Here's a brilliant neologism: "slop", for text generated entirely by LLMs and published, unwanted, on the Internet
> Watching in real time as "slop" becomes a term of art. the way that "spam" became the term for unwanted emails, "slop" is going in the dictionary as the term for unwanted AI generated content
Pollen in Luxembourg, the birch count is frightening (as I'm allergic, it's not a great time at the moment).
Does anyone know anything about 'standard' pollen concentrations? Do trees release more pollen to increase* their chances of survival in a world in climate crisis?
*During a presentation with the Directeur de l'Administration de la nature et des forêts in Luxembourg in 2022, I discovered that the same oak tree could have different genetic material depending on its branches, to increase its capacity to adapt (spatial orientation and climate impact). Nature never ceases to amaze me.
@thepoliticalcat I did a bit of research this morning and apparently there's a link between carbon concentration and pollen concentration. I'd like to understand the mechanism better.
@thepoliticalcat "Scientists say intensified seasonal allergies are among the first wave of anticipated health impacts from global warning, along with greater exposure to infectious diseases. (...) There’s some evidence that increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are making pollen more potent, too."
@pvonhellermannn I think the #ClimateDiary hashtag is a really good place to unite, to confront the climate crisis but also the solutions. Thank you for setting it up.
Does anyone know (personally, professionally, or otherwise) of municipal regulations requiring green space on commercial property? US is most useful, but I'll take anything, and from green roof to potted plants by the door.
Please boost, and please suggest hashtags that might help!
As the article is behind a paywall, here are some useful points (excerpts):
"Good Living, one vision that will be applied to all of Brussels, looks to improve the quality of life for all the city's residents. The focus lies on three key principles covering all areas of living spaces: public space, urbanism and the habitability of the city."
"'When a building, whether it is a house, office or hotel, is renovated or built, or a square or a street is created in the region, we will always first consider the public space and then look at how we can integrate things around this through several principles that we are now concretely setting in stone,' [Pascal] Smet said."
"When a site is being redesigned or created, 30% of the space has to be made into open space, of which three- quarters has to be "open ground". Benches, toilets and water fountains will be systematically integrated into this space to make it "truly liveable," while advertising will be largely prohibited in public places."
"When it comes to buildings, the focus will be on renovation and new buildings can only be demolished and reconstructed when no other option is available. "Of course, we have to build additional housing, otherwise rents will rise even higher, but we have to do this in a smart way by integrating them into the green and public spaces."."
"(1/4) However much one laments and even wishes somehow to atone for the loss of life and suffering visited upon innocents because of Palestinian violence, there is still the need, I think, also to say that no national movement has been so unfairly penalized, defamed, and sujected to disproportionate retaliation for its sins as has the Palestinian."
(Edward W. Said, The Question of Palestine, 1992: Preface to the 1992 Edition)
"(2/4) The Israeli policy of punitive counterattacks (or state terrorism) seems to try to kill anywhere from 50 to 100 Arabs for every Jewish fatality. The devastation of Lebanese refugee camps, hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, and orphanages; the summary arrests, deportations, house destructions, maimings, and torture of Palestinians on the West Bank and Gaza; (...)."
(Edward W. Said, The Question of Palestine, 1992: Preface to the 1992 Edition)
"(3/4) (...) the use of poisonous, deshumanizing rhetoric by senior Israeli politicians, soldiers, diplomats, and intellectuals to characterize all Palestinian acts of resistance as terrorist and Palestinians as nonhuman ('cockroaches', 'grasshopers', 'two-legged vermin', etc.); these, (...)"
"(4/4) (...) and the number of Palestinian fatalities, the scale of material loss, the physical, political, and psychological deprivations, have tremendously exceeded the damage done by Palestinians to Israelis."
(Edward W. Said, The Question of Palestine, 1992: Preface to the 1992 Edition)