Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Category: sustainability – Page 147

A recent study published in AGU Advances examines how the conservation and protection of two Alaskan forests, Tongass and Chugach, are essential in fighting the effects of climate change due to their expanse for wildlife habitats, abundant carbon stocks, and landscape integrity. This study was led by researchers from Oregon State University and holds the potential to help scientists better understand the steps that need to be taken to mitigate the long-term effects of climate change by preserving the resources of today.

Tongass National Forest (Credit: Logan Berner)

“More thoroughly safeguarding those forests from industrial development would contribute significantly to climate change mitigation and species adaptation in the face of the severe ecological disruption that’s expected to occur over the next few decades as the climate rapidly gets warmer,” said Dr. Beverly Law, who is a Professor Emeritus of Global Change Biology & Terrestrial Systems Science at Oregon State University and lead author of the study.

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The rim-less electric motor promises to offer similar performance figures when compared to its fossil-fuelled counterparts.

An electric jet engine is silently taking flight in the suburbs of Prince Edward Island in North America that promises to deliver similar performance to its fossil-fuelled counterparts.

Canada-based Duxion Motors has successfully completed the ground test of its patented eJet Motor, which, according to it, is “poised to make high-speed electric aviation a reality,” said its website. The ground tests with a scaled prototype included both low-speed and high-speed testing.

According to its founders, the automobile sector has made significant progress toward sustainable transportation, whereas the aviation industry has lagged. One of the key factors contributing to this gap is a lack of high-power, lightweight electric propulsion, which it aims to fulfill.

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Another good use for AI. Fighting disinformation.

About 60% of adults in the US who get their news through social media have, largely unknowingly, shared false information, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center. The ease at which disinformation is spread and the severity of consequences it brings — from election hacking to character assassination — make it an issue of grave concern for us all.

One of the best ways to combat the spread of fake news on the internet is to understand where the false information was started and how it was disseminated. And that’s exactly what Camille Francois, the chief innovation officer at Graphika, is doing. She’s dedicated to bringing to light disinformation campaigns before they take hold.

Francois and her team are employing machine learning to map out online communities and better understand how information flows through networks. It’s a bold and necessary crusade as troll farms, deep fakes, and false information bombard the typical internet user every single day.

Francois says, this work is two parts technology, one part sociology. The techniques are always evolving, and we have to stay one step ahead.” We sit down with Francois for an in-depth discussion on how the tech works and what it means for the dissemination of information across the internet.

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Japanese scientists have developed a new type of plastic that’s strong at room temperature, but can be easily broken down on demand into its base components. In seawater, it starts to break down into food for marine life, and just to top it off, it can self-heal and remember past shapes.

Plastic is everywhere in our modern world, for better or worse. Its toughness makes it an extremely useful material for everything from household items to vehicle parts, but that same toughness makes it hard to break down for recycling or disposal.

In the new study, scientists at the University of Tokyo developed a new plastic material that can be broken down more easily, either in recycling plants or in nature. It’s based on a class of plastic called an epoxy resin vitrimer, which are strong at room temperature but can be reshaped and molded with a bit of added heat. Normally, vitrimers are brittle, but the team improved the recipe by adding a molecule called polyrotaxane.

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Awkward name aside, the Lexus LF-ZC Concept that debuted at the Japan Mobility Show last week is a very big deal. When it goes into production in 2026, it will be the first electric vehicle on an all-new, ground-up Toyota platform; will do some very next-level things with the company’s steer-by-wire technology; and an alleged 620 miles of electric range.

It is not, however, going to do that with some huge battery pack that weighs as much as an apartment building. Instead, it’s going to rely mostly on chemistry to deliver on those big range claims.

As part of the auto show festivities, Toyota invited several international media outlets, including InsideEVs, to Japan last week. There, the world’s largest automaker previewed a number of emerging technology concepts, including a simulated “manual transmission” for electric cars, an advanced in-car AI assistant and its EV battery plans for the next few years.

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