Greenland's Ice Melting Faster Than At Any Time In Past 12,000 Years

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Greenland’s ice is starting to melt faster than at any time in the past 12,000 years, research has shown, which will raise sea levels and could have a marked impact on ocean currents. New measurements show the rate of melting matches any in the geological record for the Holocene period — defined as the period since the last ice age — and is likely to accelerate, according to a paper published in the journal Nature. The increased loss of ice is likely to lead to sea level rises of between 2cm and 10cm by the end of the century from Greenland alone, according to the study.

These changes, over the relatively short period of less than a century, appear to be unprecedented. Greenland’s ice sheet shrank between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, and has been slowly cumulating over the past 4,000 years. The current melting will reverse that pattern and within the next 1,000 years, if global heating continues, the vast ice sheet is likely to vanish altogether. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise strongly, the rate of melting could accelerate further to be four times greater than anything found in the past 12,000 years.

The team behind the latest Greenland study made their estimates by producing a computer model of a section of the south-western region of the ice sheet over the past 12,000 years and then projecting forward to the end of this century. They checked their findings against what we can tell actually occurred with the ice, through satellite measurements and other instruments, and also by mapping the position of boulders containing beryllium-10. These are deposited by glaciers as they move, and measurements of beryllium-10 can reveal how long the boulders have been in position, and therefore where the edge of the ice sheet was when the boulder was deposited.

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Source: Slashdot – Greenland’s Ice Melting Faster Than At Any Time In Past 12,000 Years

Google's 'Hold for Me' Assistant feature appears first on new Pixel phones

When the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G arrive, they’ll include an early preview of Google’s new feature for the Phone app, the Duplex-powered “Hold for Me.” Mentioned during the Launch Night presentation and explained in a blog post, it lets Google Assista…

Source: Engadget – Google’s ‘Hold for Me’ Assistant feature appears first on new Pixel phones

IKEA Is Saying Goodbye To Non-Rechargeable Batteries

Ikea will remove all non-rechargeable alkaline batteries from its global home furnishings by October 2021, according to statement from the company emailed Wednesday. CNET reports: Aiming to reduce energy consumption and environmental waste with the move, the home furnishing giant cited the results of recent life-cycle assessment studies showing the environmental impact of alkaline batteries is higher compared with rechargeable nickel metal hydride batteries, when used in common household devices. The Swedish company, based in the Netherlands, said between September 2018 and August 2019 it sold about 300 million alkaline batteries globally. Ikea calculates that if all of its customers switched from alkaline to rechargeable batteries and recharged them just 50 times, global waste could be reduced by as much as 5,000 tons on an annual basis. Ikea added, however, that where required for an individual product to function, some lithium ion button cell batteries will be kept in the product range. “We are on a journey to inspire and enable people to live healthier and more sustainable lives within the boundaries of the planet,” said Ikea Sustainability Development Manager Caroline Reid. “By phasing out alkaline batteries and focusing on our range of rechargeable batteries, we are taking one step on that journey, offering customers an affordable and convenient solution to prolong the life of products and materials and reduce waste.”

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Source: Slashdot – IKEA Is Saying Goodbye To Non-Rechargeable Batteries

Linux-driven COM duo tap i.MX8M Plus

TechNexion’s rugged “EDM-G-IMX8M-PLUS” and “AXON-E-IMX8M-PLUS” modules run Linux on NXP’s 2.3 TOPS i.MX8M Plus with up to 8GB LPDDR4, 16GB eMMC, WiFi/BT, and starter kits. There are also new i.MX8M Mini and Nano EDM modules. TechNexion has posted product pages for two compute modules that feature NXP’s i.MX8M Plus. The EDM-G-IMX8M-PLUS is essentially the same […]

Source: LXer – Linux-driven COM duo tap i.MX8M Plus

Serious Injuries At Amazon Fulfillment Centers Topped 14,000, Despite the Company's Safety Claims

Even as Amazon spends tens of millions on new robotics and technologies to automate its warehouses, workers are still paying the price with more than 14,000 serious injuries — requiring days off or job restrictions — reported in fulfillment centers in 2019, according to a report from Reveal. TechCrunch reports: Overall, the company saw 7.7 serious injuries per 100 employees, a number that’s 33% higher than it was four years ago and double the most recent industry standard, despite significant investments and claims that safety is improving at its facilities, the report said. A document dump from the Center for Investigative Reporting given to Reveal, internal safety reports and weekly injury numbers from Amazon’s network of national fulfillment centers shows that Amazon has misled the public about its safety record. And that the company’s biggest shopping days — during Prime week and the long holiday season — are the most dangerous for its workers.

In a statement, Amazon called Reveal’s report “misinformed” and quibbled over the terminology, while claiming that “we continue to see improvements in injury prevention and reduction” through a variety of programs, though documents in the report suggest otherwise. Bulletins sent out every month reveal a grim tally of injuries and safety problems, problems that the company was well aware of. Updates marked “Privileged & Confidential” and reportedly obtained by Reveal indicate that the company has failed to hit safety targets. Despite its intentions to reduce injury rates by 20% in 2018, rates rose. In 2019, when the company decided to try and lower its injury rates by a more modest 5%, the number of injuries still went up.

