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☆ Cloud seeding probably didn't cause Dubai's floods. The UAE has been trying to control its weather for years, and the US does it too.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Photos show how the UAE, United States, and other countries have been seeding clouds for decades. Historic floods in Dubai didn't come from cloud seeding, but humans' climate impacts are playing a role. Related storiesAccording to several scientists, cloud seeding isn't the driving force behind Dubai's historic floods. Packets of salt are pictured during a cloud seeding operation at a military airbase in Subang, Malaysia. The real threat behind Dubai's floodsMany atmospheric scientists have dismissed the idea that cloud seeding was behind Dubai's floods.

Persons: GIUSEPPE CACACE, Getty, Prometheus, Frankenstein —, Thomas Peipert, Al Hayer, Amr Alfiky, Andrea DiCenzo, Lim Huey Teng, there'd, Friederike Otto, John Marsham, Jeff Big Jeff, Gary Coronado, Marsham, Fred Greaves, Otto Organizations: Dubai didn't, Service, United Arab Emirates, United Arab, UAE, Reuters, National Center of Meteorology, United, UAE's National, of Meteorology, Militia, Imperial College London, Science Media, SMC, University of Leeds, Los Angeles Times, Getty, UAE isn't, National Park Service, AP Locations: UAE, United States, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Rocky, Lyons , Colorado, China, Australia, Al Ain, Utah, Dongkou county, Shaoyang, Hunan province, Subang, Malaysia, Bannon, Sacramento, , California, California's Sacramento County

☆ Even MrBeast doesn't think everyone is cut out to be a content creator
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

MrBeast said it's not smart to drop out of school or quit a job to create content full-time. AdvertisementMrBeast doesn't think just anyone has what it takes to be a content creator. AdvertisementSophie Bishop, an associate professor at the media and communications school at Britain's University of Leeds, told BI that content creators must also contend with having no employment benefits like holiday pay or maternity leave. For example, while it's a perfectly good strategy to be influenced by Donaldson, there will never be another creator who is the same as MrBeast. AdvertisementInstead, she tells people what not to do and seeks to be honest about "the things we think are tacky, overpriced, and boring."

Persons: MrBeast, he's, —, Jimmy Donaldson, Donaldson, He's, Katya Varbanova, Varbanova, it's, isn't, Burger, Sophie Bishop, Bishop, Jessica Dante, Dante Organizations: Service, YouTube, Britain's University of Leeds, Love Locations: London

☆ Mars could be creating 'giant whirlpools' deep within our planet's oceans
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Mars may be 140 million miles away, but its gravitational pull could be impacting Earth's oceans. Scientists at the University of Sydney in Australia believe the red planet's tug is creating "giant whirlpools" in the oceans called eddies, which can shift the deep-sea floor. This, they claim, is part of a 2.4-million-year climate "grand cycle" on Earth that has been ongoing for at least 40 million years. The red planet's orbit and ours are locked in an intricate dance, and every so often, these line up so that Mars' gravitational pull on Earth is just a little more intense — this is called resonance. This information is crucial when refining models helping us see how our planet's intricate climate will progress over time.

Persons: Adriana Dutkiewicz, NASA's, Dietmar Müller, Malin, Matthew England, Benjamin Mills, wasn't, Mills Organizations: Service, University of Sydney, Business, NASA's Goddard Space, geosciences, Nature Communications, Mars NASA, JPL, Systems, University of New, New, University of Leeds Locations: Australia, Japan, New, University of New South Wales, Sydney

☆ Satellites burning up in our atmosphere may not be as harmless as first thought
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Satellites and spacecraft burning up in our atmosphere are leaving metal particles in the stratosphere — and scientists are worried it could harm our planet. Stratospheric particles can shape the ozone layerRemember the ozone layer? AdvertisementThat, in turn, can spark a chain reaction that creates rainbow-colored polar stratospheric clouds. Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are seen in the sky over Jukkasjarvi, northern Sweden, on December 17, 2023 in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden. "There's an increasing number of rocket launches for small satellites and tourism, which burn kerosene or other fuels that emissions in the atmosphere.

