Blog/Commentary
Sorry for the absence
The last month has absolutely flown by! Exactly a month ago, Melissa and I packed the car and headed west to our cabin near the TN border. We're lucky that we have power, water and StarLink out here. Meanwhile, back in Asheville, we still don't have potable water at our house, and likely won't have it for another month at least! Hurricane Helene absolutely devastated our region, and getting potable water back online has been a particularly difficult proposition as the reservoir still is full of sediment that our water treatment facility isn't designed for.
All of that is to say, I haven't been focused on my Curated email the past few weeks. I'm sharing some stories this week, will likely skip next week as we're traveling back to Buffalo for a weekend of Bills & Sabres games and will try to pick back up in November when we return.
Next Tuesday is election day. More than ever, it's so important to cast your ballot, not just for the big races, but for all of the races! Exercise both your right AND responsibility!
Pete
Opinion: Yes, Hurricane Helene is our Katrina, and we’ll be forever changed • Asheville Watchdog
By now, the “bears in canoes” meme seems pretty quaint, right? You surely remember before Helene hit the mountains how we’d already gotten a half-foot of rain and people started sharing the memes of Asheville’s plentiful bears taking to canoes and kayaks downtown to survive inundated streets. It seemed to capture the moment in a […]
Politics
What Elon Musk Really Wants - The Atlantic
Why is Elon Musk really all in for Trump? The mogul has long dreamed of redesigning the world to achieve his techno-authoritarian dreams. As @FranklinFoer writes, Trump is just the perfect Trojan horse:
Photography
Winners of the 2024 Natural Landscape Photography Awards - The Atlantic
Winners and runners-up from this year’s landscape-photography competition
Media
How the Media Can Escape Its Doom Loop of Distrust - Bloomberg
Former New York Times executive editor Bill Keller argues that news needs more transparency and accountability to regain public trust. Greater media literacy is also essential.
Markets & Economy
31 Years of Stock Market Returns - A Wealth of Common Sense
Historical returns for the S&P 500 from 1993-2023.
Climate Change
Parts of Antarctica are turning green at an 'astounding' rate | New Scientist
Satellite images of the Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands reveal that the area covered by vegetation grew dramatically between 1986 and 2021 and the rate of growth has accelerated since 2016
What it’s like to live through a hurricane as a climate scientist : NPR
Researchers in Asheville, North Carolina have warned for years that rainfall is becoming increasingly dangerous. But experiencing it firsthand with Hurricane Helene is something totally different.
New York officials call for big oil to be prosecuted for fueling climate disasters | New York | The Guardian
Oil majors’ conduct can constitute reckless endangerment due to fossil fuels’ effect on global heating, advocates claim
Culture
Tupperware files for bankruptcy : NPR
Tupperware's reliance on people selling its storage containers at home-and-garden parties or through social media was once its strength. Now it's a weakness, the company says in its bankruptcy filing.
Once You Try a Four-Day Workweek, It’s Hard to Go Back - Bloomberg
A six-month trial in Germany showed many promising signs. But there were disappointments, too.