Tag: environmental
GFL Environmental Q4 2022 Earnings Preview
Researchers created a sticky drone to collect environmental DNA from forest canopies
Swiss scientists have developed a proof-of-concept method to collect environmental DNA (eDNA) from high-arching forest canopies, an under-observed habitat. Rather than hiring skilled climbers to risk their lives to grab a little bug and bird DNA, the team flew a collection drone into the trees to capture genetic material — giving them a clearer picture of the area’s organic breakdown.
The researchers used a quadcopter equipped with a sticky collection cage. But since tree branches can bend at the slightest touch — and the drone needs to touch the branches to collect DNA — it has a haptic-based control scheme using force sensors to measure the pressure between the drone and the branch. Then, it adjusts its landing accordingly, leaning against the branch gently enough to avoid flinging valuable material to the ground.
The drone’s cage then grabs samples with a sticky surface made from “adhesive tape and a cotton gauze humidified with a solution of water and DNA-free sugar.” The cage spends around 10 seconds leaning on each branch and collecting eDNA before zipping back to the base, where the scientists retrieve the samples and ship them to a lab. The experiment’s drone successfully collected enough genetic material to identify 21 animal classes ranging from insects and mammals to birds and amphibians.
However, the scientists make it clear this is a work in progress. For example, on the last research day, the team noticed a drop in eDNA detection because of rainfall the night before — suggesting the method only tells them which creatures visited since the last downpour. Additionally, they noted unexplained differences in the performance of their two collectors, highlighting the need for more research on equipment variations.
The researchers hope their work will make it easier and cheaper for environmental biologists to learn which critters live in some of the hardest-to-reach places. The approach could eventually help the scientific community understand how environmental changes affect biodiversity, perhaps helping identify endangered or vulnerable species before it’s too late.
Government falling ‘far short’ on environmental targets
Environmental health and safety software is now a hot commodity
Environmental health and safety (EHS) software is having a moment. One report predicts that it’ll be worth $2.7 billion by 2027.
Environmental health and safety software is now a hot commodity by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch
Xbox update will help reduce environmental impact by optimizing updates and downloads
As part of Microsoft’s goal to be a carbon-negative, water-positive, and zero-waste company by 2030, it is changing how Xbox consoles update.
According to the company, it will accomplish this by optimizing updates and downloads to run at a time when the console can use the most renewable energy.
This means that your Xbox will schedule a game, app, or OS update at specific times during the nightly maintenance window when higher proportions of electricity are at lower-carbon sources on the electric grid. So instead of your Xbox waking up during nightly maintenance between 2-6am, it will wake up at a time when it can use the most renewable energy through your local energy grid.
Less Than A Third of Brits Believe Businesses’ Environmental Claims, Study Finds
Just 23% of consumers take environmental claims and initiatives from businesses at face value, according to a new study by…
The post Less Than A Third of Brits Believe Businesses’ Environmental Claims, Study Finds appeared first on TechRound.
Recommended Reading: The environmental cost of China’s EV boom
The dirty road to clean energy: How China’s electric vehicle boom is ravaging the environment
Antonia Timmerman, Rest of World
The rise of electric vehicles in China is causing devastating environmental impacts in nearby Indonesia, including rising ocean temperatures as a byproduct of coal plants. Upper respiratory infections are also one of the main health issues for people who live near nickel-processing factories and the main water sources for some areas are increasingly polluted and prone to flooding.
The future of parking is in New York — and it costs at least $300,000 per space
Ray Parisi, CNBC
Some of the priciest condos in NYC are housed in buildings with futuristic parking systems. Robotic technology is deployed to park and retrieve vehicles. The catch? The apartments cost millions and reserving a self-parking spot will cost you at least $300,000 more.
We’re in denial about the true cost of a Twitter implosion
Eve Fairbanks, Wired
“The amount of reputational and social wealth that stands to be lost if Twitter collapses is astounding,” Fairbanks explains. “Twitter currently functions as perhaps the world’s biggest status bank, and the investments stored in it are terrifyingly unsecured.”
Environmental Waste International appoints new CFO
A Chat with Elliot Coad, CEO and Co-Founder at Environmental Conservation Organisation: Ecologi
Ecologi is a platform that provides the tools and guidance to make it easy for everyone to take climate action….
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