environment

Smartphone makers are starting to advertise their strategies in reducing their environmental footprint, but many of those often involve changes to packaging. The latest example is the controversial removal of the charger from iPhone 12 boxes, something that Samsung first ridiculed but then will reportedly copy. Electronic waste, however, comes in different forms and one of the biggest is actually the number of smartphones being thrown out. At CES 2021, Samsung revealed a new aspect of its Upcycling program that will give unused Galaxy phones a new lease on life at home.

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Lava appeared after the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) announced detection of a a magnitude-4.4 earthquake located beneath Kīlauea Volcano's south flank. This event was officially detected on Sunday, December 20 at 10:36 PM HST. A lava lake grew overnight at tremendous speed, and plenty of video and photos were recorded as liquid fire spewed forth from the depths.

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Apple's decision to exclude a charger in the iPhone 12 box has unsurprisingly sparked some controversy but it also ignited discussions around sustainability in the mobile world. True to its image as being a trendsetter, there are already speculations that other manufacturers like Samsung will eventually follow suit despite statements to the contrary. Google is conveniently skirting around that question and is instead focusing on its efforts to completely banish plastic from its products by 2025, at least as far as their packaging is concerned.

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The new Chromecast is Google's most powerful media dongle and finally addresses the issue of the missing remote, but all I could think about when I first saw it was... why did they make it in three different colors? On sale from today, the $49.99 streaming adapter can be had in Snow, Sunrise, and Sky, which seems a weird decision when you consider you'll probably only get to enjoy those finishes for a couple of minutes before you plug it in behind the TV.

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Inside every non-basic LEGO brick set you'll find a series of plastic bags with numbers printed on their sides. You'll get a set of 3 or more, each with a set of LEGO pieces that correspond with the set's instructions booklet. In an effort to promote sustainability and assist in the preservation of all life on Earth, LEGO will begin phasing out this system of waste over the next several years.

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A high-fidelity record of variations in our planet's temperatures was created and revealed this week, spanning a cool 66 million years into the past. This timeline is the most complete record of its kind, showing global mean temperatures of our planet, showing four significantly different states. These states were named Hothouse, Warmhouse, Coolhouse, and Icehouse.

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A new development from Imperial College London may usher in an era of leather-alternatives that are better for the environment without compromising on quality. Unlike real leather, which is made from cowhide, and faux 'vegan' leather, which is made from plastics, the newly introduced leather-like material is made from mushrooms -- and it is more realistic than commonly available faux leather options, according to the researchers.

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A new study from Yale University reveals that asphalt -- the material used to construct roads and parking lots around the world -- is a silent contributor to the air pollution that is harming both the environment and the people who live in it. The effect is at its worst on hot, sunny days, the study found, with the intense heat increasing the number of harmful particles the asphalt emits into the air.

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This week the folks at Fairphone dropped the gauntlet when it comes to creating a sustainable future for electronics and our planet Earth. Much like a gaming computer, Fairphone 3+ has the ability to upgrade parts, one part at a time. If you want a better camera, you replace the camera, not the whole phone.

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An initiative from the Nippon Foundation called The Tokyo Toilet Project has launch three of 17 planned public toilets in Tokyo's Shibuya district, including two with a very unique design: transparent walls. People on the outside of the facilities can see within, showing off the toilets' clean, bright interior. When someone claims a stall, however, the walls transform as if by magic.

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A tiny, adorable mammal that resembles a field mouse and that stays with the same mate for life -- the Somali Sengi -- was thought to potentially be extinct. Scientists went more than 50 years without documenting the critter; in fact, the Somali Sengi was one of the top 25 'most wanted' lost species named by the Global Wildlife Conservation. As it turns out, locals knew about the creature's continued existence all along.

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced the discovery of a chemical found in grapefruit peels that can effectively repel bloodthirsty insects like ticks and mosquitos. The agency has big plans for this compound, which it has registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for use in insect repellants and insecticides. What's so special about this chemical? It works differently from existing insecticides, effectively killing pests that bite and, as a result, reducing the presence of bloodborne diseases like Lyme disease.

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