The New Yorker: Science & Technology

"The island where environmentalism implodes."

Views expressed in this science and technology update are those of the reporters and correspondents.  Accessed on 23 November 2024, 1426 UTC.

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Russ Roberts (https://hawaiisciencejournal.blogspot.com).

 

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In today’s newsletter, an environmental immune system under threat, and then: • The new Northeast wildfires • Gaming gets cozy • Why can’t we fall asleep? The Island Where Environmentalism Implodes New Caledonia is home to thousands of species found nowhere else—and to nickel that companies like Tesla desperately need. Illustration by Alëna Skarina New Caledonia, a tiny French overseas territory in the Pacific, is a huge producer of nickel, a metal used in car-engine batteries. In 2021, Tesla struck a five-year deal to buy up a third of the nickel from Goro, one of the largest mines there. Being so rich in the metal, “the territory could play a crucial role in the green-energy transition,” Ben Crair writes. It is also rich in remarkable plants and ecological wonders. Crair travels to the territory to report on the conflict between conservation efforts and excavation interests. “You got the botanists and the mining companies,” one botanist tells Crair. “It’s a war.” Read the story Editor’s Picks  News Desk The Technology the Trump Administration Could Use to Hack Your Phone Other Western democracies have been roiled by the use of spyware to target political opponents, activists, journalists, and other vulnerable groups. Could it happen here? By Ronan Farrow The Lede The Northeast Is Becoming Fire Country Maps of recent fires across the region resemble California in August, with hundreds of red dots. By M. R. O’Connor If you know someone who would enjoy Science & Technology, please share it. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up. Our Columnists  Infinite Scroll The Fantasy of Cozy Tech From the “cozy gaming” trend to a new generation of A.I. companions, our devices are trying to swathe us in a digital and physical cocoon. By Kyle Chayka  Open Questions Why Do We Talk This Way? Technology is dramatically changing political speech, rewarding quantity and variety over the neat messages of the past. By Joshua Rothman From the Archive  Maria Konnikova Why Can’t We Fall Asleep? From 2015: The first piece in a three-part series on sleeping, waking, and dreaming, examines why, as a society, we’re getting worse at going to bed. By Maria Konnikova Cartoon by Sofia Warren P.S. Federal wildlife officials recommended this week that giraffes be protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. There are only about a hundred and seventeen thousand left worldwide, and their numbers are decreasing from people colonizing their habitat. In 2015, Robin Wright wrote about their escalating vulnerability. “The gentle vegetarians with flirty lashes and cinnamon spots,” as Wright describes them, “seem the most harmless of beasts.” 🦒

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