Vox: All Posts by Sam Ellishttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52517/voxv.png2023-04-27T13:37:20-04:00https://www.vox.com/authors/sam-ellis/rss2023-04-27T13:37:20-04:002023-04-27T13:37:20-04:00How to fix clean energy’s storage problem
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Ypgf-PTY1o3lnTAQir308btCsJU=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72223832/THUMB_CLEAN.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>We can’t truly switch to renewable energy without a breakthrough.</p> <p id="SMtLYA">In the past few decades, solar and wind energy have made remarkable progress; they’re now satisfying significant portions of our energy demand. But there’s a problem holding us back from relying on them even more: They can’t be stored very well. </p>
<p id="rMWyzN">Solar energy is only generated while the sun is up, and wind energy while the wind is blowing. But our power grids are designed to respond to demand whenever it occurs. Even suddenly, as is the case with storms and heat waves. </p>
<p id="g8As7Y">When solar and wind are not available and demand spikes, power companies need to burn fossil fuels — particularly natural gas, because it can be stored easily. If we want a power grid that relies solely on solar and wind energy, we’ll need to come up with ways to store them. Luckily, experts and engineers worldwide are coming up with some genius plans. </p>
<p id="nd1H15">Watch the video above to learn more about how we might be able to store solar and wind energy and, finally, transition away from fossil fuels. </p>
<p id="QQVMXf">You can find this video and the entire library of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA"><strong>Vox’s videos on YouTube</strong></a>.</p>
https://www.vox.com/videos/2023/4/27/23700767/clean-energy-storage-solution-green-batteriesSam Ellis2023-03-24T13:43:03-04:002023-03-24T13:43:03-04:00How Western weapons transformed the war in Ukraine
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yd_O40FBsb_giLuvjE_Xte2B7LA=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72111156/VDC_ATL_669_THUMB_SYN.0.jpeg" />
</figure>
<p>And how the US influences which weapons Ukraine gets and which ones it doesn’t.</p> <p id="VjXozE">When Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, the US was hesitant to send more than supplies to the Ukrainian army. But when Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022, the US changed its tune. </p>
<div class="c-float-right"><div id="mfyn0v"><div data-anthem-component="aside:11830992"></div></div></div>
<p id="YX5qbA">President Joe Biden quickly began approving huge packages of weapons to help Ukraine stymie the Russian attack. And for the first couple of weeks, it worked. The Ukrainian army used weapons from the US and its Western allies to stop Russia from capturing Kiev. </p>
<p id="TgNh52">As the war progressed, so did US help. It sent heavy artillery in the spring, and then sent tanks in winter 2023. But each time, it deliberated over whether Ukraine can effectively use what was being sent, and whether the new weapons would provoke Russia to escalate the conflict.</p>
<p id="xScv1x">So far, that hasn’t happened, and the US and its allies are <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/28/pentagon-send-f-16s-ukraine-00080045">now considering</a> sending Ukraine long-range missiles and F-16 fighter jets. Both would be <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/03/06/ukraine-is-building-up-its-forces-for-an-offensive">game changers for Ukraine</a>. </p>
<p id="YuMsSq">You can find this video and the entire library of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA"><strong>Vox’s videos on YouTube</strong></a>.</p>
https://www.vox.com/videos/2023/3/24/23655187/ukraine-weapons-us-europe-artillerySam Ellis2023-02-07T14:47:56-05:002023-02-07T14:47:56-05:00Why China is losing the microchip war
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/l5eStjGGKr3zrKcxFb4sbxV3PeU=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71950458/VDC_ATL_668_THUMB_SYN.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>And why the US and China are fighting over silicon in the first place.</p> <p id="847FKY">In October 2022, the Biden administration placed a large-scale ban on the sale of <a href="https://cset.georgetown.edu/article/engineer-who-fled-charges-of-stealing-chip-technology-in-us-now-thrives-in-china/">advanced semiconductor chips</a> to China. They also implemented a series of other rules that prevents China from making these chips on their own. The chips are used in everyday technology, like our mobile phones and computers. But they’re also crucial to military and intelligence systems, which is one of the main reasons they’re at the center of a feud between the United States and China. </p>
<p id="9vlWZ4">Microchips <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Chip-War-Worlds-Critical-Technology/dp/1982172002">were first invented</a> in the US in the 1950s, after which their use rapidly expanded worldwide. Since then, <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2022/05/east-asian-firms-are-critical-to-americas-semiconductor-success/">the supply chain</a> for these chips has grown and spread to include countries in Europe and Asia. And while some countries have caught up to the US’s edge in making these advanced chips, China still falls far behind despite multiple attempts to gain an advantage.</p>
