Image: ChargePoint Nobody asked for this AI search bullshit, Google. Not only are the AI generated responses demonstrably worse than normal, they’re infringing on intellectual property rights, killing traditional media, and—thanks to a new Jacobin report we now know—soaking up gobs of electricity in the process. Artificial intelligence-powered search engines are an all-around bad idea, … Read more
Ferrari’s all-electric model won’t be launched for over a year, but early tests prove it has all the driving traits and emotion of a true Ferrari, according to Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna. “The final judge will be the client,” Vigna told CNBC during the opening of the company’s new E-Building in Maranello, Italy. “More people … Read more
Emergency vehicles are parked next to the site of a fire at a lithium battery factory owned by South Korean battery maker Aricell in Hwaseong on June 24, 2024. Anthony Wallace | Afp | Getty Images At least twenty-two people died after lithium battery combustion ignited a massive fire in a South Korean factory, local … Read more
This story originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish. Summer arrives, and with it comes an arachnophobic furor—frantic reports about the intrusion of recluse spiders into our homes. Also known as fiddlebacks or violin spiders, these are arachnids of the genus Loxosceles. They’re found in warm areas across the world, … Read more
As the weather gets hotter, Americans water their lawns more often and waste more water. Traditional sprinklers aren’t accurate, usually watering the driveway, the sidewalk and the lawn. Landscape irrigation uses about 9 billion gallons of water per day, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and about half of that goes to waste. Meanwhile, … Read more
Agricultural yields for important commodities produced in those states (fruits, nuts, corn, sugar, veggies, wheat) are withering, thanks to punishing heat and soil-nutrition depletion. The supply chains through which these products usually travel are thrown off course at varying points, by storms that disrupt land and sea transportation. Preparation for these varying externalities requires supply-chain … Read more
Hopefully, America’s highways don’t end up looking like Centralia, PAPhoto: joshblake (Getty Images) As a heat dome descends over the United States this week, temperatures are soaring across the Midwest and Northeast. Besides the potentially fatal heat exhaustion, highways across the country are literally buckling under the scorching heat. The phenomenon has happened for decades, … Read more
Things are looking up for the Iberian lynx. Just over two decades ago, the pointy-eared wild cat was on the brink of extinction, but as of Thursday the International Union for Conservation of Nature says it’s no longer an endangered species. Successful conservation efforts mean that the animal, native to Spain and Portugal, is now … Read more
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. Lev Radin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images New York is launching a program offering homeowners up to $14,000 in total rebates for energy-efficiency upgrades to their property, and more states are expected to follow suit by summer’s end. The rebate programs are part of the federal Inflation Reduction Act, the largest … Read more
Paging all bird enthusiasts: Researchers need your help solving a long list of mysteries — namely, what has happened to 126 species of birds and, most importantly, if they even exist anymore. The Search for Lost Birds, a collaboration between Re:wild, the American Bird Conservancy and BirdLife International, is a newly updated dataset of bird … Read more
