Dynasty Warriors: OriginsMSRP$70.00 Score DetailsDynasty Warriors: Origins is thrilling fun so long as you don't overthink its hollow story.ProsSleek structureMultifaceted combatThoughtful RPG progressionA few engrossing storylinesConsSerious tone doesn't always landRepetitive as everSome exhausting missionsThematically nonsensical storyTable of ContentsTable of ContentsChanging the formulaRefined combatPeace is not an optionWhy do well-intentioned leaders always seem to become the very thing they sought to rebel against? Is violence inseparable from power? How many bodies must stack up to achieve peace? Dont expect Dynasty Warriors: Origins to offer any insight.Recommended VideosThat shouldnt come as a surprise to anyone who has played Omega Forces long-running adaptation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a foundational Chinese novel. While the hack-and-slash series has its roots in real Chinese history, Dynasty Warriors mostly sees that politically dense subject matter as a goldmine of war set pieces and historical melodrama. Thats allowed the series to thrive as an over-the-top soap opera its Days of Our Lives for gamers.Now, Omega Force hits the limits of that approach with Dynasty Warriors: Origins, a new starting point for the series that tries to take its subject matter a bit more seriously. Its perhaps the studios most mechanically refined Musou yet, with more multifaceted combat, some exhilarating battles, and a closer look at moments of the Three Kingdoms era that Dynasty Warriors has always glossed over. But all the cutscenes in the world cant hide the fact that the series still doesnt have much to say about a historical era that begs to be dissected.After struggling to shake the series up with Dynasty Warriors 9s open-world ambitions, Omega Force takes a more streamlined stab at evolution. Dynasty Warriors: Origins reimagines the Musou as a modern, narrative-heavy character action game. Its loaded with cutscenes, it has straightforward skill tree progression, and it sticks to one playable character meant to anchor a winding story full of historical figures. Its still very much a Musou, filled with massive battles where thousands fall to exaggerated attacks, but one that will feel more familiar to those who were raised on Sonys brand of modern action-adventure games.Asturdy new foundation that Dynasty Warriors can build on moving forward.That structural shift is largely successful, even if it isnt terribly original. For instance, Origins does away with its predecessors open-world bloat and replaces it with a more streamlined overworld map. Its a compact space that acts as a neat, traversable hub from which players launch into story missions, skirmishes, shops, and side-conversations. A bit of Easter egg hunting and item collection is enough to add some needed variety in between battles without adding too much unnecessary weight.The biggest impact is in its approach to story, as more time is dedicated to cinematics and social bond conversations that retell the first leg of Romance of the Three Kingdoms in depth. We get a more thorough explanation of the political context that led to the formation of Chinas Three Kingdoms, as well as deeper dives into the figures who would go on to establish each faction. That makes Origins an excellent entry point into the series in the same way Yakuza 0 was for Segas own intimidating soap opera.Bandai NamcoThe series does lose a bit of personality in that transition. Dynasty Warriors has long been built on escalation, and thats made each entry more over-the-top than the last. While previous entries have embraced that silliness, Origins brings the series back down to earth. The mysticism is light, there are no flaming tigers to hunt, and the costumes arent quite as eccentric. Those oddball touches are traded in for more straight-faced historical table setting with high production value though thankfully some charmingly bizarre voice acting still makes its way in. That tonal shift will likely help Origins break out of its niche audience, but it does sap some color out of a vibrant series.Even so, this particular format feels like a winning one for Omega Force. I get the sense that the studio has applied the right lessons from its recent string of great Musou spinoffs for existing series. I can feel the influence of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity in its more robust storytelling. DNA from Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes is present in its social bond system. Each of those games has been mixed into concrete and poured into a sturdy new foundation that Dynasty Warriors can build on moving forward.Though Origins is built to be a modern crowd pleaser, it features one change thats sure to bug longtime fans. Rather than choosing from an army of playable heroes, players only control one character. Thats a dicey proposition on paper. The series core weak point has always been the repetitive nature of its hack-and-slash combat. A giant roster of heroes has always helped to alleviate that issue, adding more variety to battles. Origins is one-note by comparison, but Omega Force puts in a lot of extra effort to make sure its singular star feels like an adaptable fighter.That starts with a deeper combat system that goes beyond alternating light and heavy attacks to wipe out dozens of soldiers in one sword slash. Theres blocking, parrying, evasive dashing, and counter maneuvers tied to each. Holding the right bumper lets players execute special attacks that operate on cooldowns, with each assigned to a face button. The left bumper has the same functionality, but for commanding troops to attack in specific formations instead. Theres an energy meter that can either be spent to unleash devastating Musou attacks or saved up to activate God Mode for a brief moment of invulnerability and increased power. Theres even a companion system, which briefly lets players raise hell as another character for a brief but glorious moment of power. All of this adds up to create a more active battle system with lots of tools to juggle and cooldowns to manage.Koei TecmoTo add even more depth, Origins features nine weapon classes, each of which has their own light control variation. Wheels are speedy blades that can be tossed into a crowd and then retrieved like boomerangs to perform flashy finishers. A Podao brings a totally different pace to battle, requiring patient swings and charge attacks to maximize damage. Omega Force doesnt want players to simply stick to their favorite, either; RPG character progression is tied to using them all. Stats only rise when a weapons proficiency ranks up. Thats how skill trees are unlocked as well, and the currency to grab new abilities is largely tied to checklist missions that ask players to master each weapons nuances. Its an effective way to incentivize experimentation, making one flat character feel like nine.That system gets put to good use in Origins wealth of thrilling set pieces. Like previous installments, battles have players slicing up thousands of enemies and capturing bases to gain momentum in maps where the opposing armies fight a war on multiple fronts. Origins best battles are its most strategic ones, where players need to think carefully about where they lend their aid at any given moment. While its tiny minimap and constant alerts can be tough to parse at first, I quickly found a groove as I learned to bounce around to struggling allies to help get their battles under control and boost my armys morale. Fights are all about gathering momentum and knowing the right moment to push forward with a grand assault.The Musou genre is an acquired taste for a reason, and Origins one-character limitation eventually brings that to the surface Theres no shortage of exhilarating moments that make its story missions feel like key battles in a grand war. In one fight, I gathered my troops at a rocky choke point. I mounted my horse and led a charge into a canyon filled with thousands of Yellow Turban soldiers. It was a jaw-dropping wartime spectacle as I watched my army clash swords with their rivals while I focused my attention on tough officers, who I could occasionally face in one-on-one duels. Other battles have an entirely different pace, as I defend the doors of a stronghold or command my troops to burn down ballistas. That diversity of objectives helps break up the inherently repetitive nature of the series.The genres thin action hook does peek its head out eventually. The weakest missions simply escalate the challenge by throwing more and more high health officers at me. The final battles of my chosen story route especially wore me out, as strategic battlefield management gave way to 40-minute endurance tests for my tired fingers. The Musou genre is an acquired taste for a reason, and Origins one-character limitation eventually brings that to the surface even if Omega Force gets much more mileage out of it than you might expect.Whats less impressive about Origins is the ins and outs of its story, one that the series has told time and time again. This time, Omega Force hyper focuses on Romance of the Three Kingdoms earliest saga. It spends significantly more time with the Yellow