Cryptocurrency's Carbon Footprint Underestimated

"This could mean that in the worst case the top 5 cryptocurrencies had a carbon footprint of between 1100 and 2770 MtCO2/yr, or between Japan (~1074) and the EU (~2637)." [Link]

Thoughts and actions for the week of October 4, 2021

Thoughts 1. As I write this, Facebook is down. I’m not certain how much this will cost their business in lost ad revenue, although I’m sure someone will do the calculation. I’m sure there will be some kind of a post mortem. But it’s worth asking

Pandora Papers: An offshore data tsunami

"The Pandora Papers investigation is the world’s largest-ever journalistic collaboration, involving more than 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. The investigation is based on a leak of confidential records of 14 offshore service providers that give professional services to wealthy individuals and corporations seeking

Facebook released (and criticized) its research on how teens experience Instagram

"Antigone Davis, Facebook's global head of safety, is scheduled to testify in front of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Thursday. The company is clearly worried about how it's going to go. Worried enough, in fact, that it published two slide decks showing internal research on

Reading, watching, playing, using: September, 2021

This is my monthly roundup of the books, articles, and streaming media I found interesting. Here's my list for September, 2021. Apps + Websites Ambient Chaos. Finally, an ambient noise generator for the rest of us. I recommend zombie invasion + barnyard animals + church bells + lo-fi beats. You feel

Fairness Friday: La Casa de las Madres

I’m posting Fairness Fridays: a new community social justice organization each week. I donate to each featured organization. If you feel so inclined, please join me. This week I'm donating to La Casa de las Madres. Based in San Francisco, La Casa de las Madres provides a

U.S. declares more than 20 species extinct after exhaustive searches

"The Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday that 22 animals and one plant native to the United States are now extinct and should be removed from the endangered species list after exhausting efforts to find evidence that they are still alive." [Link]

Sun-Times, WBEZ parent company to explore historic partnership to create country’s largest local nonprofit news service

"The Chicago Sun-Times and the parent company of public radio station WBEZ will explore a potentially historic partnership under a non-binding letter of intent that could create one of the largest local nonprofit news organizations in the country." This makes a ton of sense - and doesn&

Prison Destroyed Video Proof of Guards Torturing Anti-Fascist, Lawyers Say

"According to new motions to dismiss filed by the Civil Liberties Defense Center (CLDC), a legal nonprofit, BOP prison staff attacked King after leading him into a small, off-camera storage closet, then deleted video evidence, and may have misrepresented facts about the incident to the FBI. King’s

The Kidney Project successfully tests a prototype bioartificial kidney

"The Kidney Project’s artificial kidney will not only replicate the high quality of life seen in kidney transplant recipients—the “gold standard” of kidney disease treatment, according to Roy—but also spare them from needing to take immunosuppressants." This is a game-changer. Artificial organs could improve

Planes, trains, and automobiles

I’m writing from around 33,000 feet above Wyoming on a flight from San Francisco to Boston. I feel guilty flying: it’s not something I’m particularly pleased to do, and not only because I don’t enjoy the experience. We’re destroying our planet, and by taking

Mining on the crop-fields

A short flash fiction piece about blockchain: There was someone like this every few months, it seemed. They couldn’t just get on with it. They had to break the pattern somehow; fight the algorithm, as if we weren’t all working for ourselves now. They didn’t seem to