Persons: Daniel Murphy, that's, Roy Rochlin, Murphy, Thomas Parent, Chelsea Thompson, Martin Chipperfield, Chipperfield, It's Organizations: Service, Business, National Oceanic, Administration Chemical Science, NASA, WB, NOAA, University of Leeds Locations: Montreal, Tonga, Sweden, Jukkasjarvi, Alaska, UK

☆ Greenland has lost ice 36 times the size of New York. That’s a huge problem for the planet
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Angela Dewan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The area of Greenland’s ice loss in the past three decades is roughly 36 times the size of New York City — land that is rapidly giving way to wetlands and shrubs, a study published Tuesday shows. Ice loss has exposed barren rock in parts of the country. Mark Smith/University of LeedsWarmer air temperatures have driven ice loss, which has in turn raised land temperatures. Snow and ice typically reflect the sun’s energy back into space, preventing excessive heating in parts of the Earth. Ice melt also increases the amount of water in lakes, where water absorbs more heat than snow, which increases land surface temperatures.

Persons: Jonathan Carrivick, Mark Smith, ‘, Michael Grimes, “, ” Organizations: CNN, University of Leeds, “ Locations: New York City, Greenland, Kangerlussuaq, Bowdoin, Qaanaaq, Kingdom of Denmark

☆ A giant tsunami may have wiped out Stone Age populations in Britain 8,200 years ago, and scientists say a similar natural disaster could hit the islands again
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"The suggested population decline occurred immediately after the Storegga tsunami occurred," Patrick Sharrocks, the lead author on the paper detailing the research, told Business Insider via email. Evidence of the Storegga tsunami has been found in Norway, England, Denmark, Greenland, and Scotland, including the Shetland Islands. Yet it's coarser than the finer sand found elsewhere attributed to the Storegga waves. AdvertisementNumerical models "can reconstruct the Storegga tsunami but can never be fully representative of past events," Sharrocks said. Future British tsunamisFor years, scientists thought the Storegga tsunami was a unique event.

Persons: —, Patrick Sharrocks, aren't, Marc Guitard, Sharrocks, Dave Tappin Organizations: Service, Business, University of York, University of Leeds, Howick, British Geological Survey, BBC Locations: Norway, Europe, Howick , Northumberland, England, Denmark, Greenland, Scotland, Shetland, Howick, British, Britain

☆ A critical climate goal may be ‘deader than a doornail,’ and scientists are bitterly divided over it
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“Anybody who understands the physics knows that.”Hansen’s words have heft — he is widely credited as the first scientist to publicly sound the alarm on climate change in the 1980s. Climate change is fueling storms in both the summer and winter. The year came within a whisker of breaching 1.5 degrees, according to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service. “For all practical purposes we are only going to be looking at 1.5 degrees in the rearview mirror,” he said. Why 1.5 mattersFew scientists will dispute that the world faces a daunting path to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.

Persons: James Hansen, Lauren Owens Lambert, I’ve, Jim, ”, Michael Mann, Hansen, Friederike Otto, “, it’s, Niño, Hurricane Idalia, Joe Raedle, ” Otto, –, Storm Daniel, Karim Sahib, Bill McGuire, ” McGuire, Chris Smith, El Niño, Mann, Samantha Burgess, Copernicus, Otto said, ’ ” Smith, “ we’ve, McGuire, Otto Organizations: CNN, Getty, University of Pennsylvania, Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute, “, United, Hurricane, University College London, University of Leeds Locations: Hampton , New Hampshire, AFP, United States, Europe, Tarpon Springs , Florida, Paris, Libya's, Derna, kilter

☆ 'Vampire' stars could be using galactic henchmen to help feed on their companions
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Type-Be stars, nicknamed "vampire" stars, are believed to strip the mass of a nearby star. Type-Be stars, characterized by their large size and surrounding rings of gas, are a subset of type-B stars , which are very hot, bright, and blue. The nickname "vampire stars" comes from the most accepted theory of how type-Be stars form rings, researchers said in the study — by sucking the metaphorical neck of an intergalactic victim. AdvertisementThe team observed the type-Be stars by comparing the positions of various stars over longer and shorter periods. However, the team was surprised to learn that they were detecting a higher rate of binary systems for type-B stars than for type-Be stars.

