The Guardian: “What to do when surrounded by people who are losing their minds about the Newest New Thing? Answer: reach for the Gartner Hype Cycle, an ingenious diagram that maps the progress of an emerging technology through five phases: the “technology trigger”, which is followed by a rapid rise to the “peak of inflated… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Climate Change
Why people still fall for fake news about climate change
Grist: “In 1995, a leading group of scientists convened by the United Nations declared that they had detected a “human influence” on global temperatures with “effectively irreversible” consequences. In the coming decades, 99.9 percent of scientists would come to agree that burning fossil fuels had disrupted the Earth’s climate. Yet almost 30 years after that… Continue Reading
Mapping the Unequal Distribution of Global Precipitation
Mapping the Unequal Distribution of Global Precipitation – On average, nearly one meter (39 inches) of rain or snow falls on the Earth in a year. However, differences in latitude, winds, changes in the Earth’s surface, and the planet’s tilt, make for an unequal distribution of global precipitation. Cartographer Perrin Remonté uses data from Chelsea… Continue Reading
BirdWeather
“What is BirdWeather? BirdWeather is a visualization platform that, using the BirdNET artificial neural network (a type of machine learning algorithm), is continuously listening to over 200 active audio stations around the world and is actively plotting their results in a user-friendly map interface. We built BirdWeather to be a living library of bird vocalizations accessible to users via online… Continue Reading
How Central Park Was Created Entirely By Design & Not By Nature
Oepn Culture: An Architect Breaks Down America’s Greatest Urban Park – “New Yorkers have a variety of sayings about how they want nothing to do with nature, just as nature wants nothing to do with them. As a counterpoint, one might adduce Central Park, whose 843 acres of trees, grass, and water have occupied the… Continue Reading
What Happened to the Milky Way?
Video by The Atlantic – “Can you see the stars at night? Only a few centuries ago, the Milky Way was visible from almost anywhere in America. Today, more than 99 percent of the population in the continental U.S. live in light-polluted areas. It’s impossible to see the Milky Way in more than two-thirds of… Continue Reading
The Best Inventions of 2023
TIME: “Every year for over two decades, TIME editors have highlighted the most impactful new products and ideas in TIME’s Best Inventions issue. To compile this year’s list, we solicited nominations from TIME’s editors and correspondents around the world, and through an online application process, paying special attention to growing fields—such as AI, green energy,… Continue Reading
Discarded toys are creating an e-waste disaster. Here’s how to stop it.
Grist – Toys that move, make noise, and light up are winding up in landfills — but they could be recycled, with better policies. “…According to a recent report by the WEEE Forum, a multinational nonprofit organization focused on the management of “waste electrical and electronic equipment,” the world threw out more than 7 billion… Continue Reading
ENERGY STAR Rebate Finder
“Find rebates and special offers near you on ENERGY STAR certified products. Products that earn the ENERGY STAR label meet strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the U.S. EPA helping you save energy and money while protecting the environment.” Continue Reading
DOT interactive map shows various transportation noise levels for any area in US
‘The DOT has an interactive map that shows various transportation noise levels for any area in the U.S. It’s imperfect: anyone who lives in LA can tell you that the dark gray areas are NOT actually < 50db, but if you’re planning on moving to an area, it can help you figure out road, airport… Continue Reading
Bright satellites are disrupting astronomy
Via Prof. Sam Lawler @[email protected] – Nature article non paywalled. “The summary: astronomers spent a lot of time asking SpaceX and other large satellite operators to pretty please make their satellites fainter and/or use fewer satellites. And then BlueWalker 3 was launched by some tiny company and is one of the brightest things in the… Continue Reading
A free, public database of virtual power plants in the United States
Jim Moran – VPP Data: “The public database of U.S. VPPs is available here. Background – The goal of this database is to track all Virtual Power Plant (VPP) activity in the United States – all planned, active and ended pilots and programs and their VPP software platforms, trade allies, and incentives offered. The key… Continue Reading
