more than 150 million years. The specimen, he added, shows that “clonal fragmentation is actually much older than people previously thought.”

Persons: ”, Ben Thuy Organizations: Royal Society, National Museum of Locations: Germany, Luxembourg

☆ China and India still rely heavily on coal, climate targets remain 'very difficult' to achieve
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | In Charmainemariajacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China and India have not reduced coal generation for electricity, according to a new study, making it harder for Asia's largest carbon emitters to reach their climate targets. While both Asian countries have ambitious plans to cut emissions, heavy reliance on coal — the dirtiest fossil fuel — continues to be the most reliable and affordable way of meet rising electricity demand. The highest increases came from China (+319 TWh) and India (+100 TWh), the study showed. According to the IEA, coal remains the biggest energy source for electricity generation, supplying more than one-third of global electricity. "It will be very difficult to meet targets without a rapid face down in coal.

Persons: Francis Johnson Organizations: Global, Stockholm Environment Institute's Asia Locations: China, India, Stockholm

☆ Summer 2023 Was the Northern Hemisphere’s Hottest in 2,000 Years, Study Finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Delger Erdenesanaa | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The summer of 2023 was exceptionally hot. Scientists have already established that it was the warmest Northern Hemisphere summer since around 1850, when people started systematically measuring and recording temperatures. Now, researchers say it was the hottest in 2,000 years, according to a new study published in the journal Nature that compares 2023 with a longer temperature record across most of the Northern Hemisphere. The study goes back before the advent of thermometers and weather stations, to the year A.D. 1, using evidence from tree rings. “That gives us the full picture of natural climate variability,” said Jan Esper, a climatologist at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany and lead author of the paper.

Persons: ”, Jan Esper, El Niño Organizations: Northern Hemisphere, Johannes Gutenberg University Locations: Mainz, Germany

☆ Solugen: 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Over the past century, major chemicals companies like BASF, Dow and LyondellBasell have maximized a global manufacturing process that is derived from fossil fuels. Sparked by a chance medical school poker game conversation in 2016, Solugen evolved from prototype to physical asset in five years, and production hit commercial scale shortly thereafter. "Solugen is the first synthetic biology company with a demonstrated ability to scale both their sales and their own manufacturing," an investor told CNBC at the time of the 2021 deal. The Bioforge, as its manufacturing platform is known, is designed to minimize the massive environmental toll of traditional chemical manufacturing, and in a perfect world, result in carbon-neutral if not carbon-negative emissions. Bioforge 1, its Houston-based site, is a zero discharge facility without air or wastewater emissions.

Persons: Solugen, Baillie Gifford Organizations: BASF, Dow, CNBC Locations: Houston

Smarter grids, like Chattanooga's, are just part of what it will take to modernize the American grid in the coming decades. A troubled transition to renewable energyOffshore wind farms are one of the growing areas of renewable energy. And the Edwards & Sanborn project, the US's largest solar energy and energy storage project in California, came online in January. Renewable energy is not only cleaner than fossil fuels but also often less expensive. Breaking down barriersThe US grid isn't designed for fluctuating renewable energy, so much of it goes to waste because clean-energy projects can't connect to the grid.

Persons: Kevin Schneider, Harris, Joe Rand, Joshua Rhodes, barleyman, Edwards, Rand, Philip Odonkor, Seib, headwinds, Julia Bovey, Ørsted, Bovey, Paul Denholm, We'll, Denholm, There's, PATRICK T, FALLON, we're, Schneider, We've, EPB, MISO, it's Organizations: Infrastructure, Service, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Nationwide, Biden, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of Texas, Renewables, Sanborn, of Systems, Enterprises, Stevens Institute of Technology, Trump, Fork, Eversource Energy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Getty, Infrastructure Law Locations: Chattanooga , Tennessee, Chattanooga, EPB, Austin, Maine, North Carolina, California, United States

☆ Trump asked top oil execs for $1 billion campaign cash in exchange for environmental policy rollbacks, report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The transactional campaign promise indicates what a second Trump presidency would mean for the White House's environmental agenda. Pornsak Na Nakorn/EyeEm/GettyWhile Biden has positioned the climate crisis as an existential threat and championed aggressive environmental regulations, Trump has dismissed it as a hoax and systematically dismantled environmental protections during his tenure. Related storiesSince taking office in 2021, Biden has swiftly reversed many of Trump's environmental actions, including blocking future oil drilling in the Alaskan Arctic. However, despite oil industry grievances over Biden's policies, the US has experienced record oil production, leading to substantial profits for major energy companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron, said The Post. As the campaign trail heats up, Trump's message to the oil industry remains clear: support him, and he'll deliver on their demands.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Joe, Trump, Getty, Biden, BI's Benji Jones, he'll Organizations: Service, Lago Club, The Washington Post, Business, Democratic, Post, Keystone XL, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Trump, Fox News, Iowa Locations: Gulf of Mexico

