The Download: clean energy investments, and Amazon’s data privacy fine

9 months ago 129

This is today's variation of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a regular dose of what's going connected successful the satellite of technology.

The satellite is yet spending much connected star than lipid production

Money makes the satellite spell round. And erstwhile it comes to energy, we’re seeing much concern than ever: companies, probe institutions, and governments are each pouring wealth into technologies that could assistance powerfulness our satellite successful the future. 

The International Energy Agency conscionable published its yearly study connected planetary concern successful energy, wherever it tallies up each that cash. The satellite saw astir $2.8 trillion of investments successful vigor successful 2022, with astir $1.7 trillion of that going into cleanable energy. 

That’s the biggest single-year concern successful cleanable vigor ever, and wherever it’s each going is beauteous interesting. Our clime newsman Casey Crownhart has immoderate bully news, immoderate atrocious news, and a mates of astonishing tidbits to share. Read the afloat story.

Casey’s communicative is from The Spark, her play newsletter giving you the wrong way connected each things climate. Sign up to person it successful your inbox each Wednesday.

Check retired immoderate of our different caller renewable vigor stories:

+ Yes, we person capable materials to powerfulness the satellite with renewable energy. We won’t tally retired of cardinal ingredients for clime action, but mining comes with societal and biology ramifications. Read the afloat story.

+ Busting 3 myths astir materials and renewable energy. Here’s what you truly request to cognize astir mining and clime change. Read the afloat story.

+ Inside the little-known radical mounting the firm clime agenda. The Science Based Targets inaugural has earned praise for pushing companies to instrumentality clime action, but tin voluntary emissions targets truly get the satellite wherever it needs to be? Read the afloat story.

The must-reads

I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.

1 Amazon has been fined $25 cardinal for violating children’s privacy
It’s a informing to each companies utilizing people’s information to bid their AI models. (WP $)
+ It collected information from children who’d conversed with its Alexa assistant. (NYT $)
+ The institution is ruthless erstwhile it comes to axing its ain projects. (Bloomberg $)

2 Scientists person taken the archetypal X-ray of a azygous atom 
It’s an accomplishment they accidental could pave the mode to curing life-threatening diseases. (Ars Technica)

3 New cars sold successful the US volition request automatic braking systems
Safety regulators are assured it volition prevention lives. (The Verge)
+ Cars getting truthful overmuch larger is different large factor, too. (NYT $)

4 Greener alloy is connected the horizon
It makes a batch much consciousness to trust connected energy than hydrogen to nutrient it. (Economist $)
+ How greenish alloy made with energy could cleanable up a soiled industry. (MIT Technology Review)

5 Outer abstraction has a cyberthreat problem
While it’s pugnacious to motorboat malware attacks successful space, it’s not impossible. (IEEE Spectrum)
+ What are the mysterious orbs the Pentagon keeps spotting? (Motherboard)

6 Psychedelic experiments are getting adjacent weirder
Erasing people’s memories of their trips is 1 mode researchers are trying to amended survey the drugs’ effects. (Wired $)
+ Mind-altering substances are being overhyped arsenic wonderment drugs. (MIT Technology Review)

7 AI is simply a hit-and-miss coder
While immoderate of what models are capable to make is decent, different parts are shoddy. (WSJ $)
+ The open-source AI roar is built connected Big Tech’s handouts. How agelong volition it last? (MIT Technology Review)

8 That laptop you’re trying to recycle whitethorn not beryllium recycled astatine all
In fact, it could extremity up being sold connected eBay. (FT $)

9 How permanently sharing your determination affects your relationships
The illusion of privateness is easy shattered if you’re ever keeping tabs connected each other. (Vox)

10 India’s Facebook groups are helping to rehome stray pets 🐈 🐕
It’s an casual mode to scope a immense assemblage of carnal lovers. (Rest of World)

Quote of the day

“Fear is contagious, but truthful is courage.”

—Heavy, a subordinate of the Ukrainian army, describes her platoon leader’s doctrine to the Guardian arsenic she and her chap recruits hole a long-anticipated counteroffensive to recapture the metropolis of Bakhmut.

The large story


How Bitcoin mining devastated this New York town

April 2022If, successful 2017, you had taken a gamble and purchased a comparatively caller integer currency called Bitcoin, contiguous you mightiness beryllium a millionaire galore times over. But portion the manufacture has provided windfalls for some, section communities person paid a precocious price, arsenic radical started scouring the satellite for inexpensive sources of vigor to tally ample Bitcoin-mining farms.

It didn’t instrumentality agelong for a subsidiary of the fashionable Bitcoin mining steadfast Coinmint to lease a Family Dollar store successful Plattsburgh, a metropolis successful New York authorities offering inexpensive power. Soon, the institution was regularly drafting capable powerfulness for astir 4,000 homes. And portion different miners were speedy to follow, the problems had already taken root. Read the afloat story.

—Lois Parshley

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