Saturdays are the day we catch up with all the non-finance related stuff we didn’t get to during the week. You can check out last week’s edition here.
Quote of the Day
"Good engineers don’t whine about trade-offs, because they realize that they’re the entire point."
(Seth Godin)
Autos
- China's auto fleet is aging so Tencent and Alibaba are nudging their way into the repair business. (wsj.com)
- ChargePoint is going public via a SPAC. (ft.com)
- Why batteries keep getting cheaper and more energy dense. (arstechnica.com)
California
- California is planning to ban the sale of new ICE cars by 2035. (wsj.com)
- California always had weather and climate as selling points, until now. (slate.com)
- California is going to need a bigger, better grid to accommodate all those new EVs. (wsj.com)
Climate
- The costs of Covid-19 are putting preventing climate change to shame. (washingtonpost.com)
- Why we know that climate change is having an influence on forest fires. (washingtonpost.com)
- California wildfires are another example of how climate change can affect ecosystems beyond just heat and sea levels. (msn.com)
- The worse climate change gets the greater the demand for geoengineering solutions. (wired.com)
- Is climate change locked in? (nytimes.com)
Environment
- Big blobs of hotter ocean water are likely here to stay. (nytimes.com)
- Florida homeowners are facing down higher property insurance rates. (bloomberg.com)
- The administration doesn't want studies on modernizing the grid to see the light of day. (theatlantic.com)
- What a zero-emission city would look like. (fastcompany.com)
- How the AQI, or air quality index, works. (visualcapitalist.com)
Air travel
- Some airports are rolling out rapid coronavirus tests to encourage safe flying. (msn.com)
- Airbus has as a goal to produce a hydrogen-powered, zero emission airplane. (cnbc.com)
Animals
- Being in captivity is not great for the brains of large mammals. (theconversation.com)
- Beaked whales can stay underwater far longer than previously thought. (nytimes.com)
- Why bird brains may be more sophisticated than we thought. (sciencemag.org)
Technology
- YouTube is increasingly relying on AI algorithms to tamp down on conspiracy theories. (wired.com)
- The internet is rife with trackers. (themarkup.org)
- App bans are a band aid for a bigger data, privacy issue. (technologyreview.com)
- The case against using single sign-ons around the web. (wired.com)
- How to enhance your privacy online. (vox.com)
Health
- New studies show that taking statins reduces the risk of cardiovascular events. (nytimes.com)
- What does it mean that the amount of REM sleep we get declines over time? (newatlas.com)
- Early retirement can be a disaster for your brain. (theconversation.com)
Fitness
- Gym operators are pushing a study to show it's safe to get back to the gym. (insidehook.com)
- Inside the black market for dumbbells in pandemic. (vox.com)
Restaurants
- A first-hand account of the nightmare of running a restaurant in pandemic. (indianapolismonthly.com)
- Outdoor dining is now a permanent fixture in New York City. (ny.eater.com)
Food
- How popcorn farmers are dealing with their biggest market going away in pandemic. (washingtonpost.com)
- Pandemic meat shortages are in the rear view mirror. (wsj.com)
- Just because the package says 'healthy' or 'natural' doesn't mean it is. (ft.com)
- Is fake meat actually healthier for you? (wsj.com)
- Scientists are trying to find new, real sugars. (newyorker.com)
Entertainment
- Why some classic films, like 'Silkwood,' are not yet on streaming. (wsj.com)
- There's no good way to release blockbusters absent open theaters. (theatlantic.com)
College
- College freshmen are uniquely affected by lack of regular school rituals. (wsj.com)
- Enrollment at U.S. community colleges has dropped nearly 8% this fall. (npr.org)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: a natural by-product of hard times. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you missed in our Friday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: back to basics. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Every Friday I send out five links for advisers to help them think a little differently about the world. Sign up now! (newsletter.abnormalreturns.com)