change

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY

A Mechanical Neural Network – A New Type Of Material That Can Learn And Change Its Physical Properties To Create Adaptable, Strong Structures

A new type of material can learn and improve its ability to deal with unexpected forces thanks to a unique lattice structure with connections of variable stiffness, as described in a new paper by my colleagues and me. Architected materials – like this 3D lattice – get their properties not from what they are made out of, but from their structure. Ryan Lee, CC BY-ND The new material is a type of architected material, which gets its properties mainly from the geometry and specific traits of its design rather than what it is made out of. Take hook-and-loop fabric closures like Velcro, for example. It doesn’t matter whether it is made from cotton, plastic or any other substance. As long as one side is a fabric with stiff hooks and the other side has fluffy loops, the material will have the stic...

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT, VIDEO REELS

Climate Change And The Pressure On Bees

The extreme weather that has battered much of the U.S. in 2022 doesn’t just affect humans. Heat waves, wildfires, droughts and storms also threaten many wild species – including some that already face other stresses. I’ve been researching bee health for over 10 years, with a focus on honey bees. In 2021, I began hearing for the first time from beekeepers about how extreme drought and rainfall were affecting bee colony health. Drought conditions in the western U.S. in 2021 dried up bee forage – the floral nectar and pollen that bees need to produce honey and stay healthy. And extreme rain in the Northeast limited the hours that bees could fly for forage. In both cases, managed colonies – hives that humans keep for honey production or commercial pollination – were starving. Beekeepers had...

With New Controversial Cases That Stand To Change Many Americans’ Lives, The Supreme Court Is Back In Session – Here’s What To Expect

6Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

With New Controversial Cases That Stand To Change Many Americans’ Lives, The Supreme Court Is Back In Session – Here’s What To Expect

Following a dramatic year of controversial rulings, the Supreme Court began hearing new cases on Oct. 3, 2022, with a full agenda. The court overturned abortion rights and expanded gun rights in June 2022 as the new conservative supermajority began to exert its influence. Some of the court’s most important upcoming cases focus on the future of affirmative action, equal treatment of LGBTQ people, and the control of election laws. The court will hear the cases in the fall and then likely issue rulings in spring 2023. As a close observer of the court, I think this term’s rulings will continue to reject the court’s previous liberal decisions and instead reflect a conservative interpretation of the historical meaning of the Constitution. At least three of those upcoming rulings are likely to...

A City’s Best Source Of Climate Change Data Are It’s Residents

5Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT

A City’s Best Source Of Climate Change Data Are It’s Residents

Cities across the U.S. are looking to citizen science for data on heat waves and other climate impacts. On very hot days, Victor Sanchez makes sure to leave his home in the afternoon. “The sun just pours in,” he said of his top-floor, west-facing apartment in Harlem, where he has two fans but no air conditioner. Sanchez usually finds a shaded bench in nearby Morningside Park, sees a film, or rides his bike to the beach, returning home after the relentless sun has begun to set. “It’s just dangerous to stay inside,” he said. In 2016, Sanchez, who is 67 and works in public media, helped scientists quantify just how dangerous it is to stay inside during a heat wave. That summer, he and 29 of his neighbors placed sensors in their apartments to collect temperature and humidity data as part of...

How Not To Solve The Climate Change Problem

24Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT

How Not To Solve The Climate Change Problem

When politicians talk about reaching “net zero” emissions, they’re often counting on trees or technology that can pull carbon dioxide out of the air. What they don’t mention is just how much these proposals or geoengineering would cost to allow the world to continue burning fossil fuels. There are many proposals for removing carbon dioxide, but most make differences only at the edges, and carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have continued to increase relentlessly, even through the pandemic. I’ve been working on climate change for over four decades. Let’s take a minute to come to grips with some of the rhetoric around climate change and clear the air, so to speak. What’s causing climate change? As has been well established now for several decades, the global climate is changin...

