• Crunch time for plastic recycling and 100 years of the BBC

    As COP27 meets in Egypt this month, the world’s attention is once more on the environmental crisis. One great technological hope in recent years, especially in America, has been an emerging method known as ‘chemical recycling’, aka the more publicity-friendly ‘advanced recycling’. In this month’s cover story investigation , Conor McGlone takes a closer look at how it works, its pros and cons, and how green or sustainable it really is – or could be. Is it everything its proponents praise it for – or is it just so much greenwashing? In this issue, we also have a selection of your responses to Conor’s investigation a few months ago on electrical wiring inspections . He uncovered evidence of widespread sub-standard inspections on potentially dangerous installations. Your emails contained plenty…

  • Is hydrogen the fuel of the future?

    As the global aviation industry reeled from the impact of Covid-19, with thousands of jets grounded and passenger numbers down by 60 per cent, a bold initiative began at the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) in Cranfield, England. Early in 2021, a team of 100 experts from across the UK launched a one-year intensive research project to investigate the best route to zero-emission commercial flight. The FlyZero project examined key aspects of developing zero-emission aircraft, ranging from design challenges to operational requirements, and compared the potential of electric batteries, hydrogen and ammonia for the task. It found green liquid hydrogen (produced using electricity from renewables) was the most viable zero-​emission fuel for commercial aviation and concluded that hydrogen aircraft…

  • Researchers call for zero plastic pollution target by 2040

    The call on the United Nations to establish a target for the end of plastic pollution comes while leaders discuss the challenges of climate change at the COP27 summit in Egypt. The team from Hampshire University have advised the United Nations Environment Programme, G20 and the World Bank on plastic policy, including the possible structure and content of a global agreement to tackle plastic pollution. Professor Steve Fletcher, director of the Global Plastics Policy Centre at the University of Portsmouth, has made the plea for the UN to make the “bold pledge” in its upcoming legislation on plastic pollution.   In March 2022, UN member states agreed on the adoption of a mandate  for an International Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop a legally binding UN Treaty on plastic pollution…

  • Kerch Strait - A bridge too far?

    It was on 8 October 2022 at 6:07am local time that an explosion occurred on the Kerch-bound lanes of the road section of the Crimean Bridge. Two entire road spans collapsed into Crimean territorial waters in the strategically important Kerch Strait that separates Russia from the annexed territory of Crimea. Seven fuel tankers of a 59-wagon train caught fire on the parallel rail section, which also incurred structural damage. Both road and rail traffic has been significantly disrupted. At the time of going to press, no organisation has formally taken responsibility for the explosion and there is no definitive explanation for what happened. Image credit: Gettyimages The heavily defended infrastructure is a crucial military resupply route for Russian troops and is regarded…

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  • Meta axes 11,000 jobs worldwide

    In an announcement this morning, Meta confirmed its plans to cut more than 11,000 jobs globally as part of a major restructuring of the tech giant. Meta founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the cuts were “some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history”. He added: “We are also taking a number of additional steps to become a leaner and more efficient company by cutting discretionary spending and extending our hiring freeze through Q1 [2023]. “I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here. I know this is tough for everyone and I’m especially sorry to those impacted.” Zuckerberg blamed the “macroeconmic downturn, increased competition and ads signal loss” for causing a drop in Meta’s revenue, which has now led to the substantial staff…

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  • Sponsored: Intelligent power supplies will accelerate the smart factory

    One of the main characteristics of a smart factory or connected automation environment is the need for fast feedback control and reliable monitoring to ensure the power supply’s performance and parameters meet the project’s requirements. The smart factory will have multiple and varied components which need to operate together in often harsh and noisy environments. For this reason, Cotek has equipped its AD-1500 ac-dc converter series with an intelligent GUI (graphic user interface). The programmable 1500W power supply can be used with a choice of communication interfaces and industry protocols and has the capability to memorise settings after shut down to ensure a rapid restart, thereby minimising downtime. The series is made up of configurable modules and easy-to-use digital interfaces…

