The New York Times interactive [read free] – “New satellite-based research reveals how land along the coast is slumping into the ocean, compounding the danger from global sea level rise. A major culprit: overpumping of groundwater. The most vulnerable areas of Boston have been sinking up to 3.8 centimeters per decade, which adds up to… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Transportation
Atrocious Air
First Street: “Since the middle of the last century, the United States has witnessed significant changes in air quality, driven by industrialization, technological advancements, regulatory measures, and public awareness. The most important of these interventions was the Clean Air Act of 1963, which served as the first federal legislation addressing air quality concerns. While air… Continue Reading
Cellphone Use Is Biggest Cause of Distracted Driving
“Cellphone use by individuals operating a motor vehicle continues to be the largest contributor to distracted driving in the U.S., according to the latest Issues Brief from the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I). “As drivers returned to the roads following the pandemic, distracted driving surged, causing higher rates of accidents, injuries, and deaths. This high-risk behavior… Continue Reading
FAA Aviation Maps
Kottke: “On Beautiful Public Data, Jon Keegan highlights the extremely information-rich flight maps produced by the Federal Aviation Administration that pilots use to find their way around the skies. Among all of the visual information published by the U.S. government, there may be no product with a higher information density than the Federal Aviation Administration’s… Continue Reading
Google Maps is getting ‘supercharged’ with generative AI
The Verge: “Google is bringing generative AI to — where else? — Google Maps, promising to help users find cool places through the use of large language models (LLM). The feature will answer queries for restaurant or shopping recommendations, for example, using its LLM to “analyze Maps’ detailed information about more than 250 million places… Continue Reading
Cracking the Gasoline Code
COLTURA – Using new gasoline consumption data to lift the most gasoline-burdened Americans and cut gasoline use faster and more efficiently. “The top 10% of drivers in the U.S. account for more than one-third of the nation’s gasoline use for private light-duty vehicles, according to the report. Extreme levels of gasoline use are deeply woven… Continue Reading
Cyclists Break Far Fewer Road Rules Than Motorists, Finds New Video Study
Forbes: “A new study from the Danish Road Directorate shows that less than 5% of cyclists break traffic laws while riding yet 66% of motorists do so when driving. The Danish Cycling Embassy, a privately-funded NGO, puts this down to visibility: law breaking by cyclists is “easy to notice for everyone” but transgressions by motorists, such… Continue Reading
Why Are American Drivers So Deadly?
The New York Times [read free]: After decades of declining fatality rates, dangerous driving has surged again. “…In the fall of 2022, Dr. Deborah Kuhls attended the annual meeting of the Governors Highway Safety Organization, in Louisville, Ky. In conversations with other researchers, she learned that the same behavioral patterns she had observed back in… Continue Reading
Hackers can infect network-connected wrenches to install ransomware
Ars Technica – Researchers identify 23 vulnerabilities, some of which can exploited with no authentication. “Researchers have unearthed nearly two dozen vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to sabotage or disable a popular line of network-connected wrenches that factories around the world use to assemble sensitive instruments and devices. The vulnerabilities, reported Tuesday by researchers from… Continue Reading
How crowded are the oceans?
The Verge – New maps show what flew under the radar until now: “Using satellite imagery and AI, researchers have mapped human activity at sea with more precision than ever before. The effort exposed a huge amount of industrial activity that previously flew under the radar, from suspicious fishing operations to an explosion of offshore… Continue Reading
Here’s how the EPA calculates how far an EV can go on a full charge
Ars Technica: “How does the US Environmental Protection Agency decide how far an electric vehicle can go on a single charge? The simple explanation is that an EV is driven until the battery runs flat, providing the number that goes on the window sticker. In practice, it’s a lot more complicated than that, with varying… Continue Reading
Tesla blamed drivers for failures of parts it long knew were defective
Reuters Investigates: “Wheels falling off cars at speed. Suspensions collapsing on brand-new vehicles. Axles breaking under acceleration. Tens of thousands of customers told Tesla about a host of part failures on low-mileage cars. The automaker sought to blame drivers for vehicle ‘abuse,’ but Tesla documents show it had tracked the chronic ‘flaws’ and ‘failures’ for… Continue Reading
