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Current conditions:
More than 125 highways are closed in China due to a record-setting
winter storm • Tropical Cyclone Jasper downed trees in parts
of Queensland in Australia • The Geminids meteor shower will peak
tonight.
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1. Trump promises to revoke U.S. pledge to Green Climate Fund if re-elected
Former President Donald Trump
told
a crowd at an Iowa campaign event yesterday that he would cancel “all climate
reparation payments” immediately should he be re-elected next year. A campaign aide
clarified that Trump was talking specifically about America’s pledge to the Green
Climate Fund, which helps developing countries adapt and become more resilient to the
effects of climate change. Vice President Kamala Harris recently announced that
America would give the fund $3 billion. President Biden’s climate policies have become
a “core part” of Trump’s campaign message,
says
Reuters
. In the same speech, Trump also promised to “end Joe Biden’s war on American energy”
and “drill, baby, drill.”
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2. Chevy Blazer EV first-drive reviews are in
Early reviews of the Chevy Blazer EV, which
TechCrunch
describes
as “a vehicle designed to satiate Americans’ never-ending appetites for SUV,” are
trickling in. The consensus? It’s good! But with a starting price around $56,000, it’s
too expensive. Here’s a quick roundup:
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“Chevy has designed and produced an absolutely normal SUV — a welcome relief from
the string of novelty EVs that have come on the market in recent years. The big
miss is the higher-than-expected price tag.” –Kirsten Korosec at
TechCrunch
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“A solid and highly customizable first entry into the market … and we’re
particularly impressed by the UI,” but “there’s a lot to be considered when
looking at the lower-priced alternatives in the market.” –Jameson Dow at
Electrek
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“Not the most compelling electric SUV” but “its slick blend of new-age technology
and old-school redundancy provides a compelling lure for hesitant EV buyers.”
–Mack Hogan at
Road and Track
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3. Massive Tesla recall is a ‘win’ ... for Tesla
In other EV news, more than 2 million Tesla vehicles are set to receive over-the-air
updates to address failures in the Autopilot system. As
Wired
notes
, that’s nearly all the vehicles Tesla has sold in the U.S. to date. At issue is the
Autosteer functionality, and the recall follows an investigation by the National
Highway Transportation Safety Administration (HTWSA) into a series of crashes that may
have occurred while Autopilot was in use. The updates will include added safety
controls and alerts, and further limit where drivers can use Autosteer,
Wired
says. The recall is a “win” for Tesla,
argues
Damon Lavrinc at Heatmap. “U.S. regulators did not conclude the technology itself was
unsafe, and also determined that drivers are responsible for using Autopilot safely.
This is what Tesla has contended since the beginning, and it’s a rebuke to safety
advocates, many local legislators, and lawyers representing accident victims and their
families.”
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4. IEA and OPEC reports show conflicting projections for oil demand
The Inernational Energy Agency (IEA) released its December
Oil Market Report
this morning, which says that global oil demand rose in 2023 but that a slowdown has
begun and will continue through 2024. This, combined with supply growth from the U.S.
(and elsewhere), will “complicate efforts by key producers to defend their market
share and maintain elevated oil prices,” the agency concludes. The report is in
contrast to projections put forward by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC), which this week
said
it still expects demand for oil to grow next year by 2.25 million barrels a day. Oil
prices have been plummeting for several weeks now despite OPEC output cuts. The oil
cartel blamed this on “exaggerated” concerns about oil demand growth.
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5. U.S. forecasters say Christmas snow is unlikely
Weather forecasts for the next few weeks are starting to come into focus, and a white
Christmas is looking increasingly unlikely for the continental U.S. “For the second
year in a row, models show low chances of snow leading up to and on Christmas,
continuing a disappointing trend for snow lovers tied to human-caused climate change,”
reports
The Washington Post
.
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PETA has named Apple its
2023 Company of the Year
for its move to ditch animal leather in its products.
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