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☆ Thousands evacuated as ‘extremely aggressive’ wildfire burns in eastern Canada
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-13 | by ( Amanda Musa | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A wildfire burning in eastern Canada has scorched more than 24,000 acres and forced thousands to flee the Town of Labrador City, where at least one hospital has been closed, officials said Saturday. Around 9,500 people have been evacuated from Labrador City, Jeremy Reynolds, a spokesperson for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, told CNN Saturday. The Town of Labrador City, in the northwestern part of the province, is remote and sits about 900 miles north of Canada’s capital city of Ottawa. The fire is spreading just three miles northwest of Labrador City. The wildfire has also led to the temporary closure of Labrador West Health Centre, according to Furey.

Persons: Labrador Andrew Furey, Furey, Jeremy Reynolds Organizations: CNN, Government of, Residents, Labrador West Health Locations: Canada, Labrador City, Newfoundland, Labrador, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada’s, Ottawa, Happy, Labrador West, Wabush, Furey

☆ The Wild West carbon credit era might be coming to an end as sales hit record high
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Carbon credits have been through a tough time. But since then, the voluntary carbon market (VCM), where carbon credits are traded, has faced intense criticism for the actual emission reduction the credits provided. "So, definitely, it was a bumpy ride," said Allister Furey, cofounder and CEO of carbon credit rating and data provider Sylvera. In a vote of confidence from venture capitalists, January also saw carbon credit insurer CarbonPool secure $12 million, carbon credit investment platform Cultivo raise $14 million, and carbon project developers platform BlueLayer come out of stealth with $10 million. In all, it signals the start to the end of the carbon credit "wild west," Sylvera's Furey said.

Persons: couldn't, Verra's, Allister Furey, issuances, Mark Kenber, Sylvera's Furey, Lubomila Jordanava, Nathan Bonnisseau, Lubomila Jordanova, Magnus Drewelies, Ben Rubin Organizations: Business, Guardian, BI, Sylvera, Carbon Business

☆ Poll: Biden’s standing hits new lows amid Israel-Hamas war
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Mark Murray | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"Failed promises, student loans, foreign policy in general," said Democrat Zico Schell, 23, of San Diego, when asked why he disapproves of Biden's job performance. "This poll is a stunner, and it's stunning because of the impact the Israel-Hamas war is having on Biden," he said. According to the poll, 40% of registered voters approve of Biden's job performance, while 57% disapprove, representing Biden's all-time low in approval (and all-time high in disapproval) in the poll since becoming president. It's only a slight overall change from September, when Biden's approval rating was at 41% — which was then tied with his previous low in the poll. Biden's approval rating dropped to 31% among these voters.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Brendan SMIALOWSKI, BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, Joe Biden's, What's, Biden, Donald Trump, Israel, Meg Furey, Zico Schell, Jeff Horwitt, Bill McInturff, McInturff, Horwitt, It's Organizations: Economic Cooperation, APEC, Getty Images, —, NBC News, Biden, Democratic, Hart Research Associates, Republican Locations: Asia, Woodside , California, California, AFP, Israel, Gaza, Austin , Texas, San Diego, Biden's

☆ Moderation on a popular AI image generator can be easily circumvented to create images that drive conspiracy theories, new report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

For example, researchers said it's possible for users to use code words to create violent images of political figures. A new report shared with Bloomberg finds that users can easily circumvent filters on a popular AI image generator to create images that perpetuate misinformation. Midjourney, a generative AI platform, allows users to create images with certain guidelines. The terms also ban users from using the service to create images for political campaigns. He was caught in part because one of those campaign images featured a woman with three arms.

Persons: Midjourney, Hillary Clinton, John Podesta, Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump, Anthony Fauci, Anthony Furey Organizations: Bloomberg, Center, News, Toronto Locations: Washington

☆ Carbon data and credit rating startup Sylvera just raised $57 million as it heads to the US. Check out the 12-slide pitch deck it used to raise the fresh funds.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Climate tech startup Sylvera has just raised $57 million for its carbon data platform. Sylvera, a startup helping businesses invest in high quality carbon credits, has just raised a $57 million Series B round led by Europe's Balderton Capital. The London-based startup, founded in 2020, provides carbon data and carbon credit ratings in an effort to bring integrity to a market plagued with quality issues. One carbon credit represents 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide or equivalent that has been removed from or prevented from entering the atmosphere. As well as decarbonization, many companies look to compensate for their hard-to-abate or historic emissions, which is where carbon credits come in.

Persons: Sylvera, Furey, it's, Serge Kruppa, 9yards Organizations: Balderton Capital, Fidelity Strategic Ventures, Bain & Company, Europe's, McKinsey, Paris, Index Ventures, Insight Partners Locations: London, New York

☆ Election campaigns are already using AI with some degree of success. Experts are concerned it will usher in a new era of disinformation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Political campaigns are using AI to create election material, attack ads, and donation requests. —DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) June 5, 2023Campaigns, ranging from mayoral races to the 2024 presidential election, have already been using artificial intelligence to create election ads or outreach emails — with some reportedly seeing benefits in the tool. Beyond fake images, West wrote that artificial intelligence could also be used for "very precise audience targeting" to reach swing voters. During his first appearance before Congress in May, the CEO of OpenAI, which created ChatGPT, admitted his concerns about the use of artificial intelligence in elections as the tool advances. "This is a remarkable time to be working on artificial intelligence," he said.

Persons: —, Ron DeSantis's, Donald Trump, Anthony Fauci, ike, ake, ould Organizations: Service, National Institute of Allergy Locations: Florida

Companies Equinor ASA FollowBp Plc FollowWINNIPEG, Manitoba, May 31 (Reuters) - Norway's Equinor ASA (EQNR.OL) said on Wednesday that it will postpone its Bay du Nord Canadian offshore oil project for up to three years, due to rising costs. Ottawa backed Bay du Nord saying that it would produce relatively low emissions. "Bay du Nord is an important project for Equinor. "The (Bay du Nord) economics are positive but if you play around with costs and risk more, it's not going to be the best opportunity in their portfolio," he said. Bay du Nord would be so far from shore - 500 kilometers (311 miles) - that it falls in international waters.

Persons: Justin Trudeau's, ”, Trond Bokn, Equinor's, Equinor, Newfoundland & Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, it's, Mark Oberstoetter, Wood Mackenzie, Rod Nickel, Nia Williams, Marguerita Choy Organizations: ASA, Bp, Equinor ASA, Ottawa, Newfoundland & Labrador Premier, BP, Wood, Sierra Club Canada, Columbia, Thomson Locations: WINNIPEG , Manitoba, du Nord Canadian, Bay, Nord, Newfoundland, Norway, Brazil, Winnipeg , Manitoba

☆ Carbon-Credit Raters Aim to Assess a Notoriously Opaque Market
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Shane Shifflett | Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Carbon-credit-rating firms aim to give buyers confidence in assessing the unregulated market for carbon offsets, voluntary credits that can help companies fulfill their decarbonization promises. Traders, online marketplaces and corporate sustainability departments are typical customers for carbon-credit ratings, but companies increasingly encounter the scores through intermediaries selling the offsets. Sylvera Ltd., one of the carbon-credit raters, said that less than a third of projects aimed at preventing deforestation are high quality. The market for voluntary carbon credits topped $2 billion in 2022, according to publisher and researcher Ecosystem Marketplace. BeZero has fully rated around 280 projects, Calyx around 260, Sylvera around 115 and Renoster has fully reviewed nine.

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