Persons: —, Jonathan Dodd, de Mink, thrall, Dodd Organizations: Service, Royal Astronomical Society, ESO, University of Leeds, European Space Agency

OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken, February 3, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 20 (Reuters) - OpenAI's staff has threatened to quit the artificial intelligence startup and join former boss Sam Altman at Microsoft's (MSFT.O) new division unless the board resigns, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Apart from Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, Chief Data Scientist Ilya Sutskever and Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap, about 500 members of OpenAI staff said they would resign, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal and Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sam Altman, Mira Murati, Ilya Sutskever, Brad Lightcap, OpenAI, Akash Sriram, Shweta Agarwal, Anil D'Silva Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Microsoft's, Bengaluru

☆ A volcano could erupt in Iceland within hours, but maybe don't cancel your international flights yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But that shouldn't affect your travel plans, though the Blue Lagoon may be off-limits, experts said. AdvertisementAdvertisementThere's no reason to cancel your travel plans to Iceland, despite the country warning of potentially dangerous volcanic activity happening within the next few hours or days, experts told Insider. Iceland declared a state of emergency after an unexpected acceleration of activity at Iceland's Fagradalsfjall volcano near the town of Grindavik. It is always difficult to know exactly how a volcanic eruption will develop, but the latest developments in the peninsula took volcanologists by surprise, McGarvie said. "It is not something that's ever been observed in Iceland, certainly monitored in Iceland, in the last few decades," he said.

Persons: —, Dave McGarvie, Raul Moreno, Andrew Hooper, Lionel Wilson, Hooper, McGarvie Organizations: Service, University of Lancaster, Emergency Management, —, Getty, Geophysics, Leeds, University of Leeds, Planetary Sciences, Lancaster University, UK's Science Media, Icelandic, Iceland Google Locations: Grindavik, Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull, Reykjavik, tktktk

☆ A volcano could erupt in Iceland within hours. Experts say you shouldn't cancel your flights — yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementThere's no reason to cancel your travel plans to Iceland, despite the country warning of potentially dangerous volcanic activity happening within the next few hours or days, experts told Insider. Iceland declared a state of emergency after an unexpected acceleration of activity at Iceland's Fagradalsfjall volcano near the town of Grindavik. It is always difficult to know exactly how a volcanic eruption will develop, but the latest developments in the peninsula took volcanologists by surprise, McGarvie said. While the Reykjanes peninsula was known to have volcanic activity, and its volcano had had fairly mild eruptions over the past decade, this activity accelerated drastically since mid-October. "It is not something that's ever been observed in Iceland, certainly monitored in Iceland, in the last few decades," he said.

REUTERS/Mike Blake Acquire Licensing RightsNov 8 (Reuters) - Lyft (LYFT.O) reported third-quarter revenue and profit surpassing estimates on Wednesday, but gross bookings growth was lower than larger rival Uber's (UBER.N) ride-hailing business. "Softening macro conditions will likely impact Lyft more than its larger peer, Uber," said Angelo Zino, senior equity analyst at CFRA Research. Brewer added that an improved mix of airport rides, scheduled rides and priority pickups also helped margin expansion. Lyft forecast current-quarter adjusted core profit, a key profitability metric closely watched by investors, of $50 million-$60 million, higher than expectations of $48.8 million, according to LSEG data. Lyft said it expects fourth-quarter revenue to grow in mid-single-digits sequentially, compared with market expectation of 4.6% growth, according to Reuters calculations.

Persons: Uber, Mike Blake, Gross, Lyft, Angelo Zino, YipitData, Erin Brewer, Brewer, Akash Sriram, Krishna Chandra Organizations: REUTERS, CFRA Research, Reuters, Thomson Locations: California, Los Angeles , California, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ One-fifth of Europe’s Red List species face risk of extinction, new analysis finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Of all 14,669 varieties of plants and animals found in Europe that were registered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species by the end of 2020, one-fifth of them face the risk of extinction, a new analysis has found. The thousands of species found in Europe that appear on the Red List account for nearly 10% of the continent’s total biodiversity, according to the paper. IPBES originally estimated that 1 million plant and animal species across the world were at risk of extinction, including about half a million insect varieties, based on inferences from Red List data. The data on invertebrates provided by the new analysis suggests the number of species threatened with extinction globally is actually closer to 2 million, Hochkirch said. Hochkirch said he hopes the analysis will spur further conservation action for insects and other threatened species in Europe.

