Montreal-made website uses AI to show impacts of climate change on any address

TORONTO — Imagine Parliament Hill blanketed in orange skies, floodwaters climbing the sides of BC Place stadium or a thick layer of smog fogging the view of Halifax from Citadel Hill.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

These are all scenes depicted on a website published Thursday that blends artificial intelligence with geography to show the potential impact of climate change on almost any address on the planet.

The website, thisclimatedoesnotexist.com, was created by Mila, a machine-learning and technology research institute in Quebec founded by Yoshua Benigo, one of the godfathers of AI.

The website can apply filters showing the impacts of flooding, wildfires or smog to any address available through Google Street View and is meant to raises awareness about future scenarios that could arise if the world’s response to climate change continues to fall short.

Victor Schmidt, a lead researcher on the project, said the site is not meant to predict climate change, but rather, it strives to make the issue more personal for people who can't visualize something that is seemingly far off or something that could impact another community sooner than theirs.

"Just because it may not happen to them, doesn't mean it won't happen to other people elsewhere or sometime in the future," Schmidt said.

To boost empathy, the website prompts people to search their current or childhood home, workplaces, favourite restaurants and travel destinations.

The images the website will return are built around generative adversarial networks, or GANs, a class of machine-learning frameworks designed by Mila that allow a computer to create and transform images.

The site doesn't adjust water levels or air quality conditions based on where an address is, so users won't find coastal areas completely underwater or wildfire-ridden neighbours more engulfed by dusty skies than less fire prone regions.

This is intentional, Schmidt said. Mila didn't want people visiting the website, discovering their neighbourhood was facing less distressing climate change impacts than others and then deciding not to care about the issue.

"It's about connecting with other people and trying to make common sense feel closer," he said.

"Making climate change more personal is going to try and help bridge that gap."

Schmidt hopes people will visit the website built with the support of National Geographic Society, Microsoft, BCG Gamma and Borealis AI, and leave feeling more aware about climate change and its affects.

Research on the Canadian Centre for Climate Services website shows climate change has already caused the country's average annual temperature to rise by 1.7 C from 1948 to 2016, about double the global rate.

In Northern Canada alone, the average annual temperate has risen by 2.3 C, about triple the global rate, over the same period.

Almost simultaneously, the summer sea ice area in Northern Canadian waters decreased by nearly 7 per cent per decade on average between 1968 and 2015.

It is expected to keep decreasing to the point where Arctic waters could be nearly ice-free by the 2050s.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2021.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press

How Many Dimensions Does Our Universe Really Have?

Does our Universe have extra dimensions, and how do they influence our reality?

By Matthew S. Williams

Oct 16, 2021 (Updated: Oct 16, 2021 12:06 EDT)

StockByM/iStock

Theoretical physics is a fascinating and (at times) amusing field. While most people would not claim to know much about this field of research, many of its more advanced concepts come up in popular culture all the time. In fact, words like "nuclear," "quantum," and "multiverse" are often key to the plot of our favorite TV shows and movies.

On the other hand, some of the more advanced concepts in theoretical physics (when described) sound more like philosophy and metaphysics than science. In fact, some theories even manage to blur the lines between science and religion and are generally met by either awe or dismissal (depending upon who's listening).

Consider the idea of "extra dimensions," which many people would assume refers to the existence of dimensions parallel to our own where things are slightly or vastly different — aka. "multiverse" theory. In truth, the theory of extra dimensions deals with the possible existence of extra dimensions beyond the ones we are immediately aware of.

While this kind of talk may sound like something farfetched or purely speculative, it is actually a vital part of our understanding of how our Universe works. If and when we determine how many dimensions our Universe has (and what each of them does), we will finally have a Theory of Everything (ToE) and know how it all fits together.


Dimensions 101

To break it down, the term "dimension" refers to any mathematical measurement. This can generally refer to a physical measurement (an object or space) or a temporal measurement (time). There are three dimensions that we experience daily, which define the length, width, and depth of all objects in our Universe (the x, y, and z-axis, respectively).

However, scientists maintain that to understand the laws of nature, one must include a "fourth dimension," which is time. Without this coordinate, the position, velocity, and acceleration of objects in our Universe cannot be properly measured. It's not enough to know where an object is in terms of three spatial coordinates. You also need to know when the object was where.


Beyond these four dimensions, theoretical physicists have ventured that there may be more at play. The number of dimensions varies, but the purpose behind extra dimensions is to find ways of unifying the known laws of the Universe, which theoretical physicists have been trying to do for about a century.

The reason has to do with two very interesting fields of study: Quantum Mechanics (QM) and General Relativity (GR). These fields emerged during the early 20th century and were almost concurrent with each other. Whereas QM has many forebears (Planck, Heisenberg, Schrodinger, et al.), GR owes its existence, at least initially, to Albert Einstein — though many of his ideas were refinements on earlier theories.

