Issue 27

World

Razib Khan

Why we are Mongols.

Spread of proto-Indo-Europeans.

I like Razib Khan’s newsletter because it is so deep with both traditional archaeological and anthropological data as well as pre-historic DNA data. It is a great way to go deep on the subject of human diffusion. Check it out.

• https://www.razibkhan.com/p/facing-facts-even-fraught-ones-the
• The book - The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World by David W. Anthony
• The Horse the Wheel and Language</a>

Interesting article on the future of global population. If true, this can’t come soon enough. (from Jim. Thanks Jim!)

Opinion | All of the Predictions Agree on One Thing: Humanity Peaks Soon.

• https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/18/opinion/human-population-global-growth.html?unlocked_article_code=csld_kQBYNma0t3JzikMQjJB0rG80xG3z31_9rpKoblLGJjmzqri0sdPsbi3hEVGHtyBUfAJP0H5OGbiNSpCzGJNWSvicxKrl80ElwAvsScxvmW9_0uwefaDzIyjXzopwKGIYJcLOnOifwHRrqtU563aJpdzl47tUcSQivSimGD0NqOFskljbrwutSY7T8uqW2FPEVRaxR0KTBlEyVG_56JR_9IhEp2mNUfN544kMOTvOXhAH-3WXqhl8O_NrXxmXgaZeDzjrGntgvWNqQbU-cOCSKG0mG2AJu008BX6svi6jXtulv5L1s_GJkN_V_YonAs_1Sdltu7tfhzz5_DoPqKnxHauXFYllizwb2q5vfbpXdNl53LAFw&smid=url-share

A global economic phenomenon is underway. Remote work was already making steep inroads into working culture world-wide. With the COVID pandemic that trend accelerated by orders of magnitude. Now, some of the most expensive real estate in downtowns around the world are empty. The financial impact has been delayed because the lease holders are still paying. But, not for long. Here’s a example from Seattle. Offices to Housing:

• https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/researchers-say-these-seattle-office-buildings-could-be-housing-instead

Jack Dangermond The useful thing to me about articles that Jack writes is not the ESRI-promotion that is the subtext of it, it’s the details from organizational efforts he is exposed to that are often hard to dig out. He’s the most connected GIS executive in the world and for that reason I always find his articles very informative. Here’s his latest in Forbes:

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/esri/2023/09/14/what-if-we-could-tell-the-future-we-can/?sh=69605d9a36b8&adusf=linkedin&aduc=esri&adut=6d83673f-213f-482f-a6ed-f841ab5ffd1a

CMRA Surfacing some tidbits from Jack’s article.

• Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation: https://resilience.climate.gov/
• The Global Climate Geodesign Challenge: https://www-igcollab.hub.arcgis.com/pages/gcgc

AI for Ecology AI is changing, and will continue to change, many areas. One we could certainly use our AI overlords help on is trying not to kill the human sphere of our planet. So, AI for ecology seems very interesting. I’m reading a really good book that is making me more optimistic about successfully tackling climate change. More on that in a future issue. Here’s an overview of part of the field from a post-doc in Florida.

• https://aiforecology.com/

Europe

Buy olive oil before prices jack up.

• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/28/europes-local-olive-oil-supply-runs-almost-dry-after-summer-of-extreme-weather

France

The Shame of Collaboration by Peter Hitchens (Christopher Hitchens brother) Interesting book review on post-WWII France and the trial of Marshal Pétain. “France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain”:

• https://compactmag.com/article/the-shame-of-collaboration
• The book: France on Trial

Antarctica

Antarctic Sea Ice

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/09/25/antarctica-record-low-ice-arctic-climate/