Persons: ”, Axel Hochkirch, Hochkirch, Gerardo Ceballos, Ceballos, ” Ceballos, David Williams, ” Williams, Williams Organizations: CNN, International Union for Conservation, National Museum of, IUCN, of Ecology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Intergovernmental, Services, IPBES, University of Leeds, Agriculture Locations: Europe, Luxembourg

Last month smashed through the previous October temperature record, from 2019, by a massive margin, the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said. The record-breaking October means 2023 is now "virtually certain" to be the warmest year recorded, C3S said in a statement. "When we combine our data with the IPCC, then we can say that this is the warmest year for the last 125,000 years," Burgess said. The only other time before October a month breached the temperature record by such a large margin was in September 2023. Michael Mann, a climate scientist at University of Pennsylvania, said: "Most El Nino years are now record-breakers, because the extra global warmth of El Nino adds to the steady ramp of human-caused warming."

Persons: Akhtar Soomro, Samantha Burgess, Copernicus, C3S, Burgess, Michael Mann, El, El Nino, Piers Forster, Kate Abnett, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Union, El, University of Pennsylvania, El Nino, University of Leeds, Thomson Locations: Jacobabad, Pakistan, Rights BRUSSELS, El Nino, Libya, South America

REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 6 (Reuters) - Lyft's (LYFT.O) price cuts may have helped the ride-hailing firm make a small dent in Uber's (UBER.N) U.S. market share, but not enough to prevent the bigger rival from reporting its second quarterly operating profit. Reuters GraphicsFor Lyft, which under new boss David Risher has signaled a more aggressive pricing strategy, market share wins have been slow. Lyft's share has risen just 200 basis points to 29% since January, when the price war started, YipitData said. "If Uber wants to take more market share quicker from Lyft, it could lower prices. Reuters GraphicsBut Uber's growth has slowed.

Persons: Mike Blake, Lyft, David Risher, YipitData, Uber, Adam Ballantyne, that's, Christopher Vandergrift, Akash Sriram, Shinjini Organizations: San Diego State University, REUTERS, Reuters, Cambiar Investors, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Thomson Locations: San Diego , California, U.S, Bengaluru

Oct 30 (Reuters) - 3D metal-printing startup Seurat Technologies on Monday hinted at potentially going public in the medium-term and said it had raised $99 million in a funding round co-led by chip designer Nvidia's (NVDA.O) venture capital arm. With the latest series C funding round, the company's valuation will approach $350 million, said a source who asked not to be named. The fundraise, co-led by Nvidia's NVentures and Capricorn's Technology Impact Fund, brought in new investors Honda Motor (7267.T) and Cubit Capital. Existing backers including Porsche and venture capital units of Xerox Holdings (XRX.O) and General Motors Co (GM.N) also participated. "Seurat's local factory deployment model provides the industry with a solution to near-shore manufacturing and to increase the resiliency of supply chains," said existing investor Porsche Automobil Holding's (PSHG_p.DE) board member Lutz Meschke.

Persons: Seurat, James DeMuth, Nvidia's NVentures, Porsche Automobil, Lutz Meschke, Akash Sriram, Devika Organizations: Technologies, Reuters, Technology, Honda Motor, Cubit, Porsche, Xerox Holdings, General Motors Co, Siemens Energy's, Thomson Locations: China, Massachusetts, Bengaluru

Last year was 1.26 degrees Celsius (2.27 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer and this year is likely to blow past that, according to scientists. Even though the carbon budget looks to run out early in the year 2029, that doesn’t mean the world will instantly hit 1.5 degrees warmer than pre-industrial times. People should not misinterpret running out of the budget for 1.5 degrees as the only time left to stop global warming, the authors said. “If we are able to limit warming to 1.6 degrees or 1.65 degrees or 1.7 degrees, that’s a lot better than 2 degrees. Lamboll said limiting warming to 1.5 degrees is technically possible, but politically is challenging and unlikely.

