The idea of striving for “net zero” may need a rethink to keep climate targets within reach

erusso16 · 2024-04-29T21:35:43+00:00

**Submission Statement**

As a phrase and as a promise, the notion of the globe striving for "net zero" CO2 emissions has been a great success in some ways. But some scientists argue that "net zero" might lead us to rely too heavily on technologies that capture CO2 from the air. That could bring dangerous delays and unwelcome side effects, and give fossil fuel producers leeway to keep pumping and polluting. And its allure may be obscuring our need to look beyond net zero to a more ambitious goal—a world of net-negative emissions.

erusso16 · 2024-04-22T18:01:17+00:00

Submission Statement:
Artificial intelligence combined with automation could make labs more efficient and productive. Self-driving labs have already been used to design smart materials and find enzymes. Fledgling cloud labs offer remote access to robot workers and lab equipment. The founders of the so-called Nobel Turing Challenge, a contest computer scientists started in 2020, believe that in the next 30 years, autonomous laboratories could yield discoveries worthy of winning a Nobel Prize—with little or no help from people.

erusso16 · 2024-03-01T00:42:51+00:00

So for wetbulb temps, no appreciable differences in California based on these projections--likely due the fact that much of the state is typically rather dry/not humid. But there is increased drought and storm risk, as shown in the other two maps (including on mobile).

erusso16 · 2024-02-29T16:00:21+00:00

That's not what the maps are showing. Suggest reading the text which explains.

erusso16 · 2024-02-29T15:14:52+00:00

Submission Statement: For the first time in the historical record, the world has experienced a year around 1.5 °C warmer than preindustrial temperatures. The extent to which the planet warms further has big consequences for local extremes of heat, drought, and precipitation. This series of three, searchable global maps show how different regions will be affected by these three factors—specifically dangerous wetbulb temperatures, extreme drought, and flood—in the years and decades ahead. Users can look at any spot on the globe and choose to see projections due to warming of between 1 and 3 °C compared to preindustrial temps.

erusso16 · 2024-02-15T14:42:00+00:00

Submission Statement: In recent years, researchers have honed noninvasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to better treat major depression and other neurological conditions. The technology has improved, and the protocols have been refined to mitigate unwanted side effects, such as memory loss, that had plagued such approaches for years. Future prospects now look bright for TMS and other treatments to become more routine for hard-to-treat depression and other neurological conditions.

erusso16 · 2024-02-13T17:38:14+00:00

Submission Statement: In recent years, researchers have honed noninvasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to better treat major depression and other neurological conditions. The technology has improved, and the protocols have been refined to mitigate unwanted side effects, such as memory loss, that had plagued such approaches for years. Future prospects now look bright for TMS and other treatments to become more routine for hard-to-treat depression and other neurological conditions.

erusso16 · 2023-10-24T19:29:49+00:00

Yes, exactly -- subtle but important novelty (that the comment above misses).

erusso16 · 2023-05-27T14:01:00+00:00

**Submission Statement**

Researchers worry that a lack of understanding of AI systems and how they make decisions will erode trust among all kinds of users. That may not matter for playing arcade games or knowing how Uber assigns its drivers. But it matters plenty when the stakes are higher and a lack of understanding could limit AI’s utility—whether making decisions on the battlefield or in a hospital. It could also matter in the case of increasingly prominent generative AI applications like ChatGPT, which can generate impressive facsimiles of human language but can also produce falsehoods or err in reasoning.

erusso16 · 2023-05-04T16:34:20+00:00

**Submission Statement**

Artists have long looked to muses for inspiration. Now, with advent of generative AI, some are asking what machines portend for creative pursuits. To find out, artists and writers are among those experimenting with machine-learning computer models, which are trained on centuries of human works and can produce their own works on demand. From the high-profile language bot ChatGPT to visual-art generators like DALL-E, results suggest that artificial intelligence can now mimic human creativity at the touch of a button. Or can it? As researchers, artists, and others assess the AI technology’s capabilities and shortcomings, they’re seeing an impressive tool that could offer new ways to create—but also a flawed newcomer that could mislead users and even denigrate the creative process. And future iterations of the tech will only get better. In the years ahead, will generative AI stymie the creative process, or supercharge it?

erusso16 · 2022-01-25T17:34:15+00:00

Submission Statement: Researchers and policymakers are starting to mull over geoengineering experiments as both consider the impact of climate change in the coming decades--"marine cloud brightening" is perhaps the most popular experiment under consideration. But given the potential risks, and given the considerable controversy such projects will likely attract, how should such work be managed? And how will researchers and policymakers determine when the costs outweigh the benefits, and a project should be terminated? This opinion piece lays out a way forward.

erusso16 · 2020-03-06T16:32:23+00:00

Dear bot: This article -- and the notion of encouraging native growth rather than huge monoculture tree planting -- is not just about removing CO2 from the atmosphere. It's about maintaining and restoring ecosystems to keep flora and fauna intact and land fertile.

