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- Issue 21 - Tech to Make it Rain? 🌧
Issue 21 - Tech to Make it Rain? 🌧
AI and Activism 💪🏼
Jesse Hirsh & Jeanette Herrle
January 11, 2024
Welcome to issue twenty-one of the Eco Punks Gazette. Black Jack!
Today’s issue has a strong green tech focus. This is partly in response to a request from a reader. Want us to look into a specific subject? Let us know by replying to this email.
Table of Contents
Upcoming Events
Monday at 11am EST - The Tragedy of the Digital Commons
This salon delves into the pivotal role that shared resources and collective efforts have played in the evolution of the Internet, in contrast to and in spite of the attempts to control it by large corporations. The tragedy of the commons is a paradox in which individual actions undermine or ruin the shared resources. |  |
Is this about to happen with the proliferation of AI generated media? If Elon Musk killed the Internet’s town square, what comes next? Join us in this dynamic dialogue to understand and influence the future of our most powerful communal resource: the Internet.
Our salons are currently taking place on the Eco Punks stage. Reply to this email if you don’t have the current password and want it!
Jan 23rd at 11am EST - Can We Trust the Internet?
“A trust layer for the internet is emerging,” a report by CIRA and Continuum Loop, argues that pairing technical trust (e.g., encryption and signing) and human trust (e.g., governance) enables a trust layer to emerge. This allows the Internet community to create trustworthy digital ecosystems and rebuild trust in the Internet as a whole.
The report highlights that the Internet currently lacks this trust layer, and while we can build individual systems that have reasonably good security, we lack a shared framework and the set of tools needed to ensure trustworthy systems exist across all aspects of the internet. The report suggests that by harnessing and creating new standards for both technical and human trust, we can create an interoperable, deeply trustworthy Internet to carry us into the next phases of its use.
One of the co-authors Jacques Latour, the CTO of CIRA will be joining us for a deep dive into trust and the Internet.
January Media Club: Patria/Homeland
Eco Punk Lynn Chow recommended the novel Patria, translated into English as Homeland, as well as the HBO series adapted from the book. The story is set in the Basque Country, exploring the culture and social dynamics of the failed independence movement. We invite you to read the book and/or watch the show and we’ll convene later in the month to discuss it. What we think of the book/show, the story, but also the history this narrative explores. As a media club it’s the equivalent of a book club, only in this case you can choose to watch the show if reading is not your thing. |  |
AI and Activism with Steve Anderson
We had a chat with Steve Anderson from newmode.net about the role AI can play for activists. New/Mode is a comprehensive advocacy and engagement platform designed to empower organizations, campaigns, and activists to effectively mobilize grassroots support and influence public policy. |  newmode.net |
Their platform offers a suite of tools that facilitate various forms of digital advocacy, including email, call, and social media campaigns. These tools are geared towards enabling users to engage with decision-makers, mobilize supporters, and amplify their message for social change. New/Mode's services are particularly valuable for non-profits, advocacy groups, and political campaigns seeking to create impactful, community-driven change. By integrating with popular CRM systems and providing data-driven insights, New/Mode helps organizations to strategize and optimize their advocacy efforts for maximum impact.
The conversation also touched on the various aspects of AI, including machine learning, algorithms, and generative AI. Steve highlights the challenges and concerns with AI, particularly in terms of bias and the need to direct AI towards the public interest and common good. He shares insights into how NewMode.net empowers organizations like Greenpeace and Planned Parenthood by optimizing social sharing through algorithms and providing tools for effective advocacy campaigns.
The discussion further explored the role of AI in politics, democracy, and advocacy, and how NewMode.net is engaging with AI to provide impactful tools for cause-based organizations and activists. Finally we covered the importance of cybersecurity, data hygiene, and the responsibility of platforms in protecting data.
China and sodium-ion battery tech
China is making strides in the development of sodium-ion batteries as a cheaper and more abundant alternative to lithium-ion batteries. Chinese automaker JAC has already delivered its first batch of electric vehicles powered by sodium-ion batteries.
