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Ivy Ceballo/Tampa Bay Times/TNS

DeSantis' office quietly backed Florida ban on wind energy

TAMPA, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office quietly helped write a bill to curtail wind energy in the state of Florida, email records provided to the Tampa Bay Times show.

A version of that bill is now awaiting DeSantis’ signature to become law, which will ban offshore wind turbines in state waters. It also proposes to delete the majority of ...Read more

Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Amazon bets $150 billion on data centers required for AI boom

Amazon.com Inc. plans to spend almost $150 billion in the coming 15 years on data centers, giving the cloud-computing giant the firepower to handle an expected explosion in demand for artificial intelligence applications and other digital services.

The spending spree is a show of force as the company looks to maintain its grip on the cloud ...Read more

As climate change and pollution imperil coral reefs, scientists are deep-freezing corals to repopulate future oceans

Coral reefs are some of the oldest, most diverse ecosystems on Earth, and among the most valuable. They nurture 25% of all ocean life, protect coasts from storms and add billions of dollars yearly to the global economy through their influences on fisheries, new pharmaceuticals, tourism and recreation.

Today, the world’s coral reefs ...Read more

NASA/JPL-Caltech/TNS

NASA's attempt to bring home part of Mars is unprecedented. The mission's problems are not

Massive cost overruns. Key deadlines slipping out of reach. Problems of unprecedented complexity, and a generation's worth of scientific progress contingent upon solving them.

That's the current state of Mars Sample Return, the ambitious yet imperiled NASA mission whose rapidly ballooning budget has cost jobs at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory...Read more

National Marine Fisheries Service/TNS/TNS

These Puget Sound orcas could be designated as distinct species

SEATTLE —For more than a century, killer whales have been understood to be just one worldwide species, Orcinus orca, with many types.

But now, after decades of work, scientists have determined the differences between the two types of killer whales that frequent the Salish Sea are so large, they ought to be designated separate species ...Read more

Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Starvation has decimated gray whales off the Pacific Coast. Can the giants ever recover?

LOS ANGELES — When large numbers of gray whales began washing up along North America’s Pacific Coast nearly six years ago, marine scientists could only speculate at the reason: Was it disease? Ocean pollution? Increasing ship collisions?

Many of the doomed cetaceans looked skinny or emaciated, while others looked torn up by orcas. Some had ...Read more

Wasim Muklashy/Dreamstime/TNS

Plan to shoot thousands of West Coast owls ignites protest

A federal government plan for hunters to kill thousands of invasive owls to protect the rapidly declining northern spotted owl has ruffled the feathers of dozens of animal advocacy groups.

On Monday, a coalition of 75 animal rights and wildlife protection organizations sent a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland asking her to scrap ...Read more

Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group/TNS

Power up: PG&E says electricity plan can boost Silicon Valley innovation and economy

SAN JOSE, California — PG&E is pushing forward with quests to help bolster Silicon Valley’s economy and innovation future, including major South Bay and East Bay electricity projects, utility officials said Wednesday.

Executives with PG&E appeared at a power breakfast in downtown San Jose that was sponsored by law firm Hoge Fenton, using ...Read more

Tiffany Tompkins/The Bradenton Herald/TNS

What can Charleston and other coastal cities teach South Florida about sea-level rise?

MIAMI — South Florida is considered one of the most at-risk areas of the U.S. when it comes to sea-level rise. But what can the region learn from other areas facing similar challenges?

At the Aspen Ideas: Climate summit, which was held last week in Miami Beach, experts from cities that have been battered by climate change and sea-level rise �...Read more

Colorado Parks and Wildlife/TNS

Bat with species-devastating fungus discovered in Colorado

DENVER — A bat infected with a fungus that has killed millions of bats across the country was found in Longmont last month.

Testing this month confirmed the little brown bat was infected with white-nose syndrome — a deadly fungus that could devastate Colorado’s native bat populations. The bat found in Longmont is the second found with the...Read more

Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune/TNS

Some Minnesota cities want to impose fees on internet providers; customers could pay the price

Minnesota cities are asking the Legislature for power to slap internet providers with new fees, an idea they say will lead to more broadband in the state with the added bonus of helping to pay for basic government access programming like video of council meetings.

But the idea has caused a stir at the Capitol, where telecom groups and ...Read more

Convai/TNS

At GDC 2024, tech companies offer a glimpse of AI-powered characters

Glimpses of the future often emerge at the Game Developers Conference. It’s where indie games generate a buzz or the kernel of a big idea is planted. This year, artificial intelligence took center stage as Nvidia showed off jaw-dropping capabilities of its chipsets and software companies such as Convai and Ubisoft revealed intriguing ...Read more

Rossman, James/Jim Rossman/TNS

Jim Rossman: Facebook scammers rely on your good nature

I’ve been seeing a lot of potential scam posts on my Facebook feed lately.

I’m sure you’ve seen them.

As I was sitting down to write this column, I opened my Facebook page and the first post was from a small town where my wife’s family lived.

It is a post about a dog that supposedly escaped from a boarding kennel. The poster wants ...Read more

Sitpack/Sitpack/TNS

Gadgets: Massaging car seat

The Laxon Air Massage Vehicle Seat lets you drive in incredible comfort with the 3D air massager for your back and thighs.

The vehicle seat massager offers a refreshing in-car experience, with a special back-supporting massage and a dynamic mode for idle times. Drivers will experience comfort with air cushion support for the back area, which ...Read more

Giant Skull/TNS

Two new video game studios form with 'Star Wars' and id Software pedigrees

Video game studios like other tech industry has seen plenty of tumult this year. Publishers have announced several layoffs while others have said they will refocus their approach. That means plenty of talent is out there, and in this uncertain time, two studios have emerged boasting several big names and hints of promising AAA projects.

Giant...Read more

Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS

The Klamath River's dams are being removed. Inside the effort to restore a scarred watershed

HORNBROOK, Calif. — Near the California-Oregon border, reservoirs that once submerged valleys have been drained, revealing a stark landscape that had been underwater for generations.

A thick layer of muddy sediment covers the sloping ground, where workers have been scattering seeds and leaving meandering trails of footprints. In the cracked ...Read more

Hector Vivas/Getty Images South America/TNS

This mega-city is running out of water. What will 22 million people do when the taps run dry?

MEXICO CITY — When Reina Cervantes Trejo heard the truck, gears grinding as it climbed the street to her house, she rushed outside.

"Thanks to our good Lord!" she said. "The water has finally arrived!"

Cervantes and her husband hurried to help the driver, Fredy Romero, as he yanked hoses from the truck to fill up a cistern and a hodgepodge ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

Your dog can understand what you say better than you think, new study shows

Our dogs understand us better than they've been given credit for — and scientists say they have the brain wave evidence to prove it.

By placing electrodes on the heads of 18 pet dogs, researchers found striking evidence that the animals did not merely recognize the patterns of sound that come out of their owners' mouths, they actually ...Read more

Hold the applause. Biden's new EV rules don't go fast enough for the climate crisis

It may be tempting to look at new rules finalized Wednesday by the Biden administration boosting sales of electric vehicles as a big step toward slashing climate-changing pollution.

But the Environmental Protection Agency rules are more an incremental move, too weak and slow to respond appropriately to the gravity of the unfolding environmental...Read more

What is dirt? There’s a whole wriggling world alive in the ground beneath our feet, as a soil scientist explains

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

What is dirt? – Belle and Ryatt, ages 7 and 5, Keystone, South Dakota

When you think about dirt, you’re probably picturing soil. There’s so much more going on under ...Read more