Publications

Water Politics


Water: The Other US-Mexico Border Crisis That Is Growing Worse

Via The Conversation, a report on growing water tensions between the U.S. and Mexico: Immigration and border security will be the likely focus of U.S.-Mexico relations under the new Trump administration. But there also is a growing water crisis along the U.S.–Mexico border that affects tens of millions of people on both sides, and it can only […]

read more...


The American Dream (Water Not Included)

Via The Lever, a look at how real estate developers are running a dark-money campaign to overturn new housing rules — and ignore basic laws of nature: For most of human history, a simple axiom for survival seemed to prevail: Don’t build houses where there is too little water. Amid dangerous droughts, Arizona officials recently […]

read more...

Wildcats & Black Sheep


Saudis Plan $100 Billion AI Powerhouse to Rival UAE Tech Hub

Via Bloomberg, a report on Saudi Arabia’s plans to build an AI powerhouse: Entity would build on kingdom’s efforts to emerge as AI hub PIF, Google AI partnership may serve as model for project Saudi Arabia is planning a new artificial intelligence project with backing of as much as $100 billion as it seeks to […]

read more...


Russia Explores Plan to Merge Oil Giants Into Mega Producer

Via the Wall Street Journal a look at Russia’s plans to merge its oil giants into a mega producer which would be the world’s second-biggest crude producer, after Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, pumping almost three times the output of Exxon Mobil: Moscow is working on a plan to merge its biggest oil companies into a single […]

read more...


Why Has High Speed Rail Failed in Kazakhstan?

Kazakhstan once harbored grand plans for a high-speed rail network. The Diplomat examines why – while its neighbors have pushed ahead with such projects – HSR fallen out of favor in Astana: High-speed train travel can be a challenging prospect for any nation. To achieve speeds of 250 kilometers per hour, high-speed rail (HSR) requires […]

read more...

Watergy Nexus


Dam Plan Busted? World’s Biggest Hydropower Project In The Balance

Via BBC, a report on a planned dam in Africa: From a set of roaring rapids, comes a grand vision. There are plans to build a magnificent, multi-billion dollar mega-dam on the Congo River – one that would produce enough renewable electricity to power vast areas of Africa. The structure would be called the Grand […]

read more...

Grid Unlocked


Residential Solar Is Becoming Residential Solar + Storage + VPP

Via Volts, an interesting interview examining how residential solar is becoming residential solar + storage + VPP: Hello everyone, this is Volts for November 13, 2024. “Residential solar is becoming residential solar + storage + VPP.” I’m your host, David Roberts. Last month, I was in Brooklyn for the third annual DERvos conference celebrating distributed […]

read more...


Why One Developer Won’t Quit Fighting To Connect America’s Grids

Via MIT Technology Review, an article on efforts to connect the U.S.’s grids: Michael Skelly hasn’t learned to take no for an answer. For much of the last 15 years, the Houston-based energy entrepreneur has worked to develop long-haul transmission lines to carry wind power across the Great Plains, Midwest, and Southwest, delivering clean electricity […]

read more...


What Happens When A Concrete Jungle Becomes A ‘Sponge City’

Via High Country News, a look at how engineering for flood resilience can address storms heightened by climate change. The living roof of the H2 Hotel in Healdsburg, California, both cools the building and mitigates rainwater runoff.John D. Ivanko/Alamy Stock Photo In early February, meteorologists warned Southern Californians that a supercharged storm was headed their way, […]

read more...

Seeds of A Revolution


China Is Scouring the Globe in Search of New Food Suppliers

Via Bloomberg, a look at China’s substantial efforts to future-proof itself for trade wars and the return of Donald Trump: China’s quest to feed itself has taken it as far as Kenya’s macadamia nut groves and Bolivia’s cattle ranches, as part of a push in recent years to diversify food sources away from traditional Western […]

read more...


The Coming Great Global Land Reshuffle

Via the Financial Times, commentary on how climate change and population pressures are beginning to drive a new surge of competition over territory: As the world’s climate changes, scientists observe that the southern Californian rainy season is starting later and ending earlier, lining up the peak of the dry season closely with the period of […]

read more...

SynWorlds


How AI Brought 11,000 College Football Players to Digital Life in Three Months

Via the Wall Street Journal, a report on Electronic Arts’ use of new tech to scan photos for its videogame after securing players’ likeness rights for the first time A character artist works on the new ‘EA Sports College Football 25.’ PHOTO: EA SPORTS It has been over a decade since Electronic Arts released a college football videogame. To […]

read more...


How Generative AI Could Reinvent What It Means To Play

Via MIT’s Technology Review, a report on how how AI-powered NPCs that don’t need a script could make games—and other worlds—deeply immersiv First, a confession. I only got into playing video games a little over a year ago (I know, I know). A Christmas gift of an Xbox Series S “for the kids” dragged me—pretty easily, […]

read more...


Gym Class VR Builds On Popularity With NBA Logos and Venues

Via Sports Business Journal, a look at how Gym Class VR is building on its popularity with the addition of NBA logos and venues: The mid-range jumper may be a lost art in the NBA game, but I sank one from just inside the free-throw line at the TD Garden, as the PA announcer called out the basket. […]

read more...

Roof Options


Rooftop Revolution: Where Homeowners Are Adopting Solar Panels

Via Fast Company, a report on where homeowners are adopting solar panels:   While more homeowners are adding solar panels to their homes in hopes of reducing their energy bills, adoption varies significantly across the country To understand which housing markets are doing the most solar panel installation, ResiClub collaborated with the data experts at BatchService, […]

read more...


Solar Math: Wait Until You Need A New Roof

Via Grist, a report on the math behind putting solar on your roof, which indicates that waiting until you need to re-roof is usually the best course of action: Not too long ago, Bryan and Summer Stubblefield wanted to outfit their California home with solar panels. They were considering an electric vehicle, and powering it with the sun […]

read more...

The Global Buffetts


Inside A Baby Berkshire Hathaway

Via Forbes, a look at how Markel’s Chief executive Thomas Gayner has quietly turned insurer Markel into a mini-conglomerate. Meet Richmond’s answer to the Oracle of Omaha:  Thomas Gayner gets a kick out of telling the story. It was 1983. He had just graduated from the University of Virginia with a plan to return home to Salem, […]

read more...


Constellation Software, Tech’s Berkshire Hathaway

Via The Economist, a look at a firm which many consider as technology’s Berkshire Hathaway: For older startups these are tough times. The weak recent stockmarket debuts of Arm, a British chipmaker, Instacart, a grocery-delivery group, and Klaviyo, a software firm, have dampened enthusiasm for initial public offerings. Venture capital (vc) has dried up. Data […]

read more...


The ‘Next Warren Buffett’ Curse Isn’t Always Fatal

Via Bloomberg, interesting commentary on how many – such as crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried couldn’t survive the comparison – but others who actually invest somewhat like the Berkshire Hathaway chairman fare better: A couple of months ago, crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried was peering out from the cover of Fortune magazine above the words “The Next Warren Buffett?” Now he’s at […]

read more...

Networked Nature


Digitizing Forests To Prevent Wildfires

Via The Economist, a look at initial steps to digitize our forests by using new technology to sniff out fires long before they spread out of control: The fires went on for three relentless days in the summer of 2021, scorching over 13,000 hectares of western Sardinia. Residents “saw their whole world go up in flames […]

read more...

Published Articles