Turbans, a rebel group born from famine desperation, and dives into the establishment of the titular kingdoms. Some stretches of that story are engrossing. The fearsome L Bu makes for an intimidating big bad early on so much so that the story meanders toward what feels like an aimless final half once hes out of the picture. I was even able to form a true allegiance to my chosen kingdom and its leader, Cao Cao, a charismatic leader who I truly felt compelled to aid.Where Origins is less effective is in its central heros story, an ill-conceived folktale thatll feel downright nonsensical if any of your brain cells happen to rub together during your playthrough. While the cast is filled with characters I could connect with, the main hero is your stock strong-and-silent, unnamed amnesiac with not a trace of personality. Hes a blank slate that players are meant to project onto in the misguided name of immersion, or perhaps just a clean camera lens through which we can see history unfold like quiet documentarians.But that hero isnt an insignificant fly on the wall: Hes the Guardian of Peace.Real Guardians of Peace dont ask questions, they follow orders.With that early revelation, Origins face plants at the starting line. Missions where I kill over 2,000 people are followed by monologues about my duty to bring peace to China. Im told that no one man can bring change after single-handedly obliterating entire armies, but then told the importance of putting my trust in the heroes running the kingdoms, who can, in fact, bring change. The dissonance of it all comes to a head when I get a special attack called Peacebringer, a powerful maneuver that sends all my enemies sky high and ragdolls their corpses back to the ground. In Dynasty Warriors world, peace can only be achieved through mass violence.With that setup, Omega Force had the opportunity to put its deep knowledge of the Three Kingdoms saga to good use and interrogate the conflict at its heart. Theres a thoughtful story begging to be told here that questions whether violence and war can ever be justified if the endgame is well-intentioned. Even its increased emphasis on the Yellow Turbans offers fertile ground to explore how a group committed to fighting an oppressive government became an oppressive force itself. How does power mutate good ideas? Can one fight for peace within the system that creates it?Omega Force doesnt have an interest in any of that. Romance of the Three Kingdoms is solely treated as a fun video game premise that can be harvested for cool battles and lovable characters. When tasked with actually digging into the political intrigue of the subject matter, Origins is as silent as its hero. Midway through the story, Im given the choice to side with one of the Three Kingdoms. Each one claims to have their own vision of how to bring peace to China, but no one ever outlines it outside of vague campaign promises. Its not much of a choice; I just have to pick which guy Id rather aid in torching his oppositions rations.Koei TecmoIts not that any of this is new for Dynasty Warriors you cant be shocked when an adaptation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms romanticizes history. This is never a series that has looked to make grand political statements about Chinas history or criticize the ways in which violent conflict is excused as a necessity for the greater good. Thats fine in the right context, but its downright dysfunctional in a story about a character whose sole reason for existence is to be an agent of peace. Rather than accomplishing that, he only makes matters three times worse by joining a power struggle thats never well explained despite being presented in a passive, uncritical light.Dynasty Warriors has a reputation as being the ultimate turn your brain off game, and for good reason. Slicing through 100 troops with a Musou attack feels about as satisfying as watching someone carve soap with a box cutter in an Instagram reel. The best moments in Origins are the ones where I can fully sink into the popcorn melodrama of it all in between jolts of easy serotonin. But there are times where it feels like Omega Force is desperate to elevate its baby and have it taken seriously. Cruelly, its in those moments where Origins is at its most brainless. Were left with a story about peace in which a Godlike being blindly becoming subservient to one man without knowing his vision for the future.After an abrupt and puzzling end to my heros journey one that left him with a choice that didnt feel like much of a choice at all I couldnt stop thinking about the Yellow Turbans. The story opens with their tale, explaining their righteous rise built from government oppression. I quickly empathize with their cause. Then in an instant, Im told that they became bad guys after that and now need to be destroyed. Why? Even with more time dedicated to their history, I still dont really know. All that matters is that theyre Level 1 screw-ups and, in my routes case, Cao Caos unexplained vision is better than theirs.Real Guardians of Peace dont ask questions, they follow orders. Maybe thats why were still killing each other in the name of peace thousands of years later.Dynasty Warriors: Origins was tested on Xbox Series X.Editors RecommendationsPlay Dynasty Warriors: Origins this week thanks to its new PS5 demo

Businesses are starting to link their artificial intelligence initiatives with paring back hiring plans, or so-called cost avoidance, in an effort to justify investing in the technology.

The U.S. is imposing some of its strongest measures yet to limit Chinese advances in AI, aiming to block backdoors in other countries that Beijing could use to access technology.

Carrie Pallardy, Contributing ReporterJanuary 13, 20257 Min ReadKittipong Jirasukhanont via Alamy Stock PhotoThe majority of organizations --89% of them, according to the 2024 State of the Cloud Report from Flexera --have adopted a multicloud strategy. Now they are riding the wave of the next big technology: AI. The opportunities seem boundless: chatbots, AI-assisted development, cognitive cloud computing, and the list goes on. But the power of AI in the cloud is not without risk.While enterprises are eager to put AI to use, many of them still grapple with data governance as they accumulate more and more information. AI has the potential to amplify existing enterprise risks and introduce entirely new ones. How can enterprise leaders define these risks, both internal and external, and safeguard their organizations while capturing the benefits of cloud and AI?Defining the RisksData is the lifeblood of cloud computing and AI. And where there is data, there is security risk and privacy risk. Misconfigurations, insider threats, external threat actors, compliance requirements, and third parties are among the pressing concerns enterprise leaders must addressRisk assessment is not a new concept for enterprise leadership teams. Many of the same strategies apply when evaluating the risks associated with AI. You do threat modeling and your planning phase and risk assessment. You do security requirement definitions [and] policy enforcement, says Rick Clark, global head of cloud advisory at UST, a digital transformations solutions company.Related:As AI tools flood the market and various business functions clamor to adopt them, the risk of exposing sensitive data and the attack surface expands.For many enterprises, it makes sense to consolidate data to take advantage of internal AI, but that is not without risk. Whether it's for security or development or anything, [youre] going to have to start consolidating data, and once you start consolidating data you create a single attack point, Clark points out.And those are just the risks security leaders can more easily identify. The abundance of cheap and even free GenAI tools available to employees adds another layer of complexity.It's [like] how we used to have the shadow IT. Its repeating again with this, says Amrit Jassal, CTO at Egnyte, an enterprise content management company.AI comes with novel risks as well.Poisoning of the LLMs, that I think is one of my biggest concerns right now, Clark shares with InformationWeek. Enterprises aren't watching them carefully as they're starting to build these language models.Related:How can enterprises ensure the data feeding the LLMs they use hasnt been manipulated?This early on in the AI game, enterprise teams are faced with the challenges of a managing the behavior and testing systems and tools that they may not yet fully understand.What's new and difficult and challenging in some ways for our industry is that the systems have a kind of nondeterministic behavior, Mark Ryland, director of the Office of the CISO for cloud computing services company Amazon Web Services (AWS), explains. You cant comprehensively test a system because it's designed in part to be critical, creative, meaning that the very same input doesn't result in the same output.The risks of AI and cloud can multiply with the complexity of an enterprises tech stack. With a multi-cloud strategy and often growing supply chain, security teams have to think about a sprawling attack surface and myriad points of risk.As an example, we have