  • How to defeat disinformation with short-wave radio

    “The heroism and grit of our warriors leave no doubt that Ukraine will prevail,” said the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a stirring speech broadcast on his government’s YouTube channel. Ukraine is fighting two battles – one against a physical army and another against disinformation. One weapon in its arsenal that is helping it do both may be surprising: short-wave radio. This legacy technology is an old version of AM analogue radio that operates on low-frequency radio waves. It is used to transmit audio signals over long distances by bouncing them off layers of charged particles in the Earth’s ionosphere, which is part of the upper atmosphere between 80 and 600km above sea level. Used by spies in the Cold War, short-wave radio is less complicated than newer communications…

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  • Global emissions from construction sector soaring post-pandemic

    Despite an increase in energy efficiency investment and lower energy intensity, the sector is still seeing record highs in energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Energy-related emissions from operations reached ten gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent amounting to about five per cent over 2020 levels and two per cent over the pre-pandemic peak in 2019. In 2021, operational energy demand for heating, cooling, lighting and equipment in buildings increased by around four per cent from 2020 and three per cent from 2019. Construction is responsible for a huge amount of emissions globally. In 2018, the buildings and construction sector accounted for 36 per cent of energy use and 39 per cent of energy and process-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This includes the manufacture of key materials such…

  • Zonal ticketing systems could end ‘wasteful’ local bus services

    The House of Lords Built Environment Committee (BEC) expressed concerns that the end of pandemic support funding for bus services in March 2023, with forecast cuts of up to 20 per cent, could have a detrimental effect on the people who rely on public transport and risk triggering a downward spiral of reducing demand. The post-pandemic demand for public transport still remains unpredictable and peak commuter traffic may have been permanently reduced. However, travel for leisure, at weekends and throughout the day has broadly recovered more quickly than commuter travel. Decisions on funding beyond next March “are urgently needed”, the BEC said, as it called on the government to ensure high-quality bus services around the country. The ' Public transport in towns and cities ' report has proposed…

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  • ‘We should all be evangelists for new technology’ - Professor Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal

    “We should all be evangelists for new technology,” says Martin Rees. We live in a world where “the global population footprint is getting heavier. The grand global challenges can only be solved with the assistance of new technology. Our everyday lives are substantially eased by the developments of science over the past century, but we now have to look forward at areas like bio and cyber to see how technology can empower us more. “If you look at the Covid-19 pandemic,” says the Astronomer Royal, “in enabling us to get vaccines within a year, science was our salvation.” The international co-ordination of scientific effort and manufacturing capacity of the global pharmaceutical industry that compressed the time required to bring vaccines to the public to less than a year, represents for Rees…

  • Autonomous cars: will we be driven to distraction?

    Personal transport has reached a pivotal point in its evolution as self-driving cars shift drivers’ focus away from the road and towards the interior cabin, where an array of technological distractions are being developed to help them work, play, shop or socialise. Experts predict autonomous cars will become mobile entertainment/infotainment ‘pods’ where consumers watch immersive films and TV, game in virtual reality (VR), or use windscreens as a lens to the outside world using augmented reality (AR) to overlay content and advertisements. Concepts for self-driving cars feature interiors that more closely resemble luxury private jets than vehicles from the past, with flexible interior layouts, swivel seats and big screens. As car makers, tech giants and electronics firms pump millions…

  • Climate change could cause ‘economic devastation’ in Africa, report warns

    While global leaders are meeting in Egypt to discuss ways of tackling the climate crisis, a new study has shed light on the devastating economic impact rising global temperatures could inflict on the African continent. The study, published by Christian Aid, found that current climate policies put the world on track for 2.7°C of global warming by the end of the century, and warned that this could lead to an average 20 per cent hit to African countries' expected GDP by 2050, and 64 per cent by 2100. Even in the unlikely event that global temperatures only rise by 1.5ºC, as set out in the Paris Agreement, African countries would still be expected to face an average GDP reduction of 14 per cent by 2050 and 34 per cent by 2100, the report said.  The report was launched on finance day at the…