For the record, Einstein also contributed to the development of QM through his research on the behavior of light. In any case, whereas Quantum Mechanics (QM) describes how energy and matter behave at the atomic and subatomic levels, General Relativity (GR) describes how matter, energy, and spacetime behave on larger scales in the presence of gravity.


The funny thing is, our greatest scientific minds have been trying to figure out how these two fields fit together for almost a century. Both appear to work just fine on their own, but where they come together into a single coherent system, that remains largely a mystery.
Four fundamental forces

After thousands of years of research into nature and the laws that govern it, scientists have determined that four fundamental forces govern all matter-energy interactions. These forces, and the fundamental particles that make up all matter (quarks, leptons, gauge bosons, and scalar bosons), are part of The Standard Model of particle physics. These forces are:
Electromagnetism
Weak Nuclear Force
Strong Nuclear Force
Gravitation

The first three forces are all described by the field of Quantum Mechanics and are associated with specific subatomic particles. Electromagnetism is associated with electrons (a lepton), which are responsible for electricity, magnetism, and all forms of electromagnetic radiation. That includes visible light (color), heat, microwaves, radio waves, ultraviolet radiation, and gamma rays.

Source: NASA

The weak nuclear force deals with interactions between subatomic particles responsible for the radioactive decay of atoms and is associated with particles smaller than a proton (bosons). At higher energies, this force merges with electromagnetism, which has given rise to the unified term "electroweak force."

The strong nuclear force governs particles that are the size of protons and neutrons (hadrons) and is so-named because it is approximately 137 times as strong as electromagnetism, millions of times stronger than the weak nuclear force, and 1038 times as strong as gravitation. It causes quarks to come together to form larger protons and neutrons and binds them to create atomic nuclei.

Finally, there is gravitation, which is the weakest of the four forces and deals with interactions between massive objects (asteroids, planets, stars, galaxies, and the large-scale structure of the Universe.) Unlike the other three forces, there is no known subatomic particle that describes gravitation or gravitational interactions.


This is why scientists are forced to study physics in terms of QM or GR (depending on the scales involved), but generally not both combined. Because of this, scientists have been trying to come up with a theoretical framework for unifying gravity with the other forces. Attempts to do so generally fall under the heading of "quantum gravity" or a Theory of Everything (ToE).
How many dimensions are there?

Attempts to create a unified field theory of gravitation and electromagnetism can be traced to German physicist Theodor Kaluza (1885–1954). In 1921, he published a paper where he presented an extended interpretation of Einstein's Field Equations. This theory was built on the idea of a 5D Universe, which included a dimension beyond the common 4D of space and time.

In 1926, Swedish theoretical physicist Oskar Klein offered a quantum interpretation of Kaluza's 5D theory. In Klein's extension, the fifth dimension was curled up, microscopic, and could take the form of a circle that had a 10-30 cm radius. In the 1930s, work was undertaken on the Kaluza field theory by Einstein and his colleagues at Princeton. By the 1940s, the theory was formally completed and given the name Kaluza-Klein theory.

The work of Kaluza and Klein predicted the emergence of String Theory (ST), which was first proposed during the 1960s. By the 1990s, multiple interpretations emerged, including Superstring Theory, Loop-Quantum Gravity, M-theory, and Supergravity. Each of these theories entails the existence of "extra dimensions," "hyperspace," or something similar.

To summarize, ST states that the point-like particles of particle physics are actually one-dimensional objects called "strings." Over distances larger than the string scale, they resemble ordinary particles, though their mass, charge, and other properties are determined by the string's vibrational state. In one state, the string corresponds to the graviton, which is what causes gravitation.

Source: NASA

Superstring theory, a variation on ST, requires t spacetime dimensions. These include the four dimensions immediately apparent to us (length, width, depth, time) and six more that are not.

These extra six dimensions are curled up into a compact space. On order the string scale (10-33 cm) we wouldn't be able to detect the presence of these extra dimensions directly because they're just too small.

According to the theory, the fifth and sixth dimensions deal with possible worlds that began with the same initial conditions.

The fifth dimension encompasses worlds with slightly different outcomes than ours, while the sixth is where a plane of possible worlds would be visible. The seventh dimension is where one could see possible worlds that started with different initial conditions and then branched out infinitely — hence why the term "infinity" is used to describe them.

The eighth dimension would similarly give us a plane of these "infinities," while in the ninth dimension, all possible Universes and laws of physics could be seen. In the tenth dimension, anything and everything possible in terms of cosmic evolution are accessible. Beyond that, nothing can be seen by living creatures that are part of the spacetime continuum.


