Welcome to my regular round-up of the week’s causes for optimism, as noticed in the media. Plus links to debunkings of alarmism, and general discussions of the optimism vs. pessimism gap.
* The Federalist observes that “The U.S. Economy Roared Back To Life In Q3” with the fastest growth in history.
* A new paper in Nature debunks recent alarmist claims that the world’s sandy beaches are washing away, and that half would be gone by 2100. Dodgy computer-models were partly to blame for the alarmism, together with a large sprinking of what the debunkers call “arbitrary and unjustified” assumptions. The original EU study was not just inept, they find, but it also suggested policies to the highest level of the EU that will be “economically and environmentally disastrous” if implemented.
* A team led by the UK’s Durham University has discovered a far more efficient way to make biofuel from waste oil such a cooking oil. Just one or two percent contamination of the oil was enough to bring previous methods to a grinding halt. But the new method can handle “up to 50 per cent contamination”. The new nanoparticle catalyst is said to be simple and easy to make.
* After “the successful recovery of the gray wolf” species in the USA, “President Trump Returns Management of Gray Wolves to States and Tribes”. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will also monitor the progress of the species for the next five years, to ensure the management hand-over goes smoothly.
* In a world-first, a fast-manoeuvring hypervelocity cruise missile has been shot down before reaching its target. The U.S. hyper-cannon that took the missile down had real-time AI assistance.
* And finally, the UK’s official communications watchdog, OFCOM, “will ban UK networks from selling locked mobile phones”. “Locking” appears to mean the phone can only be used with a single service provider — which then effectively has a monopoly over those handsets.
Enjoyed this post? There’s more at the ‘Something for the Weekend’ newsletter archive.