The New York Times: “On a Sunday night in September, Ashley Estrada was at a friend’s home in Los Angeles when she received a strange notification on her iPhone: “AirTag Detected Near You.”An AirTag is a 1.26-inch disc with location-tracking capabilities that Apple started selling earlier this year as a way “to keep track of… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Transportation
The new normal is already here. Get used to it
The Economist – The era of predictable unpredictability is not going away – “IS IT NEARLY over? In 2021 people have been yearning for something like stability. Even those who accepted that they would never get their old lives back hoped for a new normal. Yet as 2022 draws near, it is time to face… Continue Reading
13 battery gigafactories coming to the US by 2025
electrek: “There are 13 new battery cell gigafactories coming online in the US by 2025, according to the Department of Energy. These factories are ushering in a new era of battery production in the US. Aside from Tesla and Panasonic’s Gigafactory Nevada, which supplies battery cells for the production of Tesla Model 3 and Model… Continue Reading
Omicron at Least Doubles Risk of Getting Infected on a Plane
Bloomberg: “Aircraft passengers are twice or even three times more likely to catch Covid-19 during a flight since the emergence of the omicron variant, according to the top medical adviser to the world’s airlines. The warning comes as travelers take to the skies in their thousands for year-end holidays and family reunions, and as omicron… Continue Reading
The World’s Most Profitable Traffic Jam
“Welcome to BIG, a newsletter about the politics of monopoly. If you’d like to sign up, you can do so here. Or just read on…Today’s issue is on an unusual type of story – it’s about how politics can work to fix a major social problem. Ten days ago, the House of Representatives passed a bill… Continue Reading
PL Henderson explores how cycling has helped women’s emancipation.
Resurgence.org: “Cycling is booming, in a revolution activated as a social side effect of the global pandemic. A pedal-powered response to the events of 2020 saw sales of bikes in the UK rise by 60% at the beginning of the first lockdown. Meanwhile, in Europe, in order to cater for the increased bicycle use, millions… Continue Reading
6 epidemiologists on how omicron is and isn’t changing their holiday plans
Vox: “With the omicron variant causing huge surges of Covid-19 infection, many of us are anxiously reconsidering our holiday plans. Is air travel safe? Can we still hug our parents? How should we think about testing? What about holiday parties? I asked six epidemiologists how omicron is and isn’t changing their near-term plans. Most were… Continue Reading
“Test and travel” strategies to make travel safer
The Lancet: Routine asymptomatic testing strategies for airline travel during the COVID-19 pandemic: a simulation study: “Findings: We estimated that in a cohort of 100 000 airline travellers, in a scenario with no testing or screening, there would be 8357 (95% uncertainty interval 6144–12831) infectious days with 649 (505–950) actively infectious passengers on the day of… Continue Reading
You may soon be able to renew your passport online, instead of sending in documents
NPR: “Renewing your passport isn’t an experience most people would consider streamlined — especially during the pandemic. Getting it processed can take anywhere from eight to 11 weeks, according to the State Department. But a new executive order from President Biden hopes to cut down on the amount of time people spend accessing all kinds… Continue Reading
Postcards From a World on Fire
The New York Times: “These 193 stories show the reality of climate change. In every country in the world…” Continue Reading
When should I get a Covid-19 test? Here’s a simple guide.
Vox – “Vaccinated and confused about whether to get tested? We asked four experts for help…the immune protection from vaccines wanes over time, and the rise of variants like omicron stand to erode that shielding further. This leaves even vaccinated people at risk of contracting the virus, sometimes without any symptoms, and potentially spreading it… Continue Reading
Your Face Is, or Will Be, Your Boarding Pass
The New York Times – “Tech-driven changes are coming fast and furiously to airports, including advancements in biometrics that verify identity and shorten security procedures for those passengers who opt into the programs. If it’s been a year or more since you traveled, particularly internationally, you may notice something different at airports in the United… Continue Reading
