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Storm

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Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Remind me never to drive across the Chesapeake Bay again during a night storm. The large spotlights lining the edges of the 17.6-mile bridge and tunnel system offered glimpses of the ferocious waters lashing the support columns in the country’s largest estuary.I also have astigmatism, a fact I nearly always forget until night falls.I may be from Scotland and live in Mobile, Alabama, but I’m kind of over rain after driving hundreds of miles through the storm from New Jersey to North Carolina on my return trip homefrom Montauk, New York. But save a thought for the residents of Carolina Beach on North Carolina’s Atlantic Coast, who saw record amounts of rainfall earlier this week.This week in The Meltdown, we’ll explore North Carolina’s record floods and how they’re linked to extreme weather nationwide. From surging heat to rising seas, we’ll connect the dots between these devastating events, the fossil fuels driving them, and the steep costs communities face—from sky-high utility bills to dangerous pipelines.Before you read on, please feel free to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. And share this newsletter with your friends if you think they’ll enjoy it. DrizzleThe storm dropped a record 21 inches of rain in just 12 hours, flooding homes and submerging cars. Scientists called it a 1,000-year event. Here in Wilmington, the Cape Fear River is still spilling into the streets as of Thursday afternoon. A local said Tuesday’s full moon didn’t help since full moons create higher-than-normal tides. During my drive from Alabama to New York and now back again, I’ve witnessed extreme weather and its consequences and examples of how humans have made it worse. But I’ve also got the feeling that people see many of these issues as unrelated and independent.Extreme weather, like droughts, wildfires, floods, and hurricanes, is connected by rising temperatures. For example, more heat means more evaporation, which leads to heavier rainfall. That can be especially bad in cities where water can’t be absorbed into the ground because of all the roads and development we’ve built. Instead, heavy rains flood streets and homes and overflow rivers, like in Wilmington. The floods also wash out our roads and carry pollution from sewers and other sources, just like all the hazardous medical waste discovered on beaches in Delaware while I was there. The waste was also found on beaches in Maryland and Virginia.Extreme heat also fuels droughts and wildfires, which can make flooding worse. When the ground is too dry, it becomes hydrophobic, meaning it can’t absorb water. Even moderate rain can cause flash floods—endangering life and property like we often see in California. High temperatures also strengthen hurricanes and coastal storm surges, which erode our beaches, cliffs and dunes—as I saw in Montauk, coastal Delaware and North Carolina. Of course, rising sea levels, caused by melting glaciers and ice at the poles, make it all much worse.Then there’s the chemicals left in the ground by heavy industries in Birmingham, Alabama, and the smelters in Knox County, Tennessee. That means people there don’t trust the drinking water, forcing them to use more bottled water, increasing plastic consumption, and creating emissions by transporting crates of the stuff around the country. The same situation exists in industrial regions nationwide, with 9 million homes, schools, daycares, and businesses still receiving drinking water through toxic lead pipes.In 2022, Americans consumed 15.9 billion gallons of bottled water. That’s enough to fill 200 million standard bathtubs. About 22 billion plastic water bottles, all made from oil, end up in landfills every year.But what causes all this extreme heat? Burning fossils like oil and natural gas to power our cars and homes. In return, we experience extreme and often dangerous weather and the loss of our natural habitats. We end up paying more to drive our cars and heat or cool our homes. Insurance costs also go up.And to top it all off, we get to live with oil and gas pipelines running through our communities. Sometimes, they explode, like in Houston earlier this week.Compost dump10%: price increase of butane since the Houston pipeline explosion.318,000: number of customers lost power in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee after storm Francine.25 million: cubic meters of rock and ice that fell into waters off Greenland, causing a 656-foot tsunami. Scientists say the incident was climate change-related. 130 million: number of pounds of avocado Chipotle used this year.$500 million: federal climate money set aside to bail out a major steel plant in vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s hometown of Middleton, Ohio. Before You GoI’m about to leave coastal North Carolina. I’ll probably head back to the interior and then down to Mobile. If you think I should visit a place under threat from climate change or experiencing an environmental issue, let me know. I’ll pop by!Thanks for reading The Meltdown. Please sign up, share, and be nice to people. Send environment and climate tips to: charress@reckonmedia.comSee you next week.Chris Harress

