Aria, clima, elettrificazione, acque e biodiversità. 6117 articoli raccolti da fonti istituzionali e specializzate, classificati per area ambientale e linkati al porto di riferimento.
Thought of the day: Haruki Murakami has crafted a literary universe where the lines between reality and imagination often blur, yet his insights into human nature remain remarkably clear.
Thought of the day by Greek Philosopher Diogenes: ‘Wise kings generally have wise counselors; and he must be…’ Timeless lesson on leadership Thought of the day by Hugh Jackman: Because I believe actually the more you do something, the less…’ powerful lesson on courage and managing your apprehensions by Wolverine Are you leading—or just managing? John D. Rockefeller’s powerful truth most managers still ignore Thought of the day by Phoebe Dynevor: ‘When you're on the cusp of throwing in the towel…’ Words by Daphne Bridgerton on how to be positive when you are about to give up (Catch all theUS News,UK News,Canada News, International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Download The Economic Times News App to get DailyInternational NewsUpdates. (Catch all theUS News,UK News,Canada News, International Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Download The Economic Times News App to get DailyInternational NewsUpdates. Explore More Stories Nova Scotia Motor Vehicle Crash: Youth dies, two others injured after early-morning accident in Musquodoboit Harbour Quote of the day by Michael Jackson: 'Lies run sprints, but the truth runs...' - King of Pop's timeless wisdom Canada's privacy watchdog calls for urgent action after nearly 45,000 tax account breaches reported since 2020 Quote of the day by Cristiano Ronaldo: 'I think sometimes the best training is to...' - CR7 shares his ultimate performance hack Bell Canada's parent company BCE fires employees for faking attendance; Workers caught in 'swipe and go' scandal as one worker reportedly visited office only for gym Quote of the day by Queen Elizabeth I: 'Do not tell secrets to those whose faith and silence you have...' Canada is facing its own Brexit moment — Alberta separatists just hit a massive referendum milestone, and Ottawa has a very big problem Canada Census 2026 Explained: Why sexual orientation is being asked and what penalties you could face for not filling census form? Quote of the Day by Justin Bieber: ‘The success I've achieved comes to me from…’ Quote of the day by Queen Elizabeth II: 'I lived long enough to know that things never...' 'Acting legend Jake Paul': Olivia Rodrigo mocks ex-Disney co-star during SNL opening monologue Calgary father faces murder charges after his two children found dead inside a vehicle: what do we know so far Quote of the Day by Canadian PM Mark Carney: ‘A world of fortresses will be poorer, more fragile and…’
Click Here for Media Kit KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Populous, the global design firm specializing in sport, entertainment and large-scale public assembly venues, today announced the acquisition of OJB Landscape Architecture, the award-winni…
Click Here for Media Kit KANSAS CITY, Mo.,May 6, 2026/PRNewswire/ -- Populous, the global design firm specializing in sport, entertainment and large-scale public assembly venues, today announced the acquisition of OJB Landscape Architecture, the award-winning leader in landscape architecture and urban design. This strategic acquisition brings together two of the most respected design practices globally, uniting Populous' expertise in creating iconic, people-centric destinations with OJB Landscape Architecture's award-winning portfolio of landscapes, public spaces and urban environments. The two firms have collaborated historically on projects over the years, including most notably Baylor University's McLane Stadium which opened in 2014 and was recognized by the American Society of Landscape Architects. OJB Landscape Architecture's most iconic work includes the Omaha RiverFront in Omaha, Nebraska, Downtown Cary Park in Cary, North Carolina, Seaport Village in San Diego, California and many more. Populous' landscape architecture and urban design portfolio includes work at Pittsburgh's North Shore, the Minnesota Twins' Target Field, the Miami Marlins' LoanDepot Park and Minnesota United's Allianz Field. Bruce Miller, Chairman and CEO of Populous, commented: "We are committed to expanding the breadth of our practice and the impact of our work. OJB Landscape Architecture is globally recognized for its exceptional landscape architecture, urban design and planning and its ability to create meaningful, enduring public spaces. Bringing OJB Landscape Architecture into Populous strengthens our ability to design complete, immersive environments, from venues to the public realm around them, ensuring every part of the experience is thoughtful and cohesive. Both firms are focused on people-centric design and that is reflected in the cultural fit between us." Founded in 1989, OJB Landscape Architecture has delivered some of the most celebrated landscape architecture projects worldwide, including urban parks, campuses, waterfronts and mixed-use developments. The firm is known for design excellence, environmental sensitivity and a deep understanding of how people engage with outdoor spaces. Jim Burnett, President of OJB Landscape Architecture, added: "Populous shares our belief in the power of design to bring people together and shape communities. Together, we can extend the reach and impact of our work, creating more integrated and meaningful environments for people around the world." OJB Landscape Architecture will maintain its current studios and leadership while collaborating across Populous' network. With the acquisition, Populous grows to more than 950 employees in the Americas and more than 1,600 worldwide. This acquisition significantly enhances Populous' capabilities in landscape architecture, urban design and the public realm — unlocking new opportunities across sport, entertainment, civic and mixed-use developments. Along with its recent launch of its Real Estate Strategy service line, Populous is dedicated to the creation of multi-faceted destinations that enhance our cities and communities. About PopulousPopulous is a global design firm that began with a singular focus — to draw people together around the things they love, through experiences that capture all the senses and amplify the pure emotion shared in human moments. Over the last 40+ years, the firm has designed more than 3,500 projects worth over $60 billion across emerging and established markets. Populous' comprehensive services include architecture, interior design, event planning and overlay, branded environments,wayfindingand graphics, real estate strategy, planning and urban design, landscape architecture, aviation and transport design, hospitality and sustainable design consulting. Populous has over 1,600 employees in 35 global offices on four continents with regional centers in Kansas City, London and Brisbane. For more information, visitwww.populous.com. About OJB Landscape Architecture:OJB Landscape Architecture is a landscape architecture and urban planning practice founded by James Burnett, FASLA, in 1989 in Houston, Texas, and led today by Burnett and his partners in six offices around the country. Transforming public spaces is central to the mission of the firm. Its work weaves together ecology and play, celebrates discovery and delight in the landscape, and helps people connect to the natural world in new ways. The firm has received more than 150 significant honors and awards. Burnett is the recipient of the Design Medal, the highest honor conferred by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). OJB is also the recipient of four ULI Open Space Awards for its urban parks, the 2020 National Design Award for Landscape Architecture from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and the ASLA Firm Award.https://www.ojb.com/ AEC Advisors, through its registered broker-dealer affiliate AEC Transaction Services LLC, was the exclusive financial advisor to OJB Landscape Architecture. SOURCE Populous
Intesa Anci-Guardia Costiera a tutela dell’ambiente marino e costiero e per il turismo sostenibile Pressmare
Istituzioni
Rafforzare la collaborazione tra Comuni e Guardia Costiera per garantire la sicurezza della navigazione e della balneazione, la tutela dell’ambiente marino e costiero e modelli di turismo sostenibile. È questo il cuore del protocollo d’intesa siglato oggi a Roma tra l’Anci ed il Comando generale delle Capitanerie di porto - Guardia Costiera, con gli interventi del vicepresidente vicario dell'Anci e sindaco di Ancona Daniele Silvetti e del Comandante generale delle Capitanerie di porto - Guardia Costiera, Ammiraglio Ispettore Capo Sergio Liardo, con il contributo in collegamento di Alessandro Terrile, vicesindaco di Genova, presidente della commissione Politiche del mare, demanio marittimo e porti di Anci.
"La collaborazione tra Comuni e Guardia Costiera è decisiva per garantire sicurezza, tutela ambientale e una gestione sostenibile del territorio. La priorità resta la salvaguardia della vita umana: vogliamo migliorare il coordinamento tra attività balneari e sicurezza della navigazione”, ha sottolineato Silvetti. “Questo accordo – ha aggiunto - punta anche a promuovere modelli di turismo sostenibile e resiliente in linea con gli obiettivi dell’Agenda 2030. Attraverso la condivisione di dati, buone pratiche e formazione intendiamo inoltre supportare concretamente i Comuni costieri e lacustri. Tra le iniziative più significative – ha concluso il vicepresidente dell’Anci - realizzeremo insieme alla Guardia Costiera il Calendario istituzionale 2027 dedicato alle eccellenze dei territori.”
“Il protocollo tra Guardia Costiera ed Anci, testimonia ancora una volta lo stretto legame tra il territorio, in particolare i Comuni e le autorità marittime, entrambi attori fondamentali a presidio della fascia costiera ed a tutela degli interessi della collettività - ha dichiarato l’ammiraglio Liardo - legame che intendiamo documentare questa volta anche con un calendario che ne valorizzi le bellezze e le potenzialità turistiche sostenibili del territorio”.
“Con questo protocollo poniamo le basi per iniziative condivise capaci di generare benefici duraturi per i territori e le comunità", ha rimarcato Terrile. “La nascita della Commissione porti dell’Anci segna una nuova fase: vogliamo che le città di mare diventino protagoniste della Blue economy e non più semplici punti di transito. L’obiettivo è costruire una rete di Comuni capace di incidere nei processi decisionali valorizzando le coste e trasformando le sfide in opportunità di sviluppo sostenibile. Per questo - ha concluso il vicesindaco di Genova - abbiamo chiesto un confronto al Governo: serve un dialogo strutturato per arrivare a una vera Agenda urbana portuale condivisa”.
Los protocolos de cuarentena y la identificación temprana pueden ser clave para frenar la propagación de este virus en espacios confinados como los barcos
De Patagonia a Canarias: cronología del crucero afectado por el brote de hantavirus
La actual alerta…
Luis Franco Serrano La actual alerta sanitaria generada por elbrote de hantavirus a bordo de una embarcaciónnos sitúa ante un escenario epidemiológico tan inusual como complejo. A diferencia de otros patógenos, el hantavirus es una enfermedad zoonótica que se transmite principalmente a través de la inhalación de aerosoles procedentes de excrementos, orina o saliva de roedores infectados. La transmisión de persona a persona es extremadamente rara (limitada casi exclusivamente a algunas cepas sudamericanas como el virus Andes). Por lo tanto, el problema principal en un barco no es solo el contacto entre los pasajeros o la tripulación, sino la exposición a un entorno cerrado donde el vector (normalmente ratas o ratones y sus deposiciones) podría estar conviviendo de manera invisible con los humanos en un espacio donde el aire circula de forma interna. Ante una crisis así, las primeras medidas dictadas por las autoridades sanitarias suelen ser el aislamiento y la cuarentena. Aunque a menudo se utilizan como sinónimos en el lenguaje coloquial, en epidemiología responden a estrategias diferentes, y aplicarlas correctamente en un barco es fundamental. El aislamiento se aplica exclusivamente a las personas que ya presentan síntomas o han dado positivo en la enfermedad. El objetivo es separar a los enfermos del resto de la tripulación para proporcionarles atención médica segura y evitar que cualquier fluido o vía de contagio llegue a personas sanas. Por otro lado, la cuarentena se aplica a personas aparentemente sanas, pero que han estado expuestas al mismo entorno de riesgo (por ejemplo, que dormían en la misma cabina o trabajaban en la misma bodega donde ha habido contagios). A estas personas se les restringe el movimiento durante el período de incubación del virus para monitorizar si desarrollan síntomas. Aplicar estos dos conceptos en tierra firme es relativamente sencillo; hacerlo en un barco es un auténtico reto. Un barco funciona como un ecosistema cerrado. Para sectorizarlo, es necesario establecer un sistema de “zonas limpias” y “zonas sucias”. El mayor desafío es la ventilación. Como el hantavirus se transmite por partículas suspendidas en el aire (cuando se levanta polvo contaminado por roedores), es vital asegurarse de que los sistemas de climatización y ventilación de las zonas de aislamiento y de las zonas de riesgo no recirculen el aire hacia las áreas seguras. Esto, a menudo, implica apagar determinados sistemas de ventilación compartida, utilizar filtros HEPA si la embarcación dispone de ellos, y confinar a los tripulantes en sus cabinas minimizando el tránsito por pasillos y zonas comunes. Además de la ventilación, otro quebradero de cabeza operativo es la gestión de residuos y suministros. En alta mar, los residuos biológicos o los materiales posiblemente contaminados (como toallas, sábanas o las bandejas de comida de los tripulantes en cuarentena) no pueden almacenarse de cualquier manera ni arrojarse por la borda. Requieren un protocolo de doble bolsa sellada y almacenamiento en zonas aisladas hasta su correcta incineración o tratamiento al llegar a puerto. Paralelamente, establecer circuitos de “contacto cero” para hacer llegar agua y alimentos a la tripulación confinada en las cabinas es vital para evitar la contaminación cruzada. Dado que el hantavirusse propaga del entorno animal a los humanos y no de persona a persona, restringir los movimientos de la tripulación resuelve solo una parte de la ecuación. La cuarentena humana no es suficiente; es necesario actuar sobre el vector que la provoca, las ratas, que siguen libres por la embarcación y los elementos que han contaminado. El verdadero reto logístico a bordo es la desratización y la desinfección. Este proceso debe ser extremadamente riguroso. La norma de oro con el hantavirus es no barrer ni aspirar nunca en seco, ya que eso levantaría polvo cargado de partículas virales y facilitaría su inhalación. Toda limpieza de bodegas, cocinas o espacios de carga sospechosos debe realizarse con métodos húmedos, rociando las superficies con soluciones de lejía u otros desinfectantes antes de limpiarlas. El personal encargado de esta tarea debe ir equipado con Equipos de Protección Individual (EPI) de alta seguridad, incluyendo mascarillas con filtros para partículas (tipo FFP3), gafas estancas y guantes. Sin esta desinfección ambiental intensiva, el barco sigue siendo infeccioso. La urgencia de estas medidas radica en la resistencia del propio patógeno. El hantavirus puede sobrevivir a temperatura ambiente en entornos cerrados durante varios días. Además, la estrategia de desratización a bordo requiere precisión: a menudo se priorizan las trampas físicas frente a los cebos envenenados. El motivo es puramente preventivo: si un roedor ingiere veneno y muere en un conducto de ventilación o un espacio inaccesible, su cuerpo seguirá siendo un foco de liberación de partículas virales a medida que se descomponga y empeorará gravemente la situación. La llegada a puerto en estas condicionesestá estrictamente regulada por el Reglamento Sanitario Internacional de la OMS. Este marco establece cómo deben coordinarse los puertos para autorizar un atraque seguro y atender a la tripulación sin poner en riesgo a la población local. Las autoridades de Sanidad Exterior solo darán permiso para interactuar con el puerto cuando el barco sea declarado oficialmente libre del patógeno y del vector. Casos como este nos recuerdan una lección fundamental: en un mundo hiperconectado, el comercio marítimo y la movilidad no solo transportan bienes y personas, sino también vectores climáticos y enfermedades zoonóticas. La prevención, el control estricto de plagas en el transporte de mercancías y la preparación epidemiológica de los puertos no son simples trámites burocráticos, sino la primera y más importante línea de defensa de la salud pública global. La paradoja de esta crisis es que no es necesario aislar a las personas para proteger el entorno, sino desinfectar el entorno para proteger a las personas, ya que es el barco el que resulta infeccioso, y no su tripulación. Este artículo fue publicado originalmente en The Conversation.
Eni presenta i progetti per Porto Marghera. La Cgil: «Solo impegni generici» VeneziaToday
Si è tenuto in sede regionale l'atteso incontro del tavolo avente ad oggetto l’evoluzione del polo industriale petrolchimico dell’area veneziana di Porto Marghera, Venezia. Una delegazione di Eni e delle sue società controllate Versalis, Enilive ed Eni Rewind, ha rappresentato all’assessore regionale Massimo Bitonci e alle parti sociali, lo stato di attuazione e gli investimenti previsti per la trasformazione dell’area industriale di Porto Marghera.
