Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Electric vehicles are expected to make up some 25% of cars sold globally in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency. Given where we were only a decade ago, this is a world-historical statistic. In 2016, EVs made up a little less than one percent of light vehicle sales. The […]
Green Enterprise: 1 Gigawatt He Dreiht North Sea Wind Farm receives no Gov’t Subsidies
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The first giant Vestas offshore wind turbine of the German He Dreiht (“It Spins”) project in the North Sea has been installed, some 190 miles northwest of Bremerhaven. It is capable of generating 15 megawatts just on its own. When the other 64 turbines are erected on the already-sunk pilons […]
Britain, France and Canada threaten Israel with Concrete Sanctions if Gaza War is not Halted
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Britain, France and Canada issued a statement on Monday, demanding that the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu cease its military campaign against the people of Gaza and halt its months-long blockade of food and medical aid, which has left the Strip on the verge of widespread famine. The three threatened […]
Gaza, Yemen, Iran: Trump’s Opening Gambits in the Middle East (Juan Cole on The Bitchuation Room with Francesca Fiorentini)
Juan Cole Interviewed by Francesca Fiorentini: “The Bitchuation Room (with Francesca Fiorentini): How To Lose a Country In 100 Days with Josh Gondelman & Juan Cole (Ep 278) ” Follow Francesca’s YouTube channel at the link above and sign up for her Patreon here . I fed the computer-generated transcript through ChatGPT to clean it […]
Libyan Gov’t Decries Fake News about Taking 1 mn. Palestinian Refugees: “Committed to the Palestinian Cause”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Abu Dhabi-based Erem News reports that the Prime Minister of Libya’s internationally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli, Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibeh, has vehemently denied the report in the “American Thinker” by what Libya called the “notorious conspiracy theorist” Jerome Corsi that the Trump administration is negotiating with the […]
China’s Power Sector Emissions fall 5.8% in Q1, as Renewables rapidly Replace Coal
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Lauri Myllyvirta writes at Carbon Brief that China’s CO2 emissions over-all fell by 1% in the past 12 months, and by 1.6% in the first quarter of this year compared to Q1 of 2024. In the first quarter of this year, moreover, power sector emissions fell a dramatic 5.8 percent. […]
As Trump urges End to Gaza Fighting, Half a Million Face Starvation and Israel bombs more Hospitals
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Even as President Trump and members of his entourage in Doha, Qatar, discussed how to end the Israeli war on Gaza, the Israeli government ramped up its bombardment of the Palestinians there. The National reports that on the margins of Trump’s visit, negotiations continued in Doha, centering on a halt […]
US Court fines Israeli Spyware Firm NSO $167mn for Targeting Whatsapp
( Middle East Monitor ) – A federal jury in California has ordered Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group to pay Meta $167 million in punitive damages, marking the first time a court has imposed financial liability on a spyware vendor for abuses linked to its software. The ruling sends a strong signal that private firms […]
Removing Syria Sanctions is a Win for the People, Whatever Trump’s Motives
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Syrians are rejoicing at the announcement on Tuesday by President Donald J. Trump that he will lift U.S. economic sanctions on Syria, at the advice of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, among others. Saudi Arabia gave Trump the quid pro quos he wanted for […]