M-theory, which combines five distinct superstring theories, posits the existence of 11 dimensions — ten spatial and one time. This variation on superstring theory is considered attractive because of the phenomena it predicts. For one, M-theory predicts the existence of the graviton, which is consistent with string theory as a whole and offers an explanation for quantum gravity.

It also predicts a phenomenon similar to black hole evaporation, where black holes emit "Hawking radiation" and lose mass over time. Some variations of superstring theory also predict the existence of Einstein-Rosen bridges — aka. "wormholes." Another approach, Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG), posits that gravity is completely different from the other fundamental forces and that space-time itself is made of quantized, discrete bits, in the form of tiny, one-dimensional loops.


Some versions of supergravity theory also promote an 11-D model of spacetime, with 4 common dimensions and 7 hyperspace dimensions. There's also "brane theory," which posits that the Universe is made up of multidimensional vibrating "membranes" that have mass and a charge and can propagate through spacetime.

To date, there is no experimental evidence for the existence of "extra dimensions," "hyperspace," or anything beyond the four dimensions we can perceive.
Why can't we see them?

Alas, the question remains. If additional dimensions are required for the laws of physics to make sense, why can't we confirm their existence? There are two possibilities: one, what we think we know about physics is wrong, or two, the dimensions of spacetime beyond the 4D we experience are so subtle or tiny that they are invisible to our current experiments.


On its face, the first possibility seems highly unlikely. After all, ongoing particle experiments — like those conducted with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) — have confirmed that the Standard Model of particle physics is correct. Similarly, General Relativity has been confirmed many times over since Einstein formally proposed it in 1915.

Source: Wikimedia Commons/Jbourjai

That leaves us with the second possibility: that extra dimensions cannot be measured or characterized using current methods and experiments. A well-studied possibility is that dimensions are "curled up" at tiny scales, which means their properties and influence on spacetime could only be measured at subatomic levels.

Another possibility is "compactification," where certain dimensions are finite or temporal in nature. In short, this theory posits that curled-up dimensions become very small or close in on themselves to form circles. If this is true, then the six extra dimensions would likely take the form of a Calabi–Yau manifold (these are shapes that satisfy the requirement needed for the six "unseen" spatial dimensions of string theory).

For astrophysicists and theoretical physicists, compactification and the idea that extra dimensions are tiny explains why the Universe still exists billions of years after its emergence. If these dimensions were larger, they would accommodate enough matter to trigger gravitational collapses and the formation of black holes (which would consume the rest of the Universe).

The fact that the cosmos still exists after 13.8 billion years, and shows no sign of being torn apart, would suggest that this theory is sound. Alternatively, the laws of physics may operate differently in these extra dimensions. Either way, there's still the unanswered question of how we might observe and study them.

How do we find them?

So if the Universe really does have extra dimensions that are imperceptible to us, how are we going to find evidence of their existence and determine their properties? One possibility is to look for them through particle physics experiments, like those conducted by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) — the operators of the LHC — and other particle accelerator labs.

At CERN, scientists boost particles to high energies before smashing them together and measuring the resulting cascade of subatomic particles. Detectors gather clues about the particles, such as their speed, mass, and charge, which can be used to work out their identity.

Theories involving extra dimensions predict that there must be heavier versions of standard particles recurring at higher and higher energies as they navigate smaller dimensions. These would have exactly the same properties as standard particles (and so be visible to detectors like those at CERN) but at a greater mass. If evidence of these were to be found, this might suggest the presence of extra dimensions.

Another way is to look back through time towards the period known as "Cosmic Dawn," roughly 100 to 500 million years after the Big Bang, when the first stars and galaxies formed. Even if extra dimensions are imperceptible to detection today, they would have influenced the evolution of the Universe from the very beginning.

To date, astronomers have been unable to see this far back in time since no telescopes have been sensitive enough. This will change in the near future, thanks to next-generation instruments like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (RST), the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), and the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT).

Source: Suvendu Giri

This coincides nicely with existing Dark Matter and Dark Energy surveys that are observing early comic history in the hopes of measuring their influence on cosmic evolution. Since some theorists venture that the existence of extra dimensions could help explain the "Dark Universe," these observations could address several mysteries at once.

This dual approach is not unlike our current understanding of the Universe, which scientists can only understand in one of two ways — the largest (GR) and tiniest of scales (QM). By observing the Universe with a very wide and very tight-angle lense, we may be able to account for all the forces governing it.

* * *

Much like other ToE candidates, the belief that the universe is made up of ten dimensions or more is an attempt to take all the physical laws we understand and find out how they fit together. In that respect, it's like assembling a puzzle, where each piece makes sense to us, but we are unaware of what the bigger picture looks like.

It's not enough to put pieces together wherever they appear to match. We also need to have an overall idea of what the framework is, a mental picture of what it will look like when it is finished. This helps to guide our efforts so we can anticipate how it will all come together.

