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Dirk Pilat

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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat

fieseler.bsky.social
Not sure people realize how INSANELY DRAINING data centers will be on our planet.

If you imagine data centers as their own country, they'll rank fourth in global electricity use by 2035 — outranked only by China, India, and the U.S.

Read this in @bloomberg.com👇

www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
AI Data Centers Are Sending Power Bills Soaring
Wholesale electricity costs as much as 267% more than it did five years ago in areas near data centers. That’s being passed on to customers.
www.bloomberg.com
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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat

ketanjoshi.co
There's a very nice new report from @climateanalytics.org on precisely this: "Hard to abate" has become its own form of subtle climate delay --->>

@billhare.bsky.social @cindybax.bsky.social

ca1-clm.edcdn.com/assets/Clima...
Conclusion The persistent classification of iron and steel and cement as “hard-to-abate” sectors has shaped both policy and industrial responses in ways that risk undermining the urgency and effectiveness of global climate mitigation efforts. While the technical and process-related challenges in these sectors are non-trivial, the evidence presented in this report demonstrates that their decarbonisation is not only possible but highly achievable with existing and emerging technologies—especially when guided by integrated, whole-of-system approaches and supported by robust policy frameworks. A narrow focus on production-side constraints—such as process emissions in clinker production or the fossil fuel dependence of BF-BOF steelmaking—has encouraged decarbonization strategies put forward by the industry to rely heavily on CCUS and offsetting as core mitigation strategies. This framing assumes that a substantial portion of sectoral emissions are unavoidable, which justifies delayed action and continued operation of high-emissions infrastructure. However, our analysis shows that much of what is labelled “residual” or “unavoidable” emissions can, in fact, be abated at source through a combination of clean technology deployment, material efficiency, and demand-side reductions. In the iron and steel sector, commercially available technologies—particularly electric arc furnaces (EAFs) coupled with high scrap availability and direct reduced iron (DRI) using green hydrogen—can replace the BF-BOF pathway. While steel production capacity is long-lived and capital-intensive, studies show that aligning investment timelines with early retrofit and decommissioning schedules could reduce cumulative emissions by up to 66% over 2020–2050, compared to just 47% if low-carbon measures are delayed by five years.
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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, Dana R. Fisher, Mark Rice

adamvaughan.bsky.social
Renewables have overtaken coal in the global electricity mix for the first time, @ember-energy.org has found
www.linkedin.com/pulse/renewa...
2 26 91

Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, Nicolai von Ondarza

financialtimes.com
New data shows the ways millions of people have integrated AI into their everyday lives. Also, it suggests that for now at least, AI is an individual productivity tool — both at work and in our personal lives — rather than the broader workplace disrupter many in Big Tech predicted. on.ft.com/47cKBVN
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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat

tonytassell.bsky.social
America is now one big bet on AI - Ruchir Sharma column here. "The hundreds of billions of dollars companies are investing in AI now account for an astonishing 40 per cent share of US GDP growth this year" www.ft.com/content/6cc8...
America is now one big bet on AI
It’s seen as the magic fix for every threat to the US economy
www.ft.com
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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat

sustainable2050.bsky.social
It's the main news on two Dutch newspapers today. The largest demo of this century in the Netherlands. For Gaza, and against government's complicity in Israel's genocide there.
Headlines in Trouw (250,000) and NRC (Quarter of a million protesters in Amsterdam), with photos of the massive march.
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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, Cas Mudde, Nandita Sharma , and 12 more

newseye.bsky.social
NEW: Extraordinary scenes in Amsterdam this afternoon (Sunday, Oct 5).

An estimated 250,000 bring the city to a standstill; people all wearing red to show solidarity with Palestine 🇵🇸

(🎥 Ahmed Zantac)
250 4.3K 11K

Reposted by: Dirk Pilat

sustainable2050.bsky.social
78% of the Dutch is now negative about Israel, mostly very negative.
19% is positive, mostly 'somewhat' positive.

(neutral/ don't know not included)
Bar graph showing that all European countries included are negative, but the Netherlands most of all.
5 11 28

by Jonathan A. Foley — Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, Tobias Kuemmerle, Guy Pe’er , and 1 more

globalecoguy.bsky.social
Food must be taken seriously as an environmental problem.

It uses ~38% of Earth’s land, drives ~70% of water use, and emits ~22-34% of greenhouse gas pollution globally.

And beef and dairy alone drive a huge proportion of this.

But there are solutions. Lots of them.

go.ted.com/jonathanfoley24
The problem with food and climate — and how to fix it
Global food production — from meat to grains — accounts for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions, says sustainability scientist Jonathan Foley. He presents a portfolio of data-backed solutions to b...
go.ted.com
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by Jonathan A. Foley — Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, Michael Wagner, Jonathan A. Foley

globalecoguy.bsky.social
Food causes 22-34% of climate change.
But it only gets 4% of the media coverage.

Why? Neglect. Misunderstanding. And a hell of a lot of greenwashing.
sentientmedia.org
Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 4d
“Emissions from food are still very underreported,” @jennysplitter.bsky.social, Sentient's editor-in-chief, tells Anay Mridul of Green Queen. Learn more about our analysis of 11 major U.S. outlets:
Less Than 4% of US Media Climate Coverage Mentions Meat & Dairy's Emissions Toll: New Analysis
An analysis of hundreds of online articles from US media shows that less than 4% mention and contextualise the role of meat in climate change. Here's why.
buff.ly
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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat

noelreports.com
Denmark's military intelligence reports that Russian naval forces have aimed weapons at Danish warships and helicopters, disrupted navigation systems in key maritime straits, and even sailed collision courses, all clear provocations.
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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, Christian E. Weller, Greg Linden

carlquintanilla.bsky.social
“.. His conclusion is very stark: not just that an economy already at stall speed will fall into recession as both the data-center and wealth effects plateau, but that they’ll reverse, just as in the dot-com bubble did ..”

