Science & Technology – Page 14

EPA chief to discuss water regulations during visit to state

by: Josh Wolsky | August 4, 2017

Scott Pruitt, the EPA’s top administrator, will be visiting North Dakota next week, and the Waters of the U.S. rule making is expected to be a hot topic of conversation. Between agricultural and energy industries and our cultural disposition toward property rights, environmental regulations and rules have big impacts on North Dakota, and it sounds

Read & Share sourced from: Williston Herald

White House commission recommends president declare a national emergency over the deadly opioid epidemic

by: Josh Wolsky | August 1, 2017

The opioid epidemic that’s been discussed so heavily here in Minot is not just a local problem, it extends far beyond North Dakota’s borders. And a White House Commission on the opioid epidemic is now recommending the President declare a national emergency with regards to the issue. Locally, the Mayor’s committee on addiction will meet

Read & Share sourced from: Los Angeles Times

North Dakota passes 400 percent fine increase for littering

by: Josh Wolsky | July 27, 2017

The police and highway patrol have been empowered to get serious about littering. Starting August 1, the fine for throwing out that cigarette will be something you notice if you get caught; it’s going from $100 to $500. The Grand Forks Herald has more on the story.

Read & Share sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

There’s evidence, E-cigarettes do help people quit smoking

by: Josh Wolsky | July 27, 2017

The evidence is significant; it’s pulled from a study that included 160,000 people over 15 years. And what it points to is important, e-cigarettes help people quit smoking.

Read & Share sourced from: The Verge

Verizon argues throttling video is allowed under net neutrality rules

by: Josh Wolsky | July 26, 2017

What will the Internet look like if there’s a roll back on the FCC’s net neutrality rules? We’re perhaps getting a taste. Last week, Verizon was caught and then admitted to throttling video content on its network. Basically, that means they slowed down the speed at which they delivered video — intentionally.

Read & Share sourced from: The Verge

Comcast says it should be able to create internet fast lanes for self-driving cars

by: Josh Wolsky | July 26, 2017

The first of a couple articles on the net neutrality issue, Comcast is arguing that the need to provide faster more reliable service to self-driving cars will warrant a competitive pricing model. That means they can charge more for certain types of data traffic. Medical uses and automated cars are the examples they use to

Read & Share sourced from: The Verge

The world’s first crewless ship will launch next year

by: Josh Wolsky | July 25, 2017

Automation is coming; there’s nothing to be done about it. Why? Because it will be safer and more efficient. There’s no way to stop evolution toward those values. And it won’t just be cars and trucks. The video below tells the story of technology that’s already available, this ship is in production. The question we

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Stretch of Mississippi River in and around St. Cloud sheds its sullied history

by: Josh Wolsky | July 21, 2017

For one city in Minnesota, the Mississippi River was just a water pathway that flowed through town. It was the place they dumped their sewage; it was the home of meat-packing plants that sent their environmental impacts downstream. They stopped the environmental damage they were doing a generation ago; now their eyes are opening to

Read & Share sourced from: Star Tribune

Ward County asks N.D. board to stop cloud-seeding

by: Josh Wolsky | July 19, 2017

Yesterday, the Ward County Commission voted unanimously to discontinue the County’s weather modification program for the rest of the year. This article on the story comes from the Grand Forks Herald — particularly local coverage. But in the article, you’ll find a bit more scientific context (along with a bit of honest commentary) on the theory

Read & Share sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

A Toxic Legacy: North Dakota Looks To Clean Up Old Oilfield Waste

by: Josh Wolsky | July 18, 2017

One of the considerable by-products of oil production in North Dakota is the extremely salty wastewater we get back along with the oil. It’s not a new problem. And though modern practices inject wastewater deep underground, there are still a number of legacy era brine pits that continue to leach salt water contamination into nearby

Read & Share sourced from: Inside Energy

Paddlers promote ‘positive trace ethic’ by cleaning up litter along Minnesota, St. Croix and Mississippi rivers

by: Josh Wolsky | July 17, 2017

The old mantra for the environmentally minded heading into the wilderness was, “take only pictures, leave only footprints”. But for a few, it seems that’s not good enough. The concept is called adventure stewardship, and the goal is to go out and have the fun recreationally but leave the environment better as a result. In

Read & Share sourced from: InForum

Your Brain On Fentanyl

by: Josh Wolsky | July 10, 2017

Fentanyl is one of the dangerously potent synthetic derivatives of heroin that seems to be now more-regularly cut with the drug to increase the bang users get for the buck. It’s an alarming market-based reaction fed by increasing demand. And that fact that it’s now found on the streets — even in places like Minot

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ND coal studying supply of valuable rare earth elements

by: Josh Wolsky | July 6, 2017

The same geological history that produced North Dakota’s coal history may hold additional value in the form of rare earth elements essential to the electronics and defense industries. Extracting those elements is the challenge, but investment from several government agencies is refining the processes to determine the viability long-term. Jessica Holdman with the Bismarck Tribune

Read & Share sourced from: Bismarck Tribune

Prairie Roots Food Co-op opens in Fargo with mix of natural, organic foods

by: Josh Wolsky | July 6, 2017

The manner in which shop for groceries is evolving and there’s no better evidence than the opening of another food co-op in the state. Prairie Roots Food Co-op opened their doors in downtown Fargo yesterday. The member-owned business uses 5,600 square feet to provide organic and natural food, much of it locally sourced.

Read & Share sourced from: InForum

Self-Driving Cars Mean Cops Won’t Have Excuses to Pull People Over

by: Josh Wolsky | July 2, 2017

Self-driving cars are coming; there’s nothing to be done about it. Automation, in general, is going to radically remake the way we live our lives and our society, and if we look at self-driving cars as one of the early dominoes, the challenge then becomes what are the second, third, and fourth cultural dominoes that

Read & Share sourced from: Motherboard

North Dakota continues sampling for larval zebra mussels in Red River

by: Josh Wolsky | July 1, 2017

With people and boats moving around for the holiday weekend, here’s a reminder that we have some hard-to-see invaders that we’re trying to keep out of North Dakota waters. Zebra mussels are great hitchhikers, and the fact that there’s now worry and some evidence that they’ve migrated into the Red River drainage system is reason

Read & Share sourced from: InForum