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Katie Singer writes about nature and technology in Letters to Greta. She spoke about the Internet's footprint in 2018, at the United Nations' Forum on Science, Technology & Innovation, and, in 2019, on a panel with the climatologist Dr. James Hansen. Her most recent book is An Electronic Silent Spring. www.DearGreta.com and www.ElectronicSilentSpring.com.
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Monday, August 24, 2026
Efforts to protect ecosystems and public health in digital times Recently, a journalist asked me to explain how data centers and AI are a menace to society. I replied that focusing on data centers and/or AI is like weighing an elephant by the tip of its tail.
Monday, August 24, 2026Efforts to protect ecosystems and public health in digital times Recently, a journalist asked me to explain how data centers and AI are a menace to society. I replied that focusing on data centers and/or AI is like weighing an elephant by the tip of its tail.
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Sunday, August 23, 2026
P.S. on Protective Conditions for Solar or Battery Facilities After I posted "Aiming for Protective Conditions""if a developer proposes "green" (solar and/or battery energy storage) facilities near you," an astute reader clarified that in a capitalist system, a county commission's job is not to protect the environment or create safety mechanisms. A commission's job is to move projects forward.
Sunday, August 23, 2026P.S. on Protective Conditions for Solar or Battery Facilities After I posted "Aiming for Protective Conditions""if a developer proposes "green" (solar and/or battery energy storage) facilities near you," an astute reader clarified that in a capitalist system, a county commission's job is not to protect the environment or create safety mechanisms. A commission's job is to move projects forward.
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Thursday, August 20, 2026
Aiming for Protective Conditions""if a developer proposes "green" facilities near you If a developer wants to install a utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) facility and/or battery energy storage (BESS) near you, consider yourself blessed. You get to shake up your assumptions about "green," "clean" and "renewable" energy. You get to practice humility while explaining technologies' not-so-sunny sides so that neighbors and legislators who believe that "renewables" cannot possibly have problems"actually hear you.
Thursday, August 20, 2026Aiming for Protective Conditions""if a developer proposes "green" facilities near you If a developer wants to install a utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) facility and/or battery energy storage (BESS) near you, consider yourself blessed. You get to shake up your assumptions about "green," "clean" and "renewable" energy. You get to practice humility while explaining technologies' not-so-sunny sides so that neighbors and legislators who believe that "renewables" cannot possibly have problems"actually hear you.
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Monday, August 10, 2026
Thanks to the moon--before and after Tuesday night As I write, the upper stage of a discarded Falcon 9 Space X rocket barrels (unplanned) toward the Moon at 5400 miles per hour. Falcon 9 transports commercial payloads, satellites and national security missions to space. Researchers expect this rocket part will slam into the Moon's western lunar limb...
Monday, August 10, 2026Thanks to the moon--before and after Tuesday night As I write, the upper stage of a discarded Falcon 9 Space X rocket barrels (unplanned) toward the Moon at 5400 miles per hour. Falcon 9 transports commercial payloads, satellites and national security missions to space. Researchers expect this rocket part will slam into the Moon's western lunar limb...
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Saturday, August 1, 2026
This is about nature and money This is about regulations around industrial processes that ravage wildlife and public health. This is about the right and ability to live-- the right and ability of rivers, soil, flora, fauna and people to live. This concerns land "owners." It's about the waste generated by gas-powered cars and e-vehicles, paved roads, air conditioners, telephones, smartphones, smart meters, the Internet, data storage and AI from...
Saturday, August 1, 2026This is about nature and money This is about regulations around industrial processes that ravage wildlife and public health. This is about the right and ability to live-- the right and ability of rivers, soil, flora, fauna and people to live. This concerns land "owners." It's about the waste generated by gas-powered cars and e-vehicles, paved roads, air conditioners, telephones, smartphones, smart meters, the Internet, data storage and AI from...
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Sunday, July 19, 2026
Could we restore limits? Hippocrates advised physicians to "First, do no harm-- "but we can take the advice personally, regarding food, for example. Don't stuff yourself. Avoid heated oil, which leads to inflammation. Avoid sugar, which creates a surge of energy, then depression. Vegan diets or meat-heavy diets also create extremes. Go for balance.
