Sometimes you look back on a month and feel like nothing very important happened. But November 2016 was obviously not one of those months! I am not going to make any attempt to be apolitical here. I was once a registered independent and still do not consider myself a strong partisan. However, I like to think of myself as being on the side of facts, logic, problem solving, morality and basic goodness. Besides, this blog is about the future of our human civilization and human race. I can’t pretend our chances didn’t just take a turn for the worse.

3 most frightening stories

• Is there really any doubt what the most frightening story of November 2016 was? The United Nations Environment Program says we are on a track for 3 degrees C over pre-industrial temperatures, not the “less than 2” almost all serious people (a category that excludes 46% of U.S. voters, apparently) agree is needed. This story was released before the U.S. elected an immoral science denier as its leader. One theory is that our culture has lost all ability to separate fact from fiction. Perhaps states could take on more of a leadership role if the federal government is going to be immoral? Washington State voters considered a carbon tax that could have been a model for other states, and voted it down, in part because environmental groups didn’t like that it was revenue neutral. Adding insult to injury, WWF released its 2016 Living Planet Report, which along with more fun climate change info includes fun facts like 58% of all wild animals have disappeared. There is a 70-99% chance of a U.S. Southwest “mega-drought” lasting 35 years or longer this century. But don’t worry, this is only “if emissions of greenhouse gases remain unchecked”. Oh, and climate change is going to begin to strain the food supply worldwide, which is already strained by population, demand growth, and water resources depletion even without it.
• Technological unemployment may be starting to take hold, and might be an underlying reason behind some of the resentment directed at mainstream politicians. If you want a really clear and concise explanation of this issue, you could ask a smart person like, say, Barack Obama.
• According to left wing sources like Forbes, an explosion of debt-financed spending on conventional and nuclear weapons is an expected consequence of the election. Please, Mr. Trump, prove them wrong!

3 most hopeful stories

• There is a vision out there for a smart electric grid. Hello Trump administration and all of Congress, if you are all really serious about infrastructure, this is an issue you could find common ground on and let’s make it happen. Oh, and you can build roads and parking lots out of solar panels.
• There is some research progress on new ways to combat antibiotic resistance.
• You might be able to learn certain types of knowledge and skills without any effort.

3 most interesting stories

• A new version of Sid Meier’s Civilization VI was released. I have fond memories of weekends in my 20s spent playing Civilization II on the couch, drunk, in my pajamas, covered in Dorito crumbs. I wouldn’t mind a couple weekends a year like that now, but overall it’s good these are only memories and I am not spending my 40s like that.
• On the data science front: Nate Silver has released some analysis of college football stats. Good luck Gators, you’re going to need it! And a new tutorial lets you play with the economics of carbon taxes and emissions schemes while learning R.
• New technology can survey and create a 3D model of a room in seconds.