BenjaminHCCarr

BenjaminHCCarr, 27 days ago to GPS

#SolarStorm Knocks Out #Farmers' #Tractor #GPS Systems During Peak Planting Season
The accuracy of some critical GPS navigation systems used in modern #farming have been "extremely compromised," a #JohnDeere dealership told customers Saturday. https://www.404media.co/solar-storm-knocks-out-tractor-gps-systems-during-peak-planting-season/ #aurora #sun #CME

BenjaminHCCarr, 27 days ago to microsoft

Grist reports on "an internal, employee-led effort to raise ethical concerns about #Microsoft's work helping #oil and #gas producers boost their profits by providing them with cloud computing resources and AI software tools." There's been some disappointments — but also some successes, with an internal #sustainability group growing 10,000 employees
Inside the worker-led effort to get the world's most valuable company to stop helping the #fossilfuel industry drill. https://grist.org/accountability/microsoft-employees-spent-years-fighting-the-tech-giants-oil-ties-now-theyre-speaking-out/

BenjaminHCCarr, 28 days ago to random

#Nestle #baby foods loaded with unhealthy #sugars—but only in poorer countries
In high-income countries, Nestlé brand #babyfoods have no added sugars them, in line with recommendations from major health organizations around the world and consumer pressure. But in low- and middle-income countries, Nestlé adds #sugar to those same baby products, sometimes at high levels, which could lead children to prefer sugary diets and unhealthy eating habits https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/04/nestle-baby-foods-loaded-with-unhealthy-sugars-but-only-in-poorer-countries/
Hook them young...

BenjaminHCCarr, 30 days ago to ocean

The deep #ocean #photographer that captured a 'living fossil'
The youngest known #fossil #coelacanth is 66 million years old, leading to the assumption that these animals were long extinct. Then, in 1938, a #fish with iridescent blue-green scales and four limb-like fins, was caught in a trawl net off the coast of South Africa. This #coelacanth was dubbed a #livingfossil
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240507-the-deep-ocean-photographer-that-captured-a-living-fossil

BenjaminHCCarr, 30 days ago to random

No one has seen the data behind #Tyson’s “climate friendly beef”
Tyson—one of “big four” #meatpackers—applied to #USDA, seeking a “climate friendly” label for its Brazen Beef. #BrazenBeef claims a “10% #greenhousegas reduction.”
“There are lots of misleading claims on food, but it’s hard to imagine a claim that’s more misleading than ‘climate friendly’ beef,” said #EWG
Millions of taxpayer dollars flow to #livestock companies raising "low carbon" #beef. https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/05/no-one-has-seen-the-data-behind-tysons-climate-friendly-beef-claim/

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to climate

#ClimateChange: World's #oceans suffer from record-breaking year of heat
50 days have smashed existing highs for the time of year by the largest margin in the satellite era. Planet-warming gases are mostly to blame, but the natural weather event #ElNinno has also helped warm the seas. Recent months have brought no respite, with the sea surface (#SST) reaching a new global average daily high of 21.09C in Feb and March this year, according to Copernicus data.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68921215 #climatecrisis

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to random

#Cicadas rising: A visual guide to #2024’s rare dual appearance
The cicadas are coming. This year is unique, because there are two #broods that are arriving at the same time in the midwestern and southeastern #UnitedStates. Usually it’s just one at a time. CNN has a visual guide for where the cicadas will be and why they’re here now. Basically, one brood emerges every 13 years and the other every 17, and there’s overlap.
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2024/04/us/periodical-cicada-2024-visual-guide-scn-dg/

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to climate

#ClimateCrisis: average world #incomes to diminish by nearly a fifth by 2050
Cost of environmental damage will be six times higher than price of limiting #globalheating to 2C, study finds
Average incomes will fall by almost a fifth within the next 26 years as a result of #climatechange, according to a study that predicts the costs of damage will be six times higher than the price of limiting global heating to 2C.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/17/climate-crisis-average-world-incomes-to-drop-by-nearly-a-fifth-by-2050