☆ Opinion | What Donald Trump Would Do for $1 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Not to spend too much time writing about Donald Trump this week, but I was struck by this report in The Washington Post on the former president’s recent overtures to oil executives. After hearing one executive during an event last month at his Mar-a-Lago club complain about supposedly burdensome environmental regulations promulgated by the Biden administration, Trump made a proposition. You all are wealthy enough, he said, that you should raise $1 billion to return me to the White House. His hotel, located just down the street from the White House, was a clearinghouse for anyone who wanted to buy a favor. And six months after leaving the White House, Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from a fund led by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

Persons: Donald Trump, Biden, Trump, ” Trump, I’m, Trump’s, Tweed, Roscoe Conkling, Jared Kushner Organizations: The Washington Post, White Locations: The, Gulf of Mexico, Saudi Arabia

☆ Beethoven’s hair reveals lead poisoning
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” is one of the first songs I learned to play on the violin. While his doctor’s notes were lost to time, scientists sequenced Beethoven’s genome from locks of his hair last year. Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesA new analysis of Beethoven’s hair has shown the composer experienced lead poisoning toward the end of his life. Tests revealed incredibly elevated levels of lead, as well as arsenic and mercury, in two of his locks, likely from drinking wine that was sweetened with lead. Researchers don’t believe lead poisoning would have been enough to kill him, but it could have contributed to the composer’s well-known gastrointestinal issues and deafness.

Persons: CNN — Ludwig van Beethoven’s, Joy ”, I’ll, Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, don’t, ”, William Meredith, Umm Jirsan, Lady Elliot, Rebecca Wright, Kate Quigley, “ We’re, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Symphony, Hulton, “, Arabia, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Minderoo, Energy, CNN Space, Science Locations: Alabama, Saudi Arabia, Umm Jirsan, Lady, Australia

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18, 2024. On Friday, advanced nuclear fission company Oklo, for which Sam Altman serves as chairman, started trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Oklo's business model is based on commercializing nuclear fission, the reaction that fuels all nuclear power plants. "I don't see a way for us to get there without nuclear," Altman told CNBC in 2023. It's not Altman's only foray into nuclear energy or other infrastructure that could power large-scale AI growth.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Oklo, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Jacob DeWitte, hasn't, we've, DeWitte, It's, Helion, OpenAI Organizations: Economic, New York Stock Exchange, AltC, U.S . Air Force, Microsoft, Amazon, CNBC, U.S . Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, DeWitte, Nvidia Locations: Davos, Switzerland, Idaho, OpenAI's San Francisco, U.S, Saudi Aramco, Rain

☆ California Will Add a Fixed Charge to Electric Bills and Reduce Rates
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Ivan Penn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Utility regulators in California on Thursday changed how most residents will pay for energy by adding a new fixed monthly charge and lowering the rates that apply to energy use. Officials said the shift would reduce monthly bills for millions of residents and support the use of electric vehicles and appliances that run on electricity, rather than fossil fuels. The decision by the California Public Utilities Commission will apply to the rates charged by investor-owned utilities, which provide power to about 70 percent of the state. Starting next year, most customers of those companies will be required to pay a $24.15 monthly charge. California’s residential electric rates, which averaged 31.2 cents per kilowatt-hour in February, are the highest in the country after Hawaii, where rates were about 44 cents, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.

Organizations: California Public Utilities Commission, Regulators, Energy Information Administration Locations: California, Hawaii

Officials are urging those who have been rescued from the floods not to return to their homes. Carlos Fabal/AFP/Getty ImagesA horse was found stranded on a rooftop in a flooded area in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul on Wednesday, May 8. It had been stuck on the roof for four days surrounded by flood water in the municipality of Canoas in the Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul. Agencia Brasil, the sate-run news agency, has reported the rescue of more than 2,000 animals since the floods impacted Rio Grande du Sol, including dogs, cats, chickens, and pigs. Cars are surrounded by flooded streets after heavy rain in Canoas, in Rio Grande do Sul state, on May 9, 2024.

Persons: INMET, Katiane Mello, James Vargas, Carlos Fabal, –, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, El Niño, Carlos Macedo, Adriano Machado Organizations: CNN, Getty, Globo, Agencia Brasil, AP Brazilian Air Force Soldiers, Brasilia Air Force Base, Reuters Locations: Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Uruguay, Porto Alegre, Eldorado do Sul, AFP, Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul, Paulo’s, Canoas, Rio Grande, Sol, Pacific, Reuters Rio Grande do Sul

☆ Energy CEO said he canceled a $100M contract with Neom when he realized the Saudis were bulldozing villages to make space
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Malcolm Aw said he pulled out of a Neom contract because of alleged Saudi human rights abuses. AdvertisementA green energy founder pulled out of a $100 million Neom contract after he realized that the Saudis were bulldozing villages to make way for the megacity. AdvertisementHowever, satellite images analyzed by the BBC showed three villages, including schools and hospitals, were destroyed to make way for Neom. Aw's company uses solar energy for desalination, while most desalination plants burn fossil fuels and have been found to pollute oceans. "You know, we have the technology to solve the [green energy] problem that people are complaining about today.