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Il progetto, avviato nel 2022 con la fermata del cracking, vale complessivamente oltre 900 milioni di euro, rispetto ai 500 previsti, e prevede attività in ambito di chimica circolare di Versalis, il potenziamento della bioraffineria Enilive e lo sviluppo di un polo per la produzione e l’utilizzo dell’idrogeno per la mobilità pubblica.
«Il confronto – ha detto Bitonci – dopo il riferimento al contesto globale turbolento e in continua ridefinizione, si è sviluppato in merito alle aree da reindustrializzare. Parliamo di una superficie particolarmente estesa e di lotti già messi a disposizione da ENI in un accordo con l’Autorità Portuale per l’insediamento di nuove attività. Su questo tema abbiamo registrato la preoccupazione sindacale che il futuro industriale di Porto Marghera non la declassasse a una funzione di mera logistica o di “parcheggio”. Su questo punto ho chiarito che, come Regione, l’azione per attrarre gli investimenti nell’area punta ad attività industriali ad alto valore aggiunto, un obiettivo che abbiamo condiviso anche con il gruppo ENI».
Il piano da 900 milioni dopo lo stop al cracking
Eni infatti ha riassunto i suoi piani nell'area, ma per i sindacati non basta, si tratta di «impegni generici». In breve. Versalis ha completato la prima fase del polo per il riciclo meccanico avanzato delle plastiche post-consumo (polimeri stirenici e poliolefine) da 20 mila tonnellate anno: le 4 linee saranno in marcia entro maggio 2026. La seconda fase è in fase di sviluppo, è stata ottimizzata la configurazione dell’impianto e conclusa l’ingegneria di base, e si procede con lo studio di fattibilità che definirà i prossimi step.
Gli investimenti per il potenziamento dell’hub logistico, per Eni sono da tempo avviati al fine di aumentare la flessibilità e affidabilità degli approvvigionamenti. Nello specifico, è già completata l’installazione di nuovi bracci di carico per etilene/propilene, sono in corso gli interventi alle banchine e le attività preliminari sull’area dove è previsto il nuovo serbatoio criogenico etilene, che consentirà di incrementare la flessibilità di stoccaggio.
La Bioraffineria Enilive «è al centro di importanti investimenti finalizzati ad aumentare l’impiego di materie prime di scarto e residui, tra cui oli vegetali esausti, grassi animali e altri sottoprodotti dei processi industriali, utilizzati per la produzione di biocarburanti». È in fase di completamento il nuovo impianto di Steam Reforming, che consentirà la produzione di idrogeno non solo da metano, ma anche da HVO nafta e HVO GPL, rafforzando la flessibilità e la sostenibilità del sistema industriale. Parallelamente è previsto il potenziamento dell’impianto Ecofining, con un incremento della capacità di trattamento da 400.000 a 600.000 tonnellate annue.
Sempre nell’area di Porto Marghera sono inoltre in costruzione la stazione di distribuzione di idrogeno rinnovabile di Enilive, destinata al rifornimento degli autobus a idrogeno del trasporto pubblico AVM, e l’impianto da 8 MW per la produzione di idrogeno rinnovabile di Green Hydrogen Venezia. L’idrogeno prodotto sarà fornito tramite pipeline alla nuova stazione di distribuzione idrogeno di Enilive. Infine, in ambito rinnovabili, Plenitude ha realizzato e da tempo avviato impianti fotovoltaici in due aree di Eni Rewind non idonee ad altri utilizzi: sono in produzione in totale 6,2 MW (“Lotto 12 - Area ex-Ausidet” e “Lotto 15” nelle aree del Nuovo Petrolchimico a Porto Marghera).
Manca il cronoprogramma, preoccupazione dei sindacati
«Nei prossimi giorni - conclude Bitonci - riceveremo da ENI il dettaglio della progettualità del Gruppo nell’area e il cronoprogramma aggiornato, un documento che condivideremo con le Parti sindacali. Abbiamo convenuto che il tavolo si riaggiornerà nel mese di settembre per valutare risultati e avanzamenti».
Michele Pettenò, segratario di Filctem Cgil Venezia, non è per nulla soddisfatto: «Il punto centrale resta irrisolto: cosa intende fare Eni delle aree che non utilizza più? Quale piano industriale esiste per garantire nuova occupazione, investimenti, riconversione produttiva e continuità industriale? Su questo non abbiamo avuto risposte sufficienti. E senza una risposta chiara sull’utilizzo delle aree, ogni ragionamento sul futuro di Marghera rischia di rimanere sospeso».
Critico anche Francesco Coco, della Femca Cisl, pur con toni diversi: «Come Femca Cisl di Venezia abbiamo ribadito l'importanza della realizzazione degli investimenti nella Bioraffineria, quello che manca è un vero progetto industriale nell’area del Petrolchimico per evitare che tale area diventi solo un hub logistico. Abbiamo fatto presente che serve dare risposte di prospettiva anche ai lavoratori del Consorzio Spm (Servizi Porto Marghera), che non essendo Eni, vanno tutelati e collocati in un contesto di tenuta industriale».
Più ottimista Roberto Toigo, della Uil Veneto: «Le notizie sugli investimenti assicurati da Eni ci dimostrano che è possibile una reindustralizzazione. La partita è complicata, ma va riconosciuto il lavoro che l’assessore Bitonci e l’unità di crisi stanno portando avanti. Seguiremo, come confederazione e con le categorie interessate, i prossimi passi, pronti a dare il nostro supporto per il rilancio dell’area» commenta.
Capitale ridotto del 98%, avanzi di amministrazione e canoni demaniali resteranno alle Autorità di sistema portuale L'articolo L’ultima versione della riforma portuale firmata da Mattarella sgonfia la Porti d’Italia Spa proviene da Shipping Italy .
Dopo l’approvazione in Consiglio dei Ministri, avvenuta nel dicembre scorso, il disegno di legge della riforma portuale voluta dal viceministro Edoardo Rixi e varata dal Governo è arrivato, previa bollinatura della Ragioneria dello Stato, alla firma del Presidente della Repubblica Sergio Mattarella, passaggio prodromico all’avvio dell’iter parlamentare che partirà dalla Camera dei Deputati.
Il testo, che SHIPPING ITALY pubblica qui, è stato aggiornato rispetto alla versione dicembrina e, a una prima lettura, la novità più sostanziale è il forte ridimensionamento della nuova società pubblica Porti d’Italia Spa. Il suo capitale sociale, che nella prima versione poteva arriva a 500 milioni di euro sottoscrivibili dal Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze attingendo agli avanzi di amministrazione delle Autorità di sistema portuale, si limiterà invece a 10 milioni di euro, che saranno attinti da fonti diverse (peraltro con indicazione, quanto a 9 milioni, per il 2027, segno che si pensa di non arrivare alla costituzione della società prima dell’anno prossimo, compatibilmente col fatto che i mesi restanti alla fine della legislatura sono meno di 10).
Altra sostanziale differenza, sempre nel segno di un mantenimento dello status quo vigente e delle prerogative in essere in capo alle Adsp, è il fatto che esse non dovranno più conferire nulla dei canoni concessori incassati (nella versione precedente era invece una grossa quota della parte investimenti) al Fondo per le infrastrutture strategiche di trasporto marittimo (quello gestito di fatto da PdI Spa), nel quale invece confluiranno (con la prima legge di bilancio seguente all’approvazione della riforma) le risorse disponibili a legislazione vigente iscritte in 8 fondi esistenti destinati allo sviluppo delle infrastrutture portuali.
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Per la deviazione del porto canale si apre una nuova fase: a inizio 2027 via ai lavori per il nuovo molo nord IlPescara
Con la Via unica (Valutazione di impatto ambientale), ottenuta dopo quasi due anni dalla richiesta, si va verso lo sblocco dei lavori per la realizzazione del nuovo porto di Pescara. Parliamo della deviazione del porto canale, un intervento che una volta ultimato, ridarà letteralmente “respiro” al porto, aprendo a nuove opportunità e dando una risposta definitiva anche alla marineria risolvendo l'orami ben noto problema legato all'insabbiamento.
Un progetto da oltre 80 milioni di euro, diviso in tre fasi (A, B e C) e altrettanti lotti di lavoro, con le prime due già finanziate per poco più della metà della somma necessaria a realizzarlo. Gli altri 40 milioni che serviranno per l'ultima fase, la C che è quella decisamente più rilevante, dovranno essere stanziati, è stato spiegato durante la commissione, dall’Autorità di sistema portuale.
Il punto è stato fatto nel corso della commissione comunale Lavori pubblici presieduta da Massimo Pastore e la novità emersa è sul quando i lavori della prima fase, la A, che fa leva su un finanziamento di 20 milioni e 400mila euro per la realizzazione del nuovo molo nord e di cui stazione appaltante è l'Arap (Agenzia regionale attività produttive), partiranno: all'inizio del 2027. Una data che questa volta, dopo le tante ipotesi fatti, è data praticamente per certa proprio in virtù del fatto che la Via è stata rilasciata. Un Valutazione di impatto ambientale che, è il caso di ricordarlo, è stata richiesta per l’intero progetto e cioè per tutte le fasi in cui è stato pensato. Questo vuol dire che questo passaggio, particolarmente complesso per le numerose prescrizioni arrivate e cui nel tempo si è dovuto rispondere, non si dovrà più ripetere.
A spiegarlo è stato l'ingegnere Arap Tommaso Impicciatore sentito in commissione insieme al collega Mattia Ippoliti. Una volta partiti i lavori della Fase A dovranno essere completati in 500 giorni. Questo vuol dire che il molo nord sarà realizzato nell'arco di un anno e mezzo. Parallelamente potrebbero riprendere ed essere completati anche i lavori per la realizzazione della scogliera di radicamento della deviazione del porto canale e del pennello di foce, già finanziati e appaltati per 5 milioni di euro, ma non terminati. Si è arrivati alla risoluzione del contratto con la ditta aggiudicataria e una volta definiti gli ultimi dettagli si procederà con la graduatoria di chi, al bando, partecipò, per riaffidare i lavori.
Restando sul progetto di deviazione del porto canale e su quella Fase A in capo ad Arap, perché si possa aprire il cantiere mancano dunque solo l'ultimo passaggio: la conferenza dei servizi e ottenere le ultime autorizzazioni necessarie per arrivare al progetto definitivo e quindi a quello esecutivo.
Anche per la Fase B si auspica un’accelerazione dei tempi. Finanziata con 20 milioni e 200 mila euro dall’Autorità portuale, questo lotto di lavori riguarda la realizzazione del molo sud, dei varchi di vivificazione e di una delle vasche di colmata previste dal grande progetto, nello specifico la vasca A, che servirà a raccogliere i sedimenti derivanti dal parziale dragaggio del porto canale. Lavoro questo che si svolgerà in parallelo. I sedimenti di classe C e D che saranno estratti con il dragaggio, hanno spiegato i referenti Arap, saranno impermeabilizzati e tombati “dentro” il nuovo molo sud che sarà realizzato.Parliamo, è stato spiegato da Impicciatore, di circa 43 mila metri cubi di materiali.
La Via vale anche per questa fase per cui ora dovrà essere l'Autorità portuale, spiega l'Arap, a decidere se arrivare al progetto esecutivo e poi affidare i lavori, oppure di procedere direttamente all’affidamento a un contraente che si occuperà sia della progettazione esecutiva sia dell’avvio dei lavori.
Resa aperta la partita della Fase C, la più importante, ma anche la più corposa tanto è vero che metà dell'importo previsto per realizzare la deviazione del porto canale, dovrà essere proprio a questa destinata: 40 milioni. D'altra parte si tratta dell'intervento con cui la deviazione del porto canale sarà effettiva. Un intervento, quello della fase C. che, tra le altre cose, prevede anche l’ultimazione delle vasche di colmata e il dragaggio fino al molo nord. A quel punto sarà chiuso il vecchio alveo del fiume e aperto il nuovo.
Facile comprendere la portata di un progetto come questo che per arrivare a mettere un punto importante, quello della Via, ha dovuto fare i conti con una procedura lunga e complessa. Ora che c'è, però, tutto dovrebbe “scorrere” più facilmente. L'obiettivo è quello di chiudere una partita che Pescara non può di certo permettersi di perdere. Non solo perché il progetto di deviazione del porto canale si connette con tanti altri interventi messi in campo dall’attuale amministrazione (dalla riqualificazione di via Doria al nuovo sbocco dell’asse attrezzato sulla banchina sud del porto, fino al Waterfront e alla riqualificazione di tutta l’area nord del lungofiume, che comprende anche il Museo del Mare), ma ma anche perché vincerla vorrebbe dire, come anticipato, risolvere il problema dell’insabbiamento del porto canale che troppe volte ha lasciato e lascia in banchina gli armatori alle prese con difficoltà di entrate e uscita dal porto canale oltre che con i danni agli scafi causati dai fondali bassi, e “riaprirsi” al turismo via mare.
Potrebbe, insomma, essere una chiave di volta per riattivare i collegamenti con l’altra sponda dell'Adriatico.
They're billed as a stress-free, all-inclusive holiday at sea - but cruise ships are especially prone to disease outbreaks, an expert has warned.
ByXANTHA LEATHAM, EXECUTIVE SCIENCE EDITOR Published:16:15 BST, 6 May 2026|Updated:15:05 BST, 7 May 2026 They're billed as a stress–free, all–inclusive holiday at sea – but cruise ships are especially prone to disease outbreaks, an expert has warned. Vikram Niranjan, an assistant professor in public health at the University of Limerick, has revealed that the 'floating cities' make it easy for infections to spread in ways that are 'hard to stop'. It comes as three passengers on theDutchcruise ship MV Hondius have died from a rare strain of hantavirus after it set sail from Argentina around a month ago. Another three people with symptoms have been evacuated from the ship to receive care in the Netherlands, theWorld Health Organisationsaid. Around 150 people remain on–board, confined to their cabins while disinfection and 'other public health measures are carried out' as the ship is anchored off Cape Verde. Dr Niranjan said buffet–style dining, the ship's design and ventilation all contribute to the rapid spread of diseases such as Covid, norovirus and legionnaires. 'The basic structure of cruise travel still creates the same challenge: many people sharing the same meals, the same air, the same water systems and the same common spaces,' he wrote onThe Conversation. 'That is why outbreaks keep returning, and why cruise ships remain a useful reminder that public health is shaped as much by design as by germs.' A researcher has revealed that the 'floating cities' make it easy for infections to spread in ways that are 'hard to stop'. Pictured: MV Hondius The outbreak of the rare, rat–borne illness that has a 40 per cent mortality rate has left three people dead and several others seriously ill Dr Niranjan referenced the 2020Diamond Princess outbreak– in which 619 passengers and crew tested positive for Covid – as a well–known example. Researchers found the ship's conditions made the coronavirus spread more easily. Meanwhile, the so–called vomiting bug norovirus is the infection most closely linked to cruise ships. In a review of previously published studies, scientists found 127 reports of norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships with many linked to contaminated food, contaminated surfaces and person–to–person spread. 'Food service plays a big part in this risk,' Dr Niranjan explained. 'Buffet–style dining, shared utensils and many people touching the same surfaces can make it easier for stomach bugs to spread. 'If someone is infected but does not yet feel sick, they may still contaminate food or surfaces before they realise they are unwell.' The way these ships are designed also exacerbates the issue, as people spend a lot of time together in dining areas, bars, lifts, corridors, theatres and spas. Crew members also live and work in the same environment, often in shared accommodation. Health workers in protective gear arrive to evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship at a port in Cape Verde He added: 'Ventilation also plays a crucial role. Cruise ships are not closed boxes, but they do rely heavily on indoor spaces where people spend long periods together. Covid and flu:Enclosed air and crowds Stomach bugs:Through food, hands and shared surfaces Norovirus:Buffets and surfaces Legionnaire's:Water systems Hantavirus:Enclosed air 'Studies into cruise ship air quality have shown that illness can spread more easily in crowded, enclosed spaces, like cabins, restaurants and entertainment venues, if the ventilation system is not up to scratch.' Age plays a role, as cruise holidays are especially popular with older adults. Many passengers have long–term health conditions that make infections more serious, Dr Niranjan added. While cruise ships do have medical facilities, these are limited compared to land–based hospitals. They are not designed to handle a fast–moving outbreak, he said, and instead are built to give first aid, basic treatment and short–term care. He explained that legionnaire's – a serious lung disease caused by bacteria – can easily be spread among passengers through contaminated water systems. A well–knownoutbreakhas previously been linked to a whirlpool spa. 'Hantavirus – a severe respiratory illness spread by rodents – outbreaks on ships are rare,' he said. 'However, as recent news of the deaths on the MV Hondius attests, germs in close quarters find it much easier to spread.' When it comes to limiting risk, the best protection starts before boarding, Dr Niranjan said. This includes making sure routine vaccines are up to date and ensuring travel insurance covers illness–related disruptions. 'Once on board, washing your hands with soap and water is the most useful step for preventing stomach bugs like norovirus,' he advised. 'Hand sanitiser can help, but it does not replace soap and water. If you start to feel unwell, the safest move is to avoid buffets and crowded shared spaces and report symptoms early rather than trying to carry on as normal.' Early symptoms Late symptoms (four to 10 days after the initial phase) Potential complications Haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS)– can cause intense headaches, back and abdominal pain, fever/chills, nausea and blurred vision. Flushing of the face, inflammation or redness of the eyes, or a rash. Later symptoms can include low blood pressure, lack of blood flow, internal bleeding and acute kidney failure, which can cause severe fluid overload. Usually survivable. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS)– can cause significant shortness of breath, coughing, and low blood pressure due to fluid filling the lungs. Often fatal. Dyson Supersonic Travel hair dryer review: Finally, a Dyson hairdryer that works abroad! Enter: the mini version of the brand's best-selling hair tool - but is it just as powerful?
