environment

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.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

It wouldn't be surprising to discover if the world's energy consumption significantly spiked this year due to the abrupt change in lifestyles and working conditions. At the same time, restrictions in movement and travel may have made traditional energy sources like diesel and fossil fuel more difficult to process, maintain, and even transport. The need for accessible sustainable energy is becoming even more important and Microsoft has just tested one such solution on one of the world's biggest consumers of power: datacenter servers.

Continue Reading

KFC is no stranger to technology but most of the time you see its name in tech news is mostly in relation to some tongue-in-cheek promotion or gimmick. That said, the company best known for its chicken-based menu has also been dipping its fingers in more serious and actually more practical technologies, one that could save its business should there be a severe chicken shortage. Its backup plan goes beyond just Beyond Meat and involves practically 3D printing your next serving of chicken nuggets.

Continue Reading

Fast-food company Burger King is back with another environmentally-friendly Whopper -- and unlike the Impossible Whopper, this new burger features real beef, not a plant-based product. What makes it unique? The beef is sourced from cows that were fed a unique diet intended to reduce methane emissions, one of the multiple concerns associated with raising cattle for meat.

Continue Reading