2019年8月17日
This pink seaweed could reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 10%
University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) researchers are looking at ways to mass-produce a pink seaweed that can stop cows from burping methane — and ultimately reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions in the process. The seaweed species, called Asparagopsis, was first discovered to have this anti-burping effect in 2014.
In a YouTube video uploaded by USC, Associate Professor Nick Paul, who leads the USC seaweed research group, described Asparagopsis as a “red, puffy, pink-ish seaweed”.Paul said that if enough of the seaweed is grown for every cow in Australia, the country could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 10%.“When added to cow feed at less than 2% of the dry matter, this particular seaweed completely knocks out methane production. It contains chemicals that reduce the microbes in the cows’ stomachs that cause them to burp when they eat grass.”
The group’s main mission is to see large scale production of the seaweed that could supplement cow feed on a national or even global level. “The one missing step, the big thing that is going to make sure this works at a global scale, is to make sure we can produce the seaweed sustainably,” he said in a statement.
Direct livestock emissions account for around 70% of greenhouse gases made by the agricultural sector in Australia. It also accounts for 11% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Paul said methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, having 28 times the heating potential of carbon dioxide. He added that most of methane produced by livestock comes from ruminants such as cows, sheep and goats.
Protesters blocked Palantir's cafeteria to pressure the $20 billion big data company to drop its contracts with ICE
Protesters blocked the entrance to Silicon Valley tech company Palantir’s cafeteria on Friday, denouncing its work aiding the US government’s immigration crackdown and urging employees to speak out. “Immigrants are welcome here, time to cancel Palantir,” the protesters shouted. “Dirty data company, drop ICE contracts, that’s our plea,” they sang.
Palantir, a big data company that’s one of the most valuable startups in the US, is facing backlash for its ties with ICE. It provides software to ICE which critics say is being used to store and sift through troves of data on undocumented immigrants. The protests at Palantir come as tech companies including Google and Amazon have been rocked by a wave of employee protests against the companies’ work with the US military and border security agencies.
There were few signs of Palantir employees near Friday’s protest however. The cafeteria appeared mostly empty, and there were no visible efforts made by the company to break up the rally. Palantir was cofounded by venture capitalist Peter Thiel, an outspoken supporter of President Trump. In recent weeks, Thiel and Joe Lonsdale, another Palantir cofounder, have accused companies like Google of being “unpatriotic,” for not working with the US military.
Besides Palantir’s work with ICE, speakers also condemned Palantir’s work with the military and its technology enabling “predictive policing,” and accused the company’s technology of violating people’s privacy.The coalition plans to continue to protest at Palantir every week as part of a seven-week campaign until September 25. This campaign involves actions every week, from social media campaigns to rallies.
How this Aussie telco is fighting to disrupt the status quo
New telco numobile is now seeking to shift this paradigm by nixing the idea that consumers should purchase a new model each year. New models, operating softwares and updates are consistently permeating news cycles and feeds as consumers are faced with a world of choice when it comes to handsets – though slightly less so when it comes to the actual providers.
Positioning themselves as an alternative to the telcos that almost exclusively attach the latest models to phone plans, numobile is working off a business model that provides customers with pre-owned phones with their plans.
As it stands, the ongoing culture of replacing phones annually enforces the pressure to remain ‘current’, undoubtedly weighing on the minds of consumers.Using the iPhone as an example, the biggest differences between models are (generally) an upgraded camera, slightly faster running speed and different size handset – though the previous models remain entirely functional.
In addition to providing customers with pre-owned phones, numobile’s structure allows consumers to swap and return their phones. If your phone isn’t in great nick, you also have the opportunity to swap it over with a potential slight additional cost to cover the phone. In essence, with more and more telcos taking this tack of disrupting the annual release market, the telecommunications industry is able to reduce its waste output and decrease the number of phones ending up in landfill or gathering dust at home.
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