Leben (Life aka misc)
America’s Most Exciting High Speed Rail Project Gets $3 Billion Grant From Feds
A high-speed train from the greater Los Angeles area to Las Vegas took a big step closer to reality thanks to a $3 billion federal grant from the Department of Transportation and Joe Biden’s signature infrastructure law. The proposed line will be built by Brightline West, a private company owned Read more…
Leben (Life aka misc) The Planet (on, and off)
India Calls Out Inequalities at COP28 Climate Summit
India wants to be the voice of the global south in the negotiations. But can the world’s most populous nation cut its massive coal use? From a report: India is pitching itself as a leader of the global south at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), under way Read more…
Leben (Life aka misc)
AI Models May Enable a New Era of Mass Spying, Says Bruce Schneier
In an editorial for Slate published Monday, renowned security researcher Bruce Schneier warned that AI models may enable a new era of mass spying, allowing companies and governments to automate the process of analyzing and summarizing large volumes of conversation data, fundamentally lowering barriers to spying activities that currently require Read more…
Leben (Life aka misc) The Planet (on, and off)
Western US Wildfires Undo Two Decades of Air Quality Progress
Increasingly intensive and frequent wildfires in the western U.S. are deteriorating air quality and causing more premature deaths, a new study found. Fires have damaged federal efforts from the Environmental Protection Agency to improve air quality mainly through reductions in automobile emissions, per the study published Monday in The Lancet Read more…
Leben (Life aka misc) The Planet (on, and off)
Congress Spent Billions On EV Chargers. But Not One Has Come Online.
Congress at the urging of the Biden administration agreed in 2021 to spend $7.5 billion to build tens of thousands of electric vehicle chargers across the country, aiming to appease anxious drivers while tackling climate change. Two years later, the program has yet to install a single charger. States and Read more…
Leben (Life aka misc) The Planet (on, and off)
Um No. Harvard, MIT and UPenn’s Presidents Should ‘Resign in Disgrace’, Bill Ackman Says
Bill Ackman has called for the resignation of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania’s presidents following their congressional hearing on antisemitism on Tuesday. The billionaire singled out the three college presidents in a post written on X, formerly Twitter, after their testimonies on Capitol Hill. “The presidents’ answers reflect Read more…