Greenland: the reality behind the hype
The Arctic island is in the spotlight as a strategic economy, but has little to show for it so far
For the latest updates on access to the Morningside campus, visit the Public Safety website. Read more.
The year 2024 ended with a sobering milestone: it was officially the hottest year ever recorded. That pattern of extremes continues around the world, especially in Southern California, which is suffering from one of its worst disasters in history. First responders continue to battle lethal wildfires that have consumed more than 12,000 buildings and homes, and forced more than 100,000 people to evacuate.
But beyond these headlines about rising temperatures and intensifying disasters lies a critical question: How can we better predict and prepare for extreme weather events in a warming world?
Recent breakthroughs in AI-powered weather forecasting have produced new models that not only match but sometimes outperform traditional prediction systems. These advances couldn’t come at a more crucial time – in 2023 alone, the US suffered $95 billion in damages from 28 separate extreme weather events.
So, how do we ensure these powerful new tools reach the communities that need them most? How can advances in weather forecasting enhance energy resiliency? And what role should public agencies play as private companies push the boundaries of prediction technology?
This week host Bill Loveless talks with Alice Hill and Colin McCormick about AI in weather forecasting. Together, they authored a chapter on extreme weather response in the Innovation for Cool Earth Forum’s report Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap.
Alice is the David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations. She previously served as special assistant to President Obama and senior director for resilience policy on the National Security Council.
Colin is a principal scientist at Carbon Direct, where he provides expertise across carbon removal methods and industrial decarbonization. He previously served as senior advisor for R&D at the US Department of Energy. He is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Europe is facing a challenging year as natural gas prices surge. While the continent seemed to weather the initial shock of losing Russian gas supplies, it’s now clear...
At the start of February, President Trump launched a trade war. The president announced sweeping tariffs on goods imported from China, Canada, and Mexico. Although he temporarily backed...
Over the past month, the Trump administration has declared a national energy emergency, launched an ambitious agenda aimed at transforming the nation's energy landscape, and pulled back from...
Last week, President Trump wasted no time in making good on a long list of energy-related campaign promises. Declaring a national energy emergency, he issued executive orders that...
CGEP is pleased to announce a new AI & Energy series—part of our Energy Explained blog. In the first entry, the authors write about AI's potential impacts on the...
Can artificial intelligence help cut emissions of greenhouse gases? In this second edition of the Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap, a team of 25 co-authors led by CGEP Inaugural Fellow David Sandalow explores that question, finding that AI has the potential to make significant contributions to fighting climate change. The Roadmap’s 17 chapters provide introductions to AI and climate change, examine the potential for AI to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in eight sectors and discuss cross-cutting topics such as large language models and government policy. Each chapter includes 5-10 specific, actionable recommendations for realizing AI’s potential to help fight climate change.
Microsoft’s plan to restart Three Mile Island points to the way forward.
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), especially Large Language Models (LLMs) such as GPT-3 and Gemini on which the now well-known ChatGPT AI and Gemina assistant systems...