Yup, she still has another one. But apparently, Swift sold her Dassault Falcon 900 in January — not long after her attorney sent a cease-and-desist letter threatening legal action against a college student who shares flight data and greenhouse gas emissions from Swift’s and other billionaires’ jets on social media. Swift topped a 2022 list of celebrities with the biggest carbon footprints from flying. But now she’s one jet down.
It’s dumping nearly half a year’s worth of rain in parts of the state, leaving more than 500,000 customers without power. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for eight Southern California counties. Climate change — no surprise — has already intensified rainfall from atmospheric rivers over California. The Verge took a slightly doomed flight into an atmospheric river a few years ago with scientists studying the phenomenon.
If passed, the Artificial Intelligence Environmental Impacts Act of 2024 would compel the EPA to conduct a study on the environmental footprint of AI. It would also make the National Institute of Standards and Technology develop standards for measuring those impacts and set up a voluntary reporting system. AI is energy-intensive, which is why it’s stirred up concerns about how it might impact the grid and contribute to climate change.
[www.markey.senate.gov]
