How to fix what the innovation economy broke about America

Bill Gates and the problem with climate solutionism

Sponsored by Morgan Stanley The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology How to fix America 02.17.21 Good morning! Today: how to renew the left-behind towns in the US, and the trouble with Bill Gates' approach to fighting climate change. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. How to fix what the innovation economy broke about America   Valerie is 46. She’s worked all her life—three jobs currently—yet she has just $65 in her checking account. Her husband works full time at a metal fastener plant. Altogether, after health insurance premiums but before taxes, they make about $45,000 a year.  The story of her working life is also the story of Bryan, in northwestern Ohio’s Williams County. The town is broken in some of the same ways that much of the rest of the country is broken. Understanding what broke Bryan is crucial to understanding how it might be fixed. For decades, America’s political and business leaders acted as if places like Bryan didn’t matter. Palo Alto and Greenwich, Connecticut, did fine. These centers of high tech and financial services create vast wealth in the country’s so-called innovation economy. But hundreds of places like Bryan, both urban and rural, were allowed to erode economically and socially. The innovation economy has largely passed them by.  Developing a cogent regional development policy is one of the most vital public policy challenges facing America. President Joe Biden campaigned in part on the promise of creating “technology hubs” in 50 forgotten cities. The diverging fates of places like Bryan and places like Palo Alto is clearly driving a loss of political faith, and that growing nihilism is threatening democracy itself. But it doesn't have to be like this. We can still turn it around. Read the full story. —Brian Alexander Bill Gates and the problem with climate solutionism In his new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Bill Gates takes a technology-­centered approach to understanding the climate crisis. He slices pollution into sectors by the size of their footprints—working his way from electricity, manufacturing, and agriculture to transportation and buildings. It’s helpful for distinguishing between the bigger technological problems (cement) and the smaller ones (airplanes).  However, a lot of the necessary technology already exists. By focusing on technological innovation, Gates underplays the material fossil-fuel interests obstructing progress. Politics, in all its messiness, is the key barrier to progress on climate change. That’s why you should broaden your reading list to include Kim Stanley Robinson’s latest novel, The Ministry for the Future, set in 2025. His story asks about the politics necessary to solve the climate crisis, and he has certainly done his homework.  And you should also read Elizabeth Kolbert’s new book, Under a White Sky, which examines how interventions like geoengineering could go wrong. As Kolbert puts it, her book is about “people trying to solve problems created by people trying to solve problems.” Read the full review of all three books. —Leah C. Stokes   Read next: Our energy editor James Temple interviewed Bill Gates on the limits of his optimism, the tech breakthroughs and energy policies we need—and how his thinking on climate change has evolved. We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + Happiness is… a dog enjoying the snow.   + A flash mob recreated The Night Watch by Rembrandt (here's a reminder of what the original painting looks like.)   + Amazing aerial photography.   + A short documentary about a legendary food spot in Richmond, Virginia.    + An hour of music to help you wind down.    + This looks like a great way to make the most of the snowy weather.   + This wildlife and conversation photographer is worth following on Instagram.    + Now this I have to try… accordion potato skewers. Sponsor Message Searching for Growth in Tech, Media & Telecom Key takeaways from Morgan Stanley’s virtual European Technology, Media and Telecom Conference highlight the impact of COVID-19’s long tail and structural trends that could drive future growth. Companies emerging from the pandemic with greater momentum, strong valuations or high capital may look to expand, whether through mergers and acquisitions or by going public. And that could mean 2021 will be an opportune year for deal-making and funding strategies that could power longer-term growth. Learn more. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Climate change is bad news for America's power grid The blackouts this week could be a sign of things to come. (NYT $)   + People are using the crisis to unfairly kick renewable energy. (Earther)   + The power grid in Texas has crumpled under the cold. (Ars Technica)   + What went wrong. (Houston Chronicle)   + Disaster scammers are targeting victims. (The Verge)   + The power outages are a big problem for vaccination programs. (The Verge)  2 The UK's vaccination program is starting to have an impact 💉 Deaths among the over 80s have dropped steeply. (The Guardian)   + Two coronavirus variants have merged. (New Scientist)   + Some UK companies may make being vaccinated a condition of employment. (FT $)   + Biden says the vaccine will be available to all Americans by the end of July. (Forbes)  3 France has been hit with a SolarWinds-style cyber attack The Russians really have been busy. (ZDNet)   4 ADHD diagnoses have skyrocketed during the pandemic Worsening mental health is the other, hidden pandemic, especially among children. (NBC)   5 New York is suing Amazon over worker safety Its lawsuit alleges "flagrant disregard" of measures needed to protect workers from covid-19. (Reuters)   + Amazon is taking aim at one of its last remaining rivals. (Quartz)   + And it is partly causing a cardboard crisis in the UK. (Wired UK)  6 Facebook really doesn't like flagging posts as "false" Especially if they were posted by Trump (before he was banned.) (The Markup)   7 A data scientist has discovered a porn bot network on Twitter Machine learning tools like GAN-generated profile pics are making these harder to spot. (Vice)   8 In an age of remote work, why is Big Tech still building offices? 🚧 Tech’s real estate ambitions remain undimmed.  (Wired $)   9 Full-length pics are all the rage on Instagram 🤳 How else are we going to admire each others' outfits right now? (WSJ $)   10 The crazy world of chain reaction videos Sheer insanity, yet somehow totally irresistible.  (The Guardian) Not an expert? Not a problem. Our team is full of those. Subscribe to MIT Technology Review today for an insightful look into technology for the future without getting bogged down by the jargon. Quote of the day "This is happening not in spite of climate change, it’s in part due to climate change." —Judah Cohen, director of seasonal forecasting at Atmospheric and Environmental Research, tells The Guardian that the rapid heating of the Arctic helped cause the winter storms in the US. Top image credit: Nick Hagen Please send accordion potatoes to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up for free The age of implementation Join us virtually | March 23–25, 2021 Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142

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