In The News

“Big Brother” Technology Comes to Australia's Shops

Nina Hendy March 23, 2015
Most shoppers realize that retailers analyze internet traffic to study consumer habits. But free wireless in retail stores, restaurants and hotels could also turn consumer phones into tracking devices. “Retailers and other businesses with high foot traffic - such as pubs, cafes and restaurants - are increasingly offering free access to wi-fi networks and asking consumers to grant access to their...

Countering the Islamic State Scourge

Riaz Hassan March 19, 2015
The Islamic State terrorists have roots in Al Qaeda and a network of Sunni jihadi groups that coalesced in the midst of the Iraq War. “After being subjected to years of political and economic marginalization, state-sanctioned repression, lawlessness and corruption in the hands of Iraq’s Shia-led government, Sunni Iraqis rebelled by joining militant groups that pledged allegiance to ISIS,” writes...

Battery Powered: The Promise of Energy Storage

Steve LeVine March 18, 2015
Fortunes in the energy industry can shift overnight, with prices, alternative sources and progress in technology. Improving batteries’ capability to store energy would galvanize the renewables industry. “The key to unlocking renewables’ potential is thus stationary energy storage, batteries that would allow consumers to draw on electricity generated at an earlier time,” writes Steve LeVine,...

4 Foods That Are Eating the World’s Forests and How to Choose Better

Kate Good March 11, 2015
Modern farming techniques, relied upon for a growing population that is also wealthier, can be hard on the environment. “Where traditional agriculture favors growing a diverse set of crops and rotating them according to soil needs, our current system of food production is centered around monoculture crops that rely on chemical fertilizers and pesticides to grow,” notes Kate Good writing in One...

Can Cities Change Earth's Evolution?

Adam Frank March 9, 2015
Organisms adapt slowly to changes in their environment, with new traits developing over the course of many years. Now researchers hope to speed the process, at least with urbanization, described as among the most extreme forms of an environment altered by its inhabitants. “Eco-evolutionary dynamics in a rapidly urbanizing world is the subject of a new paper by Marina Alberti, a professor at the...

Carbon Crash, Solar Dawn: Deutsche Bank on Why Solar Has Won

Giles Parkinson March 9, 2015
Solar energy could increase tenfold to become the world’s dominant electricity source by 2030 and account for 30 percent of the market by 2050, notes a Deutsche Bank report. Most growth is anticipated in developing economies, especially for the 20 percent of the world’s people who lack access to grid electricity. Solar could account for 25 percent of India’s total capacity in less than a decade....

Currency Wars Fool Few in the Age of Social Media

Will Hickey March 3, 2015
To push back at economic recession, Japan, the United States, Europe and other governments have printed extra money, lowered interest rates, and taken on new debt. The process is called quantitative easing. Corporations and individuals with extra cash must search for safe havens and investments. The currencies, reduced in value, reduce export costs and drive pools of money to emerging markets....