had to take a close look at least privilege things, not just for our customers but for our own employees as well. And, then that has to be extended not to just one provider but to multiple providers, says Jassal. It definitely becomes much more complex.AI Against the CloudWidely available AI tools will be leveraged not only by enterprises but also the attackers that target them. At this point, the threat of AI-fueled attacks on cloud environments is moderately low, according to IBMs X-Force Cloud Threat Landscape Report 2024. But the escalation of that threat is easy to imagine.Related:AI could exponentially increase threat actors capabilities via coding-assistance, increasingly sophisticated campaigns, and automated attacks.We're going to start seeing that AI can gather information to start making personalized phishing attacks, says Clark. There's going to be adversarial AI attacks, where they exploit weaknesses in your AI models even by feeding data to bypass security systems.AI model developers will, naturally, attempt to curtail this activity, but potential victims cannot assume this risk goes away. The providers of GenAI systems obviously have capabilities in place to try to detect abusive use of their systems, and I'm sure those controls are reasonably effective but not perfect, says Ryland.Even if enterprises opt to eschew AI for now, threat actors are going to use that technology against them. AI is going to be used in attacks against you. You're going to need AI to combat it, but you need to secure your AI. It's a bit of a vicious circle, says Clark.The Role of Cloud ProvidersEnterprises still have responsibility for their data in the cloud, while cloud providers play their part by securing the infrastructure of the cloud.The shared responsibility still stays, says Jassal. Ultimately if something happens, a breach etcetera, in Egnytes systems Egnyte is responsible for it whether it was due to a Google problem or Amazon problem. The customer doesn't really care.While that fundamental shared responsibility model remains, does AI change that conversation at all?Model providers are now part of the equation. Model providers have a distinct set of responsibilities, says Ryland. Those entities [take] on some responsibility to ensure that the models are behaving according to the commitments that are made around responsible AI.While different parties -- users, cloud providers, and model providers -- have different responsibilities, AI is giving them new ways to meet those responsibilities.AI-driven security, for example, is going to be essential for enterprises to protect their data in the cloud, for cloud providers to protect their infrastructure, and for AI companies to protect their models.Clark sees cloud providers playing a pivotal role here. The hyperscalers are the only ones that are going to have enough GPUs to actually automate processing threat models and the attacks. I think that they're going to have to provide services for their clients to use, he says. They're not going to give you these things for free. So, these are other services they're going to sell you.AWS, Microsoft, and Google each offer a host of tools designed to help customers secure GenAI applications. And more of those tools are likely to come.We're definitely interested in increasing the capabilities that we provide for customers for risk management, risk mitigation, things like more powerful automated testing tools, Ryland shares.Managing RiskWhile the risks of AI and cloud are complex, enterprises are not without resources to manage them.Security best practices that existed before the explosion of GenAI are still relevant today. Building an operation of an IT system with the right kinds of access controls, least privilege making sure that the data's carefully guarded and all these things that we would have done traditionally, we can now apply to a GenAI system, says Ryland.Governance policies and controls that ensure those policies are followed will also be an important strategy for managing risk, particularly as it relates to employee use of this technology.The smart CISOs [dont] try to completely block that activity but rather quickly create the right policies around that, says Ryland. Make sure employees are informed and can use the systems when appropriate, but also get proper warnings and guardrails around using external systems.And experts are developing tools specific to the use of AI.There're a lot of good frameworks in the industry, things like the OWASP top 10 risks for LLMs, that have significant adoption, Ryland adds. Security and governance teams now have some good industry practices codified with input from a lot of experts, which help them to have a set of concepts and a set of practices that help them to define and manage the risks that arise from a new technology.The AI industry is maturing, but it is still relatively nascent and quickly evolving. There is going to be a learning curve for enterprises using cloud and AI technology. I don't see how it can be avoided. There will be data leakages, says Jassal.Enterprise teams will have to work through this learning curve, and its accompanying growing pains, with continuous risk assessment and management and new tools built to help them.About the AuthorCarrie PallardyContributing ReporterCarrie Pallardy is a freelance writer and editor living in Chicago. She writes and edits in a variety of industries including cybersecurity, healthcare, and personal finance.See more from Carrie PallardyNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

Sekhar Koduri, Senior Director, Enterprise Offerings, DMIJanuary 13, 20255 Min ReadAleksia via Alamy StockGlobal spending on public cloud services will reach $805 billion this year and double by 2028. This exponential growth is being driven, in part, by a growing interdependence between artificial intelligence innovation and cloud infrastructure.AI systems demand tons of computational power and data. Generating this data in an on-premises data center is extremely expensive and impractical for most organizations. Conversely, the cloud provides a scalable and adaptable environment for AI to thrive.For instance, cloud platforms provide on-demand, fixed, and ephemeral compute resources for advanced AI processing. These resources are crucial for rapid prototyping and experimentation in AI innovation.However, unexpected costs, security, and regulatory concerns prevent cloud investments from reaching their full potential. Without a solid, sustainable cloud infrastructure, strong data foundation, and enterprise governance, organizations will not be able to reap the many benefits that AI has to offer.Fortunately, many prevalent challenges surrounding data management, cybersecurity, enterprise governance, cost containment, and change management are solvable.Strong Data Foundation Drives Business OutcomesAI applications demand vast amounts of data for training, testing, and validation, necessitating robust data storage solutions. As such, organizations must strengthen their data governance, integration, preparation, scalability, and financial policies to prepare a cloud environment for AI innovation.Related:Cloud platforms provide scalable computing power for AI workloads, eliminating the need for physical servers. With cloud-native object storage and distributed frameworks, organizations can efficiently process and store large datasets to ensure scalability and optimize performance. Also, modern semantic databases can provide the data foundation for ever-growing generative AI workloads.Organizations can use the pay-as-you-go model to eliminate upfront costs and dynamically scale resources based on demand. Additionally, multi-tier storage options optimize costs by storing data based on access patterns, and serverless platforms can provide cost-effective solutions for storing and analyzing petabytes of data.A robust data foundation not only supports scalability and cost-efficiency but also ensures ethical alignment and operational excellence.Security at the CoreFor organizations looking to incorporate AI-powered tools into their cloud environments, it's imperative to ensure the environment is secure beforehand.Related:Concerningly, 80% of data breaches in 2023 involved data stored in the cloud. In dynamic environments like the cloud, a zero-trust philosophy is a necessity.Several key components of zero-trust can fortify an organization's cloud security. For instance, asset discovery and misconfiguration monitoring can ensure organizations maintain visibility into their cloud environment. Further, cloud identity and entitlement management can ensure users can only access the minimum resources and permissions necessary to perform their tasks.No cyber efforts are foolproof -- even with these strategies in place, threat detection and incident response tools remain critical in case a malicious actor does breach the network. These should include continuous monitoring, vulnerability scanning, and guided remediation across cloud assets, workloads, and identities. Once security is assured, organizations can focus on other pressing challenges.Robust Enterprise Governance Framework Is Essential In response to the rapidly evolving