1. Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View
By David Wallace-Wells, New York Times Magazine, Oct 26, 2022
“Thanks to astonishing declines in the price of renewables, a truly global political mobilization, a clearer picture of the energy future and serious policy focus from world leaders, we have cut expected warming almost in half in just five years.”
2. Elon Musk says Twitter will have a ‘content moderation council’
By Mitchell Clark, The Verge, Oct 28, 2022
Editor’s Note: While not explicitly a story about resource development or climate, we at Velocity think its important to stay in the loop about stories such as this, which will likely have implications on news reporting and information sharing. Twitter’s new ownership and likely overhauls is something we will continue to follow.
See also: Welcome to hell, Elon (Warning: explicit language)
3. Mushrooms Break Down Asphalt Shingles, Create Reusable Materials
By David Worford, E+E Leader, October 10, 2022
“In an attempt to find a way to salvage asphalt shingles and decarbonize construction waste, organizers of a pilot program say they have successfully combined mushrooms and a process called mycoremediation to break down the materials to create a new by-product that could potentially be reused in the building industry.”
To follow up on climate stunt shenanigans:
4. The Climate Art Vandals Are Embarrassing
By Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, October 27, 2022
“This lack of connective logic has irked many otherwise sympathetic climate advocates. “Regardless of whether you think protests like this are effective or not—and as a climate scientist, I’ve spent 30 years on this issue, so my sympathies are with the protesters, of course—I find it weird to target museums and nonprofits that help all of us,” Jonathan Foley, the executive director of the climate nonprofit Project Drawdown, told me. … And the protests worry him.
It’s true that the targeted paintings were protected by glass panes—but those panes aren’t designed to protect against seeping liquids (or whatever mashed potatoes are), Foley said. They keep out ultraviolet light and dust. Nor are museum-security staff prepared for the challenge of patting down every potential visitor for wayward appetizers, which is what insurance companies will now likely demand, he said. Furthermore, because staging protests at art museums has now happened a few times, he said, every art museum could see its insurance and security costs increase by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Museums may also put paintings—and even sculptures—behind the kind of boxlike cases that today protect only a few world-famous works, such as the Mona Lisa.”
A little laugh for your spooky weekend:
