Latest Stories from Jamie
This giant ancient ape became extinct because of climate change
An ancient species of great ape, named Gigantopithecus blacki, was driven to extinction hundreds of thousands of years ago. Scientists believe climate change is mostly to blame for putting the giants’ favourite fruits out of reach during dry seasons. Between witnessing entire regions becoming upended by extreme weather and warnings of impending, irreversible changes from eco scientists, we’re hardly lacking for reasons to mitigate climate change. Nevertheless, here’s another for...
Opinion – AFCON’s fossil fuel affiliation will further damage Africa
As the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in the Ivory Coast, yet another tournament will ultimately serve to fill the pockets of those already destroying the continent. While the self-confessed obsessed (like myself) will happily take all the football we can get, at times there is a bigger picture to consider beyond sporting merit. Though I’ve no personal connection to the Africa Cup of Nations - the biennial tournament...
OpenAI alleges the New York Times tricked ChatGPT into plagiarism
In what is due to be a definitive case for the future of generative AI, the New York Times is suing OpenAI for training ChatGPT using its articles without permission. The defendant alleges that the media outlet tricked its AI model specifically to produce answers verbatim. The landscape of generative AI may not look so lawless in 2024, if the New York Times can win its landmark case against OpenAI’s...
Can wooden wind towers make renewable energy even cleaner?
Eradicating carbon-intensive materials from the production of wind turbines, like steel, Swedish start-up Modvion is creating easy-to-assemble alternatives from wood. Is this the way forward? Solar maybe the current undisputed king of the renewable energy farmyard, but wind is a close runner-up. There’s a global consensus that any chance of achieving the terms of the Paris Agreement will rely on drastically increasing renewable forms of energy. Specifically, wind and solar reportedly...
The taxman is coming for your resale side hustle
Those looking to make a buck through resale platforms including Vinted, eBay, and Depop will now have their earnings taxed by HMRC. Can we have anything at this point? So, you wish to supplement your national insurance contribution, rent, road tax, pension, student loan, and eye-watering living expenses with a simple side hustle? How embarrassing. The UK’s greedy hand will soon extend to resale apps like Vinted, eBay, and Depop as...
Climate Defiance group pledge solely to fight ‘cowards’ of US politics
‘We do not do petitions. We do direct action,’ is the opening gambit of Climate Defiance’s website. The eco activist outfit’s MO is political disruption, and it has its eye on the 2024 US election. With the next US presidential election scheduled for November 2024, the nation’s eco-activists are upping the ante to ensure ecological reform is high on the agenda of candidates. One such group, which sprung to life in...
Five ecological wins for the planet in 2023
While many of our ecological efforts need escalating, and fast, we don’t want to end the year pushing the typical doom and gloom rhetoric. Here are five positive stories to take into 2024. In what has been another tumultuous year for climate change news, here are some positive milestones to top up your sanity reserves. With fossil fuel conglomerates plotting for incessant gas and oil expansion, and corporate entities driving infinite...
Hackers leak more than a terabyte of Insomniac Games’ private data
A week after unsuccessfully blackmailing Sony for a $2 million payout, a ransomware outfit has leaked a trove of internal data from Insomniac Games totalling 1.67 terabytes. Oh, to be a game developer. In what is becoming an alarmingly regular occurrence, yet another major game studio has fallen victim to an illicit hacking operation. This time, Sony’s Insomniac Games has been ransacked for digital assets totalling over 1.67 terabytes. Employees of the studio...
Our playbook guide to deceptive fossil fuel practices: part seven
When it comes to the insidious techniques that the industry is using to undermine climate negotiations and delay progress, there are many. Here, we discuss the way fossil fuel giants control the narrative of ‘climate science’ through funding prestigious universities while simultaneously suppressing climate activism. Here we are, in the final knockings of the 28th Conference of the Parties. Are we due to repeat the mistakes of the past, or...
‘The Day Before’ shuts down four days after launching
Our hunch was correct. After five years of so-called development, post-apocalyptic MMO ‘The Day Before’ has vanished from stores four days into release. Its studio, Fntastic, has also liquidated. All signs point to a scam. A few hundred days late, and more than a buck short. RIP ‘The Day Before’ (Dec 2023 – Dec 2023). So, it turns out The Day Before was actually real, it just delivered absolutely nothing that...
