Environment

What happened to The Ocean Cleanup — the system that would rid the oceans of plastic? (ABC News)

This came to my attention recently: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023-03-17/ocean-cleanup-plastic-pollution-great-pacific-garbage-patch/102075810 “[But] if the plastic density was a tenth of what it is in those [Ocean Cleanup] videos, they’ll just be sailing around at sea wasting fuel and everything else.” For their part, The Ocean Cleanup say they’re using computer modelling and sophisticated ship navigation technology to concentrate their efforts on […]

Uncategorized

Fake Plastic Greening

“What would make a difference is developing mass transport and substantially reducing car ownership; closing coal mines and ending oil and gas exploration; promoting decentralised and community-managed renewable energy systems; doing away with industrial-scale monoculture farming; and supporting smallholder and Indigenous-led agroecological systems that have been shown to enhance nutrition, biodiversity and quality of life. […]

Society Technology

ChatGPT CEO – Technology will fix the problems of Technology

https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-chatgpt-ceo-sam-altman-responds-school-plagiarism-concerns-bans-2023-1 Given how popular ChatGPT has become, Altman believes that the world must adapt to generative AI and that technology will improve over time to prevent unintended consequences. “It’s an evolving world,” Altman said. “We’ll all adapt, and I think be better off for it. And we won’t want to go back.” I’m not convinced. […]

Health

Hydration & Health

Interesting finding via CNN: You may know that being adequately hydrated is important for day-to-day bodily functions such as regulating temperature and maintaining skin health. But drinking enough water is also associated with a significantly lower risk of developing chronic diseases, a lower risk of dying early or lower risk of being biologically older than your chronological […]

Oddities

American Chocolate

Well, I have wondered, via The Guardian: There are a few things that routinely keep me up at night: the futility of life, the inevitability of death, and the mystery of why the US’s chocolate is so disgusting. Readers who have had the misfortune to encounter a Hershey bar will know exactly what I’m talking […]