Persons: Malcolm Aw, —, Neom, Mohammed bin Salman's, Aw, Col Rabih Alenezi, Abdul Rahim al, Aw Boon Haw, Fatima al, Shawarbi, there's Organizations: Solar Water, Service, Solar, Saudi, BBC News, BBC, Neom, UN, BI, Bloomberg Locations: Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Qatar, Neom

☆ Brazil floods: More intense rain expected as death toll reaches 107
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Michael Rios | Vasco Cotovio | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —More heavy rain is expected to pummel Brazil, as the South American nation grapples with the deadly fallout of last week’s extreme weather, which submerged whole neighborhoods. The heavy rains and floods have killed at least 107 people in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul since last week, the state’s civil defense agency said Thursday morning. Officials are urging those who have been rescued from the floods not to return to their homes, warning that more rain is in the forecast. “It is important to highlight that the predicted volumes of rain may cause new disruptions in areas already affected previously,” a statement from INMET read. The record rainfall hitting the region has been linked to El Niño, a natural climate phenomenon that warms waters in the Pacific and tends to bring heavy rainfall to southern Brazil.

Persons: INMET, El Niño, Elon Musk Organizations: CNN, SpaceX Locations: Brazil, American, Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Pacific, Uruguay

☆ The Tiny Nation at the Vanguard of Mining the Ocean Floor
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Pete Mckenzie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two ships arrived in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific in March of last year. One was a familiar sight: a massive cruise ship, bringing hundreds of tourists to the pristine shores of this nation of 15,000 people. To Mr. Brown, the cruise ship represented his country’s troubling dependence on tourism. He described the other vessel, owned by an international mining company, as a harbinger of incredible wealth. The Cook Islands is at the vanguard of a quest to mine the ocean floor for minerals used in electric car batteries.

Persons: Mark Brown, Brown Organizations: South Pacific Locations: Cook, South

☆ Massive Fossil Donation Helps Brazil’s National Museum Rise From the Ashes
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Michael Greshko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On the night of Sept. 2, 2018, a fire swept through the National Museum of Brazil, devastating the country’s oldest scientific institution and one of South America’s biggest and most important museums. On Tuesday, the museum announced that it received a major donation of ancient Brazilian fossils to help rebuild its collection ahead of a scheduled 2026 reopening. Burkhard Pohl, a Swiss-German collector and entrepreneur who maintains one of the world’s largest private fossil collections, has handed over to the National Museum about 1,100 specimens, all of which originated in Brazil. “The most important thing is to show to the world, in Brazil and outside Brazil, that we are uniting private people and public institutions,” Alexander Kellner, the National Museum’s director, said. “We want others to follow this example, if possible, to help us with this really herculean task.”

Persons: Burkhard Pohl, ” Alexander Kellner, “ Organizations: National Museum of, South America’s, National Museum, National Locations: National Museum of Brazil, South, Swiss, Brazil

☆ The world's largest fans designed to suck carbon from the air are up and running in Iceland
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Climeworks' direct-air-capture plant can remove up to 36,000 metric tons of carbon from the air a year. AdvertisementThe startup Climeworks this week switched on the largest direct-air-capture plant, which pulls carbon dioxide from the sky and locks it away underground. Climateworks' Mammoth plant also cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build, though the company didn't disclose the exact amount. AdvertisementClimeworks aims to become large enough to remove 1 million metric tons of carbon a year by 2030 and 1 billion metric tons by 2050 — or a megaton and gigaton. The two plants could remove more than 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the air each year.

Persons: Climeworks, —, it's, JPMorgan Chase, Jan Wurzbacher, Wurzbacher Organizations: Service, UN, Carbon Project, Microsoft, Swiss, JPMorgan, US Department of Energy, Occidental Petroleum Locations: Mammoth, Iceland, Paris, Canada, Norway, Oman, Kenya, Louisiana, West Texas

☆ Google CEO responds to 'woke AI' criticisms after Gemini debacle: 'We got it wrong'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Ana Altchek | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Google's CEO said "We got it wrong" in response to Gemini's AI debacle. Google has temporarily disabled Gemini's ability to generate images of people. AdvertisementGoogle's CEO reflected in a new interview on the company's Gemini AI image-generation debacle earlier this year, a controversy that drew backlash. Google CEO Sundar Pichai told Bloomberg in an interview published Wednesday that "we got it wrong" and it was a case in which good intentions went awry. Following criticism of the issue, Google paused Gemini from generating AI images of people while it corrected the changes.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, —, Pichai, should've, chatbot, Gemini Organizations: Google, Service, Bloomberg

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