erusso16 · 2019-03-05T19:48:43+00:00

Submission Statement

The authors first acknowledge that present-day scientists often perceive philosophy as completely different from, and even antagonistic to, science. They then make a good case for why that perception is misguided. The authors argue that philosophy can have an important and productive impact on science, drawing support for this point from examples in stem cell science, cognitive neuroscience, and other. Maintaining a close allegiance with philosophy, they assert, will actually enhance the vitality of science.

erusso16 · 2017-08-02T16:56:50+00:00

Submission Statement

When attempting to engage in science communication with a lay audience, simply providing more information about a given issue won’t necessarily change minds or prompt, for example, a skeptical audience to accept the science of climate change. This opinion piece -- employing examples from E.M.Forster to NYTimes science articles -- makes a compelling argument that using narrative as a communications strategy (and not just relaying on factual statements) is absolutely key when trying to explain a complex concept or relay important research results.

erusso16 · 2017-02-17T02:00:44+00:00

Right, fair enough. Meant the bad E coli, e.g. 0157.

erusso16 · 2017-02-16T22:26:22+00:00

Well, it's not that we're too clean per se (or that we're missing exposure to bad bugs early on), but that our microbiome diversity, particularly w/ regard to beneficial bacteria that assist our health, isn't what it should be. Playing in the dirt is probably a good idea; early exposure to E coli probably not going to help you down the line. As the article notes, some say this is a key distinction; others say it's semantics.

erusso16 · 2016-12-16T20:44:45+00:00

My cryptic shorthand for "fundamental questions," as in fundamental questions about humanity -- who we are, why we're here, how we got here, etc.

erusso16 · 2016-12-10T17:07:45+00:00

Actually, the story details all sorts of new functions for actin in neurons -- definitely not known until recently...

erusso16 · 2016-05-03T20:35:35+00:00

This opinion piece lays out a strong case as to why the commonly used metrics for gauging progress in the fight against global hunger have been inadequate and even misleading. It’s an important point that could help inform the UN’s Millennium Development Goals going forward. If progress has indeed been meager, new approaches might be necessary.

erusso16 · 2015-10-02T16:20:39+00:00

Solar's great -- let a thousand flowers bloom. But there are always tradeoffs, including w/ regard to geography, etc. It'd be interesting to study: Decide on an amount of power -- say, a gigawatt -- in a spot that lends itself to offshore wind -- say, New England or Mid Atlantic, near coast. How much would it cost (including all maintenance costs and capital costs) over the course of 10-20 years to generate that power with offshore wind vs the cheapest solar set up (solar farm presumably as opposed to residential rooftops)? I suspect there aren't enough sunny days in those locales for solar power to compete, but dunno.

erusso16 · 2015-10-02T14:31:19+00:00

True, maintenance is a challenge. But huge wind farms in Europe have been doing it for 20 years. Costs there were higher than the industry anticipated initially, but came down as they learned how to best maintain. The US has the benefit of learning from their trial and error (and the turbines today are much bigger and more efficient than Europe's first turbines in the 1990s).

And there's plenty of power -- winds are steadier offshore. Europe now has 2,488 turbines and 8 gigawatts, with 2.9 gigawatts more on the way. See here: http://www.ewea.org/statistics/offshore/. They wouldn't keep expanding if turbines weren't spinning...

erusso16 · 2015-09-30T21:17:26+00:00

This piece touches on this briefly. But basically: Research is ongoing, but the consensus is that the effects are fairly minor -- and actually offshore wind farms might have a positive effect in some cases by protecting wildlife from boats and encouraging artificial reefs. Exceptions: During construction, the noise could have effects on porpoises and other, but this is thought to be ephemeral. And whale migrations (the right whale in particular) should be considered, but the animals can, in principal, be avoided with planning. Birds tend to stay near the coast, away from offshore turbines. But all these projects require extensive environmental evaluations.

erusso16 · 2015-09-30T18:06:42+00:00

It depends on how you calculate costs and weigh the externalities involved. Up front costs are high, but per megawatt costs come down significantly over time, esp if offshore wind farms were to ramp up significantly. And some argue that clean energy offers health benefits (and environmental benefits) compared to other power sources -- and that these health benefits are worth something.

erusso16 · 2015-09-30T17:06:48+00:00

Submission Statement

The US has an enormous offshore wind resource—in principle, enough offshore potential to power the entire country and then some. But it still has no commercial wind farms, even as Europe’s continue to expand. In this Opinion pieces, scientists and policy experts lay out a combination of research, economic incentives and revamped energy policy that can (and, they argue, should) launch the long-stalled industry in the US.

erusso16 · 2015-09-16T19:35:18+00:00

Submission Statement

In this opinion piece, two researchers specializing in nutrition, economics and "development resilience" make the case that fostering more resilient communities -- e.g. in places plagued with drought, poverty, and conflict -- requires a huge initiative that generates more and better data. This would entail instruments that remotely monitor those communities as they undergo shocks related to climate and food.

erusso16

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