Beijing's billions, Puerto Rican atoms, and New York’s common ground with Trump
The fifth edition of the Sunday Revue.
Dear reader,
Welcome to the fifth edition of the Sunday Revue of the FIELDS NOTES newsletter. As a reminder, this carefully curated weekly roundup will soon go behind a paywall for premium subscribers only. It’s the kind of thing artificial intelligence software can’t yet compile with this degree of artfulness.
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NUMBERS GAME
$20 billion – the size of the market for residential solar panels in the U.S. that’s now under threat from the budget bill Republicans are pushing through Congress. Bloomberg
6 – the number of months China set as the limit on rare earth export licenses, in a sign that Beijing’s trade restrictions on the key metals are still very much in play. The Wall Street Journal
2 – the number of votes by which a proposal to place a fee on gas appliances was defeated at the California government commission that regulates air quality in Los Angeles, marking a setback for the movement to phase out fossil fuel stoves, heaters, and other home appliances. Floodlight
¥146.9 billion – how much China is investing in its nuclear power sector, up from 52 billion yuan from the previous year. That’s a nearly 183% increase, and a sign of why Chinese researchers say the Trump administration’s latest export controls on American nuclear technologies are ineffective. South China Morning Post
£2.5 billion – how much the British government is investing over the next four years in its small modular reactor program, for which it’s selected Rolls Royce’s design as the leading technology. That’s on top of the £14.2 billion it’s spending on building out Sizewell C, a large-scale nuclear plant near London. Reuters
15,765 – how deep, in feet, the next-generation geothermal startup Fervo Energy recently drilled down to reach temperatures over 500 degrees Fahrenheit – and in just 16 days. That’s a huge improvement on previous tests of the technology. LinkedIn
14 million – the number of window-unit air conditioners now sold in India each year, double the rate of five years ago. The Economist
$1.8 billion – the size of the fund state lawmakers in Texas just approved to support construction of microgrids powered by solar, wind and gas. Canary Media
LINES OF ARGUMENT
On the self-defeating logic of antisemitic violence in the name of opposing Zionism, Yair Rosenberg in The Atlantic:
Although these assailants all attacked American Jews, they clearly perceived themselves as Zionism’s avengers. In reality, however, they have joined a long line of Zionism’s inadvertent advocates. As in Herzl’s time, the perpetrators of anti-Jewish acts do more than nearly anyone else to turn Jews who were once indifferent or even hostile to Israel’s fate into reluctant appreciators of its necessity.
On the need for an Operation Warp Speed for nuclear power, Jason Bordoff, Ashley Finan and Matt Bowen in Foreign Policy:
In today’s new age of great-power competition, the United States faces three related threats: competition from China and Russia for leadership in the construction and export of nuclear technology; competition for leadership in the transformational new technology of artificial intelligence, which requires vast amounts of electricity; and competition for leadership in the clean energy technologies that will be necessary to address the threat of climate change in the decades to come. Nuclear energy is key to meeting all three competitive challenges.
On the threat AI poses to America’s heaving power grid, Emmet Penney in The Free Press:
The problem is that even before the AI surge, America’s energy grid was already slipping into disrepair. Successive reports during the last few years from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a grid watchdog, have warned that more and more of the U.S. is in danger of capacity shortfalls. That may sound like jargon, but what it means is a higher potential for blackouts like the ones we saw in Europe last month.
GRAPHIC DETAIL
NEWS BITES
In response to Beijing’s restrictions on rare earth exports, the Trump administration is considering blocking sales of American ethane – a key ingredient in plastics – to China. Fortune
The Trump administration keeps denying disaster preparedness aid to states, with FEMA cutting off money to Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri and Oklahoma. Bloomberg
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says she told Trump she’s ready to work together on nuclear power and gas pipelines, and signaled openness to building small modular reactors at the defunct Indian Point site. The Times Herald-Record
Brazil’s Arabica coffee harvest is smaller this year – but the bean size is showing improvement, despite prolonged drought afflicting the crop. Reuters
Puerto Rico’s power authority is considering a study on bringing nuclear power to the island. El Nuevo Día
Republicans’ One Big, Beautiful Bill – the mega package that contains the rollbacks of climate and energy spending – excludes fusion energy, making it harder for the U.S. to commercialize its scientific breakthroughs at a moment when China is ramping up investment in the so-called holy grail of clean power. Heatmap
WATCHING
A look at the long-heralded promise of nuclear reactors powered with thorium:
This video explainer on the forgotten conflict between Russian expansionists in Alaska and native Tlingit warriors.
A debate between an intellectual from Gaza and 20 pro-Palestine protesters. The tone some of the American activists took is disgusting, but the conversation between Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib and the other Palestinians he disagrees with is enlightening and worth sitting through the other rage-inducing portions.
An analysis of how and why Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates are funding opposing sides in the ongoing war in Sudan.
LISTENING
Podcasts
Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy interview with former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin on why energy is so partisan in Washington
The Max Politics rundown of the second New York City Democratic mayoral debate from Harry Siegel and Ben Max.
Ross Douthat’s Interesting Times interview with “Andor” showrunner Tony Gilroy on why good art is often coded as left wing.
Music
“Vendetta Letal,” a sexy, jazzy track by the Mexican indie act Pantera Blue.
“Private World,” the 1977 soul-funk banger by Side Effect.
“1000 Degreez,” by the Mexican beatmaker Bóreas and French producer Carlskee, a spacey old-school instrumental hip-hop track that reminds me of old Pete Rock.
Signing off from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where a new bill in the City Council would establish a ferry line direct to Staten Island — a welcome change that would make it possible for me to ride my bike to go get Sri Lankan food instead of driving.
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, especially my old man, Steven J. Kaufman. Thank you for teaching me how to work hard while still putting my loved ones first, how to sniff out bullshit and still give and earn respect, how to choose my battles and still own my space. I couldn’t be prouder to be your son and pass on your name, wisdom and good looks to my daughter, your granddaughter.