Record rainfall in 12 hours


Remind me never to drive across the Chesapeake Bay again during a night storm. The large spotlights lining the edges of the 17.6-mile bridge and tunnel system offered glimpses of the ferocious waters lashing the support columns in the country’s largest estuary.

I also have astigmatism, a fact I nearly always forget until night falls.

I may be from Scotland and live in Mobile, Alabama, but I’m kind of over rain after driving hundreds of miles through the storm from New Jersey to North Carolina on my return trip homefrom Montauk, New York.

But save a thought for the residents of Carolina Beach on North Carolina’s Atlantic Coast, who saw record amounts of rainfall earlier this week.

This week in The Meltdown, we’ll explore North Carolina’s record floods and how they’re linked to extreme weather nationwide. From surging heat to rising seas, we’ll connect the dots between these devastating events, the fossil fuels driving them, and the steep costs communities face—from sky-high utility bills to dangerous pipelines.

Before you read on, please feel free to follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. And share this newsletter with your friends if you think they’ll enjoy it.

Drizzle

The storm dropped a record 21 inches of rain in just 12 hours, flooding homes and submerging cars. Scientists called it a 1,000-year event. Here in Wilmington, the Cape Fear River is still spilling into the streets as of Thursday afternoon. A local said Tuesday’s full moon didn’t help since full moons create higher-than-normal tides.

During my drive from Alabama to New York and now back again, I’ve witnessed extreme weather and its consequences and examples of how humans have made it worse. But I’ve also got the feeling that people see many of these issues as unrelated and independent.

Extreme weather, like droughts, wildfires, floods, and hurricanes, is connected by rising temperatures. For example, more heat means more evaporation, which leads to heavier rainfall. That can be especially bad in cities where water can’t be absorbed into the ground because of all the roads and development we’ve built. Instead, heavy rains flood streets and homes and overflow rivers, like in Wilmington. The floods also wash out our roads and carry pollution from sewers and other sources, just like all the hazardous medical waste discovered on beaches in Delaware while I was there. The waste was also found on beaches in Maryland and Virginia.

Extreme heat also fuels droughts and wildfires, which can make flooding worse. When the ground is too dry, it becomes hydrophobic, meaning it can’t absorb water. Even moderate rain can cause flash floods—endangering life and property like we often see in California. High temperatures also strengthen hurricanes and coastal storm surges, which erode our beaches, cliffs and dunes—as I saw in Montauk, coastal Delaware and North Carolina. Of course, rising sea levels, caused by melting glaciers and ice at the poles, make it all much worse.

Then there’s the chemicals left in the ground by heavy industries in Birmingham, Alabama, and the smelters in Knox County, Tennessee. That means people there don’t trust the drinking water, forcing them to use more bottled water, increasing plastic consumption, and creating emissions by transporting crates of the stuff around the country. The same situation exists in industrial regions nationwide, with 9 million homes, schools, daycares, and businesses still receiving drinking water through toxic lead pipes.

In 2022, Americans consumed 15.9 billion gallons of bottled water. That’s enough to fill 200 million standard bathtubs. About 22 billion plastic water bottles, all made from oil, end up in landfills every year.

But what causes all this extreme heat? Burning fossils like oil and natural gas to power our cars and homes. In return, we experience extreme and often dangerous weather and the loss of our natural habitats. We end up paying more to drive our cars and heat or cool our homes. Insurance costs also go up.

And to top it all off, we get to live with oil and gas pipelines running through our communities. Sometimes, they explode, like in Houston earlier this week.

