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Paris is burning (well, sort of)
Last year, a stunning tweet went viral, showing French diners leisurely enjoying their meal as flames raged in a restaurant's exterior windows.
That's essentially Paris' approach to building housing for the upcoming influx of athletes for the Summer Olympics, writes Lee Hochsteder from Paris, which has not installed air conditioning in its Olympic Village.
“Despite recent summer temperatures rising, five years ago temperatures reached 108 degrees,” says Lee. “Many Parisians remain calm, viewing air conditioning as a climate-destroying luxury that is primarily enjoyed by whiny Americans.” And that's the opinion of people who don't like putting ice in their water!
Li writes that the home's designers “claim that their 'natural' air conditioning systems ensure that temperatures never exceed 80 degrees in most apartments most of the time,” but this claim includes more qualifications than the Chinese gymnasts'.
Not surprisingly, the US, Australia and other countries are bringing in their own window units. Add in the authorities' ill-fated attempt to repurpose the Seine for aquatic sports and the whole “Green Games” starts to seem a little pointless.
But at least Paris is trying. Lee reports that the mayor rebuked the opposition in a very French way: “I have great respect for the comfort of the athletes, but I think even more about the survival of humanity.”
France has also long been a leader in clean energy through nuclear power, and Rob Gebelhoff is pleased to see the U.S. taking small steps to catch up with France.
He wrote that the recently passed Nuclear Advancement Act should help “lift the nuclear industry out of a decades-long slump” marked by aging and closures of reactors and a lack of commitment to building more. Currently, U.S. nuclear energy production is expected to decline over the next 15 years.
Robb explains the important role the ADVANCE Act will play, but writes that this is just the beginning: The country will need much more investment to bolster its largest source of non-carbon energy.
Speaking of nukes, Alexander Karp and Nicholas Zamiska of Palantir Technologies begin their editorial with a reminder of the global nuclear peace, the massive reduction in violence brought about by the frightening specter of mutually assured destruction, which, like dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel, they see as an actual benefit of the weapon.
But “the nuclear age may soon be coming to an end,” Karp and Zamiska write. “We are now in the software century. Future wars will be driven by artificial intelligence, the development of which is progressing at a much faster pace than conventional weapons.” So will AI weapons be developed and managed by the same (typically) responsible custodians who kept the world's nuclear stockpile? Or not?
The authors worry that Silicon Valley's unwillingness to work with or for the military exposes the world to the latter possibility. In Silicon Valley, “engineers turn away from the turmoil and moral complexities of geopolitics,” the authors argue. “Yet the peace enjoyed by those who oppose working with the military is made possible by the credible threat of force from those same military.”
Karp and Zamiska write that the newest generation of STEM kids must be inspired and energized to contribute to the development of the world's leading AI-powered autonomous weapons systems, not for war but for peace.
Chaser: They'd better act fast, too. The editorial board wrote that the Pentagon's egregious delays reflect problems the military is only just beginning to solve.
“The Supreme Court failed at the first step,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned in a dissent from the majority in an otherwise obscure immigration case released Friday. Instead, the Court appears to have gone out of its way to weaken marriage protections, just as it promised not to do when it overturned Roe v. Wade.
Ruth Marcus writes, “This appears to be the opening salvo in a battle over the scope of countless constitutional rights that Dobbs has unleashed.”
While Luce doubts the Supreme Court will have the arrogance to take away same-sex marriage rights, she acknowledges there is some cause for concern given how easily the decision could have avoided the issue altogether.
The Chaser: Should President Biden call for Supreme Court reform? Alexi McCammond analyzes the pros and cons in the latest edition of our Prompt 2024 newsletter.
Leanna Wen writes that the Surgeon General's proposal to require warning labels on social media platforms is a great idea that would go a long way to address the teen mental health crisis. For the sensitive, every week is Shark Week, writes Jean Robinson as she analyzes Donald Trump's unforgettable gaffes. Max Boot writes that Israelis have never been more depressed than they are now, under threat of war with Hezbollah.
It's goodbye. It's a haiku. It's… “goodbye.”
Less enjoyment of eating
Have a newsy haiku of your own? Email me with any questions, comments or concerns you may have. See you tomorrow!
