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ND3G

Gadgets

Introducing the Holo-Disc

By Posted on 4.27.2009 17 Comments
Today, General Electric unveiled a next-generation optical storage technology that can pack as much as 20 Blu-Ray discs or a hundred DVDs' worth of data onto a single disc. The newly devised discs, which use holograms to store data in the form of bits, can hold 500 gigabytes of information, the company says.

4.28.2009 at 11:16am - Comment by ND3G

Glad I didn't buy into the whole blu-ray thing. Blu-ray is a stop-gap technology if I ever saw one.
The Environment

The Big Melt

By Seth Fletcher Posted on 2.26.2009 19 Comments
Less than two weeks before scientists from around the world gather in Copenhagen to issue recommendations for a new global climate-change treaty, the results from the two-year International Polar Year survey have arrived. They are not pleasant.

2.28.2009 at 08:51am - Comment by ND3G

You ever notice how those who support global warming theories tend to talk about the actual scientific data and those apposed tend to talk about politics? Forget getting everyone on the same page, we are not even reading the same book.
Entertainment & Gaming

Knock Knock: Who's Funnier? Republicans or Democrats?

By Rachel Durfee Posted on 4.2.2009 15 Comments
If a man walks into a bar….who laughs? Liberals or conservatives? Dan Ariely, a psychologist at Duke University, and Elisabeth Malin, a student at Mount Holyoke College, looked into just that question in a recent Boston study. The two came up with a list of 22 jokes – conventional, quirky, corny, clever, etc. – and tracked the reactions of about 300 people who were asked to rate the jokes on a scale of 1 (not funny at all) to 9 (hilarious).

11.13.2008 at 01:50pm - Comment by ND3G

They say ignorance is bliss. I for one cannot see how conservatives can help but laugh.
The Environment

Britain Finally Sees the Light, Admits Biofuels Are Bad News

By Posted on 7.7.2008 17 Comments
It’s common sense—people need food first, fuel second. But today, Britain became the first Western nation to announce that its biofuel production will be curbed, since it’s likely causing rising food prices and rainforest destruction.

7.10.2008 at 05:17pm - Comment by ND3G

Whether biofuels cause food shortages or not is an important topic but even if it turns out that they are not responsible biofuels would be a very poor replacement for fossil fuels. The main goal after all is to find cleaner fuels not necessarily cheaper fuels and biofuels fail miserably in that category.
The Environment

Is Pollution Slowing Global Warming?

By Posted on 7.9.2008 12 Comments
Wait, now pollution is preventing global warming? That’s the conclusion of a recent study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, which says rising temperatures seen in Europe over the last few years result as much from the reduction of air pollution as from the creation of it. The research, which looked at the effects of aerosols on climate, confirms an older concept known as global dimming, and complicates our understanding of how mankind affects the climate.

7.10.2008 at 04:54pm - Comment by ND3G

It is too bad that a lot of really ignorant people are going to completely misunderstand these findings and use them to argue against environmental initiatives. We have done a lot over the past 50 years to reduce the amount of ash and soot being pumped into the atmosphere and we are certainly better over for it. But, because we have also been pumping invisible greenhouse gases into the atmosphere our now clearing skies and going to trap heat even more efficiently. We certainly cannot go back to pumping crap into the sky to block sunlight so instead we are going to have to double our efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The Environment

Cheney Cut Testimony on Health Consequences of Climate Change to Avoid Regulation, Claims EPA Official

By Posted on 7.8.2008 5 Comments
In addition to drowning polar bears and winning Al Gore a Nobel Prize, climate change may have serious public health consequences. But thanks to Vice President Cheney, you may not find out what those health implications are until you feel them. Today a former Environmental Protection Agency official said Cheney pushed for the deletion of key components of congressional testimony.

7.9.2008 at 11:07am - Comment by ND3G

Nothing about the Bush administration (the worst administration in American history) even fazes me anymore. It would be pointless to seek an well disserved impeachment this late in the game so we might as well just wait it out until Jan 20, 2009 when the next Inauguration takes place. Who ever wins, they are going to have no heck of a mess to clean up.
Cars

Why Can't Our Cars Get Better Mileage?

By Posted on 7.3.2008 27 Comments
In April, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation proposed new CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) standards that would increase the average efficiency of passenger cars and light trucks by 4.5 percent per year from 2011 to 2015. A lot of people wondered why the federal government wasn't aiming higher.

7.3.2008 at 03:16pm - Comment by ND3G

Electric cars might be the future but they still have a long battle ahead of them. For example Zenn Motors builds electric cars in Quebec but they are all shipped to the U.S. because none of the provinces accept B.C. will pass legislation allowing them on our city streets.
The Environment

Calamities on the Horizon

By Posted on 6.24.2008 4 Comments
Here at Popular Science, we're pretty optimistic about the potential for large-scale technological projects. But sometimes the cutting edge can cut in destructive ways. Join us as we look at five upcoming projects that have the potential to wreak destruction on the environment.

6.27.2008 at 04:45pm - Comment by ND3G

Everyone knows that places like China and India who are rapidly industrializing are going to resort to dirty fuels such as coal. They are not the problem. The problem is countries like America that refuse to play their role as leader and will not lift a finger to help the environment because the poor guys next door finally started using the same technologies they perfected over a 100 years ago. How about developing new energy producing technologies for your own country and then selling them to the rest of the world?
The Environment

You're Wrecking the Environment

By Posted on 6.24.2008 13 Comments
Everyday behavior, things that it's easy to take for granted, have a significant effect on the planet. Some habits are easy to change, but others are more deeply entrenched. And so, despite your good intentions, you're probably wrecking the environment as we speak. See the five ways you're ruining things (and how to turn them around) here.
And check out PopSci's complete coverage of the future of the environment at popsci.com/futurecity.

6.27.2008 at 04:34pm - Comment by ND3G

I for one am overjoyed that Popular Science is attempting to educate the vast number of ignorant and foolish Americans about the very real dangers we are facing. As a scientific magazine it is your duty to report the facts even to those who don't want to hear them and would rather keep on pretending that the earth is a bottomless pit for them to throw their garbage into.
Cars

An American Autobahn

By Posted on 6.24.2008 25 Comments
As the host of one of the oldest and most famous racing events in the world, Indiana has always been known for fast cars. For now, those cars are still stuck on the racetrack, but a new study in the journal Transportation Research Record claims the roads are no more dangerous when motorists drive at Andretti-like speeds, providing further data in support of an American autobahn.

6.27.2008 at 04:07pm - Comment by ND3G

Driving faster = lower fuel efficiency is is the last thing America needs right now.