<p id="2OT9GW">Watch the latest episode of Vox Atlas to understand why China is losing this Cold War with the US over microchips. </p>
<p id="Hs32DV">You can find this video and all of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA"><strong>Vox’s videos on YouTube</strong></a>.</p>
https://www.vox.com/videos/2023/2/7/23589664/china-us-microchip-feudSam Ellis2022-12-09T17:27:38-05:002022-12-09T17:27:38-05:00How FIFA corruputed the World Cup
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/c36ADLadqakfhB58kiZ9NYEUWTQ=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71732494/VDC_ATL_666_THUMB_CLEAN.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>And how Russia and Qatar took advantage of it. </p> <p id="6jNe5B">On December 2, 2010, FIFA announced the 2022 World Cup would take place in a surprising country, Qatar. At that same meeting, they also announced that the 2018 World Cup would take place in Russia. These selections set off a new chapter in FIFA’s history, one where the public would have a greater sense of how bribery and corruption play a huge role in who gets to host this international sporting event. </p>
<p id="x4K1M4">The last 14 World Cup locations were decided by a group of 24 powerful men within FIFA called the executive committee. Their votes meant a lot to bidding nations and allegations on bidders bribing members of the committee lingered for decades. These allegations reached a new level when criminal investigations were launched nearly five years after that FIFA announcement. The fallout of these investigations nearly broke FIFA and tainted the World Cup. </p>
<p id="IrVrwI">Watch the latest episode of Vox Atlas to understand how FIFA corrupted the World Cup host selection process.</p>
<aside id="u9cUoA"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"How Qatar built stadiums with forced labor ","url":"https://www.vox.com/videos/23488387/qatar-fifa-world-cup-kafala-system-migrant-forced-labor"}]}'></div></aside><p id="lFiNQJ">You can find this video and all of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA"><strong>Vox’s videos on YouTube</strong></a>.</p>
https://www.vox.com/videos/2022/12/9/23502398/fifa-corruput-world-cup-footballSam Ellis2022-09-16T15:22:05-04:002022-09-16T15:22:05-04:00How Ukraine got the upper hand against Russia
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Mp3UNIrECUWDYW8QrqUJRS4Tymc=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71377787/UkraineOffensive_Thumb_Clean.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>Ukraine’s breakthrough counterattack, explained.</p> <p id="tsGRe7">In the spring and summer of 2022, the war between Ukraine and Russia settled into a stalemate. The first phase of the war had been a rapid invasion that drew new battle lines <a href="https://www.nzz.ch/english/interactive-map-how-the-ukraine-war-is-developing-day-by-day-ld.1688087">across Ukraine</a>; the next phase saw those battle lines harden and change very little over a long period of fighting. But in September, <a href="https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-september-15">that chapter came to an end</a>. For the first time in several months, Ukraine scored a major victory and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/world/europe/ukraine-maps.html">won back significant territory </a>from Russia.</p>
<p id="istfYk">Ukraine pulled off this victory by taking advantage of a surprising weakness in the Russian army: the difficulty it has had maintaining its ranks of skilled soldiers, especially compared to the training and resources Ukraine’s army has received from its allies. Reports suggest that Russia’s army has suffered catastrophic losses in the war and that it has attempted to replace those more highly trained forces with large numbers of mercenaries, prisoners, and men over 40. It’s an army that was stretched thin and vulnerable to the multi-pronged attack Ukraine launched in September.</p>
<div class="c-float-right"><div id="YhAVRV"><div data-anthem-component="aside:11512171"></div></div></div>
<p id="WQ5dF5">Russia still controls a large amount of territory in southern Ukraine, including two major cities. But Ukraine’s victory outside of Kharkiv signals a new chapter in the war — one where, remarkably, Ukraine seems to have a shot at driving out the Russians completely. </p>
<p id="p5sgHQ">Watch the video to learn more about why this attack worked and why it matters so much.</p>
<p id="KMN4Lh">You can find this video and more <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA"><strong>on Vox’s YouTube Channel</strong></a>.</p>
https://www.vox.com/videos/2022/9/16/23356713/ukraine-counterattack-kharkiv-russia-war-offensiveSam Ellis2022-09-07T12:59:00-04:002022-09-07T12:59:00-04:00The real reason Egypt is moving its capital