A look back at how Sir David Attenborough became one of the most recognisable – and most trusted – faces on our screens
SirDavid Attenboroughhas mastered the craft of storytelling. He has undoubtedly inspired generations of people around the globe tolove and care for the natural world. And in doing so, he’s become one of the most recognisable – and most trusted –faces on our screens. Now,he’s celebrating his 100th birthdayand a lifetime of wildlife filmmaking. As part ofThe ConversationUK’s climate storytelling strand, four experts critique how he has influenced everything from conservation and documentary production to the communication of the biggest story of all –climate change. Ben Garrod, science broadcaster and Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Science Engagement at the University of East Anglia, has presented alongside Attenborough in several landmark documentaries. Here he reflects on Attenborough’s passion for furthering our scientific understanding of the natural world. I once sat on a remote beach with Attenborough, near the very tip of South America. I can still clearly remember the warmth of the rounded, flat stones beneath me. We sat only a metre or so apart. We’d just spent the morning filming the excavation of the largest dinosaur ever discovered. Over lunch, Attenborough had recalled we were close to a beach he’d filmed at years before, where grey whale mothers drew in close to shore with their calves to rub against the stone in the shallows to exfoliate their skin. As luck would have it, it was the perfect time of year and before long, there we were watching a mother and calf just a few metres offshore. Facts and figures bubbled out of Attenborough excitedly, not at all like the calm and more measured way we’re all so used to. For those few minutes, he was childlike in his wonder and excitement at the scene in front of us and I marvelled at how he has not only maintained that love for the natural world for so long but how he has always so passionately shared it with the rest of us. For a century now, Attenborough’s life has been intimately interwoven not only with humanity’s growing scientific understanding of the natural world but also its accelerating loss. Spanning over 70 years, Attenborough has been our most trusted and prolific mediator between scientific knowledge and the public. His early landmarkBBCseries Life on Earth: A Natural History (1979) did something few academic texts ever could. It made the complexity of evolutionary biology accessible. Across his work, natural selection, adaptation, ecology and behaviour are not presented as intangible concepts but as organic processes shaping form, function and ultimately survival across the natural world. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission.This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled. ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission.This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. In doing so, Attenborough helped normalise evolutionary thinking for hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide, embedding complex scientific principles into popular culture, right in our living rooms. Central to his work has been a commitment to scientific accuracy. Attenborough’s programmes have been developed in close collaboration with academics and field researchers, ensuring narratives about animal behaviour, ecosystems and biodiversity reflect current evidence. This relationship between science and storytelling has been crucial because rather than dumbing down complexity, Attenborough’s “everyday” approach demonstrates audiences can engage with content that could all too easily be written off as belonging to more academic and scientifically literate viewers. Yet the tone of his work has changed. His early documentaries were characterised by a sense of abundance and discovery. Over time, as scientific evidence for biodiversity loss and climate change mounted, his work shifted accordingly. More recently, his documentaries increasingly shine a light on human impact, habitat destruction and extinction risk. This evolution of change in his own tone mirrors the science itself, highlighting Attenborough’s credibility as a communicator willing to adjust his message as the evidence demands. Attenborough’s contribution to conservation has not come through activism alone.Research showsthat an emotional connection to nature precedes any behavioural change. Attenborough has actively helped build the public conditions necessary for conservation policy and action by fostering wonder, curiosity and empathy for the natural world. His influence can be traced in the generations of scientists, conservationists and educators who cite his programmes as formative experiences. For many, particularly those without access to wild spaces, Attenborough’s work provides an opportunity and gateway to encounter wild animals and remote ecosystems but also local habitats, helping give us all access to the wonder he perceives in the world around him. As he turns 100, Attenborough’s legacy is surely inseparable from the global environmental challenges we now face. He has helped society understand not only how life evolved, but, more importantly, why it matters that we protect it now. In an era defined by ecological crisis, his work reminds us that scientific knowledge is most powerful when it connects people to the living world so strongly, it compels us to care enough to protect it, so that we might carry on his legacy and, just like him, act as stewards. Jean-Baptiste Gouyon, Professor of Science Communication at the UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies, explains the impact Attenborough has had on natural history television. In the early 1950s, television was taking off across Britain, but the BBC was still finding its visual voice. Its controller, Cecil McGivern, warned in June 1952 that there was “far too much emphasis…on the spoken word and far too little on the thing seen”. Most early television producers had come from BBC radio and initially made programmes that resembled radio with pictures. Into this world stepped a young David Attenborough, unencumbered by a career in sound, ready to invent a new language for television and, in the process, reshape natural history filmmaking. At 26, he earned his first natural history credit as producer of The Coelacanth (1953), a 20-minute programme prompted by the capture of a live coelacanth “living fossil” fish off Madagascar. Eschewing sensationalism, Attenborough tied the story to Darwin’s theory of evolution. This use of wildlife programmes to communicate scientific ideas became his trademark. The programme blended prerecorded footage with live studio sequences featuring evolutionary biologist Julian Huxley, who used the coelacanth to illustrate life’s transition from sea to land. With the Zoo Quest series (1954), Attenborough began reshaping wildlife television. For these programmes, he travelled to exotic places with staff from the London Zoo to capture animals for the collection. Each episode relied on prerecorded film linked by live studio sequences, allowing tighter narrative control. The hero in the films, shot by Charles Lagus, was Attenborough himself, who back in London also presented the studio sequences. By assuming all the roles of hero, producer, narrator and presenter, Attenborough became the central performer in the story. From then on, Attenborough’s fluid on-screen performances gained him much acclaim. A very hard worker, he put much effort in producing highly detailed scripts, which left little to chance. Indeed, by the early 1960s, he had all but lost faith in live television, writing to a BBC colleague: “To begin with I got a tremendous kick out of the excitement of putting out programmes live. But it wore off after a bit and really, except for challenging interviews with lots of ‘immediacy’, I’m for film or some other sort of controlled recording process every time. It is so maddening to miss an effect because of some small mechanical hitch, as so often happens live.” Consistently high ratings encouraged others to emulate his method, and live formats became less fashionable. Film-based production also allowed programmes to be stockpiled, repeated and sold, supporting a more sustainable business model. Chloe Brimicombe is a Postdoctoral Researcher, Climate Science at the University of Oxford. Ben Garrod is a Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Science Engagement at the University of East Anglia. Jean-Baptiste Gouyon is the Head of Department, Science and Technology Studies, UCL. Saffron O'Neill is a Professor of Geography at the University of Exeter. This article was first published byThe Conversationand is republished under a Creative Commons licence. Read theoriginal article. After Attenborough moved into BBC management in 1965, his goal was to turn natural history television into a science communication genre. He argued that it was “important” to move away from programmes that simply showcased the beauty of nature and instead engage viewers “to examine in a serious and critical way new trends and ideas in zoology”. Returning to hands-on programme-making a decade later, he embedded this vision in his magnum opus, Life on Earth (1979). In the early 1950s, when Attenborough joined the BBC, natural history television had been mostly conceived of as a specialist genre catering for amateur naturalists to share in the aesthetic and emotional enjoyment of nature. By the 1980s, he had helped transform it into one of the most popular genres of TV programming and a powerful conduit for science communication. This influence continues in his later work, including Planet Earth II, Blue Planet II and Our Planet, which combine cinematic storytelling with urgent environmental themes. As he celebrates his 100th birthday, Attenborough’s legacy endures, defining natural history television as one of the most powerful forms of science communication and inspiring generations to look at the living world with wonder and understanding. Saffron O'Neill researches climate communication and public engagement. She explains the ways Attenborough has shaped climate communication techniques across the world. Attenborough is one of the few voices on climate change that almost everyone is willing to listen to. Over seven decades, his work has transformed how scientific knowledge is communicated, combining advances in broadcasting with powerful storytelling. Research by Climate Outreach in 2020 found that Attenborough is trusted by people across the political spectrum, from “progressive activists” to “backbone conservatives”. More than 95% of people surveyed recognise him and his programmes reach an exceptionally diverse audience, even in today’s competitive media landscape. My colleague, PhD researcher Kate Holden, is exploring how young people engage with marine sustainability through online video, from traditional nature documentaries to YouTubers like MrBeast. Attenborough still stands out as an expert young people take seriously. Part of his appeal lies in his willingness to meet audiences where they are, adapting to changing media habits. He joined Instagram in 2020 (breaking the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to reach one million followers) and has collaborated with Netflix to stream shows. Attenborough has shown the power of the media to shape how we see the natural world. Although there is little evidence for the appealing notion that watching a documentary like Blue Planet II directly drives behavioural change (such as reducing peoples’ plastic consumption), nature documentaries can certainly drive both public and policy interest via increased media attention. Engaging the public on climate and nature requires moving beyond a simple notion of “getting the message across” and towards recognising the complexity and power of storytelling. For this, Attenborough’s success is an invaluable model. His programmes combine top-class storytelling with pioneering technology. The visual appeal of his richly crafted documentaries is matched by compelling stories about little-known species. His work forms a substantial archive of success – many of the most popular TV programmes of all time are his nature documentaries. In a highly cited paper from 2007, a team led by environmental social scientist Irene Lorenzoni defined engagement with climate change. They claimed that: “It is not enough for people to know about climate change in order to be engaged; they also need to care about it, be motivated and able to take action.” Early Attenborough programming focused on increasing peoples’ knowledge about the natural world and as part of this, implicitly providing a reason to care about it. Increasingly though, he has moved to a more explicit stance about the climate emergency and our moral and ethical duty to act. An analysis of Attenborough’s use of language carried out in the late 2010s demonstrates this. It shows how he now uses emotional appeals to action. During an appearance on the Outrage + Optimism podcast he said: “we have an obligation on our shoulders and it would be to our deep eternal shame if we fail to acknowledge that.” When a communicator like activist Greta Thunberg makes an appeal to morality, it can polarise audiences. Attenborough’s broad popularity makes his message reach wider audiences. His trustworthiness, storytelling mastery and innovative use of technology helps explain why he continues to have such a lasting impact on science and environmental communication, seven decades after his first broadcast. Chloe Brimicombe, Climate Scientist at the University of Oxford, explores whether Attenborough’s on-screen attention to the climate crisis could have started earlier. In his early documentaries, Attenborough focused on the wonder of the natural world. He did go on to warn of the dangers of how humans were damaging the environment, but much of his early messaging reflected the belief that climate change can be linked to overpopulation. This is not demonstrated by the evidence. In fact, the richest in society are the most polluting but the smallest population group. However, in recent years his beliefs changed with the science and more of his films started to cover climate change directly. For example, Climate Change: The Facts in 2019 and Perfect Planet 2021. Attenborough’s works are part of the culture of the UK and the world. In my own life Attenborough’s works have always been present. During my undergraduate degree at Aberystwyth University, I was shown Frozen Planet in a lecture about glaciers and ice sheets because my lecturer was featured in the series. That moment stuck with me as I started my career as a climate scientist. During my PhD in environmental sciences at the University of Reading, my fellow researchers were all big fans of Attenborough and of what could be achieved through the power of documentary film-making. In 2025, I was lucky enough to attend the film premier of Ocean with David Attenborough, something I consider a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As well as inspiring audiences with awe and wonder, documentaries can be an important way to communicate what is happening to our changing climate. They reach audiences that might not otherwise engage on the subject. Documentary making has drawn critique for focusing on a producer’s interest instead of capturing the scientific background behind a certain issue. This has led to schemes such as the Wellcome Trust Public Engagement Scheme being setup to help bring scientists and documentary makers together. In Attenborough’s A Life on Our Planet (2020), he talks about the changes he has seen in the natural environment and his concern for the future of the planet. In the film Ocean with David Attenborough, the 2025 premier took place just before the UN’s ocean summit in Nice, France. This helped lead to real policy discussions and changes. That includes supporting the global ocean’s treaty, a landmark international agreement which creates a network of protected ocean sanctuaries. Attenborough may have been late in communicating specifically on climate change. But, in recent years he has changed to being a strong advocate. Now, it’s time to make sure that message is heard and acted upon so that the world’s wonders remain for many generations to come.
Delfin Midstream, a U.S.-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) export infrastructure development company, has sealed a new multi-year LNG supply agreement with Gunvor International B.V. Amsterdam, Geneva Branch (Gunvor). The post 20-year offtake deal in the US LNG deepwater port project’s bag appeared first on Offshore Energy .
Delfin Midstream, a U.S.-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) export infrastructure development company, has sealed a new multi-year LNG supply agreement with Gunvor International B.V. Amsterdam, Geneva Branch (Gunvor). Gunvor has entered into a 20-year LNG sale and purchase agreement (SPA) withDelfin LNGfor the supply of 0.3 million tonnes of LNG per annum (mtpa) on a free-on-board (FOB) basis at theDelfin FLNG1facility, located 40 nautical miles off the coast of Louisiana. This followsthe SPAwith Expand Energy for approximately 1.15 million tonnes per year of LNG on April 22, 2026. Kalpesh Patel, Co-Head of LNG Trading and member of the Management Board of Gunvor, commented:“We are very pleased to announce another long-term partnership with Delfin. The deal represents further enhancement of Gunvor’s LNG portfolio and together with our robust fleet, we will continue to position ourselves as a reliable supplier of LNG to all destinations around the globe.” The Delfin LNG brownfield deepwater port is said to require minimal additional infrastructure investment to support up to three floating LNG (FLNG) vessels producing up to 13.2 mtpa of LNG. The project alreadyreceiveda deepwater port license from the Maritime Administration (MARAD) andapprovalfrom the U.S. Department of Energy for long-term exports of LNG to non-free trade agreement (non-FTA) countries. Dudley Poston, CEO of Delfin, highlighted:“We look forward to building on our longstanding partnership with Gunvor as we continue to advance the development of critical energy infrastructure in the U.S. This additional agreement further highlights our strength as a dependable long-term supplier of clean and scalable LNG solutions.” Take the spotlight and anchor your brand in the heart of the offshore world! Join us for a bigger impact and amplify your presence at the core hub of the offshore energy community!