Indian Scientist Creates Plant-Based Aircraft Fuel That Cuts Emissions By 68%


Bharat Sharma

Updated on Oct 16, 2021

Highlights

Puneet Dwivedi from the University of Georgia spearheaded the project, leading the team to look for a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) made from oil found in Brassica carinata, an oilseed crop unfit for eating

Published in GCB Bioenergy, the study could pave way for adoption of cleaner ways to run our existing technology, including aircraft that make up a giant chunk of petroleum-based fuel consumption

Dwivedi is convinced that with "feedstock supply and suitable economic incentives", they could begin producing carinata-based SAF in the southern parts of United States

Could a plant-based fuel replace current petroleum fuel for flights? According to Indian-origin scientist Puneet Dwivedi, a fuel made from a type of mustard plant could help reduce emissions by 68 per cent.

Puneet Dwivedi from the University of Georgia spearheaded the project, leading the team to look for a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) made from oil found in Brassica carinata, an oilseed crop unfit for eating.

Dorothy Kozlowski/UGA
Adopting cleaner fuel

Published in GCB Bioenergy, the study could pave way for adoption of cleaner ways to run our existing technology, including aircraft that make up a giant chunk of petroleum-based fuel consumption.

Also read: This 100% Solar Powered Aircraft Flew For Three Weeks Straight Without Landing

Dwivedi is convinced that with "feedstock supply and suitable economic incentives", they could begin producing carinata-based SAF in the southern parts of United States, UGA Today reported.

Unsplash

The aviation industry is responsible for 2.5 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions, contributing to 3.5 per cent of all global warming.

What about the costs?

The team headed by Dwivedi also laid out the costs involved in the production of SAF from carinata. In most optimum conditions, the SAF from carinata could be produced in as less as $0.12 per litre. The cost could go up to $1.28 per litre based on market incentives.

The study found that petroleum-based fuel for flights costs about $0.50 per litre, which is tad higher than the carinata-based SAF. Dwivedi pursued the project as part of the Southeast Partnership for Advanced Renewables from Carinata (SPARC) - a project backed by the US government.

Also read: Winds Of Change - Indian Air Force Flies Its First Biofuel-Powered Military Aircraft AN-32

unsplash

Also read: Jetpacks That Fly On Autopilot At 48 Kmph Coming To Ease Your Work Commute

The $15 million project requires scientists to investigate ways in which carinata could be grown in the Southeast US. The study was co-authored by Asiful Alam and Md Farhad Hossain Masum from the University of Georgia.

Carinata grows in humid regions and may be grown not only in southern parts of the US, but in different parts of Asia, Africa, Europe and Australia as a spring or a winter crop.


What do you think about this fantastic feat? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of science and technology, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

Citation

Alam, A., Masum, M. F. H., & Dwivedi, P. (2021). Break‐even price and carbon emissions of carinata‐based sustainable aviation fuel production in the Southeastern United States. GCB Bioenergy. Published.

U of Manitoba union launches 3-day strike vote

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Students say they're being caught in middle of the

 disagreement, affecting their education

Nathan Liewicki · CBC News · Posted: Oct 16, 2021 8:28 PM CT | Last Updated: 9 hours ago

The University of Manitoba Faculty Association is asking the University of Manitoba for a salary bump of 4.5 per cent over the next two years. (Dana Hatherly/CBC)

The University of Manitoba's Faculty Association (UMFA) launched a three-day strike vote Saturday to gauge whether members are in favour of walking off the job, but students say they're being caught in the middle and their education is suffering.

Last month, the UMFA said staff were seeking higher salaries that are more in line with other universities across Canada, along with a "more equitable hiring, tenure and promotion processes."

"We are losing members. We are finding it difficult to recruit members. We have many different positions in our departments and it's impossible to remain competitive with our salaries at this point," said Janet Morrill, an associate professor of accounting and finance and a member of UMFA's collective agreement committee.

The university is offering faculty a three-year deal, with salary increases of 0.75 per cent, 0.75 per cent and one per cent, starting this year. 

But Morrill said they're seeking an increase of 4.5 per cent over the next two years.

"That will help a little bit, but really we need to see salary increases over the next decade that have been much better than the salaries over the last decade if we are going to keep our position," she said.

Janet Morrill is an associate professor of accounting and finance and a member of UMFA's collective agreement committee. She says the school is in "a state of crisis." (Godlove Kamwa/CBC)

Morrill noted the university continues to lose professors to other post-secondary institutions, including those classified as U15 universities, a collective of 15 of Canada's most research-intensive universities. 

According to Statistics Canada, the U of M ranks 14th out of the 15 schools for average salary for its faculty at $136,925. Only Université Laval ranked lower during the 2020-21 academic year.

