Uber-funded research project pushes new ways to measure safety of driverless cars
A typical driving test considers basic skills: Can you parallel park? Do you merge safely? Do you know to yield to pedestrians? No such government exam is required for cars driven by a computer. The idea has been dismissed by federal officials who oppose regulation and industry leaders who say they Read More...
Israel commits to 100 percent electric vehicles, ICE ban by 2030
From 2030, residents of Israel will no longer be able to buy cars fueled by petrol or diesel, the Israeli government has announced. Instead, only electric cars will be available for Read More...
Housing assistance needs a basic-income approach
While extremely low-income families face enormous difficulties in the housing market due to a 7.2 million shortage of deeply affordable homes, it’s often people hovering above the poverty threshold, but still financially strapped, who have the hardest Read More...
Amsterdam's canal boats are going electric
As we glide silently up Amsterdam's busy waterways on an unseasonably warm autumn morning, boat company owner Rik Kooij, 38, admits that "canal water runs in my veins". Ever since his mechanically-minded grandfather renovated a bicycle, then a motorbike, then a boat back in the 1920s, Mr. Kooij's Read More...
General Motors will soon use wind power to build pickups and SUVs
General Motors' largest gasoline-burning vehicles — pickups and full-size SUVs — will soon be built, ironically, at plants powered by wind, not fuel. GM wants to power all its global facilities with 100-percent renewable energy by Read More...
How climate change could be a spark to create a better world
One great taboo in the climate change debate is how much has improved over the past three decades: in public perception; in transnational consensus and determination; in scientific understanding and discovery. To stress, these things seem to ignore the urgency of the situation, minimize the scale Read More...
Book review: Blockchain, transforming your business and our world
The internet was envisaged as a decentralized global network, but in the past 25 years, it has come to be controlled by a few, very powerful, centralized Read More...
There's new evidence a plant-rich diets may help prevent depression
A poor diet can cause damage to the brain. Being depressed can negatively affect your appetite and what you eat, but can bad eating habits bring your mood down? Our latest study, a systematic review of the best available evidence, found a clear link between the quality of a person’s diet and Read More...
To save a forest threatened by mining, this startup offered to buy it
Germany is working on plans to phase out coal, and the head of a large German energy company, RWE, has said that the company is “ready to abandon coal.” But before that happens, the company wants to cut down the remaining slice of a 12,000-year-old forest to expand a coal Read More...
4 ways working less could help you live longer
The number of hours you log at work each week can have a significant impact on your health and your longevity -- especially if you Read More...