Little things mean a lot: The world’s microbiome under threat
The smallest living things in the world may be the most important to us humans.
Kurt Cobb
Platinum: It doesn’t have to run out to become unavailable
The first stage of scarcity is not running out, but having less and less available. Platinum may end up being a good example in the coming year.
Dangers from future technologies? It’s the current ones that are killing us
It is fashionable to be pessimistic about new and emerging technologies. Less fashionable is dealing with the existing technologies that are already killing us and the biosphere.
Another offering from our tech overlords: A climate change solution without sacrifice
The late Eric Sevareid, a CBS reporter and commentator, coined what is now known as Sevareid’s law: The chief cause of problems is solutions.
Hazards of a connected world – Should you forgo the Internet of Things?
You should be very, very cautious about any device that uses the word “smart” in its name.
Chinese imagine genetically engineered radioactivity-resistant soldiers
Radioactivity-resistant soldiers? Life tries to imitate art.
What the dramatic drop in European demand for natural gas showed us
Energy-thrifty Europeans cut energy use dramatically in the wake of the loss of Russian natural gas imports. Will they go further?
Despoiling the final frontier: Satellite mega-constellations threaten ozone layer
Satellite mega-constellations are coming to a sky near you and the results could over time be catastrophic for the ozone layer unless something is done.
Is AI a job killer? What does history say?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now the focus of the most recent automation-is-a-job-killer stories. History suggests an alternate narrative.
Efficient and fragile: Low prices, modern railroading and the toxic Ohio derailment
The toxic Ohio derailment is demonstrating that the drive for efficiency can be extremely dangerous.
Who knew? There are limits to growth in the American West
Limits to growth in the American West were always there. Now residents are having to face them.
How the modern fantasy of an eternal civilization warps our view of technology
Everything comes to an end except our modern technical civilization. Or so a lot of people believe. It’s a dangerous thought for those who arrive after our civilization is gone.