  • Hands-on gadget review: Yale Floodlight Camera

    Like many people, I have subscription fatigue, thanks to four different TV streaming services and three types of cloud storage. So a new pet hate among gadgets is anything that requires a direct debit. Enter, the Yale Floodlight Camera. Where most security cameras and doorbell cams demand a monthly fee to store footage in the cloud, this can store videos onboard. So you can choose to team it with a bigger Yale security system, but it works fine as a standalone 1080p high-definition camera with no subscription fees. There’s no built-in storage but you can add a MicroSD card of up to 256GB. That’s enough for ten days of footage (with H.265 compression and 2MP resolution) when recording non-stop. That capacity obviously lasts a lot longer if you don’t set the video to record constantly but have…

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  • Hands-on gadget review: Laica Visione kettle

    Induction hobs are modern and safe, but kettles designed to work on induction hobs have been unsatisfactory, until now. Why boil water with an electric kettle that’s sat next to a fantastic, high-tech hob that could be doing the same job? To work on an induction hob, a kettle needs ferrous metal in the base. A magnetic field, generated in the hob, induces eddy currents in the metal, which generate heat. For example, copper or aluminium pans can contain a layer of steel in the base to make them induction-compatible. Most induction-friendly kettles, then, have been old-fashioned, stovetop designs. Which seems at odds with a modern, sleek hob. If a cottagecore, whistling kettle isn’t your thing, but you do want to use induction, the new Laica Visione is an interesting, innovative option. It…

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  • US and EU clash over electric car subsidies

    The European Union (EU) has spoken out against US President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which includes tax breaks for US-made electric vehicles (EV)  and batteries. In the view of Brussels, those benefits would put e-cars made in the EU at an unfair disadvantage in the lucrative US domestic market. European ministers also fear their complaints have not been listened to by Washington.  "I'm not sure whether they are aware of our concerns," said Christian Lindner, Germany's finance minister, stating that politicians should do "everything to avoid a tit-for-tat scenario or even a trade war." His French counterpart, Bruno Le Maire, said he expected the European Commission to come up with "a strong response to this US policy", which it said could "harm this level playing field between…

  • Theatre: ‘Not One of These People’

    Dramatist Martin Crimp is known for plays with unconventional structures that prompt questions about the dramatic process. Now, he takes to the stage for the first time, directed by Christian Lapointe and supported by a cast which does not exist. ‘Not One of These People’, which came to London’s Royal Court Theatre for three nights in early November in a co-production with Québec City’s Carte Blanche and Carrefour international de théâtre, is based around use of deepfakes: media (in this case, images and videos of faces) generated using artificial intelligence. It begins with static StyleGAN-style portraits projected onto a gauze while Crimp reads their dialogue off-stage. As Crimp joins them on stage, they begin to blink, frown and eventually ‘speak’ alongside him like uncanny ventriloquist…

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  • Personalised TV – the future of AI-powered entertainment or a step too far?

    Two decades ago, a then-nascent DVD rental service adopted an emerging technology: a relatively basic algorithm that made simple recommendations to users based on what their fellow members liked. The service was Netflix, its software was Cinematch and it represented a turning point in the history of entertainment as we know it. As a precursor to the recommendation systems that power streaming today, Cinematch’s algorithm was based on collaborative filtering. It took millions of its members’ film ratings and used them to predict how much other members would enjoy the same movies. It had its limitations. The recommendations were only as accurate as the ratings from members. It struggled to recommend films to users who were yet to rate titles. It failed to factor in that multiple people may…

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  • Scotland pledges £5m for climate change loss and damages

    At the climate change summit in Egypt, Scotland's First Minister has urged world leaders to deliver on climate pledges made in COP26.  Sturgeon has also announced a £5m funding pot to tackle loss and damage caused by climate change in developing countries. The economic support will come from t he Scottish government’s climate justice fund, she said. It will be offered in the form of g rants as opposed to loans, so as not to compound financial hardships already seen in the countries impacted by climate change. “In virtually everything we do on loss and damage, Scotland is trying to ensure that we listen to international perspectives, especially the perspectives of the global south,” the First Minister said. “The funding Scotland has announced today is a small sum in terms of the overall…