Blue Wake: come il Monaco Yacht Show certifica davvero la sostenibilità Daily Nautica
3 minuti di lettura
Nel mondo della nautica le dichiarazioni ambientali sono sempre più diffuse. Tuttavia, ciò che spesso manca è la qualità delle evidenze che le sostengono. È proprio su questa distinzione che nasce Blue Wake, il framework sviluppato dal Monaco Yacht Show in collaborazione con la Water Revolution Foundation, con l’obiettivo di introdurre un nuovo standard di validazione delle soluzioni sostenibili.
Non si tratta, infatti, di premiare intenzioni o promesse, ma di verificare ciò che è realmente operativo, misurabile e dimostrabile. In altre parole, un sistema costruito per distinguere tra innovazione concreta e semplice comunicazione “green”.
Quattro dimensioni per valutare l’impatto reale
Alla base del modello Blue Wake c’è una valutazione tecnica strutturata su quattro aree chiave, pensate per analizzare l’impatto ambientale in modo completo e non parziale. In primo luogo, la riduzione delle emissioni viene esaminata lungo l’intero ciclo di vita della soluzione, includendo non solo i gas serra (GHG), ma anche NOx, SOx e particolato, superando così l’analisi limitata alla fase di utilizzo.
A questa si affianca la circolarità dei materiali, che prende in considerazione aspetti come il contenuto rinnovabile, la possibilità di riparazione e le strategie di fine vita, come il recupero o il riciclo. Un terzo elemento riguarda l’eco-design e l’innovazione, valutando se la sostenibilità sia stata integrata fin dalle prime fasi progettuali o introdotta solo successivamente.
Infine, particolare attenzione viene dedicata alla protezione degli ecosistemi marini, includendo parametri spesso trascurati come l’utilizzo di rivestimenti non tossici o la riduzione del rumore subacqueo, fattori fondamentali per la tutela dell’ambiente. Nel loro insieme, questi quattro pilastri impediscono approcci selettivi e garantiscono una lettura completa dell’impatto reale di ogni soluzione.
Soglie calibrate per favorire l’innovazione concreta
Uno degli aspetti più interessanti del framework 2026 è l’introduzione di criteri differenziati in base alla tipologia di tecnologia. Le soluzioni ad alto impatto, come i sistemi di propulsione, beneficiano di soglie di accesso più flessibili, con l’obiettivo di non penalizzare innovazioni complesse ma potenzialmente rivoluzionarie.
Al contrario, prodotti appartenenti a categorie meno impattanti o con maggiore rischio di greenwashing sono sottoposti a requisiti più stringenti. Una scelta progettuale precisa, che mira a accelerare l’innovazione credibile, evitando di premiare soluzioni che si limitano a miglioramenti marginali o comunicativi.
La centralità della prova: dati, documenti e verifiche
Elemento distintivo di Blue Wake è il principio della prova documentata. “Blue Wake – sottolinea Leah Werner, Executive Director della Water Revolution Foundation – si basa su dati e trasparenza: non accettiamo dichiarazioni di marketing senza evidenze quantificabili. I partecipanti devono fornire documentazione verificabile, dalle valutazioni YETI o TS23099 agli studi di ciclo di vita ISO 14040/44, fino a dati reali raccolti in condizioni operative.”
Si tratta quindi di un approccio rigoroso, che introduce nel settore nautico strumenti tipici della ricerca scientifica e dell’ingegneria ambientale, elevando il livello di affidabilità delle informazioni disponibili.
Trasparenza come valore competitivo
Il valore del framework Blue Wake non risiede soltanto nel riconoscimento finale, ma soprattutto nella trasparenza che rende leggibili i dati. In un mercato in cui armatori, charterer, investitori e regolatori sono sempre più attenti alla sostenibilità, la capacità di distinguere tra affermazioni verificate e non verificate diventa un elemento strategico.
Proprio per questo, sistemi come Blue Wake assumono un ruolo sempre più centrale: non come semplice etichetta, ma come strumento di verifica indipendente, basato su metodologia chiara, evidenze tracciabili e criteri condivisi. In definitiva, un modello che segna un passaggio importante per l’intero settore: dalla sostenibilità dichiarata alla sostenibilità dimostrata.
The Apple laptop lineup recently expanded with the all new MacBook Neo, an entry-level Mac laptop aimed at students and more casual everyday users, while the MacBook Air recently got upgraded with the powerful M5 chip, making it more capable than ever before.…
In this episode, Derek Hanson chats with Kimberly Pace Becker about AI's intersection with language and technology, emphasizing ethics, diverse perspectives, and responsible integration in digital tools.
In this episode, hostDerek Hansonreconnects with his grad school friend,Kimberly Pace Becker, a specialist in applied linguistics and co-host of the “Women Talking About AI” podcast. Together, they talk about the intersection of language, technology, and AI while drawing on their unique backgrounds in building digital tools and analyzing the power of words. Kimberly shares her deep insights from academia and her experience founding an edtech startup, delving into how large language models work, the challenges of AI ethics, and the impact of AI integration in open source projects like WordPress. Tune in as they discuss the promises and pitfalls of democratizing technology, the importance of diverse voices in AI development, and how we can build more ethical, sustainable, and inclusive digital futures. The best time to migrate is before you’re under pressure.Omnisendmoves everything essential for you now, so you’re fully ready when you plan for that large campaign. Use the codeOpenChannelsand get30% off your first 3 monthsof any paid plan. If you build stores for clients,WooCommercegives you the flexibility to create exactly what merchants need. Customize workflows, extend with thousands of integrations, and scale without switching platforms. Check it out atWooCommerce.com. Interdisciplinary Collaboration is Essential:Kimberly Pace Becker and Derek Hanson emphasized the value of combining research, linguistic analysis, and technical skills when approaching AI and open source projects, illustrating how interdisciplinary perspectives yield better outcomes 00:17 to 01:15. Understanding AI’s Limits and Confidence:A key concern highlighted was the tendency for AI outputs to sound overconfident, often presenting incorrect information with undue certainty, which can mislead users and foster misinformation if not carefully managed 16:24 to 18:13. Ethics and Guardrails are Crucial with AI Integration:When embedding AI into platforms like WordPress, both the AI’s guardrails and explicit end-user guidance are vital to prevent misuse, over-reliance, and hallucinated outputs, especially with features like auto-generated citations or code 13:31 to 15:37. Auditability Should Include Outputs, Not Just Code:Open source communities excel at making code transparent and auditable but need to develop similar practices for auditing AI-generated content and its impact on diverse users 22:34 to 23:59. Diversity and Inclusion in AI Development:Kimberly Pace Becker stressed the importance of including a broad range of voices including women, people of color, humanities experts, seniors, and people from various backgrounds in AI decision-making to combat bias and better assess impacts 27:15 to 30:15. Embracing Friction in Responsible Development:Contrary to tech culture’s usual pursuit of removing user friction, deliberately inserting points for pause and reflection leads to better long-term outcomes especially when dealing with uncertainty or ethical considerations. 42:29 to 43:35. Be Willing to Sit with Discomfort:Building and integrating AI responsibly often involves confronting discomfort, whether due to ethical dilemmas, uncertainty in outputs, or the need to change ingrained workflows. This willingness is presented as a vital aspect of growth and success 44:35. Prioritize Incremental, Sustainable Progress:Both incremental and sustainable change are necessary when introducing AI features, avoiding the temptation for flashy, rapid updates that outpace users’ understanding or needs 32:25 to 33:56. Ask Critical Questions Before Shipping AI Features:Before launching any AI-driven product or feature, creators should ask, “What does this tool do with uncertainty?” If the answer isn’t clear or satisfactory, the product may need more work before release 39:00. Open Source as a Model for Thoughtful AI Adoption:Open source communities, given their transparency and collaborative ethos, are uniquely positioned to lead in thoughtful, ethical AI adoption, but only if they intentionally apply their core values to the outputs and impacts of AI, not just its codebase 40:02 to 41:21. Q: How can integrating AI into open source platforms like WordPress impact the user experience? A: Integrating AI into open source platforms can democratize access to advanced tools and expertise that were previously reserved for those with more resources or technical know-how. However, as discussed by Kimberly Pace Becker, it also raises concerns about overconfidence in AI-generated content and the need to address uncertainty, accuracy, and transparency for all users, not just experts (16:24). Q: What are the main ethical concerns when using AI for academic writing or feedback? A: Kimberly Pace Becker highlighted that while AI can provide valuable feedback and pattern recognition, it often struggles with uncertainty and can be overly confident, potentially leading to misinformation or issues with plagiarism (06:39). Ethical use requires clear guardrails, user education about AI’s limitations, and careful integration to avoid harmful academic practices. Q: Who should be involved in making decisions about AI implementation in open source projects? A: The conversation emphasized the importance of involving a diverse group of contributors, not just developers, but also linguists, rhetoricians, social scientists, and individuals from different age groups and backgrounds (29:56). This diversity ensures that multiple perspectives, especially regarding ethics, usability, and societal impact, are considered in AI decisions (30:05). Q: Why is uncertainty in AI outputs a problem, and how should developers address it? A: AI models tend to strip away uncertainty, generating confidently worded responses even when the information may not be fully accurate (16:24). Developers should build systems that either surface or appropriately handle uncertainty to avoid misleading users and to foster a more nuanced and responsible user experience (39:20). Q: What specific “blind spots” do open source communities need to watch for when adopting AI? A: Kimberly Pace Becker cautioned that technical contributors may overlook the auditability of human-facing outputs and the biases embedded in AI training data and annotation processes (22:35). She stressed that transparency at the infrastructure level doesn’t always guarantee ethical or accurate user impacts (23:34). Q: How can non-developers contribute to open source projects, especially with the rise of AI tools? A: The episode pointed out that AI is lowering barriers for non-developers to contribute by enabling them to submit bug reports, feature requests, and test interfaces without extensive coding skills (26:09). Bringing in users with varied backgrounds and perspectives enriches the project and better addresses the needs and concerns of a wider audience. Q: What role does friction or discomfort play in responsible AI development? A: Kimberly Pace Becker argued that some friction, such as slowing down to ask hard questions or requiring users to consider context, is necessary for rigor and care in AI implementation (42:46). Avoiding discomfort altogether can lead to shallow or careless development practices that ignore potential risks. Q: How can open source communities ensure their AI features benefit a wide range of users ethically and sustainably? A: Kimberly Pace Becker suggested prioritizing incremental, sustainable development and regularly questioning who benefits or is potentially disadvantaged by new AI features (32:25). Building in a process for surfacing uncertainty, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration, and keeping users’ real needs in view are key to ethical and sustainable progress. Mentioned Links and Resources Timestamped Overview Derek Hanson:Well, welcome everybody back to another episode of Open Makers on the Open Channels FM podcast network. My guest today is someone I actually know from grad school. We’re both from Iowa State. We were there at the same time and we came together at language from completely different directions. Directions. I was on the building side and really leaning into WordPress, visual rhetoric, how technology changes how we communicate. So getting into like the practical side of things. And Kimberly Pace Becker, who’s joining us today, was on the research side. Applied linguistics, corpus analysis, how meaning and power actually work in text. Well, it turns out we’re both, without knowing it, studying the foundations of what large language models do today. So Kim now co hosts Women Talking About AI Podcast, which is a fantastic podcast. So if you like AI, go jump and subscribe to that right now. And AI in ways most builders haven’t caught up to yet is what they’re focusing on. On that. So we’re glad to welcome Kimberly today to learn how AI can impact our open source project. Welcome Kim. Kimberly Pace Becker:Thanks. I’m glad to be here. I usually run into you. I mean I also run into you besides seeing you at Iowa State on the flag football field out at Upward. I’m mean that’s usually I run into you like grocery shopping or kids sports events. But our kids are older now so we don’t. Derek Hanson:Our kids are all older. Yep. I think I also run into, usually around like the consignment shops too because our kids are older. We’re consigning all that old clothing from when our kids were young. So yeah, Ames is a small town, so it’s, it’s, it’s great to be able to, to bump into each other often. So Kimberly, I wanted to jump in and say, so you spent decades studying how language works, the patterns and the power dynamics and the way meaning gets made in real communication. So like when things like ChatGPT arrived, you said you recognized the patterns immediately. What, what did you think you see that others didn’t in this initial like wave of AI to like consumers? I guess. Kimberly Pace Becker:Yeah, I don’t, I don’t know that the first thing I noticed was the patterns. I think what I saw first was a couple things that just came from my training in corpus linguistics. A corpus is just a big database in case you don’t know, you know, your listeners don’t Know what that is? It’s a fancy word for like a big body of text that has been gathered from wherever. And so a large language model on the back end is really just a big database of, of writing that was scraped from the web and open source and not open source and copyrighted material and all kinds of things. We don’t have to get into that. But. And so the first thing I thought was, in terms of how you make a corpus from the academic perspective is that you want it to represent whatever sample of language you are examining. And so if you have such a huge sample that it’s just like the whole functional web and you know, throw in some copyrighted materials, like what, what are you really sampling? And then that’s going to be reflected back to you, of course, in the output. So that was like kind of my first question, like, oh my goodness, are we just going to get a bunch of like Reddit repurposed Reddit material or you know, blogs or. So I was thinking about it just like on the back end, like, what does it look like? And then the other thing that I quickly noticed was people immediately started looking at it from a, from the perspective of like the output in turn, like it’s writing for you, you know, like it, it’s cheating. I mean, that was kind of the first thread that we heard in the education space. It’s like, oh, it’s, it’s like a new form of plagiarism or whatever. But I was thinking, no, like it does so much more than generate it. Generative AI, I feel like, always does. Did it a disservice as a name because it, it. I knew that it could do feedback. That was like my first research project was like, if you gave it a paper that you knew was an A graded paper, would it also give an A grade? I wasn’t looking for it to give me actual, you know, language that I might use as my own, but just to recognize patterns, because that’s all it does. It’s just a pattern recognition machine. So I was like, if it can recognize patterns and output something that seems like human language, then it can also recognize patterns in our human language and give us feedback on that. And so that is how I ended up founding an edtech company was, it was a feedback company. It wasn’t about writing for anybody. It was about generating feedback. So I think that was the. Those were my first two big aha moments. Derek Hanson:Kimberly, you lived on a couple different sides of AI then with academia and then moxie your edtech startup. How have Each of those experiences shaped how you think about AI ethics as you were talking about plagiarism, like that’s what I’m thinking about a lot. Like ethics and AI. Kimberly Pace Becker:Yeah. So I was a lecturer in the English department at Iowa State when ChatGPT was released. I had just graduated with my PhD and gotten hired there. And I was mostly teaching business communications and freshman computer and like one graduate student research methods class. And I loved the grad students, not so much the undergrad, but I could see even, even just in the first year, I was like, I immediately had my students playing with it. They were like, what is this thing? Everyone’s saying not to use it, it’s cheating. Not the grad students, they weren’t interested in it at that point. It was like GPT3 and it certainly wasn’t capable of PhD level communication. So they weren’t, you know, curious or much at all. But the undergrads were really curious about it and they were shocked that I was having them, you know, work with it. But Iowa State is a very tech forward English department. I mean my degree is called, you know, Linguistics and Technology and there’s, I mean yours was, you were in the techcom department, essentially. Derek Hanson:Yeah, basically. And that’s what got me where I am now with WordPress. Like that is like the bedrock of my journey. Kimberly Pace Becker:Yeah, I mean, exactly. And the reason I chose Iowa State was because I was older, coming back to graduate school. I’d already had a career teaching at a community college. I had, you know, two little kids. I knew that I would be in my 40s when I graduated. So I wanted the tech to be part of because I thought it might give me an edge. And it totally has. I mean, I, I don’t know that I’m, you know, raking in the big bucks because of it, but it’s given me opportunities that I never would have had if I hadn’t had that anyway, so, so yeah, that happened. And, and at the time I was working on the side as a dissertation and graduate student research writing coach for a private company and had really hit it off with the owner of that company, Jessica Parker, who is now the co host of Women Talking about AI. And she and I set out to a. An online graduate student writing essentially company that, that had workshops, not just one on one consultations, which are really expensive because you need to hire a PhD coach and then you have to pay them PhD level, you know, so we thought, well, we could make this, we could scale this easier if we had really small group meetings. Where each person paid, I don’t know, something reasonable, like $25 an hour in a four person group, you know, then the coach is making a hundred or whatever. This is kind of roughly what we were thinking. And then we started getting curious about how AI might help them to give feedback. Because one of the problems in a lot of graduate programs is there’s not enough. Well, the professors are. It’s a very complicated and very long draft that you’re giving to a teacher. It’s not like an undergrad who’s writing a couple pages and getting feedback on that. It’s. It’s maybe, you know, a chapter of a dissertation. Yeah, it could be 25, 30 pages. A journal article is typically 30 pages in, in our field. And so that’s no small thing. And so we thought, well, if it could just give some feedback even if the feedback is not great, like if it’s just better than the average, could that work? And so we started playing around with that and our clients loved it because then it was like we weren’t just getting chatgpt to give, you know, here’s this paper, give us some feedback. It was like using Swale’s move step framework, please, you know, use that to give feedback on this introduction. Like, is this person accomplishing the communicative goals and using the strategies that a high level research writer would use? So we were like feeding in frameworks and using that as feedback. And they loved it. They were like, this is like having you here with us at two in the morning when we’re writing. Derek Hanson:Yeah. Kimberly Pace Becker:So when after that we were like, we’ve got to lean into this. This is the future. We aren’t going to be paying humans very long to do this. And I think we were really early. I think one of our problems was we were really early. We could see that. Well, she could see as a business owner that like, you know, what’s the future of a one on one consultation? If a machine could do or even approximate that conversation? This is the future. And so she was sort of thinking, okay, well how do we future proof a company? She’s got the entrepreneurial business brain, but also is an academic and I was the linguist who was like, yeah, we could absolutely