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wv8hbKYeccom_W2CdOcxeBTrs2I=/171x0:1611x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71334409/THUMB_clean.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>Cairo isn’t the problem.</p> <p id="s51QZ4">In 2015, Egypt’s government announced it would <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/7/5/why-is-egypt-building-a-new-capital">build a new capital city</a>, about 45 kilometers outside of Cairo, the current capital. It was a shocking announcement since Cairo, a city of more than 20 million people, has been the capital of Egypt for decades.</p>
<p id="843xo1">The government claims that Cairo has become <a href="https://lsecities.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Final-Developing-Urban-Futures-Urban-Age-conference-newspaper.pdf">too overcrowded</a> and that moving the capital will give both Cairo’s residents and government workers more space. But this excuse is not new. For decades, Egypt’s rulers <a href="https://cairobserver.com/post/114391196879/nasr-city-was-once-egypts-new-capital-but-things#.YxdfIezMLUY">have been building</a> brand new cities in the desert. None of them have solved Cairo’s density issue. And based on how construction is going, this new capital <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/84504">won’t be a solution either</a>. </p>
<p id="vvkCIG">So, why does Egypt want a new capital? Well, it has a lot to do with the political revolution in 2011. </p>
<p id="UlsuNk">Watch this episode of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ8cMiYb3G5e4MOmzf-piIWQb4INRW18g"><em>Vox Atlas</em></a> to understand the real reason behind Egypt’s giant new capital city. </p>
<p id="RUkuoS">You can find this video and more <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA">on Vox’s YouTube Channel</a>.</p>
https://www.vox.com/videos/2022/9/7/23341064/egypt-government-capital-new-city-el-sisiSam Ellis2022-07-29T10:40:00-04:002022-07-29T10:40:00-04:00This high-speed rail project is a warning for the US
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/G4vtl3PB1SjTGh_p90YCElHze_U=/0x0:1440x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71187176/Thumb_Clean.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>California’s “train to nowhere” shows the challenges ahead.</p> <p id="09WYat">In 2008, voters in California passed Proposition 1A, giving the state the go-ahead to build a high-speed rail line. In theory, it was a great idea. The train would whisk passengers between San Francisco and Los Angeles in less than three hours. Eventually it would also link San Diego and Sacramento. It was estimated that it would take until 2020 to complete. </p>
<p id="wTxljp">But now it’s 2022, and so far <a href="https://hsr.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2022-Business-Plan-FINAL-A11Y.pdf">California’s high-speed rail line</a> is just a few concrete bridges and viaducts strewn across the rural Central Valley. Much of the plan had to be changed, redesigned, or abandoned altogether. Now the project is decades late and way over budget. And that isn’t just <a href="https://hsr.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/docs/programs/eir-eis/State_Wide_EIR_EIS_Volume_1_Part_1_of_3.pdf">California’s problem</a>. Because among the many factors that plagued the project, several are <a href="http://www.ethanelkind.com/the-perils-of-rail-transit-and-democracy/">baked into the power structure of the US itself</a>.</p>
<p id="GYt1OZ">Watch the video to understand just how difficult the US makes it to build infrastructure like California’s high-speed rail line. </p>
<p id="BMOLu9">You can find the entire library of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA"><strong>Vox’s videos on our YouTube channel</strong></a>.</p>
https://www.vox.com/videos/2022/7/29/23283654/california-high-speed-rail-palmdale-warningSam Ellis2022-07-07T12:50:00-04:002022-07-07T12:50:00-04:00How the “lost cities” of the Amazon were finally found
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/y5U6hf8OH_oN_0CGOhX03agaoSM=/248x0:1688x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71058856/thumb_clean.0.jpeg" />
</figure>
<p>And why they were so hard to see.</p> <p id="hHCd93">The Amazon has always been one of the most mysterious places on earth. </p>
<p id="opDvz5">When European colonizers arrived in the 16th century, they were captivated by rumors of a golden city, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidanderson/2019/04/30/the-lore-of-lost-cities-imagining-the-lost-city-of-z/?sh=2114a4fc4862">hidden somewhere in the rainforest</a>. Their search for “El Dorado” lasted more than a century, but only resulted in disaster, death, and further conquest of the Indigenous peoples there. </p>
<p id="mpEYM4">Experts thereafter looked at the Amazon and saw only a desolate jungle; too harsh for extensive agriculture, and therefore sparsely populated. They believed that it had always been that way. </p>
<p id="GYOZEZ">Until recently. </p>