• U of Manitoba faculty union says university hemorrhaging talent due to low salaries

"It's true that, for instance, the ceilings of our salary scales are now falling behind the University of Winnipeg and Brandon University in the same province," said Morrill.

"And moreover, if you look at other categories of universities that don't even have the same medical and doctoral programs that we have, in many cases we are below their salaries as well."

Stuck in the middle of the tussle is the University of Manitoba Students' Union (UMSU), along with students themselves.

"This is a really pressing issue for us as students. We need teachers and faculty to be able to teach us so that we can complete our programs," said engineering student Luc Maxwell.

Aaliyan Abbasi, an Asper School of Business student at the University of Manitoba, says a strike by the UMFA will hurt students. (Godlove Kamwa/CBC)

Aaliyan Abbasi, a business student, agreed.

"If they are going on strike, how are we going to study?" said Abbasi.

"Nothing is more important than the future of the students. They are the future. They are going to help grow the country, help the economy grow, so I feel that they should both come to terms together and not let the strike happen."

UMSU president Brendan Scott remembers the faculty's last strike — that lasted 21 days in 2016 — and doesn't want to see a repeat five years later.

"The hope is, and the communication that I have been giving to the students of UMSU, is that nothing is predetermined. There is no guarantee that classes will stop. The professors simply just want to expedite the process of bargaining with the university," he said.

He said he has also heard rumblings that some departments are having problems offering enough classes to students due to a lack of faculty.

"A big one I've heard about is the computer science program that has very limited spots for students and is causing many students the inability to progress in their programs," he said.

Brendan Scott is president of the University of Manitoba Students' Union. (Submitted by Brendan Scott)

Morrill told CBC that UMFA is also hearing cases of courses that can't be offered because of many vacant teaching positions. 

"This is hard on students. It's more difficult for them to complete their programs in a timely fashion because the university is having to cancel courses," she said.

"For a masters student or a doctoral student, for example, if their supervisor left it would be disastrous for them. And so I think the University of Manitoba is in a crisis state right now."

• Union for University of Manitoba professors, librarians, instructors to hold strike vote

• University of Manitoba faculty narrowly vote to accept final bargaining deal

The UMSU has yet to take a formal stance, but Scott expects that will happen after meetings with both sides this coming week.

Meanwhile, he hopes they can come to an agreement before a possible strike.

The U of M continues to meet with the UMFA, approaching the bargaining team "with the view to conclude a collective agreement," said the executive director for the university's public affairs department.

The results of the strike vote are expected Tuesday, but the union said it won't mean a strike is imminent, only that members could strike at some point.

Nearly 20,000 pounds of trash removed from one of the biggest accumulations of ocean plastic in the world


BY LI COHEN
OCTOBER 16, 2021 / 2:39 PM / CBS NEWS

In the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California floats a massive collection of debris that has long been accumulating trash — from fishing nets to microplastics — known to be harmful to the marine environment. For years, researchers said it might not be possible to remove the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but now, one non-profit is proving them wrong.

In July, The Ocean Cleanup, which has been developing a system to help clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, took its first large-scale cleanup system, called System 002, or Jenny, to the Pacific. They conducted a series of tests over the course of 12 weeks, each one consisting of the system being taken offshore to safely gather plastic from the ocean.

The organization completed its final test of the system last week, and on Thursday, The Ocean Cleanup tweeted it had gathered 9,000 kilograms — more than 19,841 pounds — of debris.

"Holy mother of god," Boyan Slat, the founder of Ocean Cleanup, tweeted after the organization recovered its massive trash haul on October 8. "It all worked!!! Massive load."

Slat said that 10 years ago, when he first learned about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, everyone told him "there was no hope of ever cleaning it up."

"They were right then; no method existed to do it," he tweeted. "Proud (and relieved!) to say that now there is."

The Ocean Cleanup says the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one of the largest marine debris patches in the world. In 2018, research estimated that there are at least 79,000 tons of plastic inside a 1.6 million-square-kilometer area. Microplastics — plastic materials smaller than 5 centimeters — make up roughly 8% of the mass, but 94% of the estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of debris floating in the area, researchers found.

Marine garbage patches such as the one in the Pacific are large areas where debris collects, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The aquatic piles are formed by rotating currents called "gyres," which are like "big whirlpools that pull objects in."

There are five gyres in the ocean — one in the Indian, two in the Atlantic and two in the Pacific — and each gyre contains garbage patches of different sizes. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the most famous of these piles.

Jenny works by two boats slowly guiding a U-shaped barrier through the polluted area. According to the organization, the circulating currents in the garbage patch move the plastic around, and their system helps guide that plastic into the system's retention zone. Once the system is full, workers empty the plastic on the marine vessel. After they gather as much debris as they can during the excursion, workers take the plastic to shore to recycle, and The Ocean Cleanup reuses some of the materials gathered to make products.




