Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Asian Exchange Union is not a famous international organization, but its meeting on Tuesday in Tehran may have started the ball rolling on a momentous change in global finance, since it dealt with the possibility of de-dollarization. According to the Iranian press, banking representatives from Iran, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan, […]
“Politicizing the Weather:” Florida’s DeSantis doesn’t Understand that Carbon Emissions make Hurricanes more Intense, not More Frequent
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – After his historic meltdown of a presidential campaign announcement with notorious internet troll Elon Musk on a glitchy “Twitter Spaces,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis went on to have a conversation with former congressman Trey Gowdy, a kooky climate change denialist, on Fox “News” Wednesday night. In response to Gowdy’s question […]
Global Heating could make it too Hot for a Third of Humanity by 2080 – 2100
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A lot of studies have focused on the economic cost of global heating, caused by humans burning fossil fuels. A new study in Nature Sustainability “Quantifying the human cost of global warming,” by Timothy M. Lenton et al. instead concentrates on what heating will mean for the lives of human […]
The Limits of Saudi Normalization with Israel
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Biden administration is devoting what energy the State Department has aside from the effort to defend Ukraine to achieving diplomatic normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The premise for this entry of the Saudis into the Abraham Accords is that it would seek an alliance with Israel against Iran. […]
China’s Solar Power Installations Skyrocket by 36.6%, may install 100 Gigs of New Solar this Year
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In the first four months of 2023, China’s solar power installations increased by an incredible 36.6 percent year over year, to a total of 440 gigawatts.And no wonder. China’s major power firms’ investments in solar energy skyrocketed by 156.3% over those four months in the previous year, to $10.6 billion. […]
Israeli Extremists led by Minister of Nat’l Security Storm al-Aqsa Mosque Complex, as Turkey Condemns “Fascism”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that dozens of Israeli squatters, with Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir at their head, stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque complex early on Sunday morning from the Moroccan Gate. They were closely guarded by Israeli police, who imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinians. It […]
Spain Runs entirely on Green Energy for 9 Hours for First time, in Harbinger of Green Future
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Spain, the world’s 15th largest economy and the fourth-largest in Europe, recently ran for 9 hours entirely on wind, solar and hydro. It is not the first time the renewables supplied all of the country’s domestic electricity needs on the peninsula, but it is the first time they did so […]
Smotrich Plans to Send 500k further Israeli Squatters in to Steal More Palestinian Land in West Bank
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Yaniv Kubovich and Ben Samuels at Haaretz report that far-right extremist Bezalel Smotrich is preparing to send in another half-million Israeli squatters to steal Palestinian land in the West Bank. Smotrich is the leader of the Religious Zionism bloc in parliament and the finance minister in the Netanyahu cabinet, who […]
2/3s of the Summer Dry Air that encourages Wildfires comes from Humanity burning Fossil Fuels
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The earth’s atmosphere can make things wet or dry them out depending on the water vapor pressure. When there is a Vapor Pressure Deficit, it dries the earth out. VPD is defined as “a measure of atmospheric water demand defined as the difference between the amount of water vapor in […]