Burning the surplus

Scott Morrison’s total paralysis in the face of the bushfire emergency gave rise to the most convincing excuse for his recent disappearance – he wasn’t doing anything anyway, so why shouldn’t he go?

John Quiggin.

Part of his problem is that any serious discussion of the problem involves climate change, and even one pull on that thread would risk unravelling the shroud of deception he and the rest of the right are sheltering beneath.

But surely Scotty from Marketing could come up with a campaign that appeared to take action on the bushfires themselves without doing anything about the underlying cause. There’s another factor that hasn’t been mentioned, as far as I can see.

Read the story by John Quiggin - “Burning the surplus.”

How AI can save — or destroy — the environment

The first major one was the agricultural revolution (13,000 years ago, in Mesopotamia), which gave rise to rice paddies and cattle farming which both emit huge amounts of methane. Moreover, the clearing of forests for wheat and grain farming reduced the amount of carbon dioxide intake by trees.

Will AI save or destroy the environment?

However, these were gradual and somewhat inconsequential changes with regard to the environment. However, the scientific and subsequent industrial revolutions (500 years ago and 250 years ago respectively) have had profound impacts on the environment.

Since 1880, there has been a temperature rise of almost 1 degree Celsius. The technological revolution and digital age of the past 30/40 years have only worsened the situation, although there are some benefits. As we are about to discover, computers and AI could be the metaphorical second coming for humanity.

Read the Medium story by Dave Olsen - “How AI can save — or destroy — How AI can save - or destroy - the environment.”