bake in some linguistic frameworks behind this and you know, give it some information about genre theory or you know, corpus linguistics, principles, collocations, like what words come together in academia versus in other things to avoid like all these things. And it was just a really great synergy. And so we adopted a no code platform that at the time, well, it has moved on now to agentic AI, but at the time it basically allowed you to build in a prompt that the user would never see. And so there was like the ChatGPT system prompt, or we were also using CLAUDE at the time, the CLAUDE system prompt. But then we were embedding another prompt that the user didn’t see that said things like, don’t write for the student, only give them feedback from this framework. Never, you know, never try to give them disciplinary content. Just look at the writing from the perspective of xyz. And so that was kind of like the idea behind the company and it. And it did great for a little while until the frontier models like Chat, GPT, Claude, Gemini got so good that without our expertise, they were able to give that really good feedback. Derek Hanson:Yeah. Kimberly Pace Becker:And then kind of like. Derek Hanson:Yeah, you kind of touched on it a little bit. You, you mentioned agentic. Right. Like anybody who’s so like, you know, the. This audience predominantly are creators and developers and we’re all very familiar now with writing and using and sharing skills. Right. So it almost sounds like what you were early on was creating the skills for these tools that were running in the background. So that, that’s really cool to hear. Like essentially what has proven out to be working now that’s what you were doing early on with that really high level writing of, of academic level writing. Kimberly Pace Becker:Yeah, because in the background, what we had was an agent that the user didn’t see. The user still was using a chatbot interface, but on the background of that we had essentially an agent that was functioning behind the scenes that had specific guardrails, do’s and don’ts. And then we even had some rag where we would give it, you know, a certain amount of information from what we were trying to do when we ended up closing was connect like a research database. Because, you know, one of the things all academics know is it, it will hallucinate citations. Fake. Yeah, fake sources. And so we were having a real problem with that. Even though every single starting prompt we gave our users was like, do not use Moxie to cite sources. Moxie does not cite sources. Number one. Question. Two questions we would get. Number one, does Moxie evade AI detectors? And number two, why is Moxie hallucinating sources? And we feel like. Well, because all AIs hallucinate sources unless they’re connected to a database. So that. Derek Hanson:Yeah, that’s some of those, like kind of like guardrails and that, that idea of like AI and ethics. Right. And like making sure so like you and Jessica were building something with a lot of those things in mind, right. To like not only give the AI like guardrails and instructions, but even like the end user like here, like you need to make sure you don’t trust it in these kinds of ways, which I think is really, really important. If you’re building something that, that makes a lot of sense. So yeah, so I touched on a little bit like the idea of like, like open source. So our audience lives and breathes open source. And so the idea is that everything is built on democratizing publishing, giving everyone access to tools that were once reserved for like the technology privileged. So on the surface, AI seems like a natural extension of that mission because like we don’t have direct one to one access, like you said, with like an academic professor to give us feedback on, you know, our papers or our writing. So AI like building on that could be part of like democratizing that expertise. Now what would open source communities learn from your experience and thinking a little bit. So WordPress, you might not like follow this, but we’re getting ready to release 7.0 and a very like last minute feature that was added in are AI connectors. Anybody developing a plugin will just be baked into the core platform. And WordPress powers 43% of the Internet. So that’s like a large like stake of like the Internet that is gonna like make it possible to just directly integrate AI so as like an outsider to that. And from your experience, like what is your honest read on that? Like what’s the move most likely to possibly get wrong if we’re not leaning into and learning from experiences that somebody like on your end might have gone through? Kimberly Pace Becker:Yeah, it’s a really good question. I think the main problem with embedding AI from, from a linguist, from a linguist’s perspective, maybe not necessarily from a former AI business owner, is that it is so confident sounding and when you extrude text that has all the doubt stripped out of it, which a, a human would naturally put in there. Well, mo most humans, I mean if you’ve ever taught freshman composition writers, you know, they, they’re very sure about everything. They’re very certain. Derek Hanson:Yep. Kimberly Pace Becker:You know, that’s a developmental thing for people who are that age. They’re very certain. They haven’t had enough life experience to know, oh, that really strong intuition I had was actually totally wrong. But I, you know, I have a concern about how the, the doubt and the certainty really get totally stripped out. And so it’s like, I don’t, I mean I guess the best phrase I could give it is like normalized overconfidence and again like going back to the corpus that it’s trained on. It’s like blogs, corporate speak, you know, Reddit posts, social media posts and people position themselves very strongly, whereas experts, you know, not your everyday layperson, but an expert will tend to say, well maybe or it’s possible that this might happen and you know, kind of where they stand on that. But a machine, these machines are just like extruding this very confident sounding text. Like the certainty is gone. And so if they, if they’re not surfacing that to a user who, I mean, I’m not sure what kinds of things you’re, you would even be outputting. But any language that is stripped of uncertainty is, is sure to eventually lead to misinformation because certainty has to be baked into everything we do or uncertainty. It’s on a, you know, on the spectrum. But that’s what I’m mostly concerned about is how sure they sound. Confidently wrong they sound. And people who don’t have a critical eye see their accuracy, see their fluency as the be all, end all. And it’s really not. The world just isn’t black and white like that. Derek Hanson:Yeah, I see that a little bit. Like in my own experience, right, like, so like totally have leaned into AI like obviously like in my day to day work and things I’m like experimenting with on the side using it for content creation and like for building things. And for instance, like if I’m building a theme AI cloud code, totally sounds confident in how it like created or implemented something. But even though I’m not a developer, I have enough level of expertise and knowledge about how the, the thing should work that I can see when the confidence is like so sure. Like, yeah, it should have this, you know, you know, put into this, you know, theme.JSON file. And I’m looking at it, I’m like, that’s not the end user experience. Like this is incorrect no matter how sure you sound. So there’s like sort of like the content creation and then like the, the code that’s developing it. Like I know recently Claude code has, you know, stated that 90% of their code to build the AI platform Claude is written by, you know, Claude itself. And to me like that could be kind of scary with all the hallucinations that you were mentioning, but if the right people are doing it, then maybe this is a way to transform how we can work day to day. Kimberly Pace Becker:I think it’s less dangerous with code because when you’re, when you’re writing code, like you’ll see immediately if it doesn’t work right, like it’ll either do the thing you need it to do or not. There’s like this very public measure of success. But if you’re just giving like I’m thinking about read me files, like it when you’re writing a read me file, I.e. directions to a human who’s going to be implementing something. So those I think would need to be especially carefully edited to make sure they’re not overconfident or they’re not leaving out really important details that a user might need to, you know, to move forward on implementing something beyond just the code itself. Derek Hanson:Yeah, absolutely. Derek Hanson:AI is really good at coding things. And open source communities for software tend to also be very good at building things. And what, what might be some of the blind spots? Like if, if we’re kind of really leaning into, from like a developer perspective and building software with AI, what do you think some of the blind spots might be and how, maybe not even necessarily how we’re using AI to build the software itself. Because you know, you’re right, that might be really solid because of the historical documentation and knowledge of the experts building the tools. But integrating something like AI, like for end users, like what might be some blind spots that could potentially trip up the experience for people with the software? Kimberly Pace Becker:Well, when I think about the open source community, I think what they’re really good at is like auditability of code, you know, like are you able to validate what happened in the code, make it public and audit it and, and then it’s like this crowdsourced ability to, you know, make sure that it’s Working, right. And then it’s ethical. And I think probably what, what they may be less practiced at. And I’m no expert, but this is just me kind of riffing is maybe auditability of the outputs. And so, so the human facing, you know, not just the thing the machine needs to read and do, but the thing that a human needs to read and do. Because, you know, you can publish like all your infrastructure details, your settings, and if the user doesn’t know that these are inherently machines with bias baked in and there’s nothing we can do about that, we cannot take that corpus that these huge companies built and fix it. We can’t make it representative. We can’t scrape out the bias because humans are biased. I mean, these machines learned bias from us. And of course bias is relative, like, who, whose bias is it? And whatever. But I just keep coming back to like, rhetoric. And this will appeal to you because that’s. I know you’ve studied that language. Yeah, like, yeah, like assuming that transparency at the level of infrastructure is equal to transparency at the impact level, at the point where the user gets involved, like, who is reading what this produces and in what context. And here’s the rhetoric, right? Like author, audience, purpose, like, what are their assumptions, what are they coming to the table with? Those questions require a really different kind of contribution or contributor than the ones who showed up to like, just fix the bug. So I’m always asking questions like, okay, who is benefiting from this and who is this disabling? Or where has this come from and what were the biases? Because it’s not just the biases baked into like whatever data and text they scraped, but also annotators. So annotating that code, the human reinforcement learning part of machine learning, which I didn’t know anything about at all until I just am like fascinated by these language machines and I started looking at what humans are doing on the back end. Well, now that we’re getting models that are really like discipline specific or specialized, you know, who, who is on the. Who’s the human on the back end doing that data? Because probably it’s someone that’s getting paid pennies for by the word. Or like Mechanical Turk. Amazon’s got, you know, Mechanical Turk, where you hire people to annotate data. Right. These companies scale AI and now it’s happening in academic spaces with like outlier. That company, you know, they’re not, they’re not paying quality wages for the kind of work that needs to be done. And that is going to be reflected in the lack of Quality in the output, you know, not just from what it started with but what the annotators did. I know that’s pretty technical but I think a little bit of literacy around that is helpful for people. Derek Hanson:Yeah, a hundred percent. And as you started to like, you know, reference contributors. So the WordPress WordPress contributor community, like has always skewed heavily towards developers. But now with AI I think that barrier of entry is lowering quite a bit to where a non developer can, with you know, the assistance of AI contribute. But it’s always been open for anybody to contribute in any manner through like you said, the rhetorical lens. Like I can be an end user and still contribute to the project just by like submitting bug issues or feature requests or like testing things. So that’s always really there. And, but if we’re thinking about AI, like I don’t know what the, like the makeup is of the people that are like introducing AI into the software itself. Like who’s in the room? You’re thinking about voices, like who should be in the room for AI decisions. Like not just how do we build it because that’s kind of like where things are at. Like we need to build this thing. So that’s a very developer focused mindset. But what type of people should be in the room for those conversations asking the questions like should we or on whose terms? Like you were saying, like talking towards audience like what, like who might be missing in some of these conversations as we like try to get this ramped up and into the project. Kimberly Pace Becker:Well I think you can look at like the kinds of people who have, who have quit their big tech jobs recently from Google or you know, walked away from Anthropic. And look at, you know, I’m thinking specifically about like Tim Nickrew who left Google. She published a very famous paper with Emily Bender who’s a linguist. It’s that stochastic parrot paper. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but it’s, I haven’t. It’s a, it’s about how language models mirror biases. And, and they were very concerned from the beginning. This was before any of the rest of us knew about a language model. They, they were working with Google and they were, they were essentially whistleblowers. They were saying this is moving too fast, this is going to pollute the, the information, the world of information in a way that we cannot backtrack. This is going to make the Internet worse than it already is. And, and they quit. And, and Tim, Nick Gebrew quit. She Walked away. So, I mean, I. There a lot of. I think, first of all, there aren’t that many women in tech, so you’re not going to have as many women in the room. And I don’t know how to fix that. You know, I mean, I just. I don’t. I don’t know how to fix that problem. Certainly people of color. But, you know, I’m. I work with seniors now and in a nonprofit that caters to senior adults, and they are at high risk of being scammed, you know, and so I think. I think a range of ages need to be in the room. My teenager the other day, we were. He was trying to find a reel to show me on Instagram. He’s like, mom, you’ll think this is funny. And you know how you’re just trying to find it and you’re scrolling through again, and finally he passed one. And I was like, wait, I want to see that. And he goes, no, that’s just AI. And I said, how do you know? I mean, we had seen 1.5 seconds of it. And he goes, I can just tell. And I was like, how do you know? I don’t understand. It was a picture of a man picking up a woman and throwing her down a bowling alley lane, which could happen. I mean, it wasn’t. I mean, she didn’t roll like a ball. She just fell. She just. He dumped her on the ground. She rolled over into the gutter. And he immediately knew it was. And I was like, but how did you know? And he couldn’t put his finger on it. But I think it’s not just the obvious things, like, you know, like women and people of color. Like, I’m thinking age and is important, too. And. And people from a range of different backgrounds. Because. Because mostly it’s educated people in the STEM background. So we need humanities people in there. We need linguists, rhetoricians. We need techcom folks, sociologists, philosophers, historian, you know, on and on and on. I. And how do you get those people in the room? I don’t. I don’t know. Derek Hanson:Maybe, like, it starts with, like, you being one of those people, right? Like, you’re definitely one of those people. Like, in a sense, like, I kind of started as one of those people with, you know, with rhetoric and writing as my background. So if you have that kind of, like, baked into your personality, like, you bring that to the table. But yeah, like, it’s. There should be more of an intermixing of disciplines, I guess, right? Like, in a. In a lot of ways. And I Know, like, like a university, like in Iowa State. And you know, there’s lots of other universities in that, like, stammer area that have always been really good about, you know, extension and outreach and, you know, working within like the local communities. And yeah, maybe it’s a matter of just like being that one person, like within one of those communities to like, like champion the idea of like, hey, I need to go out and join this conversation. The thing that we are using, we should have a voice in that to ensure that it’s, you know, being built and, and shipped like responsibly and ethically to like the, you know, the greatest number of people and all those different, you know, demographics, which is really, really hard to do, especially at scale. And that’s like a challenge with WordPress and why people might say, traditionally WordPress, like, it moves so slow. So when you think about the scale of an open source community, as large as it is, and how many millions of people it serves. Yeah, you have to move like diligently would be the best way to put it. Kimberly Pace Becker:You know, I also go back to something, you know, Volker Hegelheimer, he’s the, the department chair of the English department at Iowa State right now. But, but prior to that he was a professor and we probably both had him. I don’t know if you did, but I, I had a class. Derek Hanson:We had a class together with him. Yep. Kimberly Pace Becker:Yeah, okay. It was maybe in a computer assisted language learning class or something. I, I don’t, I don’t know. But he, One of the things that, that I learned from him is you. You don’t make tech into anything just for the sake of tech. It needs to have a real purpose. It needs to have a clear benefit to more than just the developer of it, the user of it. And it needs to be incremental and sustainable. And those two values, incremental and sustainable, really, I mean, we talked about that every day when Jessica and I would meet. Like, if we make this change, is it going to overwhelm our users? Will they be able to understand it? Will they be able to work with it, flow with it immediately, or is it an overhaul that is going to really set them back? And then if we implement it, can we sustain it over time? I just don’t think you can go wrong if that’s your. And now I know that’s what agile means because we hired developers, you know, and I, and I learned what that, that there’s this whole framework called Agile. And first I was like, what are you even saying? I, but that’s really all it is. It’s just, you know, this idea that things are modular and you build slowly and you, and you don’t want to build at all because you may have to go back and change this. And so this whole system might change. So systems theory. And there’s just so much that I think builders and developers have to share with the world and I think vice versa that teachers and you know, therapists and gosh, people who nurses, who work with any number of different populations can share. But yeah, I love what you said about it’s very interdisciplinary. Derek Hanson:Yeah, this is like, so you might not have been following but we’ll, and we’ll point our listeners to some of these resources. But the WordPress project has really made a concerted effort with an education initiative to bring open source into universities to kind of like build this ideology and ethos of open source into younger generations and into students. And like, this is my call right now to like researchers that are like, you know, like you said, like systems activity theory, like a lot of like, you know, fancy like academic sounded things that aren’t going to make too much sense to our listeners right now. But this is my call to those people. Like open source projects are ripe areas of research that we can all benefit and learn from each other. So I would love to see, you know, an upcoming research project, you know, centered around that. That would be really cool. So we are like literally, I think in kind of like a tsunami moment. Like people are like riding, you know, how do we ride the wave of AI and like it feels a little bit like a tsunami. Like in a lot of ways it’s kind of exhausting. And I’m just curious what, what you think, like this wave that everybody wants to surf with AI and software and development, like how do we like maintain staying on top of that wave and not risk getting pulled under it? Kimberly Pace Becker:Yeah, I think it’s really, really easy to buy into the hype and the, and, and the hype. The message from the hypers is something like don’t get behind, don’t let that person who knows AI take your job away. Don’t let AI take your job away. And it’s like this very scarcity, fear focused rhetoric. And I don’t, I mean, I