field of AI, including generative AI, organizations should establish a multidisciplinary team dedicated to integrating AI within rigid regulatory frameworks, like the NIST AI Risk Management Framework.Related:Organizations should adhere to best practices like scalability, data management, and automation to create a secure, ethical, and efficient environment for AI deployment. Luckily, cloud providers offer cloud-native capabilities to navigate compliance requirements. For instance, some providers offer model bias, explainability features, and generative AI safeguards.Overcoming governance challenges through structured frameworks ensures that AI systems align with organizational goals and societal values, paving the way for responsible AI innovation.FinOps Keeps Ballooning Cloud Costs Under ControlOne of the most prevalent cloud migration and management concerns is cost. According to a McKinsey report, the average company spends 14% more than they intend to on cloud migration each year, and 75% of organizations exceed their planned budget. Cloud financial operations, or FinOps, provide a technological and organizational solution.The technological aspect enables cost observability through dashboards, regular reporting and alerts for cost overruns. These tools provide visibility into current and future costs and enable proactive management, so organizations aren't surprised by cloud invoices. Additional FinOps procedures and policies include approval processes for resource changes that impact costs and ongoing cloud cost forecasts.Implementing FinOps solutions and procedures drives financial accountability, efficiency, and overall cost control in cloud environments. As a result, organizations can optimize resources and investments.OCM Unites People, Processes & TechnologyAny technology or procedure is only as effective as the people using it. Organizations tend to underestimate the role of their workforce in ensuring a successful and sustainable cloud deployment.Leadership must focus on the employee perspective and experience to prevent delays and ensure successful cloud deployments. Organizational change management, or OCM, is a fundamental part of the transformational journey to the cloud.Leadership can ensure a smooth transition to the cloud with effective change communication, stakeholder collaboration, transparency, and thorough education. Organizations must account for the triumvirate of people, processes and technology throughout cloud migration, deployment and management.When the three work in harmony, organizations can significantly improve their operations, maximize the value of their cloud infrastructure, and capitalize on the boundless potential of AI.About the AuthorSekhar KoduriSenior Director, Enterprise Offerings, DMISekhar Koduri, DMIs lead for the data and analytics practice under the DMI CTO/EO office, spearheads transformative initiatives by leveraging the power of advanced analytics, data science, and AI for DMIs customers. He designs and implements robust data-driven strategies and AI workloads, enhancing operational efficiency and service delivery across sectors while ensuring AI safety and transparency. He is currently engaged in initiatives that explore the practical applications of Generative AI and large language models in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. He unlocks business utility and transformative capabilities by integrating these GenAI capabilities into customers operations.See more from Sekhar KoduriNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

Porsche and BMW are the latest automakers to report sliding sales in China.The rapid rise of domestic EV makers such as BYD has put the squeeze on foreign competitors.Volkswagen, Toyota, and Honda have all suffered, and GM took a $5 billion hit on its Chinese business.Porsche and BMW have become the latest European carmakers to report sliding sales in China.The two German automakers said on Monday that sales in the world's largest auto market fell by 28% and 13.4% respectively in 2024 compared with the previous year, with Porsche blaming a "continuing challenging economic situation" in China for the slump.The hit in China was so large that it reduced Porsche's global deliveries by 3%, despite growth in every other market.Porsche and BMW aren't the only automakers to witness an alarming plunge in their Chinese sales in recent months.Volkswagen, Porsche's parent company, posted an 8.3% decline in sales in China, its largest market, in 2024. Mercedes reported a 7% annual, while Japanese rivals Toyota and Honda also suffered sizable declines in deliveries.Once dominant in China, foreign automakers are being increasingly squeezed by local competitors, with the likes of BYD and Xiaomi offering high-tech electric options at very affordable prices.Known for affordable EVs such as the $10,000 BYD Seagull and the $30,000 Xiaomi SU7, many of these companies are now expanding into the luxury market, putting them in direct competition with European manufacturers such as Porsche and BMW.BYD has released several luxury models under its Yangwang line, including the pothole-hopping U9 sports car and the drone-carrying U8 SUV, while Xiaomi launched a $114,000 luxury version of its best-selling SU7 sedan in October. The BYD U8 SUV in display in China. John Keeble/Getty Images That's put foreign manufacturers like Porsche and BMW, which both counted China as their second-largest market in 2023, in a bind. Many are now rolling back their investments in the country and tearing up their strategies as a result.General Motors said in December it would take a hit of more than $5 billion on its business in China, with the Detroit automaker closing factories and cutting costs at its joint venture with China's SAIC Motors after it lost $347 million in the first nine months of 2024.Other brands have fostered closer ties with Chinese companies. Volkswagen announced last week it would partner with electric vehicle maker Xpeng to build a network of super-fast charging stations throughout China.Porsche and BMW did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Jason Oppenheim has accused Los Angeles landlords of illegal rent hikes amid the wildfires.California law prohibits rent increases of over 10% after an emergency is declared.Gov. Gavin Newsom has extended the price-gouging ban until January 2026.Jason Oppenheim, star of Netflix's "Selling Sunset," has accused Los Angeles landlords of illegally price gouging rental rates amid the city's devastating fires.In an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, Oppenheim, who co-runs the Oppenheim Group with his twin brother, called for the exploitative practice to be exposed."We're having landlords taking advantage of the situation," he said.The LA fires, which began nearly a week ago, have killed at least 24 people, left dozens missing, and destroyed thousands of structures, including homes. The total area burned is now larger than Paris.Oppenheim shared the example of a client who went to view a rental property that was initially asking for $13,000 a month. He said his client offered $20,000 a month and six months of rent paid upfront, but the landlord responded by asking for $23,000 a month."There are price-gouging laws in California that are just being ignored right now," he said. "This isn't the time to be taking advantage of situations, and it's also illegal to take advantage of a natural disaster."Landlords are "absolutely" breaking the law, Oppenheim added.When California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency on January 7, it automatically triggered a California law restricting price gouging for housing, emergency supplies, and other necessities for up to 180 days.California's price gouging laws make it unlawful to increase the rental price advertised, offered, or charged for housing by more than 10% after an emergency has been declared.Newsom also signed an executive order on Sunday prohibiting price gouging "in times of emergency" that would remain in effect until January 7, 2026.A violation of the price-gouging rules is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to a year, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.On Saturday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he had seen businesses and landlords "jack up the price."He said, "It's called price gouging. It is illegal. You cannot do it."Bonta said that anyone engaging in price gouging would be held accountable.Displaced residents in LA are scrambling to find rental housing near their schools and workplaces, driving up demand and, in some cases, hiking prices way beyond what is legal. Local publication the LAist spotted a Zillow listing for a home in Bel Air that had its price hiked by 86%.And with the fires still raging, the situation could get worse.Although firefighters have made progress in containing the blazes, authorities have warned that dry winds picking up could complicate efforts to control the situation.Pacific Palisades, home to some of the country's most expensive real estate, has been among the worst-hit areas, and celebrities including Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal, and Milo Ventimiglia, have lost their homes.