The system is designed to gather even microplastics, which are just millimeters in size.

The Ocean Cleanup also designed the system to be animal friendly. The boats tow it at roughly 1.5 miles per hour, so that marine life can easily swim in, out and around, and there are quick release systems, escape routes, cameras and lights to help animals escape the netting. Crew members also monitor marine life interactions.

Slat believes that about 10 upscaled systems could clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and that they could remove 50% of it in the first 5 years.

Slat said that many aspects need to be finessed, but that a fleet of The Ocean Cleanup's systems could clean it up. If properly deployed, the organization predicts it could remove 90% of all floating ocean plastic by 2040.

But the organization's mission has been met with some criticism from fellow climate activists and experts.

In September, Miriam Goldstein, director of ocean policy at the Center for American Progress, told Reuters that The Ocean Cleanup is "coming from a good place," but that priorities should be set on preventing plastic from entering the ocean.

"Once plastic has gotten into open ocean, it becomes very expensive and fossil-fuel intensive to get it back out again," Goldstein said.

While the organization was able to scoop up a massive haul of trash, more than 24 trillion pounds of plastic is dumped into oceans ever year, according to a 2020 study from the Pew Charitable Trusts. And without immediate and sustained action, the annual flow of pollution could nearly triple by 2040 — when The Ocean Cleanup says it could have the majority of floating plastics removed — the study said.

"Without meaningful change, about 4 billion people worldwide are likely to be without organized waste collection services by 2040, contributing significantly to the projected amount of ocean plastic pollution," Pew said in a press release. "Closing this gap would require connecting more than 500,000 people to collection services per day until 2040."

China launches its first sun observation satellite to monitor solar eruptions

Xihe sent up by a Long March 2D rocket from Taiyuan launch centre to keep an eye on sun’s surface

Eye in the sky will fill gap in optical network, state news agency says

Liu Zhen in Beijing
Published: 5:00pm, 15 Oct, 2021

The Xihe satellite is designed to record the changes in atmospheric temperature and speed during solar eruptions. Photo: Shutterstock

China launched its first solar observation satellite on Thursday, entering a new arena of space exploration, state media reported.

The 550kg (121-pound) Xihe satellite was sent by a Long March 2D rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in northern Shanxi province into a 571km-altitude orbit, where it is expected to monitor the sun for three years, state news agency Xinhua reported.

China has had a solar monitoring network on the ground but until now lacked optical data outside the atmosphere. To fill the gap, the first solar satellite will monitor eruptions on the sun’s surface and collect data within the visible spectrum range using an imaging spectrometer on board.

“Conducting space solar exploration will effectively serve China’s basic science research, drive the development of related hi-tech industries, and even lead the progress of international solar physics research,” the report said.

“China’s international influence in the area of solar physics would be significantly increased.”

The Xihe satellite is designed to record the changes in atmospheric temperature and speed during solar eruptions and provide data for studies of the dynamics and physical mechanisms of eruptions. The platform’s features include ultra-high accuracy and ultra-stability.

The satellite will be in a sun-synchronous orbit around the Earth.

A model of the satellite had its first public showing at the Zhuhai Air Show last month and the developer – the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) – ran a competition to name it.

Similar to other Chinese space programmes, the solar satellite was named after a Chinese mythological figure. Xihe is the mother goddess of the gods of the sun.

Beijing has invested heavily in space exploration and pushed forward several major programmes for outer space, the moon and Mars, for which it is regarded as a strong challenger in the space race.

In 2025, a probe is expected to reach the L5 Lagrange point – a gravity balance spot between the sun and Earth – and there are plans for new probes for solar polar orbiting and close orbiting missions around 2030-35.

Since the 1960s, Nasa has sent dozens of solar orbiters to circle the sun and in 2004 the Genesis spacecraft returned a sample of solar wind. The most recently launched Parker Solar Probe (2018) is conducting close-range solar coronal studies. Europe and Japan also have solar missions.

NEIL GAIMAN

HERE’S GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE AS LUCIFER IN THE SANDMAN
by Michael Walsh

NERDIST
Oct 16 2021 • 

Netflix is about to finally make Neil Gaiman fans’ dreams come true. Or rather, their Dream come true. The streaming site is developing the author’s seminal DC comic book The Sandman as a series. After years of failed attempts at bringing the story of Morpheus to the big screen, what can we expect from a television adaptation? Here’s everything we know about The Sandman…so far.

The Sandman Comic Book

DC Comics

Issue #1 of The Sandman debuted in 1989, and its primary story ran for 75 issues until 1996. (Other supplementary issues came later, including an important prequel, Overture.) The show’s official logline does as good a job as any describing Neil Gaiman’s legendary, surreal comic book series. From Netflix:

“A rich blend of modern myth and dark fantasy in which contemporary fiction, historical drama and legend are seamlessly interwoven, The Sandman follows the people and places affected by Morpheus, the Dream King, as he mends the cosmic—and human—mistakes he’s made during his vast existence.”

