Science & Technology – Page 18

When rivers caught fire and bald eagles were poisoned: why we need the Environmental Protection Agency

by: Josh Wolsky | February 28, 2017

President Trump’s choice for director of the EPA has raised concerns for the environmentally-minded among us. And those concerns are not without warrant, but whatever the state of the EPA at this point — and that’s not to say reform isn’t warranted — we’d do well to remember the circumstances that led to its creation.

Read & Share sourced from: The Verge

Trump administration is reevaluating Obama era rules for self-driving cars

by: Josh Wolsky | February 28, 2017

Elain Chao, U.S. Transporation Secretary, said her department would be taking a second look at regulations designed to shepherd our transition to self-driving cars. One of her larger concerns is the need to educate a skeptical public on how the vehicles and industry changes will impact the general public.

Read & Share sourced from: The Verge

Trump to order review of WOTUS regulations

by: Josh Wolsky | February 28, 2017

The Waters of the U.S. Rule appears is on official hold pending what is likely to be some type of rollback. The 2015 EPA and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers rule from 2015 sought to redefine and expand the scope of waters and waterways that are federally protected.

Read & Share sourced from: Reuters

Lyft announces huge Midwest expansion, including Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks

by: Josh Wolsky | February 24, 2017

The sharing economy is moving into North Dakota in a big way. Ride-sharing service Lyft announced a 50-city expansion into the midwest that includes Fargo, Bismarck, and Grand Forks. To read more about the expansion, check out this article on The Verge. To learn more about Lyft, check out this video.

Read & Share

The Struggle within the Economics of Environmental Protection

by: Josh Wolsky | February 24, 2017

If you take a minute to read the mission and guiding principles behind The Minot Voice, you’ll notice the protecting the environment gets a special call-out. This guest blog on Scientific American provides some valuable commentary on a couple ideas intended to quantify the future economic impacts through a current market mechanism.

Read & Share sourced from: Scientific American

Minot’s Opioid Clinic Finding Demand for Services

by: Josh Wolsky | January 30, 2017

North Dakota’s first opioid treatment clinic opened in Minot about six months ago, and clinic operators are already finding a steady stream of patients both in need of the services and hopeful about the positive steps they can take with the assistance provided. Jill Schramm with the Minot Daily News has the story.

Read & Share sourced from: Minot Daily News

Congressman Cramer on the Dakota Access Easement Ruling

by: Josh Wolsky | December 7, 2016

Congressman Cramer weighs in with an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal. He lays out the facts of the issue and lays the lawless outcome directly on the shoulders of President Obama.

Read & Share sourced from: Wall Street Journal

Watch: Incredible and Terrifying Nature on the Galapagos Islands

by: Josh Wolsky | December 2, 2016

What you’re about to watch may be the most incredible thing you’ll see on the Internet this year. It’s teaser footage from the BBC’s Planet Earth II filmed on the Galapagos Islands. But be careful, it may be difficult to watch if you have a strong fear of snakes, and if you’re watching at the office

Read & Share

UND’s energy center awarded $10 million to research capturing carbon dioxide

by: Josh Wolsky | December 1, 2016

UND’s energy center is getting a big influx of federal dollars all with the purpose of improving the environmental sustainability of our coal-fired power plants. The money will be put to work researching ways to capture the carbon by-product of energy from coal. April Baumgarten with the Grand Forks Herald has the full story on

Read & Share sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

Technology & Culture: Leaked Trade Proposal Would Give Facebook Free Reign to Censor by Algorithm

by: Josh Wolsky | December 1, 2016

The idea of free speech, what it means, and where we can use it is constantly being redefined in the new world where technological tools are reshaping everything about our culture. And in that light, Motherboard has the story on a leaked European trade proposal that would privatize censorship and potentially leave it in the

Read & Share sourced from: Motherboard

Blacktail spill haunts Summit Midstream’s latest project

by: Josh Wolsky | November 26, 2016

At this time two years ago, the gathering system pipeline operated by Summit Midstream near Blacktail Creek North of Williston was probably leaking. It wouldn’t be discovered until January of 2015 when the resulting spill became the largest in North Dakota history. Today, the company finds themselves in the role of example for the industry

Read & Share sourced from: Williston Herald

Neuroscientists have successfully removed specific phobias from people’s brains

by: Josh Wolsky | November 25, 2016

Are you afraid of heights, or maybe spiders? If so, there may be hope on the horizon, especially for those among us whose fear has negative impacts on their lives. Scientists at Cambridge University have found a way to rewire the brain’s reaction to fear stimuli without the person having to consciously experience it.

Read & Share sourced from: Science Alert

For Standing Rock Sioux, new water system may reduce oil leak risk

by: Josh Wolsky | November 23, 2016

One of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s initial arguments against the Dakota Access Pipeline was its proximity to the reservations water intake structure, but as of the new year, water for the reservation communities will be pulled from a new location more than 70 miles downstream of the pipeline. Ernest Scheyder with Reuters has the

Read & Share sourced from: Reuters

Estevan City Council formally criticizes carbon tax and environmental policy

by: Josh Wolsky | November 23, 2016

The City of Estevan’s City Council is going on the record formally with a letter addressed to provincial and party leaders that outlines disappointment in environmental policies including a carbon tax that put the areas coal-fired power stations directly in the crosshairs. Estevan is home to two power generating stations, one of which — the

Read & Share sourced from: Estevan Mercury

How to make the perfect mashed potatoes, according to science

by: Josh Wolsky | November 23, 2016

Science is the method by which progressional learning takes place. We theorize about the effect of a particular action, test whether it’s true, evaluate the results, and repeat the process. And that scientific method has now been applied to what was previously the art of making mashed potatoes. Learn how here, and if any readers

Read & Share sourced from: Quartz

Is MN buffer law broad-stroke overreach or common-sense benefit?

by: Josh Wolsky | November 22, 2016

A new law in Minnesota requires permanent vegetation strips to protect lakes and streams from farm field runoff. And reaction to the law? It’s a mixed bag. Some farmers will are embracing it and will be entering lost acreage into CRP programs, others are less receptive.

Read & Share sourced from: InForum