BYD, another Chinese automotive company, has started construction on a new sodium-ion battery facility in Xuzhou, China, with an investment of nearly 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion). Farasis Energy has also rolled out the world’s first electric vehicle powered by sodium-ion batteries.
Sodium-ion batteries are a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries, as they are less dense and more abundant, and therefore less expensive. The technology is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to revolutionize the electric vehicle industry and reduce our dependence on lithium-ion batteries.
Europe and North American governments and industry are concerned that China already has a huge lead when it comes to EV tech. Will China pull even further ahead as a result of this tech? Some resources for those who want to learn more:
Ep 10 of The Power Current is out and in it we tackle the increasingly shrill debate around sodium-ion battery tech with Frank Wunderlich-Pfeifer (@FrankWunderli13), a Germany-based journalist who is a vocal proponent of this emerging technology.
— Chris Berry (@cberry1)
4:42 PM • Jan 5, 2024
Making it Rain?!
Climate technology is a hot area, a mix of genuine innovation and deceptive snake oil. It can be difficult to distinguish between the two, especially when dealing with technologies that are in the development or prototype stage.
This is one of the big problems with the Consumer Electronics Show, as it is a marketing event not a scientific one. Most of the tech that appears at CES never actually makes it to the market. You can look at cool stuff, but you can rarely buy it.
With that in mind, it is interesting to see a range of tech designed to extract water from the air, or literally make it rain.
Makerain.com is a company that aims to end global water scarcity through advanced cloud seeding and weather modification technology that improves cloud ability to produce rain or snow?! The company uses large-scale numerical modeling of cloud formations, rapidly deployable drones, and new chemicals in order to seed clouds precisely and maximize precipitation. Rainmaker’s product, T.H.O.R., can trigger hail and orographic rain, providing more foresight and data about precipitation. |  |
The irony however is that when you search for rainmaker, you are directed to a different company. Rainmaker Worldwide is a Peterborough Ontario based company that provides economical, scalable and environmentally sustainable solutions to the global water crisis through innovative technology. The company has developed technology in two categories: Air-to-Water (AW) and Water-to-Water (WW). The AW technology harvests fresh water from airborne humidity, while the WW technology transforms contaminated water (saltwater, sewage, polluted) into safe, clean water.
The company that is getting attention at CES for this kind of tech is Genesis Systems who has developed a transportable atmospheric freshwater generation system called WC-1000 WaterCube that can extract thousands of gallons of water from the atmosphere in a day, even in relatively dry climates. The system generates renewable freshwater from air using solar or conventional energy, and is environmentally friendly, producing no pollution or hazardous by-products. The product is capable of producing anywhere from 1000 – 5000 gallons of fresh, clean drinking water per day.
What do you think?
We give a tip of the hat to the OG rainmaker: trees!
Inclusive Futurism
The concept of futurism often conjures images of tech visionaries and elite thinkers forecasting the world of tomorrow. However, a new paradigm is emerging: inclusive futurism. This approach democratizes the act of future-casting, asserting that everyone, regardless of their background or profession, has a vital role in envisioning and shaping the future. This article delves into the essence of inclusive futurism, exploring how it empowers individuals from all walks of life to actively participate in creating diverse and desirable futures.
Read more via this link:
Tunnel Update
Is 2024 the year of tunnels? Turns out Chabad Lubavitch students had also been digging tunnels. When NYPD showed up to shut them down, they fought back.
What they didn’t get into in this report is how the tunnels are part of a larger dispute within the community as to whether Rebbe Schneerson is the messiah and therefore due to return at any moment.
Do your animals talk to you?
Ours talk us! So we started a newsletter to share their thoughts and stories.
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We’ve created a Signal group for Eco Punks to share links, ideas, and get a friendly reminder about salons and events. If you’d like to join us on Signal, email [email protected].
And that’s another issue! Thanks for making it to the end. This issue’s bonus music track was recommended by Eco Punk Sophie Fraser:
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