The Daily Populous

New Zealand’s New Leader Wants to Kill Off Carbon

Jacinda Ardern aims to switch the electricity grid entirely to renewables by 2035, which would place the South Pacific island in a small club of nations ditching fuels like coal and natural gas to cut carbon emissions.

Removing those fossil fuels from the grid may spark supply-security issues that policy makers or regulators need to address, according to Stevenson.

New Zealand’s reliance on hydropower leaves prices vulnerable to spikes amid dry weather as lake levels drop and coal- and gas-fired plants make up the shortfall.

Just a handful of countries including Iceland and Norway have almost entirely eliminated fossil fuels from their grids.

Taiwan has struggled to shift away from coal, highlighting issues with the reliability of its grid and raising scrutiny of the current administration’s policies.

Thanks to its own large hydropower resources, New Zealand is a long way down the road to meeting its target.

Phasing out fossil fuels from the power grid should be a priority for the Labour-led government, according to environmental campaigner Greenpeace New Zealand. »

TIL after a screening of the film The Elephant Man, studio executives recommended the surreal scenes be cut. Producer Mel Brooks responded: "We screened the film to bring you up to date as to the status of that venture. Do not misconstrue this as our soliciting the input of raging primitives."

Authored by tcm.com

When shown a cut of the film, Paramount executives recommended that the surreal opening and closing sequences be removed from the film.

According to Cornfeld, Brooks tersely responded, "We are involved in a business venture.

We screened the film for you to bring you up to date as to the status of that venture. »

Air Force Error Allowed Texas Gunman to Buy Weapons

Authored by nytimes.com

“The Air Force has launched a review of how the service handled the criminal records of former Airman Devin P. Kelley following his 2012 domestic violence conviction,” the Air Force said in a statement.

The statement said Heather Wilson, the Air Force secretary, and Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, had ordered the Air Force inspector general to “conduct a complete review of the Kelley case.”.

The Air Force also said it was looking into whether other convictions had been improperly left unreported to the federal database for firearms background checks. »

Journalists Boycott Disney Films After L.A. Times Snub

Authored by hollywoodreporter.com

On Monday, culture site The A.V. Club and entertainment site Flavorwire joined a Washington Post writer in pledging solidarity with the Los Angeles Times until Disney drops a temporary ban on access for the newspaper.

"We will not cover any Disney releases, nor those of subsidiaries Marvel or Lucasfilm (no, not even that one) as long as the Times ban stands.".

Alyssa Rosenberg, who writes about movies and television as a pop culture blogger for The Washington Post, announced that she won't attend screenings anymore. »

Stephen Hawking says A.I. could be 'worst event in the history of our civilization'

Authored by cnbc.com

Hawking talked up the potential of AI to help undo damage done to the natural world, or eradicate poverty and disease, with every aspect of society being "transformed.".

"Success in creating effective AI, could be the biggest event in the history of our civilization.

"Unless we learn how to prepare for, and avoid, the potential risks, AI could be the worst event in the history of our civilization. »