Sunday, July 19, 2026Could we restore limits? Hippocrates advised physicians to "First, do no harm-- "but we can take the advice personally, regarding food, for example. Don't stuff yourself. Avoid heated oil, which leads to inflammation. Avoid sugar, which creates a surge of energy, then depression. Vegan diets or meat-heavy diets also create extremes. Go for balance.
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Saturday, July 4, 2026
To provide every global citizen with a decent opportunity for a healthy life To provide every global citizen with a decent opportunity for a healthy life-- starting with clean water and toilets-- Soumya Dutta said that poor countries with the lowest emissions might need to increase their per capita energy consumption. To reduce human-imposed burdens on natural ecosystems sufficiently, people who consume excessively would need to reduce their energy and water consumption by at least 70% and eliminate...
Saturday, July 4, 2026To provide every global citizen with a decent opportunity for a healthy life To provide every global citizen with a decent opportunity for a healthy life-- starting with clean water and toilets-- Soumya Dutta said that poor countries with the lowest emissions might need to increase their per capita energy consumption. To reduce human-imposed burdens on natural ecosystems sufficiently, people who consume excessively would need to reduce their energy and water consumption by at least 70% and eliminate...
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Friday, June 19, 2026
When communication becomes a capitalist game In the age of artificial intelligence, which voice of authority carries more weight?As AI reshapes how people receive information, we're all asking How do you evaluate a source that cannot show its work? How do you trust a voice that has no face, no history, no skin in the game? How do you resist a system that sounds like it knows everything? How do you tell true good news from sophisticated manipulation? After Pope Leo XIV...
Friday, June 19, 2026When communication becomes a capitalist game In the age of artificial intelligence, which voice of authority carries more weight?As AI reshapes how people receive information, we're all asking How do you evaluate a source that cannot show its work? How do you trust a voice that has no face, no history, no skin in the game? How do you resist a system that sounds like it knows everything? How do you tell true good news from sophisticated manipulation? After Pope Leo XIV...
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Friday, June 19, 2026
In the Era of the Strait of Hormuz's Closure Call this the time for learning about international supply chains""and reducing our dependence on them. Call this the Time for Differentiating between necessities and luxuries. Plant edible landscapes, compost kitchen scraps, mend clothes, make soup, walk, share rides, host monthly neighborhood potlucks. Trade kitchen table remedies for all manner of ailments.
Friday, June 19, 2026In the Era of the Strait of Hormuz's Closure Call this the time for learning about international supply chains""and reducing our dependence on them. Call this the Time for Differentiating between necessities and luxuries. Plant edible landscapes, compost kitchen scraps, mend clothes, make soup, walk, share rides, host monthly neighborhood potlucks. Trade kitchen table remedies for all manner of ailments.
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Thursday, June 4, 2026
Two encouraging stories--and one calling on YOUR help On May 20, AT&T mailed notices to landline customers it plans to discontinue phone service in their areas by June, 2027.
Thursday, June 4, 2026Two encouraging stories--and one calling on YOUR help On May 20, AT&T mailed notices to landline customers it plans to discontinue phone service in their areas by June, 2027.
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Sunday, May 24, 2026
Home, land neighborhoods While we and many friends struggle to afford housing, water and nutrient dense food, rental prices have increased 74% in nine years; the cost of buying a new house has increased 82%. AirB&Bs and second homeowners now border our rental house.
Sunday, May 24, 2026Home, land neighborhoods While we and many friends struggle to afford housing, water and nutrient dense food, rental prices have increased 74% in nine years; the cost of buying a new house has increased 82%. AirB&Bs and second homeowners now border our rental house.
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Saturday, May 9, 2026
So, where should we start? Every time I hear someone call solar PVs, industrial wind turbines, battery energy storage (BESS) or e-vehicles "green," "clean," "zero-emitting" or "renewable," I flinch.
Saturday, May 9, 2026So, where should we start? Every time I hear someone call solar PVs, industrial wind turbines, battery energy storage (BESS) or e-vehicles "green," "clean," "zero-emitting" or "renewable," I flinch.
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Monday, April 27, 2026
What matters? In Tehran, amidst the rubble of the Honiak Music Academy, which Hamidreza Afarideh and his wife built, he chose to play his kamancheh. Afarideh said, "The last sound that remains here should not be bombs and missiles. It should be music."
