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Scientists urge halt on deep-ocean seaweed dumping for climate change mitigation
AI’s craving for data is matched only by a runaway thirst for water and energy | John Naughton
The computing power for AI models requires immense – and increasing – amounts of natural resources. Legislation is required to prevent environmental crisis
One of the most pernicious myths about digital technology is that it is somehow weightless or immaterial. Remember all that early talk about the “paperless” office and “frictionless” transactions? And of course, while our personal electronic devices do use some electricity, compared with the washing machine or the dishwasher, it’s trivial.
Belief in this comforting story, however, might not survive an encounter with Kate Crawford’s seminal book, Atlas of AI, or the striking Anatomy of an AI System graphic she composed with Vladan Joler. And it certainly wouldn’t survive a visit to a datacentre – one of those enormous metallic sheds housing tens or even hundreds of thousands of servers humming away, consuming massive amounts of electricity and needing lots of water for their cooling systems.
Continue reading...UN Environment Assembly takes shy steps on biodiversity at first meeting since GBF agreement
Ski resorts’ era of plentiful snow may be over due to climate crisis, study finds
US ski industry is losing billions as average season has become five to seven days shorter in past half century
If you have been enjoying lushly covered mountains by skiing or snowboarding this winter then such an experience could soon become a receding memory, with a new study finding that an era of reliably bountiful snow has already passed due to the climate crisis.
The US ski industry has lost more than $5bn over the past two decades due to human-caused global heating, the new research has calculated, due to the increasingly sparse nature of snowfall on mountain ranges. Previous studies have shown that in many locations precipitation is now coming in the form of rain, rather than snow, due to warming temperatures.
Continue reading...Mix of rapid acceleration and “handbrake” risks seen on road ahead for global energy transition -report
Government documents ‘blow gaping hole’ in its case for Cumbrian coalmine
Michael Gove said UK needed coal to make steel, but business department papers drafted around same time say it will not
Previously unseen documents have emerged that appear to contradict the government’s case for a new coalmine in Cumbria.
When Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, approved plans to build the Woodhouse Colliery near Whitehaven in December 2022, he said the UK would need the coal in order to carry on making steel.
Continue reading...“Absolute smugness:” Australia pioneer laments “embarrassing” lack of offshore wind projects
Offshore wind pioneer says the lack of Australian investment in offshore wind is "embarrassing".
The post “Absolute smugness:” Australia pioneer laments “embarrassing” lack of offshore wind projects appeared first on RenewEconomy.