3 most frightening stories

• There may be an accelerating feedback loop where forests stressed by climate change absorb less carbon, leading to more climate change, and so on. Biomass burning in Indonesia was particularly bad this year. Meanwhile, a new model suggests that fairly modest climate change may have led to the collapse of the Mayan civilization.
• A former U.S. secretary of defense thinks the risk of nuclear war is higher now than during the cold war. The Republic Party platform appears to be outright in favor of nuclear weapons, while the Democratic Party platform includes a tepid commitment to maybe “reducing reliance” and spending on nuclear weapons. Jeffrey Sachs says the Syria War has become essentially a U.S.-Russia proxy war.
• “Earth Overshoot Day” arrived on August 8, 5 days earlier than last year. Humans may have essentially depleted the natural capital of North America at this point.

3 most hopeful stories

• There is new technology for tracking energy use in our homes.
• There is new technology for mapping street trees.
• There is new financial technology out there that may disrupt the traditional financial industry. Meanwhile, ride sharing has torpedoed the traditional taxi industry, with the value of Philadelphia taxi medallions dropping from a peak of $545,000 in July 2014 to $50,000 in March 2015.

3 most interesting stories

• Bokashi is a system that essentially pickles your compost.
• There is an unlikely but plausible scenario where Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, could become President of the United States this fall. Speaking of implausible scenarios, I learned that RIchard Nixon made a serious attempt to pass a basic income bill in 1969.
• Here is a short video explaining the Fermi Paradox, which asks why there are no aliens. Meanwhile Russian astronomers are saying there might be aliens.