Compost dump

10%: price increase of butane since the Houston pipeline explosion.

318,000: number of customers lost power in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee after storm Francine.

25 million: cubic meters of rock and ice that fell into waters off Greenland, causing a 656-foot tsunami. Scientists say the incident was climate change-related.

130 million: number of pounds of avocado Chipotle used this year.

$500 million: federal climate money set aside to bail out a major steel plant in vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s hometown of Middleton, Ohio.

Before You Go

I’m about to leave coastal North Carolina. I’ll probably head back to the interior and then down to Mobile. If you think I should visit a place under threat from climate change or experiencing an environmental issue, let me know. I’ll pop by!

Thanks for reading The Meltdown. Please sign up, share, and be nice to people. Send environment and climate tips to: charress@reckonmedia.com

See you next week.

Chris Harress

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

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Opinion: Make Oregon a magnet for opportunity

The warning signs of an economy under pressure are all around, from mass layoffs to companies moving out of state, writes Karla S. Chambers, co-founder and co-owner of Stahlbush Island Farms. The state must focus on how to reduce barriers, grow the economy and help businesses stay competitive.

Karla S. ChambersFor The Oregonian/OregonLiveChambers is co-founder and co-owner of Stahlbush Island Farms, Inc. in Corvallis. She also served on the Federal Reserve Boards of San Francisco and Portland and serves on the Oregon State University Board of Trustees. Oregon’s job market is flashing red warning lights – and the numbers tell a troubling story. Mass layoff filings now rival or exceed levels seen during the 2008–2009 housing crash, as The Oregonian/OregonLive recently reported, (“Oregon mass layoffs approach Great Recession levels,” Sept. 14.) State data show nearly 25,000 net job losses over the past year, with layoffs cutting deep into manufacturing and technology. Intel, Nike, ESS Tech, Fred Meyer, Roseburg Forest Products and JELD-WEN are among major employers announcing reductions. In ESS Tech’s case, the company closed altogether. Job losses aren’t the only concern. The Tax Foundation ranked Oregon 35th in the nation for tax competitiveness, falling from 33rd last year. Oregon ranks near last in manufacturing growth according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and seventh nationally for regulatory burden, according to George Mason University. Oregon’s business friendliness ranks 47th, according to CNBC, and we’re 43rd for cost of doing business.Meanwhile, the main sectors adding jobs are health care and government — and even hospitals report operating losses under rising costs and staffing mandates. When employment depends on government and health care instead of private-sector innovation, the warning lights are flashing. Oregon depends on personal income taxes for 81% of the general fund. To fund government and support schools, health care, environmental stewardship and the services we all value, the state needs a stable, growing private sector. But Oregon is making it harder for private businesses to flourish. Business has survived COVID-19, a spike in inflation, higher interest rates and tariffs. State and local governments are trying to solve their rising costs by passing on higher taxes, fees, fines, annual permit costs – to business – all while making compliance more complicated. We are watching many businesses leave the state; expand their operations elsewhere; reduce staff or close. Locally, our water bill has eight additional taxes and fees that have nothing to do with water, including charges for street maintenance, transit, urban forestry and sidewalk maintenance. Meeting payroll means ensuring compliance with new minimum wage rates, new overtime rules, new taxes based on payroll and family-leave program taxes. The state’s transportation bill has new gas taxes, vehicle registration fees, mileage charges and more. It is not any one cost but the total burden that is making Oregon uncompetitive. Neighboring states continue to grow jobs and attract employers – including those that used to call Oregon home. Dutch Bros’ headquarters has relocated to Arizona, a state which recently crowed about the billions in new investment anticipated from overseas companies and expansions of existing employers.Oregon, by contrast, is watching the Oregon forest products industry expand billions into North and South Carolina; our agricultural firms expand into Idaho; food processing plants like Pacific Foods closing its Tualatin facility and moving manufacturing out-of-state; and a record number of job losses in high tech and manufacturing. When we lose a manufacturing business, we lose family-wage jobs, innovation and the broad economic impact. These companies have many employees, vendors and customers and add value to basic commodities, creating new products through innovation.Oregon can change course, but it will take courage and accountability. We must:Reduce regulatory burdens that discourage investment. That means taking a sharper look at the collective fees and taxes the state puts on businesses and reducing them. Streamline state government to improve efficiency: For example, our food processing company must go through the industry’s most rigorous food safety audits, which take three or four days compared to cursory one-day audits conducted by state agencies. The state can reduce the time and expense for businesses by accepting the certification provided by these higher-intensity audits rather than insisting on an Oregon-specific one. Other industries have similar examples of redundant requirements. Reignite innovation by linking business, universities, and community colleges in public-private partnerships. Between Silicon Valley and Seattle lies a natural home for advanced manufacturing and sustainable technology. The University of Oregon and Oregon State University help create many new business start-ups. Our culture of innovation is strong, however we do not retain these new businesses due to our costly business policies. Fix our business climate, put Business Oregon into a public/private partnership and reinvigorate recruitment.We have everything we need to thrive — forests, farmland, clean water, renewable energy, world-class universities and a skilled workforce. What we lack is leadership that rewards productivity and entrepreneurship rather than layering on cost and complexity. Oregonians know how to innovate – Corvallis once had the highest patent rates per capita, powered by research and private collaboration. That same spirit can rebuild our economy, if we summon the will to lead again. Where will our children and grandchildren build their futures? If we want them to stay in Oregon, we must make this state a magnet for opportunity — not regulation.Share your opinion Submit your essay of 600-700 words on a highly topical issue or a theme of particular relevance to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and the Portland area to commentary@oregonian.com. No attachments, please. Please include your email and phone number for verification. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Business
Climate
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How Promote Giving, a New Investment Model, Will Raise Millions for Charities

