This and that for your Tuesday reading.

– Julian Spector writes that renewable power sources and battery storage are becoming ensconced as the best energy supply option for any government which isn’t bent on subsidizing dirty fossil fuels regardless of cost or consequences. 

– John Balbus examines the health risks posed by AI data centres – including the reality that they’re being given a priority to needed power from grids with the predictable effect of making people all the more vulnerable to extreme heat. Jason Koebler and Emanuel Maiberg expose Microsoft’s explicit plan to try to get people addicted to an artificial “personal assistant”. And Deirdre Bosa and Jasmine Wu chime in on the corporate recognition that AI isn’t worth the cost once trial period economics are taken out of the picture. 

– Meanwhile, Gabrielle Gurley discusses Virginia’s example of public pushback against the attempt to impose data centres. And Kyle Tharp notes that the fight against data centres is a rare issue which not only cuts across partisan and ideological lines, but also inspires passion among people who otherwise aren’t politically engaged. 

– Meagan Gilmore reports on the health programs which are being left for dead as the Carney Libs and far too many provincial governments dedicate public resources to fossil fuel subsidies and militarization instead. 

– Finally, Jim Wilson reports on Adam King and Niall Harney’s observation that sectoral bargaining could simultaneously address the problems of declining union density and deteriorating working conditions.