The titular Sandman is one of the seven siblings known as the Endless. They are “the anthropomorphic embodiments of powerful natural forces” who predate gods. They each rule over a different realm of existence. And though they are powerful, they are not totally invulnerable, all-knowing, or free from the rules of the universe. We learn this important lesson the first time we meet Morpheus.

Season One



According to Gaiman, the show’s first season, which Netflix strangely says will be “ten episodes (plus one),” will cover the comics’ first volume, Preludes and Nocturnes; this spans issues one through eight. The season will also get into “a little bit more” from the comics, which will at least include Volume 2, The Doll’s House. That’s the second major storyline from Gaiman’s series, and it carries longterm ramifications for the rest of the story.

Gaiman has promised fans that the show is a faithful adaptation of the comics in both spirit and storyline. However, it will feature some changes. For one, the show will be set in present day, which is 30 years later than when the comics take place.
The Cast

The sprawling story will have an equally sprawling cast. Tom Sturridge (Pirate Radio, Sweetbitter) will star as the titular Sandman. The Lord of the Dreaming realm, also known as Morpheus and Oneiros, among many other names, will have two Game of Thrones alums as enemies. Gwendoline Christie will play Lucifer, Ruler of Hell. And Charles Dance joins the show as the dastardly Roderick Burgess, “charlatan, blackmailer and magician.”

We got our first look at Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer at DC FanDome:

Netflix

And Lucifer’s wings

.

Vivienne Acheampong (The Witches) will star as Lucienne, Dream’s chief librarian and trusted guardian. Boyd Holbrook (Logan) plays Sandman‘s infamous The Corinthian. He’s “an escaped nightmare who wishes to taste all that the world has in store.” Which he does literally. The Corinthian has teeth for eyes and a fondness for eating the eyes of others. And Asim Chaudhry (Black Mirror: Bandersnatch) and Sanjeev Bhaskar (Yesterday) will star as Abel and Cain. They are “the first victim and the first predator, residents and loyal subjects of the Dream Realm.”

We also know some of Morpheus’ Endless siblings. Kirby Howell-Baptiste (The Good Place) will play Dream’s iconic older sister, Death. Gaiman describes her as “wiser, nicer, and much more sensible.” Mason Alexander Park joins the cast as Morpheus’s troublesome younger sibling Desire. They got the part after publicly saying on Twitter they were interested in the role. And Donna Preston will play Desire’s sad, pained twin sister Despair.

Netflix and Gaiman have also announced a slew of other important roles. Which includes a mix of relative newcomers and famous faces.
Jenna Coleman stars as 18th century occult adventurer and John Constantine’s great-great-great grandmother Johanna Constantine. Unlike in the comics, we will also meet a present day version of the character on the show.
Joely Richardson plays an older Ethel Cripps, Roderick Burgess’ love and John Dee’s mother. She is “a woman of a hundred identities and a thousand lies.”
Niamh Walsh will fill the role of a younger Ethel, circa when she was a “determined young woman seeking to survive” during the 1920s and ‘30s.
David Thewlis will plays Ethel’s dangerous son John Dee. “Driven mad, long ago, [he’s] out and on a quest for Truth that may destroy the world.” He’s a lot of fun. If you find unimaginable horror “fun.”
Kyo Ra is Rose Walker. She’s “a young woman on a desperate search for her missing brother, who finds a family she didn’t know that she had, and a connection to Dream that neither of them can escape.”
Razane Jammal plays Rose’s friend Lyta Hall, a “young widow mourning her husband Hector.” However, Rose doesn’t know “Hector has started showing up in Lyta’s dreams,” or “that strange things are happening.”
Sandra James-Young will play the heiress Unity Kinkaid. She is “Rose’s mysterious benefactor [who] spent a century asleep.” But now she’s awake after missing out on her whole life.
Stephen Fry, the legend himself, will star as “Rose Walker’s debonair protector,” Gilbert. He is “a dab hand with a paradox and a sword cane.”
Patton Oswalt will voice Dream’s trusted emissary, the dead human-turned raven, Matthew. He will be a real raven and not a CGI character. Oswalt was onboard before the show was even a show. Gaiman says the comedian “was the first person we asked, and the first person we cast, the day before we pitched The Sandman to Netflix.”

DC Comics

That’s already a massive—and massively talented—cast. But Gaiman says “there are more delights and nightmares” left to cast. And the show has a “few more secrets” up its sleeves.

The Creative Team

Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman, Grey’s Anatomy) serves as showrunner, writer, and executive producer. Gaiman and David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Krypton) also serve as writers and executive producers. The three cowrote the first episode together. The series comes from Warner Bros. Television.

