Blog/Commentary
Environmentally Sustainable Investing - YouTube
My webinar on Sustainable Investing for Warren Wilson College
Alternative Energy
Nuclear-Fusion Startup Lands $1.8 Billion as Investors Chase Star Power - WSJ
Commonwealth Fusion Systems has raised more than $1.8 billion from the likes of Bill Gates and George Soros as startups join the quest to generate carbon-free energy like the sun.
Markets & Economy
Wall Street Wants to Sell a Special Index, Just for You - Bloomberg
The biggest asset managers see customization—a blend of passive and active—as the future of investing. Or maybe it’s just the latest way to make a buck.
Climate Change
Drone footage captures devastating aftermath of Mayfield, Ky., tornado : The Picture Show : NPR
After deadly tornadoes hit the central U.S., photojournalist Brandon Clement documented the damage.
Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert on evolving the company's mission
A year into his job, Gellert calls out corporate hypocrisy and explains how Patagonia constantly evaluates its own approach to the climate crisis.
Think Climate Change Is Messy? Wait Until Geoengineering | WIRED
Someone's bound to hack the atmosphere to cool the planet. So we urgently need more research on the consequences, says climate scientist Kate Ricke.
Health/Biotech
Living robots known as xenobots can self-replicate : NPR
Xenobots, a type of programmable organism made from frog cells, can replicate by spontaneously sweeping up loose stem cells, researchers say. This could have implications for regenerative medicine.
The most-vaccinated big counties in America are beating the worst of the coronavirus - The Washington Post
Much has been made of the split between less-vaccinated (often red) states and more-vaccinated (often blue) ones. It's even more pronounced at the county level.
Transportation
Return Of The Drive-In: EV Charging With Food Delivered To Car
As more people drive EVs, and public fast-charging stations grow in number, we may be quite surprised to see how they evolve. What a fantastic concept.
Science
Meet Rosalind Franklin, a sidelined figure in the history of DNA science | PBS NewsHour
In "The Secret of Life: Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick, and the Discovery of DNA's Double Helix," Dr. Howard Markel tells the complicated tale of what he calls one of the most egregious rip-offs in the history of science. Read an excerpt here.
Environment
Right whale calves are being born. But can they survive in troubled waters? - The Washington Post
Slalom the North Atlantic right whale, survivor of multiple deadly fishing net entanglements, gave birth. But can mother and calf survive dangerous, human-infested waters?
The Viral Photo of Mount Everest: The Untold Accounts of the People Who Were There | GQ
It was one of the most arresting viral photos of the year: a horde of climbers clogged atop Mount Everest. But it only begins to capture the realities of what transpired that day at 29,000 feet. These are the untold accounts of the people who were there.
Culture
100 Notable Books of 2021: Full Reviews List - The New York Times
The year’s notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction, selected by the editors of The New York Times Book Review
The hilarious Nick Offerman on acting, the pandemic, and hiking ‘on purpose’ | PBS NewsHour Weekend
Most widely known as the curmudgeonly libertarian Ron Swanson on NBC’s hit comedy ‘Parks and Recreation,’ Nick Offerman admits to several similarities with his character: a love of carpentry, whiskey, and the great outdoors. Now, Offerman is turning his attention to a new cause: environmental activism. His new book, ‘Where The Deer and Antelope Play,’ is a meditation on our relationship to the natural world. He joins Christopher Booker to discuss.
America’s Gambling Addiction Is Metastasizing - The Atlantic
When life feels this precarious, it’s only natural to roll the dice on just about everything.
Mel Brooks says his only regret as a comedian is the jokes he didn't tell : NPR
Brooks wrote countless edgy jokes over the years, but he doesn't regret any of them. He calls comedy his "delicious refuge" from the world. "I hide in humor," he says. His new memoir is All About Me!