Persons: that’s, “ It’s, we’re, ”, Robin Lamboll, Lamboll, Valerie Masson, Christopher Smith, Bill Hare, Glen Peters, Norwegian CICERO, Piers Forster, ” ___ Read, Seth Borenstein Organizations: United Nations, Imperial College of London, University, Leeds, University of Leeds, Twitter, AP Locations: Paris, Delmotte, Dubai, Norwegian

Tesla's Cybertruck is displayed at Manhattan's Meatpacking District in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2021. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 18 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday warned of difficulties in ramping up production of the automaker's much-awaited Cybertruck electric pickup truck and announced that deliveries would begin on Nov. 30. The Cybertruck is expected to challenge Rivian's (RIVN.O) R1T, Ford's (F.N) F-150 Lightning and General Motors' (GM.N) Chevrolet Silverado EV in the hot market for electric pickup trucks. Musk said he wanted "temper expectations" for the truck, adding the company could face "enormous challenges" in ramping up production and making it cash-flow positive. "But I think that they're giving us an indication of the capacity they're going to make available for the Cybertruck as production ramps up."

Persons: Elon Musk, Rivian's, Musk, Tesla, Seth Goldstein, Akash Sriram, Jamie Freed Organizations: Meatpacking, REUTERS, General Motors, Silverado EV, Morningstar, EV, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, United States, Texas, Bengaluru

"I don't think the price cuts are over, mainly for the reason that demand is still weak," said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Tesla shareholder Globalt Investments. Tesla has already cut U.S. prices of its Model 3 compact sedan and Model Y SUV in October. The slump will continue into the fourth quarter and margins could dip below 15%, said Wells Fargo analyst Colin Langan. However, that likely falls short of offsetting the price cuts," Langan said. Tesla slashed the technology's price by a fifth in August and analysts said that more cuts could be on the cards.

Persons: Florence, China's, Thomas Martin, Elon Musk, Tesla, Wells, Colin Langan, Langan, Musk, Gary Black, Akash Sriram, Aditya Soni, Sayantani Ghosh, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Fair for Trade, Services, REUTERS, HK, Globalt Investments, Reuters, Visible Alpha, Fund, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Europe, MEXICO, Nuevo Leon, Mexican, Bengaluru

☆ Antarctica has lost 8.3 trillion tons of ice since 1997, a new study found. That's enough to cover the contiguous US in 3 feet of water.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Seth Borenstein | Maiya Focht | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementAntarctic ice shelves lost about 8.3 trillion tons of ice in the last quarter-century — enough to cover the contiguous US in 3 feet of water. All told, Antarctic ice shelves lost about 8.3 trillion tons (7.5 trillion metric tons) of ice in the 25-year period, the study found. The largest of the Larsen ice shelves, Larsen C, has lost 1.8 billion tons (1.7 trillion metric tons) of ice, about one-eighth of its mass. The shelf has lost 70% of its mass since 1997 — about 4.1 trillion tons (3.7 trillion metric tons) — into the Amundsen Sea. The ice shelves on the east were growing slower than the shelves losing ice to the west.

Persons: —, Taylor Rains, Ted Scambos, Scambos, Benjamin Davison, Pauline Askin, " Davison, Davison, Larsen Organizations: Service, University of Colorado, University of Leeds, Reuters Locations: Antarctica, Greenland, Florida, Delaware, United Kingdom, Thwaites, Amundsen

All told, Antarctic ice shelves lost about 8.3 trillion tons (7.5 trillion metric tons) of ice in the 25-year period, the study found. The largest of the Larsen ice shelves, Larsen C, has lost 1.8 billion tons (1.7 trillion metric tons) of ice, about one-eighth of its mass. The shelf has lost 70% of its mass since 1997 — about 4.1 trillion tons (3.7 trillion metric tons) — into the Amundsen Sea. The ice shelves that grew were predominantly on the continent’s east side, where there’s a weather pattern isolates the land from warmer waters, Davison said. The ice shelves on the east were growing slower than the shelves losing ice to the west.