  • Synthetic video: don’t call them deepfakes

    Among the many ways we have become aware that AI is gnawing away at the fabric of society is in doubting the evidence of our own eyes. Deepfakes have added fuel to existing social media, disinformation and online sexual abuse bin-fires – attracting almost uniformly negative sentiment. A 2020 study by UCL researchers published in Crime Science ranked them as the most harmful AI application. Although there is no universally agreed-upon definition, a typical deepfake uses AI to replace a person in an existing video with another. The vast majority of deepfakes are used to switch pornographic actors with celebrity women, but they have attracted popular attention as tools of political disinformation. In March, a poor-quality deepfake of President Volodymyr Zelensky announcing Ukraine’s surrender…

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  • Net zero buildings: the future of construction?

    With humanity scrambling to respond to climate change, countless companies, investors, public sector  bodies and national governments have made commitments to achieve ‘net zero’ carbon emissions in  the next two or three decades. Net zero is the notion that any greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted through  an organisation’s activities must be balanced out through an equivalent amount of carbon being  removed from the atmosphere. It is a huge challenge, yet if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate  change, achieving net zero will be vital. There is one industry where meeting such targets is especially important: construction. Globally, some  39 per cent of GHG emissions are associated with the industry, according to the World Green  Buildings Council. Of this total, 28 per cent comes…

  • Confused UK drivers believe they can buy a fully autonomous car today

    Thatcham's 'Trust in Automation' consumer study – compiled from data gathered earlier this year by Opinion Matters from a sample of 4,000 car owners (2,000 in the UK, 2,000 in the US) – has revealed that just over half of UK drivers think that they can buy a fully autonomous car today. The survey framed the 'fully autonomous' question by asking respondents if they thought it was possible to purchase a car today that can drive itself, where by ‘drive itself’ this meant a car with technology that can drive the car completely autonomously, as safely as a competent human driver would, and which allows the driver to remove their hands from the steering wheel. However, only 'assisted driving' systems, which require driver support, are currently available in the UK. “Realising the government…

  • Blue quantum dot tech improves power efficiency and colour accuracy of LEDs

    Quantum dots are nanoscale crystals capable of emitting light of different colours which can bring greater power efficiency, brightness and colour purity to displays than previous generations. Major manufacturers such as Samsung are already using the tech in some of their premium displays to improve their HDR capabilities. Now, a team of researchers from the University of Tokyo have developed a way to construct blue quantum dots – typically the most difficult colour to manufacture – to be more accurate, efficient and cost effective than existing quantum dots. The new method is based on self-organising chemical structures and a cutting-edge imaging technique. While pixels can appear almost any colour to the human eye, they are not actually the smallest element on your screen as they…

  • Creating an immersive at-home entertainment experience

    A cosy night in Our first pick for creating a more immersive at-home entertainment experience is rather obvious, but sometimes the simplest of technologies are the most effective. So, to take these cosy nights-in up a notch, why not try to find an 8K picture quality TV, perhaps on the larger scale… Of course, there are plenty of TVs on the market for people to choose from, but one with an 8K picture quality will give you the best experience. “If you want to experience the highest quality displays, then 8K is the way to go,” says consumer tech company Reliant. “8K displays provide extreme levels of accuracy, so you don’t miss details in anything you watch. So, if you want that cinematic film night experience, then an 8K screen will provide the most accurate picture and immersive experience…

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  • Insulating social homes could save £700m, research suggests

    Bringing social housing buildings to an EPC of C or above would reduce energy bills by 42 per cent to £776 a year, according to the analysis of heating cost figures from the English Housing Survey and EPC data published by the government. The National Housing Federation said poorly insulated homes are one of the country’s “biggest environmental polluters” and have become a “major culprit” in the cost-of-living crisis. At the moment, a family in social housing with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of D or below spends on average £1,343 a year on heating, based on the current energy price guarantee. At the same time, t hree-quarters of social housing residents rely on benefits and a large number of families are at risk of falling into poverty or debt because of increased energy costs…

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