Joel Holsinger, a partner at Ares Management Corp., on Wednesday launched Promote Giving, an initiative encouraging investment managers to donate a portion of their fees to charity

The first foreign trip Joel Holsinger took in 2019 after joining the board of directors at the global health nonprofit PATH convinced him that he needed to do more to raise money for charities.The investment manager, who is now also a partner and co-head of alternative credit at Ares Management Corp., saw firsthand how a tuberculosis prevention program was helping residents of Dharavi, India's largest slum. He also saw that the main hurdle to expanding the program’s success was simply a lack of funding.“I wanted to do something that has purpose,” Holsinger told The Associated Press. “I wanted a charitable tie-in to whatever I do.”Shortly after returning from India, Holsinger created a new line of investment funds where Ares Management would donate at least 5% of its performance fee, also known as the “promote,” to charities. The first two funds of the resulting Pathfinder family of funds alone have raised more than $10 billion in investments and, as of June, pledged more than $40 million to charity.Holsinger wanted to expand the model further. On Wednesday, he announced Promote Giving, a new initiative to encourage other investment managers to use the model, which launches with funds from nine firms, including Ares Management, Pantheon and Pretium. The funds that are now part of Promote Giving represent about $35 billion in assets and could result in charitable donations of up to $250 million over the next 10 years.Unlike broader models like ESG investing, where environmental, social and governance factors are taken into account when making business decisions, or impact investing, where investors seek a social return along with a financial one, Promote Giving seeks to maximize the return on investment, Holsinger said. The donation only comes after investors receive their promised return and only from the manager's fees. “We’re not doing anything that looks at lower returns,” Holsinger said. “It’s basically just a dual mandate: If we do good on returns for our institutional investors, we will also drive returns that go directly to charity.”Charities, especially those who do international work, are in the midst of a difficult funding landscape. The dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and massive cuts to foreign aid this year have affected nearly all nonprofits in some way. Those nonprofits who don't normally receive funding from the U.S. government still face increased competition for grants from organizations who saw their funding cut.Kammerle Schneider, PATH’s chief global health programs officer, said this year has shown how fragile public health systems are and has reinforced the need for “agile catalytic capital” that Promote Giving could provide.“There is nothing that is going to replace U.S. government funding,” said Schneider, adding that the launch of Promote Giving offers hope that new private donors may step in to help offer solutions to specific public health problems. “I think it comes at a time where we really need to look at the overall architecture of how we’re doing this and how we could be doing it better with less.”Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, which offers free learning resources for teachers and students, says the structure of Promote Giving could provide nonprofits stable income over several years that would allow them to spend less time fundraising and more time on their charitable work. “It's actually been hard for us to raise the philanthropy needed for us to have the maximum impact globally,” said Khan. While Khan Academy has the knowledge base to expand rapidly around the world and numerous countries have shown interest, Khan said the nonprofit lacks enough resources to do the expensive work of software development, localization and building infrastructure in every country.Khan hopes Promote Giving can grow into a major funder that could help with those costs. "We would be able to build that infrastructure so that we can literally educate anyone in the world,” he said.Holsinger