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Category Archives: Transportation

Air pollution linked to more signs of Alzheimer’s in brain

Grace M. Christensen, Zhenjiang Li, Donghai Liang, Stefanie Ebelt, Marla Gearing, Allan I. Levey, James J. Lah, Aliza Wingo, Thomas Wingo, Anke Hüls. Association of PM 2.5 Exposure and Alzheimer Disease Pathology in Brain Bank Donors—Effect Modification by APOE Genotype. Neurology, 2024; 102 (5) “People with higher exposure to traffic-related air pollution were more likely… Continue Reading

Why car insurance rates are so high

Vox: “If you pay for car insurance, you’ve probably noticed that rates are really high lately. You’re not alone. Last week’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report — the government’s method for tracking what people are paying for goods and services and how that’s changing over time — noted that the price of car insurance was… Continue Reading

What Is Focus Status on Your iPhone?

MakeUseOf – And How to Enable It – “Let everyone know you’re busy with Focus status on your iPhone. While Apple’s Focus feature is a great way to minimize distractions and silence notifications, you may unintentionally make your friends feel like you’re ignoring them at times. In such situations, you can use the “Share Focus… Continue Reading

The East Coast Is Sinking

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

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