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Category Archives: Transportation

Fast fires

Reuters Graphics: “Fires are growing faster in the western United States. The fastest of them – termed “fast fires” – often erupt near towns and account for most structural wildfire damage according to researchers who analyzed over 60,000 fires from 2001 to 2020. Fast fires grow about 4,000 acres or more on their fastest day, at least two football fields a minute. That single-day growth threshold for a “fast fire” is even higher in California at almost four football fields a minute. Humans and our infrastructure start nearly all of the fires that threaten our homes. Exactly why fires become fast is a developing area of research, but weather and fuel conditions can feed the speed. Of the 20 fastest fires between 2001 and 2020, 16 destroyed structures and all but one fire came within 2.5 miles of a property. Many fast fires threaten structures The fastest LA fires and overall top 20 fastest-growing fires across the continental US from 2001 to 2020. A structure is considered exposed when it is within 2.5 miles of the fire perimeter even if it was not damaged…

Trump Gutted Key Aviation Safety Committee Before D.C. Plane Crash

The New Republic: “Last week, just days after his inauguration, Donald Trump eliminated the membership of a key committee that handles aviation security. And on Wednesday night,  a passenger plane collided with a military helicopter in the Washington, D.C., area.  On Tuesday, January 22, the Aviation Security Advisory Committee’s members received a memo from the… Continue Reading

Trump Executive Order Tracker

“The Trump Administration’s executive orders cut across dozens of industries. This searchable tool breaks down the orders and their impact. Akin will update the Tracker as orders are published and provide in-depth analysis of specific orders. Visit Akin’s Trump Executive Order Overview to view a summary. Use the menu below to filter by topic. Subscribe… Continue Reading

Trump fires heads of TSA, Coast Guard, guts key aviation safety advisory committee

AP News: “President Donald Trump moved quickly to remake the Department of Homeland Security Tuesday, firing the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and Coast Guard before their terms are up and eliminated all the members of a key aviation security advisory group.Trump’s immigration policy changes drew the most attention at DHS, but he is… Continue Reading

It’s pretty easy to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, actually

Pluralistic: “If Elon Musk wants to cut $2t from the US federal budget, there’s a pretty straightforward way to get there – just eliminate all the beltway bandits who overcharge Uncle Sucker for everything from pharmaceuticals to roadworks to (of course) rockets, and then make the rich pay their taxes. There is a ton of… Continue Reading

A real-time map of trains in North America

Trains.FYI is a real-time map of passenger trains in North America. Started out of frustration with constant delays from freight priority in Canada, trains.fyi has grown into the leading real-time train tracking website. Real-Time Train Statistics – These statistics are updated in real-time based on current train data. Select a city to view real-time train… Continue Reading

Trump Orders Federal D.E.I Efforts to Shut Down by Wednesday Night

The New York Times [unpaywalled]: The Trump administration on Tuesday ordered that officials overseeing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across federal agencies be placed on leave and to take steps to close their offices by Wednesday evening. In a memo from the Office of Personnel Management, the heads of departments and agencies were ordered to… Continue Reading

The Powerful AI Tool That Cops (or Stalkers) Can Use to Geolocate Photos in Seconds

404 Media: “A powerful AI tool can predict with high accuracy the location of photos based on features inside the image itself—such as vegetation, architecture, and the distance between buildings—in seconds, with the company now marketing the tool to law enforcement officers and government agencies. Called GeoSpy, made by a firm called Graylark Technologies out… Continue Reading

Allstate used GasBuddy and other apps to quietly track driving behavior

Ars Technica: “Texas has sued insurance provider Allstate, alleging that the firm and its data broker subsidiary used data from apps like GasBuddy, Routely, and Life360 to quietly track drivers and adjust or cancel their policies. Allstate and Arity, a “mobility data and analytics” firm founded by Allstate in 2016, collected “trillions of miles worth… Continue Reading

California wildfires map

The Los Angeles Times has this amazing interactive map, based on real-time open data provided by CalFire and the Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination. See also Analysing satellite imagery of the Jan 2025 Southern California wildfires: “3.9 micron data from the GOES-16 East and GOES-18 West satellites on the January 2025 Southern California fires. We download the… Continue Reading

Inside the Black Box of Predictive Travel Surveillance

Wired – “Behind the scenes, companies and governments are feeding a trove of data about international travelers into opaque AI tools that aim to predict who’s safe—and who’s a threat… In Europe, at least four technology companies—Idemia, SITA, Travizory, and WCC—offer governments around the world software that uses algorithms on traveler data to profile passengers.… Continue Reading