Category: Intersections

Solar and wind: a much better deal than oil and gas (renewables beat fossil fuels hands down)

Intersections

Background: “Critics have long claimed that variable renewables are too unreliable: The wind doesn’t always blow, and the sun doesn’t always shine. But evidence shows that intermittency concerns are now generally unfounded. Ten proven carbon-free balancing methods already make high-renewable grids reliable and economic in many countries. One of those methods, batteries, costs 96% less today than it did in 2010. BloombergNEF finds that battery-firmed solar and…

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The Internet to AI: a series — Message #1: A story

Intersections

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most important issues of our time … and it will remain so for the foreseeable future. Whether for good or for ill, it will likely impact virtually every facet of our society (technology, culture, jobs, wealth, poverty, politics, environment, democracy, education, psychology, and more) … Message #1: A story — I began my career as a librarian and…

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Drinking water quality is a chronic problem; what can phytoremediation do about nitrate and other pollutants? How does it work?

Intersections

Background: “Phytoremediation uses plants to clean up environmental contamination in soil, air, and water, offering a potentially cost-effective and less environmentally disruptive alternative to traditional methods of remediation. Phytoremediation methods include phytoextraction for inorganic pollutants, phytodegradation for organic contaminants, phytovolatilization for releasing volatile substances, phytostabilization for immobilizing pollutants, and phytostimulation for enhancing microbial activity in the rhizosphere.” From: Klein, M.A., Papoyan, A., & Kochian, L.V….

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Water conservation works, but climate change is outpacing it: Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas offer a glimpse of the future

Intersections

Renee Obringer, Penn State and Dave White, Arizona State University (from The Conversation) When a drought turns into an urban water crisis, a city’s first step is often to limit lawn watering and launch a campaign to encourage everyone to conserve. It might raise water-use rates or offer incentives for installing low-flow devices. While demand management techniques like these have had a lot of success…

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Nitrates and drinking water: Impacts and disparities. Is there a safe level? Cancer and health effects on children (Part 2)

Intersections

Nitrates in drinking water sources have become a chronic problem especially in areas of intensive corporate agriculture–like the U.S. Midwest. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not updated standards for nitrates in water for decades. Research indicates that health problems can be caused by levels far below the current U.S. Federal maximum. Background: “Nitrate (NO 3−) is a compound commonly found in fertilizers, animal manures,…

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Nitrates and drinking water: Impacts and disparities. Is there a safe level? Intensive, corporate agriculture and the United States (Part 1)

Intersections

Nitrates in drinking water sources have become a chronic problem especially in areas of intensive corporate agriculture–like the U.S. Midwest. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not updated standards for nitrates in water for decades. Research indicates that health problems can be caused by levels far below the current U.S. Federal maximum. Background: “Nitrate (NO 3−) is a compound commonly found in fertilizers, animal manures,…

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Iowa USA corn fields

Bird and insect populations are declining across the world; are they connected? What are the consequences for us?

Intersections

Multiple studies from different regions around the world show bird and insect populations declining precipitously. Are these declines connected? What has caused them? And what are the consequences for human society? Would it be possible for us to help birds and insects flourish again? See the research … References: *Leroy, F., Jarzyna, M. A., & Keil, P. (2026). Acceleration hotspots of North American birds’ decline…

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2025 was hotter than it should have been – 5 influences and a dirty surprise offer clues to what’s ahead

Intersections

Michael Wysession, Washington University in St. Louis (from The Conversation) The past three years have been the world’s hottest on record by far, with 2025 almost tied with 2023 for second place. With that energy came extreme weather, from flash flooding to powerful hurricanes and severe droughts. Yet, by most indicators, the planet should have been cooler in 2025 than it was. So, what happened,…

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Escape AI-generated slop and social media outrage; see the real world. Know the benefits of nature, humility, and kindness for you and others

Intersections

In a world increasingly filled with AI-generated slop of all kinds and a social media landscape dominated by an outrage machine that is engineered to addict people and steal their attention and privacy, it is important to know there is an alternative. And that alternative does not mean burying your nose in other media 24 hours a day. The alternative is simple … but can…

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AI chatbots and “human” language; do words actually mean anything coming from a large language model?

Intersections

Is there any humanity in the words/text that come from large language models (LLM) and AI? ‘The most astonishing thing about ChatGPT and every subsequent AI chatbot has always been that these programs are the first nonhumans to be fluent in our language. That simple fact is also, as Deb Roy argues in an essay in The Atlantic, among the most alarming things about these…

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