"It could end up in reservoirs or larger rivers where there are predatory fish, top predators that humans would catch and consume." Scientists make concerning discovery about toxins in headwaters after wildfires blaze through Pacific Northwest: 'An increase in risk of exposure' f … | Continue reading
Sept. 21, 2024: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend. | Continue reading
Charlie Warzel writing about his toilet theory of the internet: I have precious little time to hook a reader with whatever I’m trying to get them to read—but also that my imagined audience of undistracted, fully engaged readers is an idealized one. It says a lot that someone as g … | Continue reading
Markdown and Math Live Renderer Another of my tiny Claude-assisted JavaScript tools. This one lets you enter Markdown with embedded mathematical expressions (like $ax^2 + bx + c = 0$) and live renders those on the page, with an HTML version using MathML that you can export throug … | Continue reading
"Multiple studies have shown that it smothers and kills butterflies, bees, ladybugs, it will kill everything." Gardener issues warning against common landscaping product marketed as organic and natural: 'I didn't know' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Nagoya University researchers synthesized new multilayered perovskites, finding that their ferroelectric properties change based on the number of layers. This discovery could greatly enhance future electronic device development. A research team from Nagoya University in Japan has … | Continue reading
Spraying herbicide, even to kill weeds, doesn't do anyone any favors. Frustrated property owner shares photo after neighbor 'liberally' applies harmful weed spray: 'It looks horrible' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
While I’m going to continue posting here, when there’s a reason for it, I’m holding off on manually importing any more old posts. The best thing about Pika is that it’s dead simple and offers me almost no temptation to tinker, because except for a little CSS there’s nothing to ti … | Continue reading
Showing how much the solar industry is both 1) a major source of jobs in the US and 2) a fast growing segment of the economy, the 14th annual National Solar Jobs Census by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) was just published and includes two big stats: 15,564 solar j … | Continue reading
Without interventive measures, researchers project that the worrying trend in the analysis won't go away. New report shows alarming rise in heat-related deaths: 'The recent increasing trend is likely to continue' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
If you’re looking for a no-fuss way to monitor real-time power consumption on your Ubuntu laptop, a new GNOME Shell extension makes it deliciously easy. “Why would I want to see energy usage?” – anyone asking that question probably doesn’t. This is more for the curious folk, thos … | Continue reading
Because of course he is.Not all climate deniers are horrible people, but most horrible people are climate deniers.Donald Trump’s hand picked candidate for North Carolina Governor is even crazier, and sleazier, than you already knew. Daily Beast: An email account used by North Car … | Continue reading
"Natural foliage is always so much more interesting to look at." Homeowner shares before-and-after photos detailing alternative lawn transformation: 'We're loving how it's turning out' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
A bulk deposit machine has opened at recycling location Droppie in Amsterdam, where residents can return up to 200 plastic bottles and cans at a time to get their statiegeld (... | Continue reading
Day 20 for the collage challenge. Here are the original photos and credits: Photo by Joyce Romero on Unsplash Photo by ThisisEngineering on Unsplash Photo by Hans-Jürgen Röttger on Unsplash | Continue reading
People may be compelled to inhabit steeper, riskier terrains as urban expansion, climate change, and flood risks at lower elevations increase. A new study reveals that as cities in mountainous areas expand, more people are being pushed to construct homes on steep slopes vulnerabl … | Continue reading
These days, batteries are frequently recycled and repurposed, and companies that tackle this environmental issue make weekly news. We’ve got more battery recycling news below. MAN will build the biggest public charging network for heavy commercial vehicles in the nation to date, … | Continue reading
These unexpected yet totally genius household products will make life feel a little less hectic and more fun. | Continue reading
These types of stories remind us that, although many species have suffered due to human activities, it is not too late to do the work of saving and protecting as many of them as we can. Experts rediscover one of the 'most wanted' fungi after decades-long search: 'We managed to be … | Continue reading
The options to reuse empty medication bottles are seemingly endless. Consumer searches for ways to reuse empty pill bottles rather than throwing them away: 'Any ideas are much appreciated' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
The teaser for Squid Game Season Two dropped. Blog moderation policy. | Continue reading
We get the cyberpunk we deserve. As a friend put it: “banal panopticon.” | Continue reading
Note that this is a reader’s response to Scott Cooney’s article about Extinction Rebellion, where he postulated the organization could be a front group for fossil industries or at least manipulated by them. This letter to the editor comes to us from David Woodward, and we think i … | Continue reading
"It's the local people who make a real difference to their local waters." Anglers band together to remove invasive plant causing 'massive damage' to local waterway: 'We encourage everyone to get involved' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Watching for changes in the Red Planet’s orbit over time could be a new way to detect passing dark matter. MIT physicists suggest that primordial black holes, formed just after the Big Bang, could constitute most of the universe’s dark matter. These black holes might be detectabl … | Continue reading