Monday, April 27, 2026What matters? In Tehran, amidst the rubble of the Honiak Music Academy, which Hamidreza Afarideh and his wife built, he chose to play his kamancheh. Afarideh said, "The last sound that remains here should not be bombs and missiles. It should be music."
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Thursday, April 2, 2026
Oil, Food and Water For the last century, many (most?) U.S. Americans have enjoyed an abundance of vegetables, fruits, grains, cheese and meat""without knowing about the petroleum (for fertilizers, packaging, intercontinental shipping, etc.) behind grocery stores' shelves or restaurant menus.
Thursday, April 2, 2026Oil, Food and Water For the last century, many (most?) U.S. Americans have enjoyed an abundance of vegetables, fruits, grains, cheese and meat""without knowing about the petroleum (for fertilizers, packaging, intercontinental shipping, etc.) behind grocery stores' shelves or restaurant menus.
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Friday, March 20, 2026
Closing the Strait of Hormuz, Opening to People Who Question & Listen If anyone aims to expand awareness of modern civilization's ecological impacts-- and reduce them-- then we might consider the Strait's closure a blessing.
Friday, March 20, 2026Closing the Strait of Hormuz, Opening to People Who Question & Listen If anyone aims to expand awareness of modern civilization's ecological impacts-- and reduce them-- then we might consider the Strait's closure a blessing.
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Thursday, March 12, 2026
URGENT (If you need the night to keep dark) California-based Reflect Orbital wants to deploy satellites covered in mirrors to produce "sunlight on-demand" at night in order to boost solar power production during peak-use morning and evening hours. If the FCC approves this project, Reflect Orbital plans to release up to 50,000 satellites into Earth's orbit by 2035. By reflecting the sun's rays onto Earth at night, they could illuminate an area wider than Manhattan.
Thursday, March 12, 2026URGENT (If you need the night to keep dark) California-based Reflect Orbital wants to deploy satellites covered in mirrors to produce "sunlight on-demand" at night in order to boost solar power production during peak-use morning and evening hours. If the FCC approves this project, Reflect Orbital plans to release up to 50,000 satellites into Earth's orbit by 2035. By reflecting the sun's rays onto Earth at night, they could illuminate an area wider than Manhattan.
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Sunday, March 8, 2026
In response to A.I., what options do (vulnerable) humans have? Almost everywhere, I notice Artificial Intelligence. After A.I.s from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google kept recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations...
Sunday, March 8, 2026In response to A.I., what options do (vulnerable) humans have? Almost everywhere, I notice Artificial Intelligence. After A.I.s from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google kept recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations...
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Thursday, February 19, 2026
Digesting disasters AND cool ideas I take in the day's news. I notice corporations barreling ahead with abandon, become larger, acquiring more utilities, building more data centers, offering more AI-drive products, engaging children at younger and younger ages.
Thursday, February 19, 2026Digesting disasters AND cool ideas I take in the day's news. I notice corporations barreling ahead with abandon, become larger, acquiring more utilities, building more data centers, offering more AI-drive products, engaging children at younger and younger ages.
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Monday, February 9, 2026
A Confession from Tech Bro Gerry McGovern While so much of our world collapses, we all look for solutions. Israeli historian Ilan Pappe' recently offered another approach. Speaking last month about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said, "There is no need for peace. There is need for decolonization. There is need for transitional justice. And more than anything else, there is need to listen to Palestinians, to hear... their aspirations for the future of Palestine..
Monday, February 9, 2026A Confession from Tech Bro Gerry McGovern While so much of our world collapses, we all look for solutions. Israeli historian Ilan Pappe' recently offered another approach. Speaking last month about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he said, "There is no need for peace. There is need for decolonization. There is need for transitional justice. And more than anything else, there is need to listen to Palestinians, to hear... their aspirations for the future of Palestine..
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Saturday, January 31, 2026
Even (especially?) now, aiming for middle ground Have you noticed that while natural and human systems collapse (i.e. Arctic ice, global biodiversity loss, water tables and clean water, affordable food and shelter, health care, environmental protections, free speech protections, local authority over telecommunications)...
Saturday, January 31, 2026Even (especially?) now, aiming for middle ground Have you noticed that while natural and human systems collapse (i.e. Arctic ice, global biodiversity loss, water tables and clean water, affordable food and shelter, health care, environmental protections, free speech protections, local authority over telecommunications)...
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