China's trade surplus reached a record 7.06 trillion yuan ($990 billion) last year, new data shows.President-elect Donald Trump said he is going to put harsher tariffs on China when he takes office.China's exports have steadily climbed regardless of prior efforts to rein it in.China's exports reached record levels in 2024 as it braces for new tariffs President-elect Donald Trump said he'll impose after he takes office next week.According to Chinese government figures released Monday, its exports grew 7.1% to 25.45 trillion yuan last year ($$3.58 trillion), while imports expanded 2.3% to 18.39 trillion yuan ($2.59 trillion).The difference between those figures equates to a trade surplus of 7.06 trillion yuan ($990 billion).Business Insider in December reported that China massively boosted its exports as its domestic economy teetered under the effects of property market inflation and sluggish demand.Chinese exports have surged, particularly in the so-called "global south" of developing non-Western economies, leading several to impose tariffs to protect domestic industries.The world's second biggest economy, China is a leading exporter of a huge range of manufactured goods, including textiles and electronics and, more recently, solar panels and electric vehicles.Trump pledged a 10% increase to all tariffs on China, which could deepen the trade war between the economic superpowers.Last week, following a Washington Post report that some of his aides favored a milder tariff policy, he said any suggestion his plan would be softened is "wrong."Reuters reported that Chinese exports surged in December 2024 to $104.8 billion, seemingly to pre-empt the tariffs."Trade front-loading became more visible in December as a result of both Chinese New Year effects and Donald Trump's inauguration," Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told the outlet.

I always knew I wanted to have children. And because all my jokes are terrible and I genuinely enjoy chatting about the weather, it just felt kinda predestined. Everybody I know knew I wanted kids. I put it in my online dating profiles (do not recommend if you are trying to land a date). As I changed jobs and locations in my twenties, becoming a dad was the only immutable part of the vision I had for the future.In late 2023, my dream came true: My wife gave birth to our daughter. Shes funny and exhausting and wonderful.I expected to love being a dad, and I do! I also expected my friends and younger family to become parents at around the same time. That has not proven true. Most of my friends are not parents yet. Some are considering trying. Others never want to.Its not just my community: The birth rate has been falling rapidly in the United States. In 2005, births per woman (a wonky metric that measures how many kids the average woman has) was just over 2. Now its about 1.6. And this is not an American phenomenon. The birth rate is declining across the world, from Germany to Japan to India. Many countries have tried to convince their citizens to have more babies. Those efforts have largely failed.But now there is a growing movement in the US that thinks it can buck the trend. They call themselves pronatalists. The group is ideologically mixed, but its loudest champions (see: Elon Musk and JD Vance) are conservative.Lyman Stone is one of the better-known pronatalist academics. Stone is a demographer and director of the Pronatalism Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies. Hes also a prolific poster on X. Its worth nothing that Stone is a conservative Christian, and that informs his work. His argument that the decline in marriage is behind the falling birth rate is heavily debated. But hes an influential figure in an influential movement. And I think he makes a compelling case that, even if you dont share his politics or religious beliefs, you should share his concern about the number of kids were not having. And so, when I was asked to host an episode of The Highlight Podcast, where Vox journalists shine a light on people doing interesting work, I gave Stone a call. Below are some selections from our conversation. Be sure to listen to the whole thing. Miles BryanTell me what you do, who you are, and why what youre doing matters.Lyman StoneIm a demographer. I research people changes in people and in population. In particular, my specialty is fertility. Pretty much everything in life ultimately touches on fertility. Theres no part of our society that is not in some sense affected by reproduction for the simple fact that were only ever one generation away from the end of society. If people decided not to have kids, thered be no future society. Its that simple. It is the central question of civilization.Miles BryanWhats the best argument you can make that people should care about [the falling birth rate]?Lyman StoneThere are so many reasons to want more people. One is that people are on the whole pretty good. You know, I love my wife. If my wife hadnt been born, I wouldnt be able to love her. Maybe I would love someone else just as much. Maybe. Or maybe a tiny bit less. Because none of the other people that Ive met in my life are people that I think I would love as much as her. Each additional person genuinely contributes something excellent and good to society. Now, occasionally you also get real duds. You get serial killers in the mix. But in general, people are good. I care a lot about progress and innovation. I want a society that continues to advance human flourishing in really profound, meaningful, and important ways. I dont want to just see marginal improvements in human life. I want my children to enjoy a vastly better life than I do. Innovation is actually a simple equation. It is population size times how many of those children had nutritional deficiencies in childhood? times What are the institutional and economic returns to risk taking? So basically, Im not a super smart person, okay? Im never going to invent a cure for cancer. I might write a paper someday that eight other academics think is cool. The people who are able to do really groundbreaking, innovative stuff that lifts humanity to a genuinely greater level of well-being are rare. They are very rare. If you have a bigger population, you literally get more of them. Now, beyond that, youve got to make sure those kids are cared for. It doesnt matter if the kid is born and theyre really capable and have a lot of potential but are malnourished and starving and stunted and dont have normal brain development. They get lead poisoning. Then theyre not going to be very productive. So thats that second thing: They need to have healthy environments. And then the third part is: Youve got to make sure that you dont live under communism where theyre punished for being creative and innovative and entrepreneurial. You need to have actual rewards for risk-taking, entrepreneurship, and innovation. In America we have plenty of rewards for that, some would argue too much. But regardless, the point is, each additional person, each human born into the world, is a roll of the dice. But this is actually a loaded dice. Usually you roll slightly above the historic average because life is getting better. Were getting richer and more prosperous and living longer and all these things. Usually you roll like a four. But every so often you roll a six. Every so often a child is born and they grow up in an environment where they can invent calculus or they can write the Constitution or they can do something of great benefit that lifts the tide for everybody. It really is the case that adding people to society does make us all more productive. It gives us more people to sell to, more people to buy from, more people to love, more people to have as friends, more people to exchange ideas with. It gives more people who actually generate the real fountainhead of all productivity, which is ideas.Miles BryanPeople are having fewer kids as the world gets wealthier and wealthier. Women have better leave options. People have more resources than they did 60 years ago. How do you account for that?Lyman StoneAt the median, were way better off. Who is the median person in America? Theyre like 42 years old or something. Okay. But how fertile are you when youre 42? Not very. Once you realize that young mens income is their main marriageable trait, then you have to ask: Well, what has happened to 20-something mens incomes over the last 30 years? And the answer is it has declined.Miles BryanFor the US and for other countries where weve seen this?Lyman StoneFor almost every country. And the reason is not that we became poorer as a society. Its because the need for more skills in our economy means peak income is coming later in life and theres this more steep trajectory.So youre poorer younger in life, you spend more years in school, you spend more years in internships and this kind of thing, and you hit peak income later and then you live much longer. And youre very wealthy for many of those later years. Okay. So overall, people are better off, theyre healthier, theyre wealthier, theyre more prosperous. All great stuff. Im all very in favor of being rich, happy and healthy. But the point is, if you want people to get married, make 25-year-old men rich. And I know that sounds so regressive. But Im not trying to do some gross incel thing here. Im not saying, Women just owe it to me. No, the men are bad marriage candidates! I understand why women are like, I dont want to marry that guy.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

