Null Island & Silicon Valley Climate Entrepreneurs
A fictional island that keeps popping up on maps. Also, Silicon Valley is diving into geoengineering.
Featured Articles
The Many Lives of Null Island
Stamen • 23 Jul 2024 • ~4300 words
Have you ever heard of Null Island? It’s not a real place but rather an inside joke among cartographers that has become a fascinating phenomenon in the world of maps. This article dives into the quirky details and intriguing stories surrounding this fictional island, exploring how it keeps creeping into geographic data and what it reveals about our mapping practices.
Null Island has become such a phenomenon that people are deliberately tagging their photos at a place called “Null Island” just for fun
Inside Silicon Valley’s Grand Ambitions To Control Our Planet’s Thermostat
NOEMA • 8 Aug 2024 • ~3800 words
As climate change accelerates, Silicon Valley is diving into geoengineering with hopes of both saving the planet and turning a profit. This article explores the controversial plans of entrepreneurs trying to reshape our approach to the climate crisis, raising questions about the balance between innovation and ethics. If this reminds you of another article we featured in our newsletter for August 1st, you’re not alone.
When Surprise looked into who was behind solar geoengineering funding today, he didn’t find the fossil fuel industry trying to delay emissions reductions. He found uber-rich, Silicon Valley and Wall St. philanthropists who advertised themselves as wanting to save the world. But if the ends they seek are different from the oil and gas industry, their means are surprisingly similar.
Recommended Articles
For John Rawls, liberalism was more than a political project: it is the best way to fashion a life that is worthy of happiness
Aeon • 9 Aug 2024 • ~3700 words
This article, adapted from Alexandre Lefebvre’s book Liberalism as a Way of Life, discusses John Rawls, a pivotal 20th-century political philosopher. We explore how Rawls viewed liberalism not just as a political framework but as a way to cultivate a life worthy of happiness. The author argues that for the unchurched, liberalism serves as a vital source of values, encompassing freedom, fairness, and generosity.
Liberals, in other words, fail to recognise not just what liberalism has become today (a worldview and comprehensive value system) but who they are as well: living and breathing incarnations of it.
Why You Should Feel Good About Liberalism
persuasion.community • 6 Aug 2024 • ~3700 words
Following the thread on liberalism, this piece in Persuasion dives into the paradox of liberalism, exploring why it faces so much criticism despite its historical success in fostering knowledge, freedom, and prosperity. The author argues that the real crisis lies not in liberalism itself but in the institutions that surround it and advocates for a renewed commitment. It’s a worthy read whether you agree or not.
. . . if churches preach politics, if schools neglect citizenship, if businesses are mercenary, if politics becomes performative, if voters become cynical, if media becomes propagandistic, if communities crumble, and if families fragment—well, in that case, liberalism will not save us.
The Weirdest Stuff We’ve Sent into Orbit
Nautilus • 7 Aug 2024 • ~2200 words
For a bit of light reading: have you ever wondered what bizarre items humans have sent into space? From golf balls to dinosaur bones, this article explores the strange and whimsical objects that have made their way into orbit. With insights from researchers, it reveals the quirky motivations behind these launches and the stories they carry.
We hope that something or someone will find them and get a sense of what kind of species we are, possibly even sending a friendly greeting in reply or some of their own iconic stuff. But maybe we also wish to make the vast expanse of the universe feel a little more human and home-like—a backyard instead of an abyss.
Putin’s New Agents of Chaos
Foreign Affairs • 9 Aug 2024 • ~2600 words
This article explores the resurgence of Russian forces' sabotage tactics, which resemble Soviet-era strategies, and how these bold moves challenge Western responses. It’s a thought-provoking look at how history can repeat itself and its implications for global security.
U.S. and European counterintelligence agencies lack the ability to implement full-scale measures to stop Russian sabotage operations, because to be truly effective, these must include drastic steps that are in practice only feasible under totalitarian regimes.
A Battle Over a Farm, a Mosque and the Moral High Ground
New York Times • 4 Aug 2024 • ~3300 words
A proposed development has stirred tensions around community, identity, and progress in the quiet town of Lino Lakes, Minnesota. A plan to build a mixed-use community called Madinah Lakes that would include a large mosque faced strong opposition from some residents who saw it as creating a segregated, Muslim-only community. Dan Barry's article explores the ongoing dispute.
Even the small tree-shaded hill outside City Hall became a battleground. At first, the development’s supporters gathered there to chat and strategize — until opponents began arriving early to stake their claim with lawn chairs, signs and snack tables. It became known as “taking the hill.”