think, I don’t know. Jessica and I used to say at Moxie, like she’s a, she’s a big believer in abundance. And at first I was like, okay, this is woo, woo. And I can’t get into it. Like I don’t, you know, but I mean, I think now I have a much more developed understanding of what she meant, which is there should be space for lots of different competing perspectives. Open source definitely espouses this like, but, but my fear is that in a world where big tech is building fast and breaking things, which is Mark Zuckerberg’s famous, famous words. And probably he just meant like, coding Bill fast and break the code. I don’t know what he meant. Let’s not read too much into it. Poor Mark Zuckerberg, he is just being crucified right now. I mean, but it’s. My concern is that if, if we don’t have some sort of like, regulation around this, that there won’t be that room for abundance and competition and smaller companies like Moxie or, you know, any company, any small business, especially small business, I mean, lots of small businesses use, use WordPress or they find that they try Squarespace, It Happened to us or Wix, and then they end up needing WordPress because it’s just so much more robust and you know, you can find, you can access documentation very easily. It’s a Google. You know, it’s, it’s just, I mean, we couldn’t do anything with Squarespace in terms of getting data for our users. That was just problem number one. But I, but I do, I want to believe that this is a world where we can focus on abundance and like, you know, not getting pulled under the wave. Not getting. And just think, well, what do they tell you if you’re at the beach and you get pulled under by a, a riptide? Like, swim parallel to the shore, like. Derek Hanson:Yeah, yep. Kimberly Pace Becker:You know, don’t, don’t run and jump on the beach and, and don’t try to swim around it or go way out and avoid it. Like, you gotta just keep your head on your shoulders and swim parallel to the beach. And that, and that I think is like the metaphor is like, maintain your integrity. What are you building for? Who’s benefiting? Who’s the end user? What do they really need? And not losing sight of that just to like, throw some fancy tech in for the sake of throwing fancy tech in. Because again, it, it wouldn’t be incremental and sustainable if the whole purpose is it’s just this shiny toy. Derek Hanson:Yeah, absolutely. Yep. That’s, that’s a really good, like, you know, kind of way to segue into like, kind of like my, like. One question to like, anybody who wants to contribute to open source, that’s like thinking about shipping a new AI feature or building a new AI, like product or anything in that vein. Like, what would that question be before anybody, like, hits publish or merges a pull request? Kimberly Pace Becker:I think it would be something about what does this tool do with uncertainty? Like, in the face of uncertainty in the code and what the user is going to input, does it surface the uncertainty? Does it hide it? Does it eliminate it? Like, if you can’t answer that question, if you don’t know what it’s going to do, when it inevitably faces a question of uncertainty, then you’re not ready to ship it. That is my big concern with AI, is that it doesn’t, you know, as a linguist, it is just not able to handle a lot of uncertainty. It is very confidently wrong. And you do not want that baked into the infrastructure of a WordPress site. That would that seem like it would be really bad news? Derek Hanson:Yeah, yeah. As you were talking about, like the difference between, like Squarespace and wix and like proprietary platforms are not open about what they build. Right. And because WordPress is open about what it’s built, that’s already like a great, you know, proving ground for AI to learn about the history of the entire project and for people to know. Like, AI can go to any resource and I can check what AI is doing against the history, you know, past and current of what, of what the open source project can do. So before we leave the women talking about AI podcasts, like, it’s grounded in the belief you mentioned, like, demographics. Like, women engage in AI with curiosity conscious and care and like, they make it wiser. And I think WordPress actually has done a pretty good job of, you know, bringing in those types of voices. We’ve had entire releases that are all women led, which I think is really cool. Cool, but like, those specific, like, ideas, curiosity conscious and care, like, what does that look like practically for someone in the WordPress community who wants to do AI? Right. I think you alluded to it with like, you know, looking at uncertainty. But like, what, what are those things that I think these are? I think these are really important. So how would you kind of leave people with some of those thoughts? Kimberly Pace Becker:I think my answer is about the same as it was when a graduate student or a moxie user would ask me, like, is this going to be, is this, is this going to pass muster? Is my professor going to use AI to detect this? And my question would be to them, like, well, can you orally defend it? Like, despite what the written word says, what the code says, what the. Could you. Can you stand up and can you, can you orally, meaning with your voice and no notes, can you defend not. Not just the accuracy of it, but the complexity and, and the integrity of it? And, and then ask, you know, does. Am I being more confident than I should? Just am I, am I, you know, in terms of that uncertainty, like, does this sound like me? Would I sign my name to this? You know, or. Or do I need to build in some sort of review step specifically to calibrate that. That uncertainty that I might have? Because, you know, we have this idea in tech, especially of friction. Friction is bad. Friction is always, you know, a step the user doesn’t want to take. But we’ve got to slow down and pause. Care means slow down, pause. That means you may have to introduce some friction. It’s not going to kill us to be uncomfortable. And that, I mean, that’s something we struggled with. We would ask all these contextual questions before you ever even got started using Moxie. You had to come to the table with these answers. And people hated it. People hated it. And our investors would be like, you cannot build so much friction into your tool. And we would say, sorry, but this is what academic research requires. And I mean, I would argue this is what real life requires. There’s not a fasting rigor. Yeah. You cannot get past. Friction is everywhere. It’s. We can’t run. You know, it’s like that whole the trope about you can’t go around it, you gotta go through it. Like you. It’s. It’s just not possible to avoid discomfort and friction. Sometimes it means it’s necessary. Derek Hanson:Absolutely. And what is always on the other side of discomfort? Right. Like joy and excitement and accomplishment and thinking about, like, if we’re talking about like files and, and training, you know, creating agents and stuff, I think you like, touch on something that’s like, really kind of like, valuable to think about. Like, we’re creating files for agents called Soul nd. Right. Like, we as humans need to maintain and bring the soul to everything we do. Kimberly Pace Becker:It’s a. Well, we don’t want to get too woo. But I think it’s ultimately going to be a spiritual problem. It is not a problem for tech to solve. Ultimately, this is going to be a spiritual problem for humanity. Yeah. The idea of, look at what all the world’s religions say, doesn’t matter, you know, what background you come from. But sitting in discomfort is a big part of being a human. Derek Hanson:Yep. Absolutely. Yep. If things were too easy all the time, there’s like no sense of, you know, success or accomplishment. Right. You gotta Live, you gotta be comfortable with being uncomfortable. And I think that’s a really good mantra to live by. So, Kimberly, this has been a great conversation. I was really thankful that you joined. It’s one I think our community really is going to benefit from and gives us a lot of questions to think about. So, like, really appreciate you bringing your research lens to the space of open source and you know, how we can, you know, hopefully we can take that and let it like incubate and grow within, you know, what we’re doing on a day to day basis. So I was really glad we could do this. Thank you. Kimberly Pace Becker:Yeah, it was fun. Derek Hanson:Yeah. Okay. Kimberly Pace Becker:So you cannot my wheelhouse, but I like being in the conversation. Derek Hanson:Well, that’s good. But that’s. This is all about like interdisciplinary, you know, and, and finding ways to, you know, have these bridges and conversations across disciplines, which I love. Like, I still have a heart for academia. Right. Even though I did not want to live in that space for my career, there’s still something about it that, yeah, there’s still something that I appreciate and love and want to see, like good collaborations. So. All right, for everyone listening, you can go find Kimberly Pace Becker. You can find her on LinkedIn. Are you on X or anywhere else like that or where can people go find you? Kimberly Pace Becker:LinkedIn’s my favorite. Social media. And then women talking about AI dot com. Derek Hanson:Okay, go subscribe to that podcast if you want to hear more from Kimberly and her co host Jessica. Everyone listening to this episode. If you’re getting value from Open Makers and Open Channels fm, be sure that you go like and subscribe to anywhere you’re getting your podcasts. And if you’re watching on YouTube, we are really trying to grow this channel. So if you like and subscribe, that’s going to help get the word out immensely. So we’re just getting started there and we appreciate any little bit that you can give. So thank you all for joining. Kimberly, thank you. Kimberly Pace Becker:Thanks, Derek. It was fun.
The one where Tom gets chased by the Sea Hag, a mythical figure from Widow’s Bay that makes Tom too paranoid to hook up with his cute date.
When “The Inaugural Swim” begins, Mayor Tom Loftis has gotten everything he wanted. The summer season is about to begin and tourists are flocking to Widow’s Bay. Small children happily dash out of the local ice-cream shop, dripping cones in hand. Visitors mill around the town statue of Richard Warren, Widow’s Bay’s first mayor, who was then known as Lord Protector of the Island, which seems like areallyinflated job title. In a touch that’sdefinitely giving Jebediah Springfield, the statue of Richard Warren happens to be missing a head. Even the Historical Society is seeing some action, which is great, since its introductory video about Widow’s Bay is so informative and welcoming … well, except for the image of the map of Widow’s Bay that literally reads “Do Not Travel Here” on it and also features an image of a skull. It’s also not reassuring that the welcome clip ends with its host failing to open the door to leave the room, then opting to stand in the corner,Blair Witchstyle, as the credits roll. By the way, those credits state that this lively little short film was written and produced by Gerrie Davis, the head of the Historical Society and the same woman who reminded Tom last week that there were a lot of teeth on the island when settlers first arrived. Does this lady not have any idea how creepy all of this sounds? Here’s the thing: Widow’s Bay is, apparently, always going to Widow’s Bay. Even when things seem bucolic and peaceful, it’s only temporary, because eventually any good juju will be undercut by hints of the sinister. Certainly the most sinister thing in this episode is the Sea Hag. That’s the old woman — creature? entity? freakishly wet ghost? — who comes after Tom, first when she runs scurrying after Tom’s car late at night and scratches his arm, and a second time during Tom’s inaugural ocean swim of the season, when she tears into his leg. During that extremelyJaws-y sequence, Tom attempts to shake the hag off of him, but, to outside observers, it doesn’t appear that anyone or anything is there. Is this alleged hag a hallucination? Rosemary (the great Dale Dickey, from a million things but most recentlyThe Lowdown) is convinced that the hag and its related legend is real. She tells Tom that this gnarly lady would target lonely sailors, follow them home, and scratch them to get their skin under her fingers so she could track them. After the incident at the beach, Tom goes to Wyck’s house, where the décor includes dead crows on saucers and Zenith TVs. (Anyone remember whenZenith invented the Zoom feature? I bet Wyck does.) He gets a very similar story about the Sea Hag, but Wyck makes it special by throwing in a weird-ass sea shanty. “Lads say farewell to Ensign Trag,” Wyck sings. “He went to shore and met the Hag / With just one gash betrothed they be / She followed him on land and sea / For if you let her pierce your skin / Betwixt her thighs your final sin.” Tom waits for a beat, then says: “I don’t understand. How do you die?” “She crawls into your bed and sits on your face,” Wyck explains matter-of-factly. In “Lodging,” Tom points out that a lot of the stories about Widow’s Bay contain “more than a whiff” of misogyny. This one reeks of it. So you’re saying that the worst possible fate for a man targeted by a woman is to actually have to make an effort to pleasure that woman? And that the second he might have to make said effort, the man drops dead? (Ladies, we’ve all been there, amirite?) Look, I realize the Sea Hag is not attractive by, let’s say, conventional standards. She’s kinda slimy. Her hair could use a blowout and her nails are screaming for a manicure. But I still think that: (a) Most men should consider themselves lucky to get a piece of hag ass, and (b) that someone may have made up this story because they were an insecure baby-man. Anyway: Wyck turns out to be right when he warns Tom that the scratches will make him feel tired and that the hag will be able to track him down, which is exactly what happens. After he becomes groggy, Tom sees his former wife, who offers him a cup of tea, at which point the hag barges into the room, tries to jump on Tom’s face, and gets flipped into the corner by his La-Z-Boy. Just when it seems like she has Tom cornered in the bathtub, Wyck appears with a shotgun and shoots her dead. The Sea Hag does not leave behind a corpse, but Tom and the walls of his bathroom are sprayed with some sort of black substance that suggests something tangible was present in the room with him and Wyck. “Why is this happening?” asks Tom, sounding resigned, finally, to the fact that strange things are afoot on Widow’s Bay. “I don’t know,” Wyck replies. “You just survive.” Tom and Wyck are talking about the apparent reignition of the island’s curse, but doesn’t that question and corresponding answer also feel like the official motto of 2026? It really is a shame about the whole Sea Hag business, because if all that info about killer vaginas hadn’t gotten into Tom’s head, he could have gotten together with Marissa (Elizabeth Alderfer ofAP Bio), or, as Ruth refers to her, Mersa. She and Tom meet cute on Dickhole Street, which is funny because I’m currently writing a rom-com that is also called “Meet Cute on Dickhole Street.” Eventually, they end up having dinner together at the Driftwood and really vibing, so much so that Tom reveals to her, and to us, that his wife died due to complications from childbirth. He and his son, Evan, have been on their own basically since he was born, which explains the fraught and avoidant dynamic between them. Marissa is sympathetic and really seems to enjoy Tom’s company. She suggests that they go to Tom’s house. Immediately, you can tell Tom is thinking, “Wait, is this woman actually a sea hag?,” which is a more common male response to a woman inviting herself over than you might think. He demures, but when Marissa later comes to his house unexpectedly anyway — which, admittedly, may have been a tad aggressive — he blows her off, convinced she’s the Sea Hag in attractive divorcée form. In some ways, the Marissa story line functions as both a misdirect and a fun little rom-com side plot. But it serves a broader thematic purpose, too. Tom’s mistrust of her reflects the town’s broader paranoia about outsiders. Once again, in this episode, we hear talk of how anyone born on the island can never leave it. (Both Evan and his friend PJ admit they have never set foot on the mainland.) Also, Dale, a Town Hall employee played by the delightful Jeff Heller, notes that many of the cash-only businesses in town are opposed to a new city sales tax that is no doubt benefiting from all the tourism. (“They said, ‘If you want this blood money, you gotta come and get it yourself,’” Dale reports. That’s not just the spirit of Widow’s Bay talking. That’s the spirit of America.) It’s unclear whether this insularity is a byproduct of the curse or somehow a contributor to it. But it speaks to a deep, myopic sadness that lurks at the core of this town, where so much has been lost, and it seems more is about to be. At the end of the episode, Sheriff Bechir Clemons (Kevin Carroll, who also played a man living in a town where weird shit happened onThe Leftovers) sends out an alert about something alarming at the cocktail party that’s been spearheaded by Patricia. “Patricia’s cocktails,” he shouts. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on.” Which … doesn’t sound good. Neither does the thing that Reverend Bryce says when he wanders, dazed and confused out of the woods, and not because he’s just come from a party at the Moon Tower. “There is evil here,” he tells Evan and his buddies, who are hanging out nearby. Bryce (Toby Huss, yet another amazing actor cast on this show) seems to be under some sort of spell. Later, he leaves an answering-machine message for Tom that says, “I’m sorry, God forgive me.” The distant sound of the church’s chiming bells can be heard, which is odd since the previous episode established that the bells are chained up and inaccessible. That … does not sound good either. • Potential Clues (That Are AlsoLostRelated):It can’t be an accident that the Widow’s Bay introductory video mentions that the island is 42 nautical miles off the coast of colonial England. That’s a very specific number that also happens to be one ofthenumbers fromLost. Is that particularly meaningful? Nah, it’s probably more of a fun Easter egg than anything else. But it can be taken as further evidence that, like the island on that ABC epic, there is something mystical at work here. • Perhaps more significant is the well that Bryce discovers, which is yet another piece of imagery reminiscent of the hatch fromLost. Bryce puts his ear to the well to listen and hears something. Whatever it was convinces him that “there is evil here,” another hint that whatever is wrong with Widow’s Bay is foundational and has been wrong since the beginning. • Fuck Yeah, Kathy!As mentioned in last week’s recap, Kathy is pretty much the MVP of Widow’s Bay and also the MVP of not giving one single shit. Her absolute refusal to meet the minimum requirements of the job “waitress” is so impressive that it should be studied in culinary school. During Tom and Marissa’s meal, she delivers her reliably slow service. Eventually, Kathy does her job and puts Marissa’s plate in front of her: a burger and fries! Hey, good work, Kathy! No, wait, that is not what Marissa ordered; she asked for an ice-cream sundae. But not to worry, because at least an hour after failing to deliver the sundae, Kathy asks if Tom and Marissa are ready for dessert. • This is how I know Marissa would have been perfect for Tom: She fuckin’looovesKathy and how much this woman exasperates him. “She’s my new best friend,” she jokes. This would have been a fun, running joke between Tom and Marissa for the rest of their beautiful lives together if that Sea Hag hadn’t cockblocked the whole thing. Classic Sea Hag. • Funniest Line of the Week:While almost everyone in Widow’s Bay hangs on to petty personal grievances, Patricia (Kate O’Flynn) might be the queen of hanging on to petty personal grievances and also passive-aggressively annoyed line deliveries. In the first episode, she gets irritated when Tom mentions that she shouldn’t be afraid of the boogeyman because he went after teenage girls, not women in their 40s like her. That sticks in her craw, and her craw gets even more inflamed when she finds out in this episode that Tom picked up some random “age-appropriate” woman (Marissa) who was lost. So when Tom comes into the office with an obvious injury and says he was “scratched by an elderly woman,” Patricia can’t stop herself from asking, sarcastically, “Was she in her 40s?” This is a laugh-out-loud comment, partially because of the straight-down-the-plate way O’Flynn says it but also because of the subtext provided by those previous scenes. The writers — Neil Casey, who also plays the innkeeper Kurt, gets the credit for “The Inaugural Swim” — are doing a great job of making sure the laughs are earned and very character driven. • Funniest Sight Gag This Week:I was in actual tears when Tom narrates, as Garrett, the lighthouse operator, makes the least urgent effort ever to get to the beach and help get the electrical power working. Filmed by director Hiro Murai as if the audience is looking through Tom’s binoculars, we hear Tom’s increasingly frustrated comments as he watches from a great distance while Garrett ambles to his cycle, rides it slowly for a few feet, gets off it, and starts to head back to where he started. There’s something vaguely Wes Andersonian about the marriage of visual aesthetic and humor in this sequence. I love thatWidow’s Baytakes the time to give bits like this the space to breathe. Those moments are what elevate an already very good show to something close to great.
