Australia’s Misinformation Police
Article
The Honest Broker

Australia’s Misinformation Police

A few days ago Australian legislators introduced a bill focused on “Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation.” The Australian Parliament explains the purpose of the bill: The bill proposes to amend the Broadcasting…

Japan Offers a Glimpse into the Future
Book
The Honest Broker

Japan Offers a Glimpse into the Future

I’m writing this week from Tokyo, where I am participating in a fascinating symposium on “Energy Security and Global Warming in an Increasingly Uncertain International Climate,” sponsored by the University…

The Politics of American Energy Policy
Article
The Honest Broker

The Politics of American Energy Policy

In the U.S. presidential debate earlier this week, the Democratic nominee Kamala Harris offered a strong endorsement of not just the technology of fracking but also of fossil fuels: I was the…

Social and Physical Theories of Technological Stagnation
Article
Knowledge Problem

Social and Physical Theories of Technological Stagnation

Among those who believe that technological change has stagnated, there are two broad categories. One social/institutional theory of stagnation, often associated with Peter Thiel, claims that the world has entered…

Data Center Electricity Use V: Implications
Article
Knowledge Problem

Data Center Electricity Use V: Implications

Yesterday’s earnings announcement from Nvidia brings my data center electricity use series full circle: Its now-dominant data center segment increased revenue to $26.3 billion—more than 2½ times what that business generated a…

Lost in Space
Article
The Honest Broker

Lost in Space

More than 30 years ago I wrote a master’s thesis that evaluated NASA’s Space Shuttle program (you can read the publications that followed here and here). As I turned to my PhD dissertation,…

Bring Digital Twins Back to Earth
Journal Publication
WIREs Climate Change

Bring Digital Twins Back to Earth

Abstract We reflect on the development of digital twins of the Earth, which we associate with a reductionist view of nature as a machine. The projects of digital twins deviate…

What Future for U.S.-China Science and Technology Collaboration?
Article
The Honest Broker

What Future for U.S.-China Science and Technology Collaboration?

On Tuesday this week the U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement (STA) is due to expire unless the U.S. and China can agree on its extension. Today I provide some background…

Data Center Electricity Use IV: Unrealistic Emissions Targets?
Article
Knowledge Problem

Data Center Electricity Use IV: Unrealistic Emissions Targets?

Large-scale, dynamic social and economic change is often more difficult, incremental, and slower than anticipated. Consider James Watt and Matthew Boulton in Birmingham in 1776, having invented and refined the…

Billion Dollar Disasters: Not the Highest Standards
Article
The Honest Broker

Billion Dollar Disasters: Not the Highest Standards

Last January, upon submission of my paper (since published) — Scientific integrity and U.S. “Billion Dollar Disasters” — I submitted a “request for correction” to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)…

What Did You Expect?
Article
The Honest Broker

What Did You Expect?

About 20,000 years ago, the world was in an ice age. The era is called the Last Glacial Maximum and had global sea levels more than 120 meters (~400 feet)…

Joe Biden is the “Drill, Baby, Drill” President
Article
The Honest Broker

Joe Biden is the “Drill, Baby, Drill” President

I would guess that we are going to hear the phrase “drill, baby, drill” a lot in the next three months. Here at THB, one goal is to ensure that…

We’ll Always Have Paris
Article
The Honest Broker

We’ll Always Have Paris

In 2015, countries around the world met in Paris at the 21st Conference of Parties to the U.N Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) where they agreed to limit global temperature increases…

Data Center Electricity Use III: Make or Buy?
Article
Knowledge Problem

Data Center Electricity Use III: Make or Buy?

The exponential growth of data centers, driven by the burgeoning demand for cloud services, AI computations, and big data analytics, has increased electricity consumption significantly. In the first two posts…

It’s All About the Base(line)
Article
The Honest Broker

It’s All About the Base(line)

This is Part 5 in the THB series — Climate Fueled Extreme Weather. You can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, and Part 4 here. Each can be read on…