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to China

#FBI says #China's hackers preparing to attack #US infrastructure
Chinese government-linked hackers have burrowed into US #criticalinfrastructure and are waiting "for just the right moment to deal a devastating blow," FBI Director Christopher Wray said. An ongoing Chinese hacking campaign known as #VoltTyphoon has successfully gained access to numerous #American companies in telecommunications, energy, water and other critical sectors, with 23 pipeline operators targeted
https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/fbi-says-chinese-hackers-preparing-attack-us-infrastructure-2024-04-18/

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to ai

#BigTech’s great #AI power grab
#Alphabet, #Amazon and #Microsoft are on the hunt for new energy sources
The deep-pocketed giants have already been the biggest force behind green “power-purchase agreements”, which helped kickstart America’s #renewables boom by persuading utilities and other investors to build wind and #solar farms. They are now getting in on the green-energy action more directly.
https://www.economist.com/business/2024/05/05/big-techs-great-ai-power-grab
https://archive.ph/nEgCh

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to random

Life boomed on #Earth half a billion years ago. You can thank #magnets.
The near collapse of #Earth’s #magneticfield coincided with a spike in #oxygen levels and a boom in #biodiversity, according to a new study.
Gift Article: https://wapo.st/3UN6LrH

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to math

Teens come up with #trigonometry proof for #PythagoreanTheorem, a problem that stumped #math world for centuries
A #highschool teacher didn't expect a solution when she set a 2,000-year-old Pythagorean Theorem problem in front of her students. Then Calcea Johnson and Ne'Kiya Jackson stepped up to the challenge.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/teens-come-up-with-trigonometry-proof-for-pythagorean-theorem-60-minutes-transcript/

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to solar

Storing energy with #compressedair is about to have its moment of truth
Toronto-based #Hydrostor Inc. is one of the businesses developing long-duration energy storage that has moved beyond lab scale and is now focusing on building big things. The company makes systems that store energy #underground in the form of compressed air, which can be released to produce electricity for eight hours or longer.
Technology will be used to store wind and #solar energy for use later.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/05/storing-energy-with-compressed-air-is-about-to-have-its-moment-of-truth/

image/png

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to hpc

#AlmaLinux Forms An #SIG to advance interests around high performance computing (#HPC) and artificial intelligence (#AI) for this #RHEL-derived #operatingsystem.
The leader of this new AlmaLinux SIG is #HaydenBarnes as the #OpenSource Community Manager for AI at #HPE.
https://www.phoronix.com/news/AlmaLinux-HPC-AI-SIG

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to Columbia

I’ve Covered Violent Crackdowns on #Protests for 15 Years. This #Police Overreaction Was Unhinged.
When police attacked student #protesters, a lone trash can was the only damaged property I saw around City College of New York.
Between #Columbia and #CityCollege, over 200 protesters — almost all #students — were arrested before the night was out.
Brutal policing and groundless excuses are nothing new, nor is bipartisan support for the crackdowns.
https://theintercept.com/2024/05/01/nyc-gaza-college-protests-police-outside-agitators/

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to opensource

#OpenSource world's #BrucePerens emits draft #PostOpenZeroCost License
The basic idea is companies making more than $5 million annually by using #PostOpen #software in a paid-for product would be required to pay 1 percent of their revenue back to this administrative organization, a 501(c)(6) non-profit, which would distribute the funds to the maintainers and #developers of the participating open source project(s)
https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/30/bruce_perens_post_open_license/

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to news

Negativity drives online #news consumption
Dataset comprises ~105,000 different variations of stories from Upworthy.com with ∼5.7M clicks across more than 370M impressions. Although positive words were slightly more prevalent than negative words, we found negative words in news #headlines increased consumption rates (positive words decreased consumption rates). For headline of average length, each additional negative word increased click-through rate by 2.3%.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01538-4