This story is the second installment in a Reader accountability series, Just Neighbors, examining the city’s homeless encampment sweeps and focusing on the human impact of a fragmented, interdepartmental process. At their request, all unhoused and undocumente…
The camera is hidden. The subject does not know he is being watched.
Not London. Not a borrowed grandeur on someone else’s soil. This is India — his country, his city, his continent. The hotel has no star rating because …
The post Conscripted Minds: Comprador…
Italy’s energy giant Eni and its partner, UK-headquartered BP, have used advanced directional drilling technologies to spud an offshore well from onshore, which led to a new natural gas discovery off the coast of Egypt. The post Fresh gas discovery unveiled as Eni and BP drill offshore well from onshore appeared first on Offshore Energy .
Italy’s energy giant Eni and its partner, UK-headquartered BP, have used advanced directional drilling technologies to spud an offshore well from onshore, which led to a new natural gas discovery off the coast of Egypt, augmenting the Middle East’s hydrocarbon resources. Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced a natural gas discovery in the Nile Delta region on May 2, 2026, with estimated production rates of around 50 million cubic feet per day (cf/d). The discovery follows the drilling of theNidoco N-2exploratory well within the concession area, operated by Eni in partnership with BP and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), through Petrobel, the joint company between EGPC and Eni. Karim Badawi, Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, visited theEDC-56drilling rig, which executed the well operations in the West Abu Madi area within Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate. The well is situated approximately 3 kilometers offshore in shallow waters with a depth of around 10 meters. The well was drilled from onshore using directional drilling technologies, contributing to cost optimization and enhanced operational efficiency. Badawi explains that this discovery, alongside increased production from existing fields, reflects the petroleum sector’s success in settling dues owed to foreign partners, with full clearance targeted by the end of June. “This highlights the state’s commitment to strengthening partner confidence and fostering an attractive investment environment,”underlined Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. Badawi claims that the regular settlement of dues has encouraged partners to intensify upstream activities, increase drilling and production rates, and expand the development of mature fields by extending agreement periods that helped attract new investments to these areas. As it is situated less than 2 kilometers away from the nearest production facilities, the well’s proximity to existing infrastructure is perceived to enable rapid connection to the network within the coming weeks and the start of early production, enhancing capital efficiency. Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources further emphasizes that the discovery represents a model for maximizing the utilization of existing infrastructure, increasing production rates, and supporting gas supply to the domestic market. The gas find is interpreted to highlight Eni’s continued success in exploration and production activities across its concession areas. The latest gas discovery comes a month after the Italian giantmade a gas and condensate discoveryoffshore Egypt, said to have fast-track development potential. Take the spotlight and anchor your brand in the heart of the offshore world! Join us for a bigger impact and amplify your presence at the core hub of the offshore energy community!
Your company might not be building an AI data center, but your AI workloads likely run in them. Here's what you need to know about the land-use war around data center development.
Getty Images/iStockphoto AI needs data centers, but many residents don't want them. Developers are building data centers across the country to support growing cloud demand and AI infrastructure needs. What started as mundane industrial development has snowballed into a charged public debate, raising questions about how data center development affects the communities around them. Through town hall shouting matches, ballot petitions, rallies and sometimes even violent altercations, communities are coming together to oppose development. According to arecent reportfrom Data Center Watch, local, bipartisan opposition blocked or delayed $64 billion worth of data center projects between March 2024 and March 2025. As of March 2025, at least 142 activist organizations existed across 24 states -- and experts have suggested that number has grown in the past year as data center opposition gathers even more traction. "Community groups are not going away," said Jessica Sharp, a Wilmington, Ohio, resident who's organizing efforts to oppose the proposed $4 billion AWS data center campus in her city. "You're not just going to steamroll us. We've built too much momentum by working together … and we're not giving up the fight and our way of life." Many residents feel they're owed more than what operators are offering in exchange for accepting data centers in their towns and cities. Others feel that data center development should be halted or significantly reduced. And many more say that, above all else, the system for data center development is broken, as new developers too often ignore stakeholder concerns to bullishly push their builds forward. As more businesses adopt and deploy AI, they will increasingly depend on these data centers. Business leaders consequently need to consider how concerns about data center development can affect their own AI strategies -- from delayed or canceled projects to escalated costs to reputational backlash. Businesses have a role to play in advocating for input, transparency, participation and collaboration from all affected parties, especially residents, to help move the needle on the issues surrounding AI data center development today. Burgeoning interest in AI has led to the proliferation of new data centers in recent years. They house the servers, networking equipment and other IT infrastructure that power AI. While similar to traditional data centers, the current crop ofdata centers supporting the AI boomhas unique needs, such as specialized hardware and vast computing power. Recent McKinsey & Company researchestimatedthatAI data centerswill require $5.2 trillion in Capex by 2030 to meet global demand for AI. Many companies are already making the necessary investment; S&P Globalsaid at the end of 2025that data center M&A and investment hit over $61 billion worldwide, with the U.S. leading the way in data center growth. Much of that growth comes from massive cloud service providers such as AWS and Google. Often called hyperscalers, these companies operate specialized data centers for extreme scale. A hyperscale data centercan housemore than 5,000 servers and use upward of 100 megawatts (MW) of power, covering 10,000 or more square feet and requiring massive energy and cooling systems. "We need more data centers because AI is taking off," said Darrell West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center for Technology Innovation. "AI is being deployed virtually in every area … and it requires very high computational power, so data centers provide that type of computer processing." To build these data centers, developers are turning to rural areas with less advanced technology. Large land masses in states like Virginia, Texas and Ohio are prime targets. As of April 2026, according to Data Center Map,Virginia alonehas 598 data centers, many of which make up what's called the Data Center Alley in Ashburn, Va. Texas sits at 439, and Ohio has 203. Data center locations usually depend on the availability of land, electricity, water and other resources, as well as the incentives and other unique advantages a community or state might offer, West said. For example, Virginia offers proximity to federal government agencies, which are increasingly using AI, especially for defense, along with the state's land and energy resources, he said. Community leaders often pursue and partner with data center operators, welcoming development of these facilities for their potential benefits, such as job growth and tax revenue. An AI data center can create hundreds of jobs, said Douglas Swain, president of Logistix Property Group, a land development company specializing in data center land entitlement. What's more important is the quality of jobs, he added, noting that jobs at these facilities typically pay 50% more than a state's average wage. They're tech jobs in a growing tech industry. Data centers particularly promote job growth during construction, said Dan Diorio, vice president of state policy at the Data Center Coalition. For example, from May 2023 to May 2024, the U.S. Census Bureaumeasuredthat data center construction spending increased by 69%, he said. And in 2023 alone, the U.S. data center industry contributed over four million jobs and $400 billion in labor income, according to the Data Center Coalition's2025 study, "Economic contributions of data centers in the United States." "[Workers] make careers out of these short-term jobs," Diorio said. These jobs give them the experience and education they need to move on to more projects. For campus data centers -- which are particularly large and often hyperscaler-funded -- community benefit is even more fruitful, Swain added. Those projects take longer and involve multiple buildings and long-term vendors, so the jobs are more sustainable. That, in turn, can lead to more demand and investment in nearby housing and other infrastructure. "There's a lot of spin-off benefits in terms of eating, living and spending money within the community," he said. Data centers also sometimes offer a cleaner alternative to existing industrial infrastructure. For example, adata center projectin Jay, Maine, is on the site of a former paper mill. The data center would use less water than the paper mill did, and developers plan to replace the on-site gas-fired power plant with a solar field. Because the state anticipated the project to be significantly beneficial to the town, Gov. Janet Mills sought to exempt it from a bill proposing a temporary moratorium on data center development in March 2026; Gov. Mills subsequently vetoed that bill in April, and the state legislature wasunable to override that veto. Another benefit that spurs community involvement is property tax revenue. Operators can pay massive property taxes back to the cities and towns, money that these communities can use for infrastructure and other needs, West said. This is already happening in certain areas. For example, Covington, Ga.,plans to eliminateresidential property taxes entirely due to the revenue it expects to receive from an AWS data center under construction there, Diorio said. In exchange for the tax revenue AI data centers promise and to compete with offers from other municipalities, community leaders have historically offered operators tax abatements or other incentives. These can include sales tax exemptions, tax incremental financing (TIF) agreements and payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs). These financial incentives ensure that AI data centers return predictable, long-term revenue. However, some residents said tax incentives aren't always in the community's best interest. Quintin Kroger Kidd, a Wilmington resident, is part of active protests against the AWS data center campus, which is in the initial stages of development. AWS sought a 30-year, 100% property tax abatement for the data center. Under theproposed TIF agreement, the city and various city organizations, such as the Wilmington City Schools, would receive a PILOT that amounts to only about 30% of the property tax AWS would have to pay without the abatement, Kidd explained. Many residents, including Kidd, view these tax breaks as a free handout to billionaire developers. And sentiment against tax abatement is prevalent in other areas where data centers are going in. "These big tech companies think that they have their choice of the land, and they have these small rural towns, whose officials don't know better, tripping over themselves to hand out things like tax abatements," Sharp said. "It stems from misunderstandings and also data center lobbyist groups acting like this is a clean industry and no public health impacts, which couldn't be further from the truth." Prior to the AI boom, data center development often facilitated a symbiotic relationship between developers and communities. However, given rising concerns about the negative effects that hyperscale data centers can potentially have on communities, residents are realizing they have more bargaining power with data center developers than they might have originally thought, Brookings' West said. For that reason, tax abatements are becoming less common than they were even six months ago. "Instead of paying the companies by offering tax incentives, [communities] are now demanding that companies pay them -- that they pay their full taxes and also provide other financial benefits in the community to quell the public concerns that have developed about data centers," West said. Despite the allure of economic growth, many residents are concerned about living near an AI data center. There's often a fundamental ideological difference between community members and what a data center represents, West said. In rural areas, residents particularly enjoy the rugged landscape; they would much rather look out their window at farmland instead of a large data center. Aside from data centers being an eyesore, residents cite a range of concerns, starting with their utility bills. Because AI data centers require massive amounts of electricity, residents worry they'll drive up regional electricity demand, causing bills to skyrocket. Another fear is that increased demand could cause grid overload that leads to supply issues, especially in hot summer months. "On social media, you see a lot of posts about people complaining about their utility bills," Kidd said. These facilities can sometimesuse more energythan large cities. That, coupled with the rapid growth of data centers in concentrated areas, could cause bills to rise -- either because of distributed increases in utility infrastructure costs or because demand is rising faster than energy supply. Data center operators often disclose plans to bear the cost of new infrastructure or demand, but verifying these commitments and operator compliance can be difficult due to confidential contracts. "We had an [electricity] rate increase last year, and AEP Ohio just announced there's another 40% interest increase coming this year," said Nikki Gerber, a resident of Adams County, Ohio. "We don't even have a data center here yet -- we are paying for the demand needed up at the ones in Columbus and New Albany," two other Ohio cities with data center development. There's also growing concern over water use. AI data centers often consume up tofive million gallonsof water per day for cooling. Many residents anticipate that water will primarily come from surrounding freshwater sources, leading to increased strain and even shortages. For Gerber, water is a particular concern. She has repeatedly asked officials and developers what damage the proposed data center in Adams County will cause the town's aquifer and has suggested they conduct impact studies. She said she hasn't received a response. Water use has also raised red flags for environmental conservationists. For example, a proposed data center in Urbana, Ohio, is two miles from Cedar Bog Nature Preserve, a protected wetlands area. Many residents, along with the Cedar Bog Association, haveopposed the development, citing concerns over how groundwater disruption could affect Cedar Bog. The Urbana city councilrecently passeda 12-month moratorium on data center development to study its potential impact. The proposed AWS data center in Wilmington has sparked similar concerns about its effects on wildlife. TheOhio Environmental Protection Agencyis currently deciding whether to permit data centers to release untreated wastewater and stormwater into Ohio rivers and streams.Data center water pollutantsinclude biocides, corrosion inhibitors and heavy metals, such as lead. Many people are anxious about how introducing these pollutants into the water systems will affect wildlife and potable water in Wilmington and across the state, Kidd said. Living close to a hyperscale data center can also cause adverse health effects from air pollution, noise and other sources,according to a recent studyof Virginia's Data Center Alley. Effects range from steady light pollution that keeps residents awake at night to long-term health outcomes like respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Data Center Coalition's Diorio questioned the methodology of that study, noting how it, and much of the rhetoric on health effects, overestimated the time data center generators are on. Those generators operate only during emergencies and short testing and maintenance periods, he said, citing Virginia's Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (VJLARC)2024 studythat found generators in the Data Center Alley area were used at most twice a year and only for a few hours each time. Diesel generators are a "relatively small contributor to regional air pollution," the study said. At the AWS data center in Wilmington, Ohio, the plans include 252 generators that will be used for backup power. Each generator is expected to run for about ten hours per year for testing, maintenance and emergencies, said John Werkman, economic development manager with Amazon, at arecent special town meeting. That's higher use than the VJLARC study found. Sharp's backyard faces the proposed Wilmington AWS data center. She said one of her top concerns is how the long construction period will affect her family. "That's going to be a huge burden, especially felt by the families in the closest proximity," she said. Data centers often emit low-frequency noise pollution, Sharp said. "In the air-cooled facilities like AWS uses, the fans are extremely noisy and create a lot of low-frequency noise," she said. "With ambient noise being so quiet in a rural community, that's going to be really pervasive and irritating." Sharp is also concerned about air pollution, noting that the hyperscale facility could negatively affect air quality compared to the current open field at the proposed data center location. "My husband has asthma, so I worry about him and our kids having disproportionate health impacts," she said. For some residents, lackluster job growth and housing are also issues. The jobs promised by data center developers either aren't enough to justify the development or are given to outsiders