Despite Some Economists’ Best Attempts – The Cost Of Climate Change Can’t Be Boiled Down To One Right Number, Here’s Why

26May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT

Despite Some Economists’ Best Attempts – The Cost Of Climate Change Can’t Be Boiled Down To One Right Number, Here’s Why

A group of economists has issued a new estimate of the future cost of climate change that is grabbing headlines. The consultancy Deloitte estimates that unchecked climate change could cost the global economy US$178 trillion over the next 50 years. While climate change does harm economies, there are a lot of problems with long-term estimates like this. New technologies arrive and evolve. Human behaviors shift. For example, who would have thought before the COVID-19 pandemic that a large percentage of the population would stop driving to the office and work from home instead? I am a microeconomist who investigates the causes and consequences of climate change. When I think about the climate change challenge in 2040 and beyond, I anticipate many “known unknowns” about our future. Thus, I a...

Because of Climate Change Landfills Among Many Things Burning

22May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT

Because of Climate Change Landfills Among Many Things Burning

Extreme heat over 110°F in India and Pakistan continues to shatter records, threaten human health, cause landfills to combust, threaten power outages, and imperil Indian wheat crops struggling to make up for shortfalls caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Why is it exceptionally warm this year? The only reason is global warming,” Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, told Bloomberg. Meanwhile, in the southwestern U.S., wildfires are ripping across drought-dried landscapes, especially in New Mexico. A million acres across the U.S. have burned already this year as, “Climate change is taking a situation that would be bad for us normally,” University of Arizona climatologist Gregg Garffin told The Guardian, “and turning the dial up.” (India...

Technology Inspires Radical Change Thanks To Visionary Social Entrepreneurs

12May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

RECOMMENDATIONS

Technology Inspires Radical Change Thanks To Visionary Social Entrepreneurs

(BPT) - Wireless is at the heart of modern life, and 5G — the fifth generation of wireless — has the potential to transform how people connect and inspire change in their communities. Social entrepreneurs are recognizing the opportunity to influence the greater good through these new 5G networks, tapping into mobile technologies to help address some of the country’s biggest challenges. Consider mRelief, which uses text messages, voice and web to create access to nutritious food for American families through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP provides around 40 million people with access to nutritious food each year. During the pandemic, that number increased dramatically — some states received between 100-400% more SNAP applications than usual. mRelief is helping ...

An Ideology Of Social Change Is Behind The Crypto Hype

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

CRYPTOMARKET

An Ideology Of Social Change Is Behind The Crypto Hype

Ads for blockchain, NFTs and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin seem to be everywhere. Crypto technologies are being promoted as a replacement for banks; a new way to buy art; the next big investment opportunity, and an essential part of the metaverse. To many, these technologies are confusing or risky. But enthusiasts ardently promote them. As a cybersecurity and social media researcher, I’ve found that behind the hype is an ideology about social change: Hardcore enthusiasts argue that crypto will get people to trust in technology rather than government, which they see as inherently untrustworthy. This ideology leads people to encourage its use while downplaying its risks. The true believers My colleagues and I studied almost three months of discussions on Reddit forums about cryptocurrenc...

Making The Internet Safer – We Have To Change The Business Models – Regulating Content Won’t Do The Job

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS, TECHNOLOGY

Making The Internet Safer – We Have To Change The Business Models – Regulating Content Won’t Do The Job

An upheaval of the law governing what can be published online is taking place in the shape of the online safety bill. The bill, which is currently making its way through parliament, has the hyperbolic ambition “to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online”, and proposes to do this through a complex system of regulation. It calls for platforms, search engines and social media to regularly assess the risks of harms stemming from their services and take measures to mitigate them. The regulator, Ofcom, will carry out its own risk assessments, establish risk profiles for different platforms (such as YouTube, Instagram or Tinder), and publish guidance in the form of “codes of practice”. The act will apply even where the platform provider is abroad. This means that all platforms ta...