Saturday links: moving the coast

Saturdays we catch up with the non-finance related items that we didn’t get to earlier in the week. You can check out last week’s edition. Have a great weekend!
Quote of the Day
"Nature itself does not destroy the coast. It moves the coast."
(Robert Young)
Autos
- Automated driving systems are causing 'automation complacency.' (nytimes.com)
- How Uber ($UBER) is managing the AV-human mix. (axios.com)
- Ultrafast charging will be a game changer. (apnews.com)
Transport
- It turns out delivery drones are loud. (nytimes.com)
- Wind power for cargo ships is making progress. (gcaptain.com)
Energy
- The case for a more distributed power grid. (nytimes.com)
- People training to work in offshore wind are in limbo. (grist.org)
- What California is learning from solar panels over water canals. (kqed.org)
- The Achilles heel of geothermal power: water. (grist.org)
Water
- Racial dynamics when it comes to property buyouts in flood-prone areas. (papers.ssrn.com)
- There's really only one solution to coastal erosion. (vox.com)
Environment
- Time shifting only does so much when it comes to extreme heat. (axios.com)
- How much of climate change can be blamed on oil companies? (theatlantic.com)
- Where the federal funds for national parks have been diverted. (nytimes.com)
- On the benefits of controlled burns of grasslands. (reasonstobecheerful.world)
- The danger from ightning is no joke, especially in Florida. (msn.com)
- Paper drink bottles are coming back. (barrons.com)
Animals
- Dam destruction means more fish. (biographic.com)
- How warmer water affects coral cilia. (wired.com)
- Meet a new wild cat species, Leopardus tilcayo. (pbs.org)
- Why bear encounters in the U.S. are on the rise. (yahoo.com)
Science
- The U.S. is losing a generation of scientific talent. (ft.com)
- Why delaying research monies is almost as bad as canceling them outright. (npr.org)
- Why AI solving math proofs isn't that interesting. (npr.org)
- AI will not obsolete mathematicians. (inference-review.com)
- NASA has lost a lot of its capabilities. (npr.org)
Travel
- Seven rules for air travel today. (nytimes.com)
- Countries are looking for new ways to tax tourists. (ft.com)
Data centers
- A lot of the pushback on data centers was due to companies forcing governments to sign NDAs. (boondoggle.substack.com)
- How data centers heat the surrounding areas. (bloomberg.com)
- Just how much power is needed to run planned data centers? (ft.com)
AI safety
- A summary of Ezra Klein's interview with Nvidia ($NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang. (thezvi.substack.com)
- The first place to look for risk from AI is financial systems. (theatlantic.com)
- How to think about AI safety. (newsletter.platypuseconomics.com)
Medicine
- More political control over the NIH is a disaster waiting to happen. (thebulwark.com)
- UK hospitals were not built for extreme heat. (nytimes.com)
- What other cancers are mRNA vaccines targeting? (msn.com)
- A potential side effect of GLP-1 use. (wsj.com)
- The ovaries are active after menopause. (wired.com)
Health
- Research shows calcium and vitamin D don't do anything for bone health. (sciencedaily.com)
- Not surprisingly, chronic stress is bad for your heart. (sciencedaily.com)
- Most cuts and scrapes don't need antibiotic ointment. (yahoo.com)
- The case for a five minute walking break every hour. (artofmanliness.com)
- Noise pollution affects more than your ears. (theconversation.com)
- What the Amish can teach us about health. (twopct.com)
Drugs
- How cocaine gets to Europe. (wsj.com)
- Drug cartels are upping their drone game. (washingtonpost.com)
- People are quitting vapes for....cigarettes. (nypost.com)
Drink
- Why cancer deaths related to alcohol are on the rise. (smithsonianmag.com)
- Why liquor seems to be at the center of every trade dispute. (nytimes.com)
- Wine grape growers are up against it. (apnews.com)
- How drinking affects dementia risk. (nytimes.com)
Food
- Most American's don't understand the environmental costs of beef production. (newyorker.com)
- Michael Easter talks with Tamar Haspel about why we should just stop eating lettuce. (twopct.com)
- Why you keep seeing new, tastier fruits. (slate.com)
- How this farm went from hog production to growing mushrooms. (npr.org)
- How salted caramel came to prominence. (snackstack.net)
- An actual plastic-free coffee maker. (fastcompany.com)
- How to eat more fiber. (theconversation.com)
Sports
- Athletes play a prominent role in Life Surge seminars. (motherjones.com)
- In praise of big time college sports. (theatlantic.com)
Children
- Is tackle football too dangerous for children? (scientificamerican.com)
- London's schools are running out of children. (ft.com)
- The problem with private schools. (hamiltonnolan.com)
- Bike buses are great. (chicago.suntimes.com)
College
- AI detectors on campus are, at best, a mixed blessing. (theatlantic.com)
- Bryan Walsh speaks to journalist and writer Theo Baker, author of "How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University." (podcasts.apple.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- What you missed in our Friday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Work in wealth management? Sign up for our exclusive Talking Wealth newsletter. (talkingwealthpod.com)
- Don't miss a thing! Sign up for our daily e-mail newsletter. (abnormalreturns.com)

