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PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
Greece Says Its Entire Electrical Grid Ran on 100 Percent Renewables for the First Time (Maria)
The author writes, “The Greek electrical system has hit a new milestone, after running completely on ‘clean’ renewable energy for the first time. Renewable energy sources covered Greece’s electricity demands for about five hours last Friday, the Independent Power Transmission Operator said. Renewables also posted a new record that day, reaching a peak of 3,106 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity. The company, which owns and operates the Greek electrical transmission system … says the achievement will open the door to making its energy mix greener.”
‘Stop the Steal’ Supporters Train Thousands of US Poll Observers (DonkeyHotey)
From Reuters: “As the United States enters the final stretch to November’s midterm elections, Reuters documented multiple incidents of intimidation involving an expanding army of election observers, many of them recruited by prominent Republican Party figures and activists echoing Trump’s false theories about election fraud. … Interviews with more than two dozen election officials as well as representatives of groups driven by false theories about election fraud, and an examination of poll-watching training materials, revealed an intensifying grassroots effort to recruit activists.”
The Globetrotting Con Man and Suspected Spy Who Met With President Trump (Sean)
From ProPublica: “Tao Liu’s criminal odyssey took him from money laundering in Mexico to a massive scam in China to Trump’s exclusive New Jersey golf club. Investigators believed he may have infiltrated U.S. politics as part of a Chinese intelligence operation.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott Used COVID Aid to Pay for a Border Wall (Dana)
From The Nation: “On December 20, 2021, the [Gov. Greg Abbot] tweeted, ‘We are building our own border wall. Unlike the Biden Admin, we arrest illegal immigrants coming across the border & send them to jail.’ … To pay the bill, the cowboy king pulled $1 billion out of a federal hat. Since $1 billion isn’t small change — even in Texas — how did he manage it?”
Microplastics Found in Human Breast Milk for the First Time (Sean)
The author writes, “Microplastics have been detected in human breast milk for the first time, with researchers greatly concerned over the potential health impacts on babies. Infants are especially vulnerable to chemical contaminants and the scientists said further research was urgently needed. But they stressed that breastfeeding remained by far the best way to feed a baby.”
Free Shipping Isn’t Free for Everyone (Laura)
From Sierra: “E-commerce is likely here to stay, so reducing its environmental and public health impacts centers on fixing the operations of all those trucks. Doing so would also have a major climate benefit, since transportation (including the shipping of goods) is the number one source of US greenhouse gas emissions.”
Human Neurons Implanted in a Rodent’s Brain Lead a Rat to Water — and Make It Drink (Mili)
The author writes, “The scientist flicked on a laser, filling the rat’s brain with blue light. The rodent, true to its past two weeks of training, scampered across its glass box to a tiny spout, where it was duly rewarded with a drink of water. From the outside, this would appear to be a pretty run-of-the-mill neuroscience experiment, except for the fact that the neurons directing the rat to its thirst-quenching reward didn’t contain any rat DNA. Instead, they came from a human ‘mini-brain’ — a ball of human tissue called an organoid — that researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine had grown in a lab and implanted in the rodent’s cortex months before.”