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Source: Slashdot – Serious Injuries At Amazon Fulfillment Centers Topped 14,000, Despite the Company’s Safety Claims

New From Kotaku's Reader-Run Community: Thoughts on Dying Light, And More

Today’s selection of articles from Kotaku’s reader-run community: Backlog Files: Dying Light TAY Retro: Famicom – Red Arremer (Gargoyle’s Quest II) [TV Commercia (JP)]TAY Retro: Famicom – Rockman 5 (Mega Man 5) [TV Commercial (JP)]

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Source: Kotaku – New From Kotaku’s Reader-Run Community: Thoughts on Dying Light, And More

Facebook Launches Cross-Platform Messaging On Instagram and Messenger

Facebook is now allowing select users use Instagram to chat with friends on Facebook Messenger and vise-versa. Instagram’s direct messages system is also being expanded with features taken from Messenger. The Verge reports: New Instagram messaging tools include vanishing messages, selfie stickers, custom emoji, chat colors, new ways to block unwanted messages, and the introduction of Messenger’s Watch Together feature, which lets you watch videos with friends during a video call. Users will be able to reject the update if they choose, but Facebook will no doubt be betting that access to new features will encourage them to say yes. In addition to cross-platform messaging, users on Instagram and Messenger can also search for profiles across both apps simultaneously. Users can opt out of these features if they wish. According to CNN, the [cross-platform messaging feature] is currently being “tested in select markets and will expand globally in the coming months.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Facebook Launches Cross-Platform Messaging On Instagram and Messenger

Facebook has removed more than 6,500 militia groups and pages

Facebook has removed more than 6,500 pages and groups associated with “militarized social movements,” since the company announced it would crack down on QAnon and militia movements on its platform last month. Under the new rules, Facebook said it wou…

Source: Engadget – Facebook has removed more than 6,500 militia groups and pages

Mercedes-Benz's Newest Electric City Bus Uses Solid-State Batteries

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Mercedes-Benz just announced that its new eCitaro and eCitaro G city buses will be available with roof-mounted solid-state battery packs, developed in conjunction with the Canadian power company Hydro Quebec. Although details are still rather limited right now, Mercedes-Benz says that the solid-state pack has a 25-percent higher energy density than even the most advanced lithium-ion chemistry. It also says that the solid-state battery has a much better service life than lithium-ion and is warrantying these batteries for 10 years or an energy throughput of 280MWh. When configured with a total of 441kWh onboard (composed of seven 63kWh packs), an eCitaro G has a range of up to 137 miles (220km) under favorable conditions, or 105 miles (170km) in the depth of winter with the bus’s heaters running.

However, these solid-state batteries aren’t perfect. In particular, they aren’t able to fast-charge at rates comparable to lithium-ion, which is why Mercedes-Benz is also offering the bus with an optional lithium-ion pack that can be charged at 150kW or even 300kW instead. This uses a nickel-manganese-cobalt chemistry and comes in assemblies of 33kWh that can be combined to give a bus up to 396kWh in total. “In a traditional battery, a pair of electrodes are immersed in an electrolyte solution, and it’s this liquid electrolyte that allows ions to move from one electrode to the other,” the report adds. “But liquid electrolytes can leak, and that’s not a great thing, whether the material is highly corrosive, as in a lead-acid battery, or highly flammable, as in a lithium-ion battery. So researchers around the world have been experimenting with batteries that use a solid electrolyte instead, with a particular eye on using them in electric vehicles.”

Further reading: The Slashdot Interview With Lithium-Ion Battery Inventor John B. Goodenough

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Mercedes-Benz’s Newest Electric City Bus Uses Solid-State Batteries

Even The Haunting of Bly Manor's Episode Titles Are Spooky as Hell

The wait is almost over for Mike Flanagan’s much-anticipated follow-up to The Haunting of Hill House. A new setting and characters await in The Haunting of Bly Manor, but in the spirit of all good horror anthologies, it looks like the levels of dread and terror will be just as satisfying. Exhibit A: the episode titles!

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Source: io9 – Even The Haunting of Bly Manor’s Episode Titles Are Spooky as Hell

Report: Warner Bros. Games President Says Transphobe J. K. Rowling Has "The Right To Hold Her Opinions"

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is a transphobe. That is not an opinion, it is a fact. Maybe someone could share that distinction with Warner Bros. Games president David Haddad.

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Source: Kotaku – Report: Warner Bros. Games President Says Transphobe J. K. Rowling Has “The Right To Hold Her Opinions”

“A boondoggle”: Trump admin.’s $300M COVID-19 ad campaign flounders

The shadow of a reporter with a microphone falls on the wall behind a man in a suit.

Enlarge / Former Trump campaign official Michael Caputo arrives at the Hart Senate Office building to be interviewed by Senate Intelligence Committee staffers on May 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. (credit: Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

The Trump administration’s more-than-$300-million “public advertising and awareness campaign” on the COVID-19 pandemic is floundering as A-list celebrities back away and staff at the Department of Health and Human Services express opposition, according to reporting by Politico.

The campaign—organized by former Trump campaign official Michael Caputo—was intended to “defeat despair” and bolster confidence in the Trump administration’s response to the pandemic. A central feature of the campaign would be video interviews between celebrities and administration officials, who would discuss the pandemic and the federal response.

To pull it off, Caputo and his team requisitioned $300 million that Congress had previously budgeted for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They also made a list of more than 30 big-name celebrities that they hoped to appear in the Health Department’s videos, including Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Billy Joel, Britney Spears, Bruno Mars, Bon Jovi, and Madonna.

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Source: Ars Technica – “A boondoggle”: Trump admin.’s 0M COVID-19 ad campaign flounders

The one-millionth commit: The search for the lucky Linux kernel contributor

This week has been “a week of millions” for the Linux Foundation, with our announcement that over 1 million people have taken our free Introduction to Linux course. As part of the research for our recently published 2020 Linux Kernel History Report, the Kernel Project itself determined that it had surpassed one million code commits. […]

Source: LXer – The one-millionth commit: The search for the lucky Linux kernel contributor