The hundreds of billions of pounds of waste produced by Americas dairy cows every year has long been a headache for farmers. Manure is expensive to manage and, to state the obvious, it smells terrible, which can lead to complaints, protests, and lawsuits from neighbors even the occasional fine or misdemeanor charge. And when dairies store their manure in giant open-air lagoons, the most common and cheapest method, it becomes a climate problem: As the manure decomposes, it produces methane, a climate super pollutant that accelerates climate change at a much faster rate than carbon dioxide. But in recent years, a growing number of large dairy operations have managed to simultaneously turn their costly, burdensome manure into money, and their climate problem into a supposed climate solution.This is the first in a series of stories on how factory farming has shaped, and continues to impact, the US Midwest. You can visit Voxs Future Perfect section for future installments and more coverage of Big Ag. The stories in this series are supported by Animal Charity Evaluators, which received a grant from Builders Initiative.This alchemy relies on a machine called a biodigester, which usually comes in the form of a massive tank that holds manure, or as a seal that covers the lagoons where dairy farms store manure. As bacteria breaks down the manure and generates methane, biodigesters trap it and other gases to produce whats known as biogas. Like fossil fuel-derived natural gas, biogas can be used to fuel cars and trucks, generate electricity, or heat homes and businesses.The narrative that these simple machines can get rid of methane and turn manure into a climate solution, all while providing farmers a new revenue stream through the sale of the gas, has proven compelling across the political and corporate spectrum. A broad coalition of livestock groups, fossil fuel giants, agriculture and environment regulators, utility companies, Republicans and Democrats, and a handful of environmental groups has coalesced to hail manure biogas as a win-win, untapped source of renewable energy.Cows stand in a corral behind a digester at Van Beek Brothers Dairy in Tipton, California. Noah Berger/AP PhotoA manure biodigester at a dairy farm in Indiana. Mira Oberman/AFP via Getty ImagesCutting methane emissions, which account for 12 percent of US climate emissions, is a crucial component of the countrys efforts to slow down global warming. The Biden administration has designated manure biodigesters as a key part of its agricultural methane strategy. To harness biogass potential, a sprawling web of generous federal and state grants, tax credits, technical assistance programs, and loan guarantees have been developed to build out biodigester infrastructure. Theres also a federal program, along with numerous state programs and private markets, that issue valuable credits to dairy producers and energy companies for biogas.But while manure biodigesters do provide some benefit by trapping methane that would otherwise end up in the atmosphere and reducing farm odor to many in the environmental community, they represent an insidious form of greenwashing. A coalition of environmental, public health, and agriculture groups, with backing from some members of Congress, has formed to push back against the rise of biogas what they have renamed factory farm gas arguing that its win-win narrative is too good to be true. Biodigester critics say that, at best, the process is a costly and inefficient use of Americas precious climate funding. They often point to analyses by University of California, Berkeley agricultural economist Aaron Smith, who in 2023 estimated that it costs $1,130 per cow per year to build and operate a biodigester that generates just $128 worth of gas per cow. These things are really expensive the cost of constructing and operating biodigesters is 10 times the value of the gas that it produces, and so its a very inefficient way to produce gas, Smith told me. Theres no way that you would ever justify that on economic grounds, so the only way to justify it is if its really valuable to society to reduce those methane emissions, and stop them from escaping.Stopping that methane is valuable to society, but with manure biodigesters, the costs may outweigh the benefits.In a new report, anti-factory farming nonprofit Farm Forward found that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), President Joe Bidens landmark climate legislation, funneled over $150 million in subsidies to manure biogas projects in 2023 alone, primarily through grants under the US Department of Agricultures Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and valuable tax breaks. Hundreds of millions of additional IRA dollars could be dished out to manure biogas projects over the next few years, according to Farm Forward. After the passage of the IRA, the American Biogas Council welcomed its potential to fuel growth of the biogas and clean energy industries for years to come. Hundreds of millions of dollars have also been granted by California, which has the most extensive biogas program in the US.At worst, critics say, manure biogas further enriches, entrenches, and expands a brutal factory farm system by incentivizing dairy farms to grow herd sizes in order to produce more manure and thus receive more lucrative federal and state credits from the gas that these cash cows generate. Thats at odds with the consensus among climate scientists, who warn that rich countries like the US must drastically reduce livestock populations particularly cattle to meet global warming targets. A rotary milking parlour at a dairy farm in California. Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesDairy cattle at T-Bar Dairy Farm in Porterville, California. David Swanson/AFP via Getty ImagesIt has also created a new revenue stream for oil and gas giants, such as Chevron, BP, and Shell, who have invested in biogas projects and sell it under the guise of renewable energy. Biogas may seem renewable on its face; so long as people consume dairy, cows will keep generating manure. But this marketing sleight of hand belies two fundamental aspects of US dairy production. The first is that cow manure on its own doesnt naturally contain methane; rather, the way that large dairy operations store manure produces the potent greenhouse gas, despite low-methane alternative storage methods. Second, the US has long had an oversupply of milk; we could meet dairy demand with fewer methane-generating cows.Our sense is that the IRA is being perverted to entrench Big Oil and Big Ag that the incentives of the IRA are doing real harm, both, I think, for the climate movement and certainly for efforts to reform and transform industrial animal farming towards more sustainable, humane forms of agriculture, said Andrew deCoriolis, executive director of Farm Forward.Over the next decade, greenhouse gas emissions are expected to decline in every sector except agriculture, where emissions are projected to slightly increase. Instead of incentivizing farmers to grow more climate-friendly foods or finally regulating farm pollution, as some other countries have begun to do, US policymakers using funds from the IRA and elsewhere have doubled down on throwing money at technologies like manure biodigesters. They provide some modest albeit expensive short-term environmental benefits, but at the cost of further locking us into the animal factory farming model.Its this perpetual mill of handouts, said Tyler Lobdell, staff attorney with the nonprofit Food & Water Watch, and all of these decisions were making today are going to make it so much harder to stop that gravy train down the road.How California sparked a brown rushAmericas first biodigester was installed on a Minnesota pig farm in 1976, and it remained a niche technology for decades. But everything changed around 2018, which marked the start of the biogas brown rush, as its sometimes called. That year, biogas became incredibly valuable thanks to Californias Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), a program that requires gasoline and diesel companies that operate in the state to lower the carbon intensity of their transportation fuels. Heres how the program works: California sets