Facts Only

Automated driving systems cause automation complacency. Uber is managing the mix of autonomous vehicles and humans. Ultrafast charging is anticipated as a game changer. Delivery drones are loud. Wind power for cargo ships is making progress. There is a case for a more distributed power grid. People training to work in offshore wind are in limbo. California is learning from solar panels over water canals. Geothermal power has an Achilles heel related to water. Racial dynamics exist concerning property buyouts in flood-prone areas. Coastal erosion has one proposed solution. Time shifting has limited effect on extreme heat. Oil companies' role in climate change is questioned. Controlled burns of grasslands have demonstrated benefits. Lightning poses a danger, especially in Florida. Paper drink bottles are returning. Dam destruction leads to more fish. Warmer water affects coral cilia. A new wild cat species, Leopardus tilcayo, is being met. Bear encounters in the U.S. are rising. The U.S. is losing a generation of scientific talent. Delaying research monies has consequences. AI solving math proofs is not considered interesting. NASA has lost capabilities. Pushback on data centers was due to NDAs signed by companies. Data centers heat surrounding areas. Power needed for planned data centers is under discussion. There is concern about political control over the NIH. UK hospitals were not built for extreme heat. mRNA vaccines target other cancers, and there is a potential side effect of GLP-1 use. Ovaries remain active after menopause. Calcium and vitamin D do not affect bone health. Chronic stress negatively affects the heart. Most cuts and scrapes do not need antibiotic ointment. A five-minute walking break every hour is proposed for health. Noise pollution affects more than ears. The Amish offer health lessons. Cocaine routes to Europe are documented. Drug cartels use drones. People are quitting vapes for cigarettes. Alcohol-related cancer deaths are rising. Liquor is central to trade disputes, and wine grape growers face challenges. Drinking affects dementia risk. Most Americans do not understand beef production costs. Some fruit are seen as tastier. A farm transitioned from hog production to mushroom growing. Salted caramel gained prominence. A plastic-free coffee maker exists. Eating more fiber is advised.

Executive Summary

Automated driving systems introduce issues related to complacency when interacting with human drivers, and there is ongoing discussion about how Uber manages the interaction between autonomous vehicles and humans. Advances in ultrafast charging technology are anticipated to significantly change the landscape. In the energy sector, there is a debate regarding the benefits of a more distributed power grid, while simultaneously facing challenges related to geothermal power's reliance on water. Environmental concerns involve the impact of climate change exacerbated by oil companies, the potential for controlled burns in grasslands, and risks associated with lightning, alongside the return of paper drink bottles. Biological systems are being observed concerning the effects of warmer water on coral cilia and changes in marine life, while new species are being documented. Scientific capacity is a concern due to losses in scientific talent and the effectiveness of funding research. Health considerations include the lack of proven benefits from certain supplements for bone health and the impact of chronic stress on cardiovascular health. Various topics touch upon socio-economic dynamics related to property buyouts, data center infrastructure impacts, AI safety risks within financial systems, and the political control over health institutions like the NIH.

Full Take

The collection of topics reveals a landscape characterized by technological acceleration, systemic environmental pressures, and unresolved socio-political friction points. The juxtaposition of cutting-edge developments—like AI capabilities and ultrafast energy—with persistent, tangible human problems—such as property rights in flood zones, chronic health deficits, and resource conflicts over water—highlights a tension between abstract progress and lived reality. For instance, the discussion around automation complacency (Autos) and AI safety (AI safety) suggests a pattern where systems are deployed rapidly before comprehensive societal resilience frameworks are established. Simultaneously, environmental topics demonstrate an active negotiation between scientific understanding (e.g., climate science, biodiversity loss) and economic imperatives (e.g., oil interests, data center expansion). The focus on power, water, and land implies that many contemporary crises are fundamentally spatial and resource-based, where control over physical assets dictates health, safety, and opportunity. A deeper implication lies in the distribution of agency: while technological solutions offer potential pathways, the narrative is often framed around managing externalities (like heat or pollution) rather than fundamental structural changes to power or distribution. The patterns suggest a tension between localized, immediate concerns (e.g., noise pollution, personal health habits) and vast, global systemic risks (e.g., climate change, AI trajectory). This creates an opportunity to analyze where resilience is being built—is it in distributed systems, in public education, or in challenging entrenched economic structures? The missing piece of inquiry centers on the feedback loops between these disparate areas; for example, how does the pressure for energy distribution affect racial dynamics in property buyouts, and how do AI safety discussions intersect with concerns about scientific talent retention?

Sentinel — Human

Confidence

This text appears to be a compilation of diverse headlines and topics curated for a weekly reader, exhibiting the typical structure of editorial content rather than synthetic argumentation.

Signals Detected

Varied sentence structure and topic shifts typical of a newsletter compilation.

The text functions as a curated list rather than a continuous argument, showing appropriate fragmentation.

List format suggests compilation from multiple sources; no internal argumentative structure to match templates.

The content is a collection of headlines/topics, not a deep narrative that requires verifiable claims about specific events.

Human Indicators

The format strongly resembles a curated weekly newsletter summary, which often involves human editorial selection and framing.

The use of varied, high-interest topics (from Autos to AI safety) suggests an intent to engage a general, yet intellectually curious, readership.