hopes for that kind of growth as well. He envisions investment managers signing on to Promote Giving the way billionaires pledge to give away half their wealth through the Giving Pledge and he hopes other industries will develop their own mechanisms to make charitable donations part of their business models. Kate Stobbe, director of corporate insights at Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, a coalition that advises companies on sustainability and corporate responsibility issues, said their research shows that companies that establish mission statements that include reasons for existing beyond simply profit generation have higher revenue growth and provide a higher return on investment.Having a common purpose increases workers' engagement and productivity, while also helping companies with recruitment and retention, said Stobbe, who said CECP will release a report that documents those findings based on 20 years of data later this week. “Having initiatives around corporate purpose help employees feel a connection to something bigger,” she said. "It really does contribute to that bottom line.”That kind of win-win is what Holsinger hopes to create with Promote Giving. He said many of the world's problems don't lack solutions. They lack enough capital to pay for the solutions.“We just need to drive more capital to these nonprofits and to these charities that are doing amazing work every day,” he said. “We're trying to build that model that drives impact through charitable dollars.”Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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EU's Von Der Leyen Says Private Sector Deals Could Unlock 4 Billion Euros for Western Balkans

TIRANA (Reuters) -European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday private sector deals signed or in the pipeline could unlock...

TIRANA (Reuters) -European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday private sector deals signed or in the pipeline could unlock about 4 billion euros ($4.63 billion) in new investment as part of an EU growth plan for the Western Balkans region.During a summit in the Albanian capital Tirana between the EU and the Western Balkans countries, Von der Leyen invited investors to take part in the growth plan that aims to double the size of the region's economies in the next decade.She said that 10 important business deals will be signed in Tirana on Monday, and 24 other potential investments will be discussed on Tuesday."Together they could bring more than 4 billion euros in new investments in the region," Von der Leyen said at the summit. "The time to invest in the Western Balkans is now."The EU has pledged 6 billion euros to help the six Western Balkans nations form a regional common market and join the European common market in areas such as free movement of goods and services, transport and energy.But in order for payments to be made, Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia must implement reforms and resolve outstanding issues with their neighbours.Von der Leyen identified artificial intelligence, clean energy and industrial value chains as three strategic sectors that would integrate local industries into EU supply chains.She cautioned that regulatory integration and industrial alliances are key to this effort.The six countries were promised EU membership years ago but the accession process has slowed to a crawl.The delay is partly due to reluctance among the EU's 27 members and a lack of reforms required to meet EU standards - including those concerning the economy, judiciary, legal systems, environmental protection and media freedoms.Serbia and Montenegro were the first in the region to launch EU membership talks, and Albania and North Macedonia began talks with Brussels in 2022. Bosnia and Kosovo lag far behind.(Reporting by Daria Sito-SucicEditing by Ros Russell)Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

Business
Energy

Offshore oil plan was 'primed for cash flow,' but then it hit California regulators

A Texas company wants to drill for oil off Santa Barbara County's coast. Experts say its path to oil sales is looking more and more challenging.

