Tag: Nature & Environment
Hitting the Books: Why nobody knows Hiram Maxim, inventor of the incandescent lightbulb
One detail that’s often omitted from modern founders myths is whether or not said scion of capitalist success actually invented the thing they’re famous for inventing. Just like Elon Musk didn’t invent electric vehicles so much as be the first to successfully market them to the American public, Thomas Edison’s…
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NASA launches powerful air quality monitor to keep an eagle-eye on pollution
NASA has launched an innovative air quality monitoring instrument into a fixed-rotation orbit around Earth. The tool is called TEMPO, which stands for Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution instrument, and it keeps an eye on a handful of harmful airborne pollutants in the atmosphere, such as nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde and…
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Google unveils AI-powered planning tools to help beat climate change’s extreme heat
With extreme weather events regularly flooding our coastal cities and burning out our rural communities, Google in its magnanimity has developed a new set of online tools that civil servants and community organizers alike can use in their efforts to stave off climate change-induced catastrophe. Google already pushes extreme weather…
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Where to recycle your used and unwanted gadgets
For decades now we’ve become accustomed to tossing all sorts of things into the recycling bin, like glass bottles, aluminum cans and cardboard. One category, however, that still isn’t on everyone’s list is consumer electronics. Over a billion phones were purchased in 2022, and that’s just one type of gadget.…
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Amazon told lawmakers it wouldn’t build warehouse storm shelters
Amazon told lawmakers it wouldn’t build storm shelters in its warehouses after a December 2021 tornado killed six employees at an Illinois location. Although the company changed its severe-weather response strategy after the incident, it essentially told the elected officials that since building storm shelters isn’t required by law, it…
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Researchers created a sticky drone to collect environmental DNA from forest canopies
Swiss scientists have developed a proof-of-concept method to collect environmental DNA (eDNA) from high-arching forest canopies, an under-observed habitat. Rather than hiring skilled climbers to risk their lives to grab a little bug and bird DNA, the team flew a collection drone into the trees to capture genetic material —…
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