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Daily Archives: December 23, 2024

Mass Hysteria Over Drones Flying in the Night Sky? It Didn’t Have to Be This Way

EPIC: “Recent nighttime drone sightings in New Jersey and other places have gained national attention because of the mystery that surrounds the drones—Who is flying them? What are the drones doing? Why are the drones appearing now? Numerous theories popped up to fill the void left by the lack of information—from alien invasion to foreign spying. The more sober and likely explanation attributes most of the drone sightings to a combination of planes being mistaken for drones and perfectly legal nighttime drone flights by hobbyist and local law enforcement or other government or commercial entities. Understandably people are freaked out by mysterious flying objects roaming around at night. The fact that the government cannot quickly and easily provide enough details about the drone sightings to quell any suspicion that the drones might be up to nefarious activities only adds to the growing unease of drones in the sky. It comes as no surprise that drones are causing such a stir when they are essentially mobile surveillance platforms that can go places traditional manned aircrafts cannot. Aerial surveillance used to be very expensive and required a pilot. Drones have made aerial surveillance inexpensive and readily accessible. Most drones are equipped with cameras. Even common consumer drones can have high-powered cameras with impressive resolution and zoom capabilities. This is not to even speak of enterprise-level drones used by first responders or used in industrial applications like critical infrastructure inspection. Enterprise drone capabilities don’t stop with just higher resolution cameras with even better zoom but can include, for example, infrared cameras and the ability to fly autonomously at night—scary capabilities for a flying surveillance platform that can easily access traditional constitutionally protected areas like backyards and other areas around a home. Tall fences and windows high above the ground won’t protect from the gaze of a drone. Add the fact that these drones are flying at night, something the FAA only started to allow about a year ago, and it’s not unreasonable for people to be upset about all the drones and the lack of definitive information on them. It didn’t have to be this way. The FAA has failed to fully address the privacy issues (real and/or perceived) that drones have and will create in communities across the country as they become common occurrences in the sky. It is not for lack of awareness. The FAA has been fully aware that addressing privacy issues is critical to implementing drones into the national airspace—the agency just hasn’t cared to actually do it…”

Encyclopedia Britannica Is Now an AI Company

Gizmodo: “Once an icon of the 20th century seen as obsolete in the 21st, Encyclopaedia Britannica—now known as just Britannica— is all in on artificial intelligence, and may soon go public at a valuation of nearly $1 billion, according to the New York Times. Until 2012 when printing ended, the company’s books served as the… Continue Reading

Words of the year: Fritinancy edition

Fritinancy: ” Yes, words, plural. Because when you keep track of interesting new and newly prominent words all year long, as I do, you have a tough time settling on just one word of the year (WOTY). Other deciding bodies are more, well, decisive. Cambridge Dictionaries chose manifest. Collins Dictionary selected brat. (See my post… Continue Reading

The Most Detailed Map of Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution in the US

ProPublica: “It’s not a secret that industrial facilities emit hazardous air pollution. A recent ProPublica analysis shows for the first time just how much toxic air pollution they emit — and how much the chemicals they unleash could be elevating cancer risk in their communities. ProPublica’s analysis of five years of modeled EPA data identified… Continue Reading

New law in NJ limits the banning of books in schools and public libraries

WHYY: “When Martha Hickson was the librarian at New Jersey’s North Hunterdon HighSchool, she fought against attempts to ban books that her critics labeled as inappropriate because they contained sexual content, and she became a target of book banners. “I received hate mail, shunning by colleagues, antagonism by administrators, and calls for my firing and… Continue Reading

The 30-Year Mortgage Wasn’t Designed for Climate Chaos

Bloomberg: “…A different kind of perfect storm had hit the Pelleys: volatile weather, a country failing to keep up with rising flood risk and a mortgage industry writing loans without considering the future of the environment around the home. Homeowners in Florida and California have already been trying to reconcile their mortgage duration and dwindling… Continue Reading

Commercial tea bags release millions of microplastics, entering human intestinal cells

Gooya Banaei et al, Teabag-derived micro/nanoplastics (true-to-life MNPLs) as a surrogate for real-life exposure scenarios, Chemosphere (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143736 – “UAB research has characterized in detail how polymer-based commercial tea bags release millions of nanoplastics and microplastics when infused. The study shows for the first time the capacity of these particles to be absorbed by… Continue Reading

Arkansas Law Criminalizing Librarians Ruled Unconstitutional

AP: “A federal judge on Monday struck down key parts of an Arkansas law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks found that elements of the law are unconstitutional. “I respect the court’s ruling and will appeal,” Arkansas Attorney General Tim… Continue Reading