⤴⤵ Up Wing/Down Wing #22

A curated selection of pro-progress and anti-progress news items from the week that was

In case you missed it .. .

⚡ What will power the future US economy? (Monday)

⚛☢ Here's what can end the nuclear renaissance, according to America's biggest bank (Tuesday)

🚀 My chat (+transcript) with space journalist Eric Berger on SpaceX and America's New Space Age (Wednesday)

✨ How an AI technopanic begins (Friday)

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Up Wing Things

🏭 TSMC is achieving better yields in Arizona than Taiwan. With yields at the Phoenix plant four percentage points higher than at the Taiwan plant, this development is significant for the US effort to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing: “The success rate, or yield, is a critical measure in the semiconductor industry because it determines whether companies will be able to cover the enormous costs of a chip plant.” Despite initial delays caused by labor issues, the Arizona plant is now on track to start full production in 2025, marking a key milestone in TSMC’s US expansion, supported by significant government funding through the Chips and Science Act​. (Bloo mberg)

🏦 Reexamining Lackluster Productivity Growth in Construction. Construction is the only major industry to show negative productivity growth since 1987, with building costs rising much faster than other goods. After analyzing multiple approaches, the researchers conclude that even accounting for potential measurement biases, construction productivity growth has indeed been weak. The study also examines productivity differences across US states and metro areas from 1980 to 2019, finding that areas with stricter housing regulations and more urban core construction experienced larger productivity declines. Long permit approval times were especially detrimental to productivity growth, while areas with more construction outside urban cores showed better performance. (Federal Reserve)

⚛️ Democrats’ support of nuclear power is rising. Democratic candidates in key US Senate races are increasingly supporting nuclear power to address energy needs and climate concerns. Once opposed by many on the left, nuclear energy is gaining favor as tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon invest in reopening reactors and developing new technologies:

In virtually every democracy among the 32 countries with nuclear power plants — including Canada, the Netherlands, and South Korea — left-of-center parties traditionally oppose atomic energy, while those on the political right generally support it. For decades, the American partisan gap tracked this axiom. Democrats’ coalition historically included environmentalists eager to clamp down on uranium mining and radioactive waste, as well as anti-war activists who saw opposing nuclear power plants as a way to take a stand against atomic weapons.

Support for nuclear power is growing among both Democrats and Republicans, driven by the need for energy security, growing electricity demand, and climate change. President Biden’s administration has enacted legislation to support nuclear projects and ease permitting processes, marking a shift in US energy policy. (Huffpost)