Lost empires, a gas boom, nuclear winter and a forgotten war

The debut edition of the Sunday Revue.

On July 5, 1963, as Portugal’s colonial wars in Africa raged, a protester carried a sign through Amsterdam that read: "Portugal kills Angolans with NATO weapons.” Credit: Harry Pot / Anefo / Wikimedia Commons

Dear reader,

Welcome to the inaugural Sunday Revue of the FIELD NOTES newsletter.

The first few editions of this carefully curated weekly roundup will be free for all subscribers to read. But the Sunday Revue will eventually go behind the paywall for premium subscribers only. Please consider supporting the independent journalism I work hard to deliver to your inbox by upgrading your subscription today for just $5 a month:

NUMBERS GAME

35 – the percentage by which GE Vernova, the U.S. energy giant whose highly-efficient gas turbines are backordered for years as tech industry scrambles to power data centers for artificial intelligence, plans to expand its production at its factory in South Carolina by the end of next year. The New York Times

5.6 billion – the projected cost of a megaproject proposal utilities are dusting off after nearly a decade to build a hydroelectric dam on the Susitna River in Alaska to supply up to half the electricity needs of the state’s nearby cities. The Alaska Beacon

52,000 – the rounded-down number of homes listed for sale in South Florida, up from fewer than 13,000 during the pandemic peak, in what realtors fear is a sign of homeowners fleeing surging insurance costs in the face of worsening climate risks. The Daily Mail

96 – the number of gigawatts of nuclear power capacity analysts at the consultancy Wood Mackenzie forecast to be online in the U.S. by 2035, roughly 1.5% lower than today, if Republicans in Congress succeed in slashing federal tax credits. Wood Mackenzie

40 – the percentage of new global car sales that will be electric vehicles by 2030. International Energy Agency

4.3 – the number of feet sea level is expected to rise in North Carolina’s coastal island towns by the end of the century, jeopardizing hundreds of properties. The Assembly

900 – the number of workers losing jobs at a Cleveland-Cliffs plant in West Virginia. West Virginia Metro News

LINES OF ARGUMENT

On the risk of ceding nuclear energy exports to China and Russia, Juzel Lloyd in Foreign Affairs:

“Developing nations may nonetheless decide to source nuclear energy technologies from China and Russia. But they need to be able to make a real choice. The United States and its allies still have a chance to counterbalance China’s and Russia’s expanding influence over the nuclear energy sector. The stakes are rising daily: the decisions that Washington and its allies make now, in the early days of a new nuclear age, will dictate the direction of energy security, the global economy, and the shape of power for decades to come.”

On the memory-holed threat of nuclear winter, Ted Nordhaus and Mark Lynas in The Wall Street Journal:

“Conflicts between nuclear-armed adversaries remind us that no other risk to human societies remotely rivals nuclear warfare. Zero nuclear weapons may be as much a pipe dream as net zero, but there should be no higher priority for politicians, philanthropists and civil society leaders, whatever their political stripe, than to de-escalate that threat.”

On the confused climate politics of New York’s peaker power plants, Fred Stafford in Public Power Review:

"The socialists of the environmental left have attached themselves to that older NGO campaign to target NYPA's peakers for closure first, against all reason, and against any material analysis of the interests of capital vs the interests of the public, simply by the force of their pressure campaigning. It was always stupid and misguided."

GRAPHIC DETAIL

NEWS BITES

• The Department of Energy may be breaking the law by allowing steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs to spend decarbonization dollars on coal. Heatmap

• France’s state-owned nuclear company Orano is selling its uranium operations in Niger – and might end up making an awkward deal with China or Russia. The Financial Times

• The Trump administration is refusing to disclose a government report its using to justify shutting down a major offshore wind project in New York. Canary Media

• Federal funding cuts for carbon removal technologies are forcing major layoffs and U.S. project cancelations at Climeworks, Europe’s leading direct air capture company. Swiss Info

• A Trump 1.0 official who suppressed research on transmission connection issues and took over Trump 2.0's early efforts on Puerto Rico is now slated to lead the Energy Department's Office of Electricity. Latitude Media

• In a sign of progress in trade talks, China is pausing its embargo on rare earths. South China Morning Post

• Massachusetts is considering a full repeal of its ban on nuclear reactors. Worcester Telegram & Gazette

WATCHING

The Guardian’s “Apocalypse Now”-style pursuit of former Bolivian President Evo Morales in his stronghold guarded by devotees:

Armchair History’s look at the end of Portugal’s empire:

Mark Felton’s documentary on the forgotten Second Korean War that unfolded while the U.S. was occupied with the Vietnam War:

Chronicle’s hour-long episode on what life was like in Anglo-Saxon villages in the year 1000:

LISTENING

• “Closer” by the classic Chicago producer Mr. Fingers.

• “The Bounce,” a sexy R&B banger by London’s own Qendresa.

• “Apocalypse,” an addictive, upbeat soon-to-be-hit by K-pop rapper and singer BIBI.

Do you use TikTok? I’m now making videos there. If you use the platform, follow me.

Signing off from a sunny Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where this morning I became the proud owner of the last jar of pickled green beans at the halal stall of the farmer’s market.