<p id="YoxHio">Beginning in the late 20th century, archaeologists <a href="https://anthro.ufl.edu/2013/09/29/heckenberger/">began looking more closely at the forest floor</a>. Working with the Indigenous people who still <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04780-4">remained there</a>, they excavated long <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/geoglyph-sites-of-acre-brazil-10-000yearold-landuse-practices-and-climate-change-in-amazonia/6E74670EB776FB3DE3EE426A87847C33">ditches and mounds</a>. After mapping them, they could see that these were the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/world/americas/land-carvings-attest-to-amazons-lost-world.html">markings</a> of large settlements; walls, moats, plazas, and roads that connected to even more settlements. </p>
<p id="b36BDd">And they were all over the Amazon. </p>
<p id="fnO39k">This video is part of Vox’s series Atlas, in which we explain how foreign policy shapes a region. <a href="http://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ8cMiYb3G5e4MOmzf-piIWQb4INRW18g">Watch more of Atlas in a playlist here</a>.</p>
<p id="s8p3Cd">You can find the entire library of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA">Vox’s videos on our YouTube channel</a>.</p>
https://www.vox.com/2022/7/7/23198540/lost-cities-amazon-rainforest-archaeologySam Ellis2022-05-13T11:58:43-04:002022-05-13T11:58:43-04:00The world’s biggest wave, explained
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2JGZot0OwuLwtB8w4tFP-trBQjk=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70865648/THUMB_CLEAN.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>And how it has transformed a Portuguese town. </p> <p id="qXat34">For centuries, Nazaré, Portugal, was just a small village known for its fishing and dangerous seas. Then, one day in 2011, professional surfer Garrett McNamara hopped on a surfboard and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/aug/02/nazare-in-portugal-is-the-home-to-the-worlds-biggest-waves-and-bravest-surfers">rode a 78-foot wave</a> right off its coast. It was a new world record for big wave surfing and the moment that changed Nazaré forever. </p>
<p id="1uAIch">Now, Nazaré is known around the world as the capital of <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/epic-quest-ride-worlds-biggest-wave-180969351/">big wave surfing</a>. It’s where five of the six biggest waves ever surfed happened. The secret to Nazaré’s giant waves lies under the surface, where a huge <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/01/31/170753700/portugals-monster-the-mechanics-of-a-massive-wave">underwater canyon funnels swells</a> right up to its cliffs, then launches that energy straight up, sometimes 60, 70, or 80 feet in the air. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/22/sports/biggest-wave-surfed-nazare-maya-gabeira.html#:~:text=In%202011%2C%20McNamara%20surfed%20a,and%20set%20a%20world%20record.">Many</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/11/world/europe/nazare-portugal-surfing-big-waves.html">surfers</a> are here in the hope of catching a 100-foot wave and making big wave surfing history.</p>
<p id="HwHksf">You can find the entire library of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA"><strong>Vox’s videos on our YouTube channel</strong></a>. </p>
https://www.vox.com/23070623/big-wave-surfing-nazare-portugal-world-recordSam Ellis2022-03-11T18:50:00-05:002022-03-11T18:50:00-05:00How a no-fly zone would change the war in Ukraine
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/PKhOWhKuE_Z7wSz7JyJ8hCT62OY=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70611411/THUMB_CLEAN.0.jpg" />
</figure>
<p>The battle for Ukraine’s skies has enormous stakes.</p> <p id="6ohec8">The Russian air force is huge. Ukraine’s is not. And yet, more than two weeks into Russia’s war in Ukraine, one of the biggest surprises was that Russia had not yet achieved control of the skies over Ukraine, or what’s called “air superiority.” When a military has air superiority, its planes can attack the enemy much more easily and its ground troops can advance much faster. If, or when, Russia achieves air superiority, it will have gained a major advantage in the war.</p>
<p id="gBIcSK">To prevent or slow that outcome, Ukraine’s allies in the West are working to deny Russia air superiority, mostly by sending weapons that can be used to shoot down planes. But Ukraine itself has asked for a more drastic step: the declaration of a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which would prohibit Russian planes from the airspace. But a no-fly zone is complicated, because to be effective, it has to be enforced. And the consequences of how that enforcement would play out could bring the war to places that were once unthinkable.</p>
<div id="ub0UId">
<div data-analytics-viewport="video" data-analytics-action="volume:view:article:middle" data-analytics-label="Putin's war on Ukraine, explained|105989" data-volume-uuid="3969b849d" data-volume-id="105989" data-analytics-placement="article:middle" data-volume-placement="article" data-volume-autoplay="false" id="volume-placement-955" class="volume-video"></div>
<div class="caption">Putin’s war on Ukraine, explained</div>
</div>
<p id="MEvMQ6">For more videos on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ8cMiYb3G5eZQK-3tCqQCWV49C1M6aKh">our playlist here</a>. And you can find this video and all of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA">Vox’s videos on YouTube</a>.</p>
https://www.vox.com/videos/2022/3/11/22973482/ukraine-war-no-fly-zone-limitedSam Ellis