Bezos, Zuck and why tech can't be trusted to self-regulate on AI, climate

WindBorne Systems raises $37 million in Series B financing to sell to Wall Street

In today’s edition:

— Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg prove there are no limits to AI greed

— Weather intelligence startup WindBorne Systems raises $37 million in Series B financing

— The ocean currents behind the climate disaster movie ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ are real. Here’s what scientists are watching.

— Lake Mead water levels at record low; threaten to drop below 1,000 feet

— Investment flows to the energy industry expected to grow 5% to $3.4 trillion this year

So far this year, wildfires have burned 6.3 million acres across the U.S. Above, the Johnson Canyon Fire in northeast Utah last week. Photo: Utah Fire Info.

Over here in London, where I’m visiting this week, the big news is that Jeff Bezos and an investor group are about to buy up to a third of the prized Liverpool Football Club, a development that should bring shivers to any and all Liverpool supporters.

In the U.S. however, the news from Bezos is far more sinister. His Amazon AMZN 0.00%↑ is poised to invest in a massive data center project in West Texas that, if built. would contain a natural gas power plant capable of generating more pollution than any other plant in the U.S., including twice as much as the dirtiest U.S. coal plant.

The news, first reported by Cleanview. which tracks data center projects, comes only days after Meta’s META 0.00%↑ Mark Zuckerberg published what is being described as an AI manifesto, in which he argues that the productivity AI will bring is worth the risk, and saying his Facebook is pushing full steam ahead on AI despite calls of restraint from, well, just about everybody.

All of this comes against a backdrop of the hottest summer the U.S., and large parts of Asia and Europe have ever seen, as well as unprecedented growth in devastating wildfires. Supply changes have dramatically slowed in Europe as rivers such as the Rhine and Danube dried up and Lake Mead is at an all-time low.

And still the stock market rises as AI bedazzles investors, and tech giants blow past any semblance of climate responsibility.

That climate change’s tragic effects are unraveling right in front of our eyes and tech executives are charging ahead with ever-dirtier, ever more risky strategies, should be more than enough for any reasonable politician — if there are any — to conclude that the future of humanity can’t be trusted to billionaires.

We are all Liverpool fans now.

If you have ideas or suggestions for us, contact me directly at dcallaway@callawayclimateinsights.com.

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Photo: WindBorne Systems/

Weather startup WindBorne Systems raises $37 million in Series B round