@marketwatch.com
www.marketwatch.com/story/the-ai...
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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, Lionel Page, Eric Kaufmann , and 3 more

by Anne Applebaum — Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, Martin Tomko, William Myers

anneapplebaum.bsky.social
exactly like the Chinese surveillance state
robertscotthorton.bsky.social
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 10d
Larry Ellison envisions a surveillance state in which techbros rule. '“Citizens will be on their best behavior, because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on,” Ellison said in an hour-long Q&A during Oracle’s Financial Analyst Meeting last week.'
Larry Ellison predicts rise of the modern surveillance state where ‘citizens will be on their best behavior’ | Fortune
Oracle's Larry Ellison believes citizens and police alike will be under constant surveillance of each other.
fortune.com
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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat

by Tanja Bueltmann — Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, Steve Peers, Alison Phipps , and 6 more

tanjabueltmann.net
When I was a teenager there was a bus direct from my hometown in Germany to London - we had a British army base, and this direct bus connection was one of the benefits of that. One summer I went on that bus to go volunteer in an old people's home in Southend-on-Sea. I had just turned 18 and was... 🧵
21 390 850

Reposted by: Dirk Pilat

by Ivo H. Daalder — Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, Paul Nightingale

ivodaalder.bsky.social
How serious is the Russian threat to ? Even after Ukraine, differences on this question persist within the alliance. The biggest change is that the United States has joined the cautious camp, and is no longer willing to beat when you’re threatened. My take. observer.co.uk/news/interna...
How serious is the Russian threat to Europe? | The Observer
With Washington unwilling to offer leadership, European Nato allies can’t afford to let their guard down
observer.co.uk
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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, John Drury, Christina Pagel

sheencr.bsky.social
Frightening analysis of the use of Facebook and radicalisation of people to far right beliefs. This also reminds me of analysis of social media networks in enhanced exposure of anti vaccine rhetoric.
Inside the everyday Facebook networks where far-right ideas grow
The Guardian spent a year studying an online community trading in anti-immigration sentiment and misinformation. Experts say such spaces can play a role in radicalisation
www.theguardian.com
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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat

Reposted by: Dirk Pilat

Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, Tobias Kuemmerle, Stephen Ryan

profbillmcguire.bsky.social
"Today, we clear a soccer field’s worth of tropical forest every six seconds, a loss dramatically worsened by humanity’s growing hunger for meat"

Wean ourselves off meat now, or the switch to a Pliocene climate that's locked in will do it for us

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Meat is a leading emissions source – but few outlets report on it, analysis finds
Sentient Media reveals less than 4% of climate news stories mention animal agriculture as source of carbon emissions
www.theguardian.com
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by Jonathan A. Foley — Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, Jonathan A. Foley

globalecoguy.bsky.social
Renewables are winning — because they are cheaper and better.

Trump has little to no effect so far.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Global investment in renewable energy up 10% on 2024 despite Trump rollback
Growth rate slightly lower than previous first-half years but sector still strong and resilient, experts say
www.theguardian.com
2 41 120

by Michael E. Mann — Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, David Johnson, Dawn J. Wright , and 4 more

michaelemann.bsky.social
“I’m a climate scientist. Trump’s U.N. address is a fire hose of misinformation” | My new op-ed in the @sfchronicle.com:
www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
#ScienceUnderSiege
I’m a climate scientist. Trump’s U.N. address is a fire hose of misinformation
OPINION: “What Trump is really doing is advancing a plan laid down years ago by plutocrats and polluters. And making a mockery of our country as he does so,” Michael E. Mann writes.
www.sfchronicle.com
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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, Aaron Sojourner, Stacy D. VanDeveer

View post

Reposted by: Dirk Pilat

wblau.bsky.social
On why Trump is wrong on climate, renewable energy, the next economic growth cycle, on powering data centres cost-efficiently, and on geo-economics. Very good by the FT‘s Gillian Tett.
on.ft.com/3KkjVcU
2 31 53

Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, David Johnson

doctorvive.bsky.social
The neatest and most hilarious debunking of Trump's climate disinformation you'll see this week, courtesy of @emorwee.bsky.social 😎

open.substack.com/pub/heated/p...
Trump delivers dumbest climate speech of all time
The president's easily-debunked 10-minute climate tirade at the U.N. was so stupid and unoriginal, it was actually kind of funny.
open.substack.com
2 31 72

Reposted by: Dirk Pilat, Paul Lehmann

uedio.bsky.social
"Jeder in den Klimaschutz investierte Euro hat einen Nutzen von 1,8 bis 4,8 Euro."

taz.de/Studie-von-O...
Studie von Ökonomin Claudia Kemfert: Klimaschutz zahlt sich richtig aus
Jeder Euro, der in Schritte gegen die Klimakrise fließt, bringt der Volkswirtschaft zwischen 1,8 und 4,8 Euro. Das zeigt eine Studie des DIW Berlin.
taz.de
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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat

ketanjoshi.co
Inspired by this + fossil giant Eni's fusion investments to update my 'greenwashing habitable zone' conceptualisation of what techs seem to lend themselves to being the most useful for bullshitty climate delay

Welcome to the zone, fusion, you finally made the cut

Top right = The Altman Expanse
a map of greenwashing techniques, where the middle zone of cost and infeasibility is where the best greenwashing options are
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Reposted by: Dirk Pilat

References

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