When a Texas oil company first announced controversial plans to reactivate three drilling rigs off the coast of Santa Barbara County, investor presentations boasted that the venture had “massive resource potential” and was “primed for cash flow generation.” But now, less than two years later, mounting legal setbacks and regulatory issues are casting increasing doubt on the project’s future.Most recently, the California attorney general filed suit against Houston-based Sable Offshore Corp., accusing it of repeatedly putting “profits over environmental protections.” The lawsuit, filed last week in Santa Barbara County Superor Court, accuses Sable of continually failing to follow state laws and regulations intended to protect water resources. Sable, the lawsuit claims, “was at best misinformed, incompetent and incorrect” when it came to understanding and adhering to the California Water Code. “At worst, Sable was simply bamboozling the Regional Water Board to meet a critical deadline,” according to the lawsuit.The action comes less than a month after the Santa Barbara County district attorney’s office filed criminal charges against the company, accusing it of knowingly violating state environmental laws while working on repairs to oil pipelines that have sat idle since a major spill in 2015. The company also faces legal challenges from the California Coastal Commission, environmental groups and even its own investors. These developments now threaten the company’s ability to push forward on what has become an increasingly expensive and complicated project, according to some experts.Clark Williams-Derry, an analyst for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said there are still ways Sable could get off the ground and begin oil sales, but the repeated setbacks have become what he called “cumulative risk” for investors, who are key to funding the restart. “Sable is at risk of burning through its cash, and lenders are going to have to make a decision about whether or not this is a good investment,” Williams-Derry said. Ongoing pushback from the public, the state and in lawsuits makes that increasingly a hard argument to make, he said. Sable, however, said it remains steadfast in its goal of reactivating the Santa Ynez Unit — a complex of three offshore platforms, onshore processing facilities and connecting pipelines. The unit was shuttered by a different company a decade ago after a corroded section of pipeline ruptured near Refugio State Beach, creating one of the state’s worst oil spills. The company denies that it has broken any laws and insists that it has followed all necessary regulations. Recently, however, company officials have promoted a new restart plan that could avoid California oversight. Company officials say the new plan would keep the project entirely within federal waters — pivoting away from using the contentious pipelines and from what company officials called California’s “crumbling energy complex.”Jim Flores, the company’s chief executive, said Sable is working with the Trump administration’s National Energy Dominance Council on the plan to use an offshore storage and treatment vessel to transport crude from its offshore wells instead of the pipeline system. Although the company reports that pipeline repairs are complete, the lines have not yet been approved for restart by state regulators. “California has to make a decision soon on the pipeline before Sable signs an agreement for the [offshore vessel] and goes all in on the offshore federal-only option,” Flores said in a statement. The company acknowledges that transporting oil by ship instead of pipeline would dramatically extend the company’s timeline and increase its costs. In a June Securities and Exchange Commission report, Sable said there was “substantial doubt ... about the company’s ability to continue,” given ongoing negative cash flow and stalled regulatory approvals. However, the company says it continues to seek approvals to restart the pipelines from the California Office of the State Fire Marshal. The state fire marshal has said the plans remain under review, but the office has made clear that the pipelines will be approved for operation only “once all compliance and safety requirements, including ... approvals from other state, federal and local agencies, are met.”Deborah Sivas, a professor of environmental law at Stanford’s Law School, said it’s getting harder to see a successful path forward for Sable.“It’s pretty rare that an entity would have all these agencies lined up concerned about their impacts,” Sivas said of state regulators. “These agencies don’t very lightly go to litigation or enforcement actions. ... and the public is strongly against offshore drilling. So those are a whole bunch of reasons that I think are going to be hard obstacles for that company.”But even if Sable can pivot to federal-only oversight under a friendly Trump administration, Williams-Derry said there’s no clear-cut path. “This is an environment where some of the best, most profitable oil companies in the U.S. have cut drilling this year because profits are too low,” Williams-Derry said. Sable has enough money in the bank right now to have a “little bit of running room,” he said, “...but you can imagine that [investors] are going to start running out of patience.”The new lawsuit filed by the California attorney general lays out a year’s worth of instances in which Sable either ignored or defied the California Water Code during the firm’s pipeline repair work. The attorney general’s office called Sable’s evasion of regulatory oversight “egregious,” warranting “substantial penalties.” It’s not immediately clear how much will be demanded, but violations of the California Water Code are subject to a civil liability of up to $5,000 for each day a violation occurs. Despite repeated reminders and warnings from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast region, Sable did not comply with the water code, preventing the board “from assuring best management practices ... to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts to water quality,” the lawsuit said. “No corporation should gain a business advantage by ignoring the law and harming the environment,” Jane Gray, chair of the Central Coast Water Board, said in a statement. “Entities that discharge waste are required to obtain permits from the state to protect water quality. Sable Offshore Corp. is no different.”The case comes months after the California Coastal Commission similarly found that Sable failed to adhere to the state’s Coastal Act despite repeated warnings and fined the company $18 million.