Production Schedule and Release Date

The show began filming in October of 2020. COVID hit the “pause button” on the show. But Gaiman says some episodes are already complete. Netflix has yet to announce a premiere. Whenever it airs though, it will be a long-awaited Dream come true.

Originally published May 28, 2021.

THE BATMAN TRAILER SHOWS THE NASTIEST GOTHAM YET

by Kyle Anderson

NERDIST
Oct 16 2021 



For a fictional city, and one that has rarely appeared the same way twice, audiences just know Gotham City at this point. Massive foreboding skyscrapers, near-constant rain, and darkness on all sides. We understand the city because we understand why Batman has to stalk it. But I don’t think we’ve ever quite seen it the way it is in the first full trailer for Matt Reeves’ The Batman. We saw a first look over a year ago at the first DC FanDome event, and now, only a few months before release, we have a much better idea of what Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight will be up against. And it’s, uh, pretty dark.

What immediately stands out in the trailer is the use of orange as the sole major color amid the blackness that usually signifies Gotham City. Several gorgeous shots take place at dusk, bathing the city in amber, but even the streetlamps and interior lighting give off the same hue. While we have some reds and blues, it’s this pale gold that really took me by surprise. Oh, it’s also the color of fire, of which there is a lot.

We see Pattinson’s Batman go toe-to-toe with the thugs and ruffians of the city, many in face paint reminiscent of the Clown Prince of Crime. Hmm. Colin Farrell’s Penguin, who looks a bit like a gangster out of 1990’s Dick Tracy, shows up quite a lot, with a very New Yorky accent I wasn’t expecting. We get a great look at Zoe Kravitz as Selena Kyle/Catwoman. And we also see a bit more of the Batmobile, or should I say, the Mad Max car with fins on it. Not my fave version of the car, I have to admit.



On the theme of golden, warm light amid the chilly cold of rainy Gotham City, we also have the Bat Signal. Literally the beacon that could, perhaps, warm up the horrible, unwelcoming burg. Batman says “when that light hits the sky, it’s not just a call. It’s a warning.” The criminals need to watch out, because not only does this version of Batman seem plenty ready to beat/maim/kill(?), but he’s also pretty much bulletproof. One striking sequence in the trailer is a hallway fight, illuminated only by machine gun fire. And Batman doesn’t stop even a little bit for it.

One color we don’t see very much of in The Batman trailer is green. The Riddler (Paul Dano)’s presence is everywhere, but DC and Warner Bros. are holding back a bit from showing him to us. We see him from behind in the trailer’s opening; GCPD arrest Edward Nygma in a diner where he’s left a question mark in a cup of coffee. (The saucer also has a green trim, which is a cool touch.) Batman says “This is a powder keg, and Riddler’s the match,” and later Batman has a confrontation with him behind prison glass, though we don’t see the Riddler there.

One final interesting thing to note is after Andy Serkis’ Alfred Pennyworth warns Bruce Wayne if this continues he’ll have nothing left, we see an overhead shot. A shirtless Bruce stands in the middle of a floor on which we see spray painted “The Sins of my Father” and a question mark with prongs saying the following: “No more lies. Colson”; “Savage”; “Mitchell”; and “Renewal is a lie.” If we look at the cast list, we get a few answers. Colson refers to District Attorney Gil Colson (Peter Sarsgaard). Mitchell is Mayor Don Mitchell Jr. (Rupert Penry-Jones). And Savage refers to this universe’s Gotham Police Commissioner Pete Savage (Alex Ferns). Clearly the Riddler has an agenda.

We have a lot to mull over here in The Batman but we won’t have too-too long to wait. The movie will hit theaters March 4, 2022.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

David Gilmour - Who By Fire (Leonard Cohen Cover from the Von Trapped Series)

Premiered Oct 15, 2021



David Gilmour

A cover of Leonard Cohen's Who By Fire, performed by David Gilmour as part of the Von Trapped Family livestream series.

Is colonialism to blame for the dire situation we face with climate change? | Inside Story

Oct 16, 2021

Al Jazeera English

An exhibition looking at the legacy of colonialism - and the role it played in the birth of climate change - has opened in London. Eleven artists with a personal connection to Africa, the Caribbean and South America have pinpointed environmental change as a racial process, with deep roots in colonial history. Through this collection of artworks, the overlapping crises of environmental damage and colonialism, are put under scrutiny. 

Presenter: Adrian Finighan 

Guests: 

Ekow Eshun. Curator - 'We Are History'. 

Juergen Zimmerer - Professor at the University of Hamburg, focussing on Colonialism, Genocide Africa & postcolonial memory.

 Stephan Singer - Senior Climate Science and Global Energy Policy adviser, Climate Action Network International.