Change

European forests, especially in Italy’s mountainous regions, are facing drastic changes due to the climate crisis. New research reveals a likely decrease in suitable habitats for many tree species, with some expanding. The study underscores the need for diverse tree stands and cautions against potential new risks. Further research is planned to extend these findings across Italy and Europe. Credit: SciTechDaily.com Forests in the Italian mountains are becoming increasingly vulnerable due to the changing conditions…

In February 2000, Paul Crutzen rose to speak at the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme in Mexico. And when he spoke, people took notice. He was then one of the world's most cited scientists, a Nobel laureate working on huge-scale problems – the ozone hole, the effects of a nuclear winter.So little wonder that a word he improvised took hold and spread widely: this was the Anthropocene, a proposed new geological epoch, representing an Earth transformed by the effects of industrialised humanity.The idea of an…

If floodwaters outside a warehouse in Freeport, Texas, owned by private investment firm Postlane Partners rise to 8 inches, an internet-connected sensor will trigger an automatic $3 million payment from an insurance company, a startup called FloodFlash. If the waters rise to 16 inches, the payment will also rise—to $5 million.  This type of policy, called parametric insurance, works like a bet. It has a defined payout, which limits the liability of the insurer. And it comes from a new breed of insurance company, stepping…

by Jan Steffen, Cluster of Excellence ROOTS - Social, Environmental, and Cultural Connectivity in Past Societies Radiocarbon-dated settlement sites and summer temperature records across southern Scandinavia, southern Norway and Arctic Norway. The map displays a total of 1,734 settlement sites with a corresponding 6268 reliable 14C dates. Summer temperature records are based on marine, lacustrine, bog and…

Figure 6 from the study showing the change in the average number of annual days of extreme fire risk between now and the end of the 21st century. Credit: Yu et al., 2023 Wildfires are some of the most destructive natural disasters in the country, threatening lives, destroying homes and infrastructure, and creating air pollution. In order to properly forecast and manage wildfires, managers need to understand wildfire risk and…

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNETZDNET's key takeawaysThe HP Chromebook Plus x360.Also: The best 2-in-1 laptops: Top flexible, hybrid, and convertible notebooksDesign-wise, the computer is nearly identical to HP's other x360 models. The biggest difference is the display size, with my review unit fielding a smaller 14-inch touchscreen. (There's also a 15.6-inch option.) Still, there's enough room under the hood to fit in a robust 12th Gen Intel Core i3 processor. The upgrade allows the laptop to handle tougher tasks and to run way…

If you have been searching for a new cheap entry into the iPad world, you may finally get your wish next year as a brand new ‘low-end’ iPad is on the way. As Bloomberg originally reported, this is part of an effort to solve a ‘slump’ in iPad sales, which is related to a lack of new models in the last year. This week, a report by Nikkei Asia and attributed to ‘sources briefed on the matter’, reveals that Apple is currently attempting to move new product introduction for this iPad to Vietnam, from China. This is…

Early this week, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reported that Apple is planning to release a few iPad models by the beginning of 2024. These releases include new Pro and Air variations available in two different sizes.While these launches could happen in February or March, Apple plans a major change to iPad production in 2024. According to Nikkei Asia, Apple is allocating product development resources for the iPad to Vietnam to create another manufacturing hub outside of China.Apple is reportedly working alongside…

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain It's becoming increasingly clear that we will fail to meet our climate goals. We were already at 1.26°C of warming in 2022 and are on track to blow through 1.5°C in the mid-2030s. Research even suggests that current climate policy will lead to more than 2.5°C of warming by the end of this century. Warming of this…

Paying for Spotify Premium has been a complicated business in recent years, but it might be about to get a whole lot easier. Giving Spotify money as an iPhone owner has meant doing so via the company's website for some time, but there are now signs that subscribers could be able to pay for their music fix using Apple's in-app purchase system once more.Spotify has not allowed people to sign up to its Premium subscription service via an in-app purchase for more than seven years at this point, and it stopped allowing those…