Business
Energy
Waste

Work Advice: How to avoid ‘workslop’ and other AI pitfalls

AI at work has drawbacks such as ‘workslop,’ which can hinder productivity. Strategic AI use and transparency are top solutions.

Following my response to a reader who’s resisting a push to adopt artificial intelligence tools at work, readers shared their thoughts and experiences — pro, con and resigned — on using AI.The consensus was that some interaction with AI is unavoidable for anyone who works with technology, and that refusing to engage with it — even for principled reasons, such as the environmental harm it causes — could be career-limiting.But there’s reason to believe that generative AI in the office may not be living up to its fundamental value proposition of making us more productive.A September article in Harvard Business Review (free registration required) warns that indiscriminate AI use can result in what the article dubs “workslop”: “AI-generated work content that masquerades as good work but lacks the substance to meaningfully advance a given task.”Examples of workslop include AI-generated reports, code and emails that take more time to correct and decipher than if they had been created from scratch by a human. They’re destructive and wasteful — not only of water or electricity, but of people’s time, productivity and goodwill.“The insidious effect of workslop is that it shifts the burden of the work downstream,” the HBR researchers said.Of course, workslop existed before AI. We’ve all had our time wasted and productivity bogged down by people who dominate meetings talking about nothing, send rambling emails without reviewing them for clarity or pass half-hearted work down the line for someone else to fix. AI just allows them to do more of it, faster. And just like disinformation, once workslop enters the system, it risks polluting the pool of knowledge everyone draws from.In addition to the literal environment, AI workslop can also damage the workplace environment. The HBR researchers found that receiving workslop caused approximately half of recipients to view the sender as “less creative, capable and reliable” — even less trustworthy or intelligent.But, as mentioned above, it’s probably not wise — or feasible — to avoid using AI. “AI is embedded in your everyday tasks, from your email client, grammar checkers, type-ahead, social media clients suggesting the next emoji,” said Dean Grant from Port Angeles, Washington, whose technology career has spanned 50 years. The proper question, he said, is not how to avoid using it, but what it can do for you and how it can give you a competitive advantage.But even readers who said they use AI appropriately acknowledged its flaws and limitations, including that its implementation sometimes takes more effort than simply performing the task themselves.“[H]ow much time should I spend trying to get the AI to work? If I can do the task [without AI] in an hour, should I spend 30 minutes fumbling with the artificial stupid?” asked Matt Deter of Rocklin, California. “At what point should I cut my losses?”So it seems an unwinnable struggle. If you can’t avoid or opt out of AI altogether, how do you make sure you’re not just adding to the workslop, generating resentment and killing productivity?Don’t make AI a solution in search of a problem. This one’s for the leaders. Noting that “indiscriminate imperatives yield indiscriminate usage,” the HBR article urges leaders encouraging AI use to provide guidelines for using it “in ways that best align to the organization’s strategy, values, and vision.” As with return-to-office mandates, if leaders can articulate a purpose, and workers have autonomy to push back when the mandate doesn’t meet that purpose, the result is more likely to add value.Don’t let AI have the last word. Generating a raw summary of a meeting for your own reference is one thing; if you’re sharing it with someone else, take the time to trim the irrelevant portions, highlight the important items, and add context where needed. If you use AI to generate ideas, take time to identify the best ones and shape them to your needs.Be transparent about using AI. If you’re worried about being judged for using AI, just know that the judgment will be even harsher if you try to pass it off as your own work, or if you knowingly pass along unvetted information with no warning.Weigh convenience against conservation. If we can get in the habit of separating recyclables and programming thermostats, we can be equally mindful about our AI usage. An AI-generated 100-word email uses the equivalent of a single-use bottle of water to cool and power the data centers processing that query. Knowing that, do you need a transcript of every meeting you attend, or are you requesting one out of habit? Do you need ChatGPT to draft an email, or can you get results just as quickly over the phone? (Note to platform and software developers: Providing a giant, easy-to-find AI “off” switch wouldn’t hurt.)Step out of the loop once in a while. Try an AI detox every so often where you do your job without it, just to keep your brain limber.“I can’t deny how useful [AI has] been for research, brainstorming, and managing workloads,” said Danial Qureshi, who runs a virtual marketing and social media management agency in Islamabad, Pakistan. “But lately, I’ve also started to feel like we’re losing something important — our own creativity. Because we rely on AI so much now, I’ve noticed we don’t spend as much time thinking or exploring original ideas from scratch.”Artificial intelligence may be a fact of modern life, but there’s still nothing like the real thing.Pro Tip: Having trouble getting started with AI? Check out Post Tech at Work reporter Danielle Abril’s brilliant articles on developing AI literacy.