a target to reduce the average carbon intensity for transportation fuels used in the state, and because gasoline and diesel are so carbon-intensive, the companies that import and sell them rack up carbon deficits. If you are a company making an alternative fuel with a lower carbon score compared to conventional gas and diesel like a solar power producer, or a dairy farm with a biodigester you can earn credits and sell them for a profit to the fuel companies that need to reduce their carbon intensity under Californias law. Some of the cost is passed onto consumers at the pump. Each type of fuel is assigned its own carbon intensity score, and the lower the score, the more credits a company can earn from producing that fuel. Before 2018, manure biogass value was relatively low in the LCFS program, so few dairies participated because it wasnt worth the cost of installing and operating a biodigester. But then California updated how it calculates manure biogass carbon intensity by considering it a source of avoided methane methane that otherwise wouldve escaped into the atmosphere and warmed the planet. The carbon intensity score of the main fuels in Californias Low Carbon Fuel Standard program. Manure biogas has far and away the lowest score. California Air Resources BoardWhile its technically true that manure biodigesters are diverting methane from the atmosphere into gas tanks, considering it a form of avoided methane rests on a faulty premise. Thats because cow manure doesnt inherently contain methane. Rather, most large dairies store manure in lagoons the cheapest form of manure management which produces methane. Dairies with biodigesters arent sucking greenhouse gases out of the air, like carbon dioxide removal projects; theyre generating new methane they didnt need to generate in the first place and then trapping it. But Californias decision to count manure biogas as avoided methane made it far and away the most valuable alternative fuel in the program, with an average carbon intensity score of around -300 much lower than even electricity derived from solar or wind power, which has a carbon intensity score of zero. Diesel is around 100.That policy decision is what opened the manure gold rush floodgates, Lobdell said.From 2020 to 2024, the number of manure biodigesters nationwide nearly doubled from 175 to 343. While most biodigesters have been built in California because its the top dairy-producing state, the credits can be earned by farmers and energy companies in any state and sold to fuel companies operating in California, with many built in dairy-rich Texas and across the Midwest. According to some energy wonks, this unleashing of manure biogas has come at the expense of faster vehicle electrification. Biogas accounts for less than 1 percent of energy used in Californias transportation fuels, but has earned 20 percent of LCFS credits, requiring significant amounts of capital that might have otherwise gone toward electrification projects, such as EV charging stations.Jim Duffy, who formerly managed the LCFS program at the California Air Resources Board (CARB), has lambasted the dairy sectors preferential treatment: No other industry is treated as if their methane pollution is naturally part of the baseline and then lavished with large financial incentives for simply reducing their own pollution. For example, similar to dairy manure lagoons, garbage landfills generate methane, but capturing that methane isnt considered a form of avoided methane and is valued at a fraction of manure biogas. Last month, a group of environmental justice organizations, including Food & Water Watch, sued CARB, arguing it had failed to analyze the impact that incentivizing manure biogas, and the resulting expansion of dairy farms that benefit from the credits, would have on the environment and public health of nearby communities.This concern that by making manure so valuable California is incentivizing big dairy farms to get even bigger is at the heart of anti-factory farming advocates critique of manure biogas. In the Central Valley, we live near 90 percent of cows in California and some of the largest dairy operations in the entire world, Mara Arvalo of Defensores del Valle Central para el Aire y Agua Limpio, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, wrote in a press release. We raise time and time again that the conditions and impacts in our communities are getting worse as dairies are getting bigger and dairy digesters are installed.Some small-scale analyses bear this out. According to an analysis by Friends of the Earth and the Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, dairy farms with biodigesters in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, increased their herd sizes to generate more profit more cows, more manure, more valuable carbon credits (Disclosure: Last year, my partner worked with Friends of the Earth on a short-term consulting project unrelated to biogas.) Based on an analysis from Iowa newspaper The Gazette, the same has occurred in Iowa, and Inside Climate News found that over 20 California dairies in various stages of biodigester development have sought approval to increase herd size.According to Smith, Californias total dairy cow population didnt increase in the years after the 2018 decision. However, the states herd sizes had been declining for years; the dairy biodigester boom may have just helped stave off further decline. A large dairy in Californias Central Valley. The region is home to most of the states dairy cattle and manure biodigesters. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesIts worth noting that dairy cow manure accounts for just 4.4 percent of US methane emissions. Another 6.4 percent come from dairy cows burps, which biodigesters do not trap. (The rest of US methane primarily stems from beef cattle, fossil fuels, and landfills.) So if some dairy producers are growing their herd sizes to generate more biogas, they could inadvertently be worsening the problem by increasing methane emissions from cow burps.Patrick Serfass, executive director of the trade group American Biogas Council, dismissed the argument that biodigesters incentivize farms to get bigger: I dont think anyones shown causation, he told me. I think there might be some correlation.Its also possible that some farms get bigger due to biogas incentives and cause smaller operations, which cant compete with them on price, to shutter. If thats the case, it would exacerbate a long-running trend of consolidation in the dairy sector one that the Biden administration has otherwise sought to stop. Further consolidation would also mean more concentrated pollution in rural communities, pitting both Californias and the Biden administrations methane goals against their environmental justice initiatives. CARB declined an interview request for this story and declined to comment on the pending lawsuit. Over email, a spokesperson said that the LCFS is a successful policy tool among Californias portfolio of innovative measures to address climate pollution and improve air.At the end of 2021, one cow could earn about $2,600 per year on average in combined credits from Californias program and a federal program, a form of double dipping common in manure biogas projects, while one cows milk was worth about $4,500 per year. That was the industry average but some farmers said their manure was about as valuable, or even more valuable, than their milk a fact that could have encouraged some to grow their herds. Over the last few years, however, the value of Californias carbon credits has crashed due to manure biogas and other alternative fuels flooding the market. Today, due to falling LCFS credit value, biogas credits from one cow are worth closer to $1,600 annually.But this past November, California increased the carbon reduction requirement for transportation fuel providers, a decision expected to both raise the value of the programs credits and make conventional fuel providers more reliant on alternative fuels like manure biogas.Meanwhile, some dairy researchers believe the industrys future lies in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions, partly as a result of climate change the region has a temperate climate and abundant freshwater, unlike drought-prone California. Midwest states are also actively luring California dairy farmers to their region with promises of fewer regulations.The region could be key to the future of the biogas industry as well. In recent years, dozens of new manure biodigesters have been built in the Midwest, and numerous state legislatures there have introduced pro-biogas bills. They want a new market, said Trevor McCarty, a policy fellow at Farm Forward. The brown rush appears to be slowly moving eastward.The brown rush moves eastwardOver the last few years, the pro-biogas coalition of policymakers, regulators, fossil fuel giants, and