"It looks like nothing more than a pet project with a thin veneer of science." Wealthy CEO faces backlash after using taxpayer dollars to bulldoze thousands of acres of forest: 'I'm disturbed' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
The surviving nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island will be restarted to make electricity to power Microsoft data centers. The post Three Mile Island Redux — Nuke Will Be Restarted To Power Microsoft Data Center appeared first on CleanTechnica. | Continue reading
In a move even more enticing than the satisfying pop of those tiny plastic bubbles, the initiative makes it simple for shoppers to participate in a cleaner future. Best Buy teams up with packaging giant to cut plastic waste: 'We're always looking for new ways to reduce our impact … | Continue reading
"This settlement reflects the hard work of state and local public agencies." High speed rail project connecting two major U.S. cities completes major step: 'State-of-the-art transportation' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Illustration: The Verge In a late Friday email, X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced the launch of a new “video tab” feature (resembling a TikTok-style endless scroll, according to a source at X) and an X-exclusive reality series, called The Offseason, starring soccer star Midge Purce … | Continue reading
"The situation [of global overheating] demands honesty, and a change of course." Scientists lay out case against myth that would cause catastrophic harm — here's what they're saying first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Actions of tourists have even led to potentially permanent closures. Visitor upset after natural national monument forced to close due to vandalism: 'People have such little respect' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
"If the deorbit vehicle is ready, do we go ahead and bring it home?" | Continue reading
An NIH-supported study highlights the potential of a strategy to reach both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. Providing optional syphilis tests to most people seeking care at a large emergency department led to a dramatic increase in syphilis screening and diagnosis, acco … | Continue reading
The decline of these creatures proves the kind of damage invasive species can do. Dedicated conservation efforts resurrect over a dozen species once on the brink of extinction — serving an important lesson about invasive species first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Who are you, and what do you do? I'm Miriam Suzanne, and I make (mostly collaborative) things. I like working with creative teams. Around these (online) parts, I'm mostly making things with HTML and CSS. 20 years ago my theater needed a website, so I learned to make websites. The … | Continue reading
While it's stopping people from enjoying the shoreline, it also presents a threat to wildlife. Beachgoer makes upsetting discovery at popular shoreline: 'Getting out of hand' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Researchers at the University of Michigan have come up with a clever way of turning darkness into night vision with a new OLED approach thinner than paper – but maybe not as sexy looking as Spec-Ops AN/PSQ-20 Enhanced Night Vision Goggles. Continue Reading Category: Technology Ta … | Continue reading
Suzanne Smalley, the Record: Ford Motor Company is seeking a patent for technology that would allow it to tailor in-car advertising by listening to conversations among vehicle occupants, as well as by analyzing a car’s historical location and other data, according to a patent app … | Continue reading
"It seems like it's suffocating the few plants that are here." New homeowner raises concerns about landscaping mistake inherited from previous owners: 'Is this even safe?' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
A fair number of Mac users have discovered that the Apple Music application will seemingly spontaneously open itself at random, and even play music, without being prompted to do so. That Apple Music will randomly open itself and even start playing music is highly undesirable beha … | Continue reading
Some of this article is stuff that’s been widely discussed for months, but I think it goes a little deeper into how I think we got here. Maybe I’m wrong, but after covering Tesla and Elon Musk very closely for 12 years and having my assumptions and analysis affirmed by ... [conti … | Continue reading
The device, which is narrower than a human hair, boosts and transforms near-infrared light into visible light, promising both low power usage and extended battery life. Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a new type of OLED (organic light-emitting diode) that … | Continue reading
Kevin V. Nguyen, San Francisco Standard: In a wide-ranging, 45-minute set, [John] Mulaney did not hold back when it came to joking about the cartoonish conference, which aspired to be the “largest AI event in the world.” “You’re an account executive at Top Low?” Mulaney asked an … | Continue reading
Will Stankes and I set out in the morning betimes for Gravely, where to an ale-house and drank, and then, going towards the Court House, met my uncle Thomas and his son Thomas, with Bradly, the rogue that had betrayed us, and one Young, a cunning... | Continue reading
Research shows our warming world means heat waves will get longer, more extreme, and more frequent in the future. Unrelenting heat wave bakes Texas with triple-digit temperatures — setting new record highs for summer temperatures first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
A coalition of environmental and health groups has called on Microsoft to rely on clean energy generation instead of a proposed expansion of methane-fueled power for its planned Racine County data center — projected to become Wisconsin Electric’s “largest electric load.” In an op … | Continue reading
Amelia Watson has announced her soft retirement from Hololive EN Myth: Watson Amelia, a member of the VTuber group hololive English, will conclude all of her channel activities on September 30th, 2024. […] Though her channel activities will end, Watson Amelia will remain an affil … | Continue reading