President Donald Trump, recently awarded a trophy for his support of coal, has ordered the military to make agreements with coal power plants, a move that could revive the struggling industry. Meanwhile, Elon Musk's X platform is under scrutiny for potentially violating US sanctions by selling premium accounts to Iranian government officials, and tech billionaires are showcasing their wealth with extravagant megayachts.
Trump's executive order, announced on Wednesday, aims to boost the fortunes of coal, the second most expensive and most polluting source of electricity in the US, according to Ars Technica. The order follows Trump's acceptance of the "Undisputed Champion of Clean, Beautiful Coal" award from the Washington Coal Club. The move could force the military to purchase power from coal plants, despite the environmental and economic drawbacks.
Simultaneously, Elon Musk's X platform is facing allegations of violating US sanctions. A report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), shared with Wired, identified over two dozen X accounts allegedly run by Iranian government officials that display a blue checkmark, indicating a premium subscription. This raises concerns about X profiting from the same officials Musk has publicly criticized.
In other news, the world of tech billionaires continues to display its wealth. Sergey Brin, a Google co-founder, recently arrived in Miami for Art Basel on his 466-foot superyacht, Dragonfly, according to Fortune. The vessel, complete with a movie theater, beauty salon, and multiple helicopter pads, is reportedly worth $450 million. This trend of extravagant displays of wealth, from seaside mansions to megayachts, is becoming increasingly common among Silicon Valley's elite.
In Africa, the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is gaining traction, despite infrastructure challenges. While some regions face limited grid and charging infrastructure, a recent study in Nature Energy found that EVs, from scooters to minibuses, could be cheaper to own than gas-powered vehicles in Africa by 2040, according to MIT Technology Review.
Finally, China has made significant progress in environmental efforts. The country has planted so many trees around the Taklamakan Desert that it has transformed the "biological void" into a carbon sink, according to Hacker News.
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