agribusiness have been busy building that new market. The Midwest, with its ample dairy and pig populations and ag-friendly state legislatures, is primed to highly value biogas like California and impose few regulations on the industry. In 2021, Iowa passed a bill that lifts the cap on the number of animals a farm can house if it has a biodigester, which directly led to increased herd sizes. In 2023, the EPA co-hosted a conference in the state sponsored in part by Chevron to boost curiosity about anaerobic digestions potential in the region. A large dairy in Cass County, Iowa. Xinhua/Wang Ying via Getty ImagesAn analysis by Investigate Midwest found that in 2022 and 2023, far more federal rural clean energy funding in Wisconsin went toward biogas projects than installing solar panels on farms or making energy efficiency upgrades, bucking the programs national spending ratios, in which most spending goes to solar projects. Now, the energy and agriculture industries are pushing for a slate of pro-biogas bills in Michigan, paving the way for an expanded manure biogas sector in the state, according to Farm Forward.Its a sort of two-prong approach, McCarty told me. On one end, the two industries are lobbying for a Michigan Senate bill that would set up a transportation fuel program similar to Californias, which McCarty said will be very lucrative for [industrys] own interests. On the other end, the Michigan Farm Bureau, an agriculture lobby group, supports a pair of bills in the states House that would exempt digestate the solid manure thats left over from biogas production, which poses water pollution risks from key regulations. None of the bills passed in Michigans most recent legislative session, which just ended. The new session begins in a few days. Itll be something that well look to continue to iterate on and reintroduce again next year, Jane McCurry, executive director of Clean Fuels Michigan a trade group that advocates for alternative transportation fuels said about the bill to set up a Michigan transportation fuel program. Many Michigan environmental groups dont want manure biogas in the program. Asked if Clean Fuels Michigan would consider advocating for cutting it, McCurry said, Were really committed to continuing to iterate on this policy. Were very much open to continuing to find that middle ground and compromise. Cheryl Ruble, a former physician and volunteer advocate with Michiganders for a Just Food System, which has lobbied against the bills, said the fight over biogas in the proposed clean fuel standard has been difficult. The industry has done a very, very good job on the marketing end, Ruble told me. Were fighting an excellent and well-financed, well-funded marketing campaign. Were also fighting a lot of deep pockets: Big Energy, Big Ag, Big Waste, Big Utility, Big Finance. The seemingly win-win narrative of manure biogas has been appealing to both political parties: Democrats introduced the clean fuel standard bill, while a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the deregulatory bills. A number of other states are also considering similar programs, including leading dairy states New York and Minnesota. Earlier this year, New Mexico another top dairy state passed legislation to build such a program, but its not yet decided how it will value manure biogas. Despite the Michigan bills failing to move this legislative session, some biogas projects have managed to find resources in Michigans state coffers. In October, the state-run Michigan Strategic Fund awarded Chevron and biogas developer BerQ RNG tax-exempt bonds, valued at $100 million and $235 million, respectively, to finance manure biogas projects under the banner of supporting small businesses. Wisconsin, Iowa, and other states have issued similar tax-exempt bonds, which deprive the states of millions of dollars in tax revenue.On top of state-level programs, there are some two dozen federal programs across the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Treasury, and Environmental Protection available to farmers and energy companies to build biodigesters. The Treasury Department is also weighing whether electricity producers that use manure biogas can receive clean energy tax credits. But increased scrutiny over manure biodigesters, and the potential for the incoming Trump administration to rein in climate spending, has put some of the optimism about biogas into question. Better than biogasDespite the shortcomings of Californias decision to value manure biogas so highly, there was some logic however flawed to the decision. In 2015, California passed a law to significantly reduce methane emissions by 2030, and a lot of the states emissions come from livestock due to its big dairy industry. There was already some biodigester infrastructure built in the state, so building out more was an immediately viable option that already had buy-in from the industry. According to the state, by 2019 Californias dairy biodigester program was cutting one-quarter of its dairy methane emissions each year, the equivalent of taking nearly half a million cars off the road. But if we would completely shake the Etch-A-Sketch and start over, I wouldnt prioritize anaerobic digesters on dairy farms as being where I would want to invest a lot of money, Smith said. I would want to have a lot of research and development into better and more efficient ways to handle manure so as to reduce methane emissions.According to an analysis by the Breakthrough Institute, an environmental think tank, federal R&D funding to reduce emissions from livestock manure received $4 million a year from 2017 to 2021 thats only 3 percent of total agricultural climate mitigation R&D funding despite manure accounting for 13 percent of agricultural emissions.Serfass, from the American Biogas Council, said that given Americas need to reduce methane as quickly as possible, biodigesters are worth it: I would submit that theres a very sound scientific argument that spending money near-term on reducing methane emissions in the near term has a very, very high value, therefore it might be worth paying a little bit more on a known solution like biodigesters.Lobdell, with Food & Water Watch, doesnt dispute the urgency of Americas methane problem, but argues that incentivizing manure biogas lacks foresight: The last thing we should do is rush into short-term supposed solutions that are very predictably locking in long-term, durable problems. Thats bad policy.One set of possibilities for curbing livestock emissions include feed additives, such as Bovaer a product that when fed to dairy cows daily can reduce methane from their burps by around 30 percent which are much more cost-effective in reducing methane than manure biodigesters. It shows promise, but questions remain about who will pay for it and whether it could also create perverse incentives like biogas.The government could also simply pay dairy farmers to raise fewer cows, which some environmental groups say would be cheaper than funding biodigesters and offer the surest way to reduce both climate and localized pollution. Dairy prices and demand are already somewhat artificial; by one estimate, 45 percent of dairy production is subsidized by the US government. The Netherlands has begun paying farmers to stop raising pigs and other livestock to reduce the nations nitrogen pollution. Alternatively, Denmark is funding a slate of policies to incentivize farmers to grow more plant-based foods, which have much smaller environmental footprints when compared to animal-based foods. The country will also modestly tax livestock emissions starting in 2030.The simplest solution would be to make the dairy industry reduce its methane however it sees fit, at its own expense, rather than rely on increasing infusions of taxpayer dollars to solve a problem of its own making. Manure management systems in which the manure is stacked in outdoor mounds and exposed to oxygen as opposed to the poop lagoon systems used by most commercial dairies largely avoid releasing methane. There are dairies right now who do not have this manure methane problem, Lobdell said about farms that use these dry management systems.Despite all the good arguments against biogas, for the industry, theres no limit to its growth potential. By the American Biogas Councils count, there are currently 53 manure biogas operations in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa, but theres potential for another 1,900 or so, and an additional tens of thousands across the country. One major biogas company said it plans to spread like an amoeba.The whole roadmap here is never to just pollute less, Lobdell said. The long-term road map here is digesters at every mega dairy, producing as much methane as possible for use in other sectors.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. 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