more often than to locals. "On some of the new data centers that are being developed, we found in our research that they typically might generate 500 construction jobs over a period of several years, and then once the data center is up and running, it may require just 100 jobs to operate," West said. Fluctuating job growth leaves residents weary. A 2025Business Insider analysisfound that, on average, even the largest U.S. data centers employ fewer than 150 permanent workers. Moreover, many residents worry that, because there's no mandate to hire from within the community, outsiders will move into the area seeking jobs, raising rents and reducing housing availability -- as was the case in Abilene, Texas, where Stargate's data center expansioncaused a serious housing crisislast year. In more rural areas, community members cite home value depreciation from the moment a data center is announced. "There are 'For Sale' signs all over my neighborhood," Sharp said. "I've seen houses on the market since December with no movement -- and this is in what was once a desirable area in Wilmington. It's not normal here to see a house on the market for five to six months, and some of these are brand new homes." For residents, the top worry about data center development often isn't housing issues, rising utility bills or even adverse environmental impacts. Their main concern is that they're too often left out of the conversation entirely. In the initial stages of data center development, agreements between operators and local governments are typically confidential. Local officials and groups sometimes sign nondisclosure agreements, or NDAs, that bar them from discussing proposed developments. The rationale for these agreements is that developers need them to protect competitive advantages and proprietary data, and to ease the flow of information between local officials and infrastructure providers, Diorio said. Some states are even enshrining this sort of confidentiality in law: The recently passedOhio House Bill 184included a confidentiality clause, Sec. 9.66(D), which stated that any business information submitted to a political subdivision for economic development assistance is confidential and can't be disclosed to the public, whether anonymized or not. This clause was particularly upsetting, Kidd said. HB 184 concerned an unrelated issue -- limitations on intercollegiate athlete contracts -- and the inclusion of the confidentiality clause caught residents off guard. In the context of data center development, it means that deals between operators and local government entities remain secret. Many feel this goes against the intention of Ohio's Sunshine Laws. Sharp shared a similar sentiment about the closed-door nature of data center development in Wilmington. The Clinton County Port Authority rushed the process under NDAs, and the data center deal was basically complete before it was public knowledge, she said. This involved changing zoning codes to allow for data center development in light industrial zones and then rezoning a parcel of land for light industrial use -- all without community knowledge. Gerber dealt with similar transparency issues. She spent the past three years working on rerouting the Buckeye Trail -- a famous, more than 1,400-mile trail loop in Ohio -- to make Manchester, Ohio, a trail junction village where hikers could resupply, boosting the local economy. She received approval for the project in January 2026 and was surprised a week later when the village announced that a data center would be built on the land, and her reroute couldn't proceed. It was like having the rug ripped out from under her, she said. "They just completely obliterated everything I was working on," she added. The polarizing nature of massive data center development and the secrecy surrounding some of the deals have left many residents feeling like the status quo must change. "They've taken away our seat at the table to decide what we want for our communities," Sharp said. "From a PR standpoint, they're failing … and completely missing the point of what it means to be a good neighbor in a community." Residents opposed to data center development are making their thoughts known in town halls across the country. The National Conference of State Legislatureslists 14 statesthat are considering some form of a data center development ban. Port Washington, Wis., passed the country's first anti-data centerreferendumlast month. Public opposition is no doubt putting pressure on officials to act. Some residents are taking matters into their own hands. Take Gerber, whose name is on a proposed Ohio constitutional amendment to ban the development of data centers larger than 25 MW in the state. The Ohio Residents for Responsible Development, a grassroots group of concerned citizens, is leading this initiative to amend the state constitution. "We have 72 counties covered out of 88 counties in the state … with county leads taking signatures," she said of the effort to get the more than 400,000 signatures needed to put the amendment on the November state ballot. Sharp is another Ohio citizen fighting data center development. She's the lead organizer for the Wilmington Residents for Responsible Development group. She recentlyfiled a lawsuitagainst Wilmington for its lack of transparency regarding the proposed AWS data center. The complaint alleges the city didn't follow required notice procedures when rezoning the development site -- which is next to residential homes, including Sharp's -- for data center development. The suit also raises other concerns, such as a request for damages to be awarded to the plaintiffs should the rezoning go through, and it calls for more explicit communication and transparency moving forward. Sharp's group also secured enough signatures to get a referendum on the upcoming November ballot so residents can vote on whether to rezone 500 acres for industrial data center development. Joseph Miller, director of PauseAI UK, the British arm of the PauseAI nonprofit that coordinates local groups to mitigate AI risks, said informing people of the risks and local organization are key to getting the attention of governments and decision-makers. One of PauseAI's biggest achievements, Miller said, was organizing the largest AI safety protest in London, drawing 300 people. The U.S. is seeing similar protests, though on a smaller scale. In March 2026,demonstrators in San Franciscocalled on AI companies to halt development, citing existential threats the technology could bring. In a few cases, growing resentment toward data centers and AI technology in general has led to violence. In April 2026, an Indianapoliscity council memberwoke up to find 13 bullet holes in his home and a note on his front door reading "No Data Centers." A few days later, someone targeted the home of Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, with aMolotov cocktail. Many community members aren't going to such extremes, however. For some, like Gerber and Sharp, the goal isn't to stop data center development entirely but to force officials to be more transparent about it. Neither Gerber nor Sharp is opposed to AI itself but rather to the communication tactics of data center developers, operators and local officials. This is an opinion many data center developers and advocacy groups actually share -- more communication and collaboration are needed between local communities and developers. Bruno Berti, senior vice president of global product management at NTT Global Data Centers, a data center operator, said engagement with residents and prioritization of sustainable practices are the secret ingredients in his company's latest data center development projects. An NTT data center project in Gainesville, Va., was ultimately approved for construction after NTT representatives attended local meetings and spoke with residents, Berti said. "It's becoming a lot more prevalent that we have to answer these questions," he said. "Community engagement is going to be bigger for us." Community engagement provides NTT with an opportunity to "demystify narratives" about data centers that are most concerning to residents, Berti added. Take, for example, potential concerns about the rising cost of electricity driven by data center consumption. While studies show that AI data centers can put a massive strain on power grids, that doesn't mean they're always the only culprits behind electricity rate increases. Increases in electric rates can stem from other factors, such as inflation and President Trump's tariffs, but people often attribute them to data center development, Brookings' West said. "The public is connecting data centers to electric rate increases, either fairly or unfairly, and blaming the data center developers for that." The Data Center Coalition's Diorio said grid capacity and electric rates typically are the responsibility of utility providers and depend on the grid infrastructure. Because of outdated systems and providers that haven't invested in their utility infrastructure, some communities can face negative consequences from hosting data centers. There are communities where data centers don't fit residents' needs, Diorio added. Generally, it's the responsibility of developers and operators to ensure they build in areas where they can operate without negatively affecting the people who live there. Practicing this foresight and respecting local communities' interests can demonstrate a commitment to sustainable and responsible development and improve public sentiment. NTT Global and other data center developers are working to engage with residents on their concerns about grid load and electricity rates, Berti said. This includes implementing peak shaving, in which data centers use backup power generation when the community's power load reaches a certain level. This enables data centers to continue operating without drawing excess energy from the grid, preventing brownouts and higher electricity costs for residents and businesses in the area. Increased generator use circles back to concerns about air pollution. Many data centers use diesel generators for backup power, which can harm the surrounding environment. However, some developers are turning to innovative, green technologies, such as fuel cells and renewable energy, Berti said. Fuel cells produce electricity without expelling harmful emissions because they rely on electrochemical reactions rather than combustion. Diorio mentioned that more data centers are using solar, wind and geothermal sources of energy to power operations. Operators are also exploring nuclear power as small modular reactors are being developed in the U.S. According to S&P Global Energy, hyperscalersoutpacedother industries in clean energy procurement in 2024 and 2025; however, they're unlikely to meet the decarbonization goals set for their data centers. While many data centers place substantial strain on water systems, others have managed tocut freshwater useby as much as 70% with more sustainable closed-loop cooling systems, according to the Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association. Closed-loop systems consume water once and then reuse it to cool their systems, reducing runoff that drains into local ecosystems or contaminates groundwater. However, closed-loop systems still use chemicals and aren't necessarily a silver bullet. And developers' arguments don't always hold sway with residents. For example, Prologis, which is building a data center in Trenton, Ohio,told the local communitythat increased industrial utility revenue from its data center could offset any residential rate increases; however, its explanations haven't done much to quell residents' concerns. Not all data center development is created equal, and developers that are trying to use sustainable practices have an imperative to communicate that more effectively to the communities involved. Even with these nuances, however, much of today's hyperscale data center development forgoes renewables and isn't as transparent as it could be, leaving residents in the dark about any semblance of benefits or valuable trade-offs. Business leaders have a role to play in the future of data center development with their wallets and their advocacy. As workloads continue to scale and demand more data center resources, businesses must assess which data center operators they want to invest in and what they expect from them in terms of transparent, ethical development. Companies face the potential for disruption if they don't take data center controversies seriously. For example, if a business uses a facility that becomes a target of a local protest, it could experience delayed AI model training or deployment, performance issues due to restricted energy or water use, or higher operational costs as data center operators navigate permit modifications, regulatory compliance and litigation defense. Equally worrisome is the potential for reputational damage. If the data center an enterprise is using becomes the target of negative publicity, it could find itself also targeted by proxy. Businesses can mitigate these risks by partnering with responsible data center operators. These operators prioritize community engagement; use sustainable approaches to energy production and cooling; commit to bolstering community benefits and mitigating harm; and step away from NDAs and confidentiality to increase much-needed transparency. NTT's Berti suggested that NDAs might no longer be necessary for developers. "Part of the secrecy was trying to make sure that people didn't know where the data centers are located. I don't think that's an option anymore. Everybody knows where data centers are," he said. "The other reason we used to do it was we didn't want our competitors to know where we were building a data center." NDAs provided competitive advantages, Berti said, such as preventing competitors from buying up land and negotiating power agreements with local utility companies. However, many of those reasons aren't valid anymore, he added. "If you really look at the industry … there's enough capacity for all of us to be successful," he said. "I think working together is actually more important." While Diorio still sees security and competitive advantage as legitimate justification for data center developers' secrecy, he said he agrees that community engagement pushes the industry forward. Unfortunately, newer developers and operators entering the marketplace are using resources and engaging with community stakeholders irresponsibly, he said. There's no single right answer for how to engage with data center development. For better or worse, data centers are an economic and technology necessity -- not only for AI, but for cloud computing, data storage and everyday devices. However, a divide is quickly emerging in the industry between developers that seek to work with communities and those that develop regardless of community wishes and well-being. It's up to businesses and business leaders to push for the former over the latter, financially incentivizing operators to champion sustainable, transparent strategies, and constructively communicate and collaborate with local communities. To do this, companies can incorporate responsible data center procurement into theirwider ethical AIand green AI initiatives, both of which are increasingly important as responsible AI practices become a must-have in the enterprise. Everett Bishop is an associate site editor for Informa TechTarget's AI & Emerging Tech group, covering AI, quantum computing and other emerging technologies. He graduated from the University of New Haven in 2019. Olivia Wisbey is a site editor for Informa TechTarget's AI & Emerging Tech group. She has experience covering AI, machine learning and other emerging technologies. Decarbonizing data centers: Turning sustainability into strategy How do data centers use and manage water? Modern data center sustainability: Best practices to consider How to choose a data center for AI workloads Understanding the impact of data center noise pollution
Dublin, May 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Brazil Construction Market Size, Trends, and Forecasts by Sector - Commercial, Industrial, Infrastructure, Energy and Utilities, Institutional and Residential Market Analysis to 2030 (Q1 2026)" has been added to R…
Dublin, May 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The"Brazil Construction Market Size, Trends, and Forecasts by Sector - Commercial, Industrial, Infrastructure, Energy and Utilities, Institutional and Residential Market Analysis to 2030 (Q1 2026)"has been added toResearchAndMarkets.com'soffering. The Brazilian construction industry is set for significant growth as projections indicate a 2.5% increase in real terms by 2026. This expansion is primarily driven by a rise in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and a reduction in inflation rates. In 2025, the Ministry of Finance reported a notable decrease in the inflation rate to 4.3%, the lowest since 2018. The Central Bank also highlighted a surge in FDI, reaching BRL455.8 billion ($77.7 billion), a 4.9% increase from 2024. Moving into 2026, the Ministry of Ports and Airports has outlined plans to roll out tenders for 18 port, 21 airport, and one water project. Key developments include the BRL6.4 billion ($1.1 billion) Tecon Santos 10 container terminal and port tenders in Macapa, Natal, Porto Alegre, and Recife. Additionally, infrastructure focus extends to a BRL6 billion ($1 billion) contract for the Block 2 highway project in Rio Grande do Sul and a BRL7.3 billion ($1.2 billion) concession for roads in Minas Gerais, underscoring a comprehensive investment strategy across transport sectors. Looking ahead, the construction sector in Brazil is expected to experience robust annual growth of 3.9% from 2027 to 2030. This growth will be underpinned by significant investments in renewable energy projects, aligning with governmental ambitions to boost renewable energy's share from 16% in 2021 to 45% by 2030, targeting net-zero emissions by 2050. The Ministry of Mines and Energy's Decennial Energy Expansion Plan 2035 (PDE 2035) forecasts an estimated investment of over BRL120 billion ($20.5 billion) to enhance national transmission capacity, with a BRL20 billion ($3.4 billion) transmission project already underway. Further growth initiatives include a new freight concession program, forecasted to attract BRL140 billion ($25.8 billion) in financing, potentially unlocking BRL600 billion ($110.8 billion) in railway network investments. The report delivers in-depth market analysis and insights into the Brazilian construction industry, encompassing: This report thoroughly examines the construction industry in Brazil, offering: Reasons to Buy For more information about this report visithttps://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rzn9kr About ResearchAndMarkets.comResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.