Business
Conservation
Technology

Suggested Viewing

Voice of Vanilla

In the rainforests of Madagascar, vanilla offers hope to farmers hindered by the relentless tide of poverty and cyclones. How will the women responsible for vanilla cultivation weather the storms that threaten their livelihoods? Join us on this journey to uncover the truth behind one of the world’s most beloved spices and to support the women farmers at the heart of the vanilla industry.

Social Justice
Food
Business

Let's talk about it! (International Politics is NOT a child's play)

The effects of the Human impact in the World can't be resolved through conflicts and wars. We need to talk about it!

Government
Business
Student

Modern Nature

By 2050, 10 billion people may inhabit Earth. Do we need GMOs to Feed the World? Is organic production the answer? Modern Nature takes the viewer on a worldwide odyssey to find answers. Includes perspectives from philosopher Noam Chomsky, physicist Vandana Shiva and street farmer Ron Finley.

Food
Agriculture
Business

Job 1

A puppet animation about employment.

Animation
Business
Music

The Fellowship of the Springs

Florida’s artesian springs are a natural wonder of the world. As unique as the geysers of Yellowstone and as mesmerizing as Vernal Falls in Yosemite, these blue jewels surrounding the north Florida landscape are considered a treasure by many who see them. The state contains the largest and highest concentration of fresh water springs on earth. But today, the future of Florida’s springs is uncertain. With flow levels declining and nitrate pollution on the rise, the springs today bear the scars of a profound struggle. Florida's own government continues to approve permits for large companies that want to pump water from the springs and their springsheds, for nominal permit fees that often cost less than a day pass to Disney World. The Fellowship of the Springs takes viewers behind the scenes of the fight to save Florida's springs, from the halls of the state capitol in Tallahassee to deep caves of Ichetucknee spring.

Water
Government
Business

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