Persons: ”, Ted Scambos, Scambos, Benjamin Davison, ” Davison, “ Wordie, Davison, Larsen, ___ Read, Seth Borenstein Organizations: University of Colorado, University of Leeds, Twitter, AP Locations: Antarctica, Greenland, Delaware, United Kingdom, Thwaites, Amundsen

☆ Labour Party Conference: Meet Keir Starmer, Britain's likely next Prime Minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

At least that’s how it felt in Liverpool, where the opposition Labour Party held its annual conference this week. In front of a packed hall, Labour leader Keir Starmer gave an upbeat speech painting the ruling Conservatives as the party of national decline and Labour as the party of stability. A protestor throws glitter over Labour party leader, Keir Starmer during the leader's speech at the Labour Party conference on October 10, 2023 in Liverpool, England. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves makes her keynote speech during the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on October 9, 2023. The story Labour is telling right now isn’t just the story of Keir Starmer, leader in waiting, but Keir Starmer and his political allies, who are the government in waiting.

Persons: Keir Starmer, “, Ian Forsyth, wilder, Jeremy Corbyn, –, Corbyn’s, Starmer, Corbyn, Boris Johnson’s “, Liz, ”, Queen Elizabeth II, David Lammy, Lammy, he’d, Johnson, Rachel Reeves, Peter Byrne, Jeremy Hunt’s, won’t, Trump, Labour – Organizations: Liverpool CNN, Labour Party, Labour, Conservative, Conservative Party’s, CNN, Conservative Party, Northern, Conservatives ’, Government, University of Leeds, Oxford, Cambridge, Public Prosecutions, Labour Party Conference, Corbyn, Biden, Conservatives Locations: Liverpool, Manchester, England, Corbyn, Israel, Britain, America, Germany, Labour’s

☆ Huge ancient solar storm revealed by tree rings in French Alps
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Researchers said on Monday the solar storm - the sun sending a large burst of energetic particles into space - occurred 14,300 years ago. Nine such extreme solar storms now have been identified using tree-ring radiocarbon evidence, with the most recent in 774 and 993 AD. The largest directly observed solar storm, called the Carrington Event, occurred in 1859, wreaking havoc on telegraphs and creating a nighttime aurora so bright that birds sang as if the sun was rising. The effects of solar storms can disable electronics. "If similar solar storms happened today, they could be catastrophic for society, as we are so reliant upon technology," Heaton said.

Persons: Cecile Miramont, eked, Tim Heaton, Heaton, Edouard Bard, Cécile Miramont, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, University of Leeds, Engineering Sciences, Marseille University, Thomson Locations: Gap, Handout, England, France, paleoclimates, Aix, Washington

Tesla vehicles are seen for sale at a Tesla facility in Fremont, California, U.S., May 23, 2023. Shares of the EV maker reversed course to rise marginally after dropping nearly 3% following the news of the delivery miss. Tesla has also been cutting prices aggressively to counter the effect of a slowing EV market, while fending off competition from upstarts and legacy players. Meanwhile, electric-pickup maker Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O) reported third-quarter deliveries above analysts' estimates and reaffirmed its annual production target of 52,000 vehicles. Deliveries of Tesla's premium vehicles, Model S and Model X, rose to about 16,000 units in the third quarter.

Persons: Carlos Barria, Tesla, Thomas Martin, Reuters Graphics Tesla, Ashwin Amberkar, Aditya Soni, Akash Sriram, Arun Koyyur, Anil D'Silva 私 Organizations: REUTERS, Ford, Globalt Investments, Reuters Graphics, Rivian, US, Canalys Research Locations: Fremont , California, U.S, China, United States, Bengaluru

☆ New ‘supercontinent’ could wipe out humans and make Earth uninhabitable, study suggests
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Amy Woodyatt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The formation of a new “supercontinent” could wipe out humans and all other mammals still alive in 250 million years, researchers have predicted. They found it would be extremely hot, dry and virtually uninhabitable for humans and mammals, who are not evolved to cope with prolonged exposure to excessive heat. Humans – along with many other species – would expire due to their inability to shed this heat through sweat, cooling their bodies,” Farnsworth added. This grim outlook is no excuse for complacency when it comes to tackling today’s climate crisis, the report authors warned. “While we are predicting an uninhabitable planet in 250 million years, today we are already experiencing extreme heat that is detrimental to human health.

Persons: ” Alexander Farnsworth, ” Farnsworth, Farnsworth, ” Benjamin Mills, Eunice Lo, ” Lo Organizations: CNN, University of Bristol, Nature, University of Leeds Locations: United Kingdom, UN

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