Air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil was responsible for 8.7 million deaths globally in 2018, a staggering one in five of all people who died that year, new research has found. From a report: Countries with the most prodigious consumption of fossil fuels to power factories, homes and vehicles are suffering the highest…
Tag: tobacco
Study of 11,000 Kids Links Cannabis Use During Pregnancy To Child Behavioral Change
Slashdot reader omfglearntoplay shared this article from Science Alert: A cross-sectional analysis of 11,489 children, 655 of whom were exposed to THC in the womb, has found cannabis use during pregnancy is tied to a small elevation in psychotic-like behaviours later in life. These include aggression towards others, as well as attention and social problems… the relationship stood even when other…
From Climate Change to the Dangers of Smoking: How Powerful Interests ‘Made Us Doubt Everything’
BBC News reports:
In 1991, the trade body that represents electrical companies in the U.S., the Edison Electric Institute, created a campaign called the Information Council for the Environment which aimed to “Reposition global warming as theory (not fact)”. Some details of the campaign were leaked to the New York Times. “They ran advertising campaigns designed to undermine public support, cherry picking…
Jaron Lanier Thinks Things May Have Gotten Better, or Facebook ‘Might Have Won Already’
Jaron Lanier helped design “Together” mode for Microsoft Teams, “where he has a post as an in-house seer of sorts,” according to a recent profile in GQ. (“Initially he’d conceived of Together mode as a way to help Stephen Colbert — in whose house band Lanier sometimes performs when he’s in New York — figure out how to host his show…
Stockton Basic Income Program Extended. Is Support For the Idea Growing?
A $500-a-month basic-income program in Stockton, California will be extended through 2021 “in response to the economic strain put on participants by the coronavirus pandemic,” reports the New Yorker:
While the idea of extending the program had been under discussion even before the spread of COVID-19, Stockton’s mayor, Michael Tubbs told me that current conditions made doing so a “moral imperative,” as…
Smokers Quit in Highest Numbers in a Decade
More than one million people have given up smoking since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, a survey for charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) suggests. From a report: Of those who had quit in the previous four months, 41% said it was in direct response to coronavirus. Separately, University College London (UCL) found more people quit smoking in the year to…
Scientists Create Glowing Plants Using Mushroom Genes
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Emitting an eerie green glow, they look like foliage from a retro computer game, but in fact they are light-emitting plants produced in a laboratory. Researchers say the glowing greenery could not only add an unusual dimension to home decor but also open up a fresh way for scientists to explore the…
Motherboard Built a Database of Over 500 iPhones Cops Have Tried To Unlock
“Motherboard built and analyzed a database of over 500 iPhones seized by law enforcement,” writes Slashdot reader em1ly. “It’s a deep dive into the ongoing “Going Dark” conversation.” Here’s an excerpt from the report: Most of all, the records compiled by Motherboard show that the capability to unlock iPhones is a fluid issue, with an ebb and flow of law enforcement…
People Kept Working, Became Healthier While On Basic Income: Report
Participants in Ontario’s prematurely cancelled basic income pilot project were happier, healthier and continued working even though they were receiving money with no-strings attached. That’s according to a new report titled Southern Ontario’s Basic Income Experience, which was compiled by researchers at McMaster and Ryerson University, in partnership with the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction. CBC.ca reports: The report shows nearly…
Smoking bans don’t prevent you having to breathe in smoke particles
It is possible to passively smoke in places where smoking is banned, because harmful tobacco chemicals remain on people’s bodies and clothes and in the air Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2236176-smoking-bans-dont-prevent-you-having-to-breathe-in-smoke-particles/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…