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to hongkong

#HongKong’s new ban on #singleuseplastics
New rules, which come into force on the symbolic date on #EarthDay aim to cut down on non-biodegradable #plastics in #landfill sites. The first phase prohibits the sale and distribution of single-use plastics such as straws and cutlery, as well as styrofoam food containers. Phase two, which could start as early as 2025, will ban single-use plastic cups and boxes for takeaway services.
Here’s a visual guide to the new rules.
https://multimedia.scmp.com/infographics/news/hong-kong/article/3259438/plastic-ban/index.html

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to apple

Academics probe #Apple's #privacy settings and get lost and confused
Researchers note many studies examinedprivacy issues with 3rd-party apps for Apple devices, little literature investigates first-party apps – like Safari and Siri. Just disabling #Siri requires visits to five submenus.
They also criticize data collection by Apple apps like Safari and Siri, where data is sent, how users can (and can't) disable data tracking, and how Apple presents privacy options to users
https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/05/apple_apps_privacy_study/

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to climate

#March2024 marks yet another record in #globalheat
According to the European Union, Earth has reached its warmest March on record, capping a 10-month streak in which every month set a new temperature record
"The main driver of the warming is #fossilfuel #emissions," said Friederike Otto, #climate scientist at Imperial College London. Failure to reduce emissions will continue to drive warming of planet, resulting in more intense #drought, #fire, #heatwaves and heavy rain
https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/march-marks-yet-another-record-global-heat-2024-04-09/

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to ocean

The #Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (#AMOC) is weakening in the deep sea of the North #Atlantic #Ocean, study finds
Analysis of mooring observations and hydrographic data suggest Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation deep water limb in the #NorthAtlantic has weakened, contributing to #sealevelrise in the region. Two decades of continual observations provide a greater understanding of the #Earth’s #climate regulating system.
https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/atlantic-meridional-overturning-circulation-weakening-in-the-deep-sea-of-north-atlantic/ #climatechange #climatecrisis

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to privacy

How #GM Tricked Millions of Drivers Into Being Spied On
This #privacy reporter and her husband bought a #Chevrolet Bolt in December. Two risk-profiling companies had been getting detailed data about their driving ever since
#GeneralMotors has been selling data about the driving behavior of millions of people to #insurance companies through GM's #OnStar services plan and Smart Driver program, leading to higher premiums for some drivers, according to a recent investigation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/23/technology/general-motors-spying-driver-data-consent.html

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to H5N1

Risk of bird #flu spreading to humans is ‘enormous concern’, says #WHO
Chief scientist voices fears about #H5N1 variant that has ‘extraordinarily high’ mortality rate in humans. #Cows and #goats joined the list of species affected last month – a surprising development for experts because they were not thought susceptible to this type of #influenza. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/18/risk-bird-flu-spreading-humans-enormous-concern-who #avianflu

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to cars

Republican #attorneysgeneral from 25 states sued #US #EPA to block rules intended to reduce planet-warming #emissions from #cars and light #trucks and encourage #electricvehicle manufacturing, arguing the agency exceeded its legal authority.
The EPA rules aim to cut fleetwide #tailpipe emissions for cars and light trucks by nearly 50% over 2026 levels in 2032, and reduce #greenhousegas emissions by 7.2 billion tons through 2055. https://www.autoblog.com/2024/04/18/gop-led-states-sue-to-block-u-s-emissions-rules-for-cars-light-trucks/ #climatechange #climatecrisis

BenjaminHCCarr, 1 month ago to internet

The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the #internet afloat

“The reason websites continue to load, bank transfers go through, and civilization persists is because of the thousand or so people living aboard 20-some ships stationed around the world, who race to fix each cable as soon as it breaks”
https://www.theverge.com/c/24070570/internet-cables-undersea-deep-repair-ships