Trump Orders Military Coal Deal, Big Oil Eyes Global Exploration, and Tech Sees AI and EV Developments
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a move drawing both praise and criticism, former President Trump ordered the military to enter agreements with coal power plants, aiming to revive the struggling industry. Meanwhile, Big Oil companies are increasing global exploration outside the Americas, and the tech world is seeing developments in AI and electric vehicles.
According to Ars Technica, Trump's executive order, delivered after receiving an award from the Washington Coal Club, would mandate the military's purchase of coal. This action comes as coal faces economic headwinds, being the second most expensive power source in the U.S. grid, and the most polluting.
Simultaneously, the oil industry is shifting its focus. Fortune reported that Big Oil is expanding exploration efforts outside the Americas, a trend not seen in years. Chevron's recent return to Libya after a 15-year absence is a notable example of this shift. This move follows the maturation of the U.S. shale oil boom, which had previously led companies to focus on domestic and proven offshore basins.
In the tech sector, Anthropic released its Claude Cowork AI agent software for Windows on Monday, as reported by VentureBeat. This launch brings file management and task automation tools to a significant portion of the desktop computing market. The Windows version offers "full feature parity" with the macOS version, including file access and multi-step task execution.
The tech world is also seeing a movement against AI subscriptions. MIT Technology Review reported on the "QuitGPT" campaign, which urges users to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions. Frustration with the chatbot's coding abilities and replies has fueled the movement, with users sharing their experiences on Reddit.
Finally, the future of electric vehicles in Africa is looking brighter. According to a new analysis cited by MIT Technology Review, EVs could be cheaper to own than gas vehicles in Africa by 2040, especially with the use of solar off-grid charging. While challenges like unreliable grids and limited infrastructure exist, the decreasing costs of batteries and EVs are creating an economic case for their adoption.
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