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Category: climatology – Page 54

Across much of the country, the holidays were ushered in with strong winter storms, with every region of the country impacted by extreme weather from Christmas into the new year. The West Coast has experienced the most recent extreme weather with its third atmospheric river event in just three weeks bringing record rainfall and winds along the California coast. Buffalo, NY, is still digging out from its record holiday snowstorm and much of the Northern Plains saw record snowfalls just last week. The southern states weren’t spared from extreme winter weather with Florida and other parts of the southeast experiencing record cold temperatures over Christmas. While these weather events are all quite different — from heavy snows to rain to extreme cold — the one thing they have in common is the challenge it brings to the 1,400 utility companies across the country.

Extreme weather events are increasing, and utilities and customers alike are feeling the impact. According to Climate Central, the United States has experienced a 67% increase in major power outages from weather-related events since 2000, a trend predicted to continue as extreme weather events increase in frequency. With these most recent weather events across the country, on Christmas Eve alone, over 1.6 million U.S. customers were without power. The troubles continue now in California with nearly 196,000 Californians without power last week and more storms over the Pacific ready to move in bringing similar conditions.

Large utilities have been effectively using predictive weather analytics to prepare and pre-stage crews to help manage restoration efforts during major weather events like we just saw. But the majority of small to mid-size utilities still rely on traditional forecasts, severe weather updates and immediate impact assessments to make decisions around operations, safety and resource allocation. Recent advancements in technology, data modeling and cloud computing are making enterprise technology, such as machine learning for weather risks, more accessible to utilities of all sizes.

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LIGHTNING super-resolution detection concept and TauSense technology facilitate better cryogenic fluorescence imaging for advanced cryo-correlative workflows. The quality of fluorescence microscope images that guide cryo-FIB milling determines the result of the prepared lamella. Here, it is described how image quality is significantly improved by LIGHTNING and how different structures can be discerned using their fluorescence lifetime-based information.

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Record-breaking floods in Australia’s northwest have resulted in many communities getting isolated, Australia’s weather forecaster said on Sunday (January 8). Severe weather system Ellie has created an emergency situation in Kimberly, an area in the state of Western Australia which is about the size of California.

The town of Fitzroy Crossing, a community of around 1,300 people, has been among the worst hit, with supplies having to be airlifted in due to flooded roads.

The Bureau of Meteorology said on Sunday that rain had eased as the ex-cyclone shifted eastwards to the Northern Territory, but warned that “record breaking major flooding” continued in the Kimberley.

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On January 2023, 60 minutes interviewed Paul Ehrlich, the author of the 1968 Population Bomb.

Although I agree with some of the points, like the destruction of habitat, and climate change, and those points indeed need addressing. the overpopulation arguments in the book and the interview have already been proven wrong, repeatedly.

The 18th century Malthusian catastrophe predictions never materialized. Thanks to modern technology, new clean energy sources, and modern agriculture, our planet doesn’t have an overpopulation problem despite having more people today than at ant time in history.

It’s okay to have more kids. Kids will not “destroy the planet”. They may actually help.

Continue reading “Overpopulation myth — Having kids will not destroy the planet. Perhaps it can even help” | >

Senior corporate officers across the nation are wringing their hands. The 2023 economic climate is uncertain, but one thing is for sure—more layoffs are coming. In November 2022 alone, more than 80,000 layoffs were announced from tech giants like Meta, Amazon, and Twitter, as well as conventional companies like PepsiCo, Goldman Sachs, and Ford.

Downsizing is one of the most difficult things that leaders ever have to accomplish. How many should you let go? When should you do it? Who stays and who goes? What severance do you offer? How do you protect your diversity targets? How to maintain trust and productivity in those who get to stay?

Let too many go, too fast, and you could damage service and execution. Let too few go, too late, and you might lose money. Let the wrong people go and you may just create internal chaos. Getting this wrong can have enormous consequences on profitability, productivity, brand reputation, and stock price.

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Bridge did not appear until roughly 35,700 years ago, fewer than 10,000 years before the last ice age peaked.

It is thought humans arrived in the Americas for the first time through the Bering Land Bridge. Now, researchers at the University of California Santa Cruz claim that Bering Land Bridge formed surprisingly late during the last ice age.

“Last Glacial Maximum grew after 46,000 years ago”

Getty Images.

Continue reading “People may have crossed the Beringia much earlier than thought, new study claims” | >

It’s called the C/2022 E3 (ZTF) comet.

A comet that last appeared in the night sky during the Ice Age will soon make a reappearance in February 2023, according to a NASA statement published last week. Called the C/2022 E3 (ZTF) comet, it orbits the sun every 50,000 years. It will now pass within 26 million miles of Earth on February 1st, 2023.

It could also be visible to the naked eye in mid-to-late January. The comet can be seen using binoculars and low-level telescopes when the skies are clear.

NASA/Dan Bartlett.

Continue reading “A comet not seen since 50,000 years will be visible again in early 2023” | >

Senior corporate officers across the nation are wringing their hands. The 2023 economic climate is uncertain, but one thing is for sure—more layoffs are coming. In November 2022 alone, more than 80,000 layoffs were announced from tech giants like Meta, Amazon, and Twitter, as well as conventional companies like PepsiCo, Goldman Sachs, and Ford.

Downsizing is one of the most difficult things that leaders ever have to accomplish.

AI can offer objective performance evaluation to help managers decide who stays and who goes. AI software startups like GoFusion Perfacto and Entomo use data from employee productivity, attendance record, and other KPIs to help separate the star players from the rest on the basis of objective performance metrics.

This approach provides department heads a justification for their downsizing decisions, freeing both leaders and teams of the worst ills of purely subjective decision-making.

Continue reading “Using AI For Organizational Rightsizing: 5 Benefits For Decision Making” | >