Wildfire smoke is the air quality nightmare of our generation, eating away at previous gains made by cracking down on industrial emissions and tailpipe pollution. Constant exposure to smoke is becoming a chronic threat even in places that historically haven’t had many wildfires. Climate change is priming forests to burn more intensely, which means more […]
There’s a new, free tool to help Americans monitor power outages in real time. Compiling data from its vast network of home sensors, startup Whisker Labs is launching the feature today in its Ting app. You don’t actually need to have one of these sensors in your home to use the Ting app to track […]
Starting next week, Apple’s new hypertension notification feature will be coming to Watch Series 9 and later and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later with the launch of watchOS 26. That’s according to an emailed statement from Apple spokesperson Zaina Khachadourian saying the feature that monitors blood pressure has been cleared by the FDA. Apple’s […]
An exciting discovery on Mars is being overshadowed by turmoil at NASA, with budget cuts threatening to destroy a scientific legacy that has been built over decades. Yesterday, the agency shared a finding, published in Nature, of potential biosignatures identified by the Mars Perseverance rover in a 3.5 billion-year-old rock. “This very well could be […]
President Donald Trump has cast his shadow over the latest forecast on US greenhouse gas emissions. Reductions in planet-heating pollution are already expected to slow over the next decade, setting the US and the world back in efforts to stop climate change. Here’s what could have been. Taking previous climate policies into account, research firm […]
Apple’s new iPhone Air contains more recycled titanium than any of its predecessors, the company announced at the Tuesday Keynote. It’s using 80 percent recycled titanium. The phone as a whole is made with 35 percent recycled material by weight, compared to 30 percent recycled material for the iPhone 17. The iPhone Air incorporates a […]
At an event in Las Vegas yesterday, Tesla revealed a new utility-scale battery configuration that it claims can significantly lower construction costs for utilities, along with faster installation. Its new “Megablock” is pre-engineered; more assembly done in a factory allows for 23 percent faster installation, according to Tesla. That’s supposed to translate to up to […]
Dish parent company EchoStar is selling wireless spectrum licenses to SpaceX for around $17 billion, the companies announced on Monday. SpaceX says it will use the spectrum to create the “next generation” of Starlink’s cellular satellite service, which customers of the EchoStar-owned Boost Mobile will gain access to as part of the deal. According to EchoStar, […]
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on all things at the intersection of environment and technology, follow Justine Calma. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started Some stories that I’ve worked […]
President Donald Trump is moving US Space Command’s headquarters from Colorado to Alabama, he announced during a press conference on Tuesday. The change reverses former President Joe Biden’s 2023 decision to leave it in Colorado Springs, where its temporary headquarters have been established. During the press conference, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), chair of the House […]