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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.
‘A Wake-Up Call’: Total Weight of Wild Mammals Less Than 10 Percent of Humanity’s (Maria)
The author writes, “The total weight of Earth’s wild land mammals — from elephants to bison and from deer to tigers — is now less than 10% of the combined tonnage of men, women and children living on the planet. A study by scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, published this month, concludes that wild land mammals alive today have a total mass of 22M tons. By comparison, humanity now weighs in at a total of around 390M tons. … The natural world and its wild animals are vanishing as humanity’s population of almost eight billion individuals continues to grow.”
Behind the Scenes of Trump Grand Jury; Jurors Hear 3rd Leaked Trump Call (Reader Steve)
From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The bomb-sniffing dog was new. The special grand jurors investigating interference in Georgia’s 2020 elections hadn’t before seen that level of security on the third floor of the Fulton County courthouse where they had been meeting in secret for nearly eight months. Oh, God, I hope it doesn’t find anything, one juror recalled thinking as the German Shepherd inspected the room. ‘It was unexpected. We were not warned of that,’ she said. The reason for the heightened surveillance was the day’s star witness: Michael Flynn, former President Donald Trump’s national security adviser.”
Silicon Valley Bank Donated Zero Dollars to Black Lives Matter (DonkeyHotey)
From Popular Information: “[Last] Tuesday night on Fox News, host Jesse Watters asserted that Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) ‘donated $74 million to Black Lives Matter.’ That was why, Watters claimed, federal regulators did not pursue more aggressive oversight of SVB’s business practices. According to this theory, SVB was treated with kid gloves because it was ‘woke.’ Watters’ claim is false. The actual amount that SVB donated to Black Lives Matter was zero. But that didn’t stop similar claims from being made repeatedly on Fox News, conservative websites, and social media.”
Local Wisconsin Governments Starved for Revenue (Al)
The author writes, “In December, I had the opportunity to sit down with numerous local leaders and hear about the issues impacting their communities. From town board chairs to city council presidents, mayors to county board supervisors, and superintendents to elected school board members, I heard the same resounding message — our local governments are starved of the resources necessary to provide essential services to their communities.”
Russian Spy Network Accused of Sabotage Arrested in Poland (Sean)
The author writes, “A group of foreign citizens have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia, two Polish government officials have told the BBC. Radio station RMF FM reported that Polish security services had broken up a spy network working for Russia. Six people were detained on suspicion of having installed secret cameras to film transport infrastructure used to deliver aid to Ukraine, it reported. RMF FM said the cell had prepared sabotage plans.”
Illinois Put a Stop to Local Governments’ Ability to Kill Solar and Wind Projects. Will Other Midwestern States Follow? (Laura)
The authors write, “Two years ago, Illinois had adopted a landmark clean energy law that called for building vast amounts of renewable power. At the same time, 15 counties with some of the most land available for wind and solar had passed, or were about to pass, restrictions on new development that made the state’s goals more difficult to reach. Something had to give.”
The Brilliant Inventor Who Made Two of History’s Biggest Mistakes (Russ)
From The New York Times Magazine: “A century ago, Thomas Midgley Jr. was responsible for two phenomenally destructive innovations. What can we learn from them today?”
