Please create an account to participate in the Slashdot moderation system

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror

Submission + - Scientists seek to turbocharge a natural process that cools the Earth (msn.com)

Submitted by fjo3
fjo3 writes: Across vast stretches of farmland in southern Brazil, researchers at a carbon removal company are attempting to accelerate a natural process that normally unfolds over thousands or millions of years.

The company, Terradot, is spreading tons of volcanic rock crushed into a fine dust over land where soybeans, sugar cane and other crops are grown. As rain percolates through the soil, chemical reactions pull carbon from the air and convert it into bicarbonate ions that eventually wash into the ocean, where the carbon remains stored.

The technique, known as “enhanced rock weathering,” is emerging as a promising approach to lock away carbon on a massive scale. Some researchers estimate the method has the potential to sequester billions of tons of carbon, helping slow global climate trends. Other major projects are underway across the globe and have collectively raised over a quarter-billion dollars.

Submission + - This Isn't Your Father's Weed - and It's Tied to 42 Percent of Fatal Crashes (facs.org) 1

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The study, just published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, reviewed data for 246 deceased Ohio drivers, and found an average THC blood level of 30.7 ng/ML — 15 times the state's legal limit — in 41.9% of dead drivers.

Here in Colorado, the average THC concentration of the legal stuff is approximately 21%, based on comprehensive lab testing of weed statewide. That's just the average concentration.

Frogurt — a name-brand grown and sold in Michigan — tests at 41%. Something called Future #1 is up to 37% THC, and the Permanent Marker brand runs at an average of 34%.

Back in the day, the hard-to-find 15% stuff was the much-sought-after "one-hit weed." The average pot today is 50% stronger. But for people willing to pay a little more, they can get stuff four times more powerful than much of anything your typical 1990 dorm-room smoker enjoyed behind the Redwood Curtain.

The industrial-scale pot-growing enabled by legalization made the stronger concentrations possible, probably even inevitable. Easy availability changes the equation, too. Around 2000, 5% or so of adults reported "regular" pot use of at least once a month. In 2024, that number was 15%.

But cultural conditions have changed greatly since 2000. People were likely less willing back then to answer positively. So we just don't know what the true figures are, but if the trendline is up for regular pot smoking, then the trendline for potency is way up.

About the only thing we can conclude with any certainty is that you'd have to be stoned out of your gourd to think it's a good idea to drive while impaired.

Submission + - Irish basic income support scheme for artists to be made permanent (www.rte.ie)

Submitted by AmiMoJo
AmiMoJo writes: The Irish Government's basic income scheme for artists is set to become a permanent fixture from next year, with 2,000 new places to be made available under Budget 2026. Minister for Culture Patrick O’Donovan has secured agreement with other Government departments to continue and expand the initiative, which had previously operated on a pilot basis. Participants in the scheme receive a weekly payment of €325.

The pilot programme, launched in 2022, provided basic income support to 2,000 artists and creative arts workers across Ireland. It aimed to support the arts sector’s recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic, during which many artists experienced significant income loss due to restrictions on live performances and events. The scheme provides unconditional, regular payments to eligible artists and creative workers, allowing them to focus on their practice without the pressure of commercial viability. It is not means-tested and operates independently of social welfare payments. An independent evaluation of the pilot, published earlier this year, found that recipients reported increased time spent on creative work, reduced financial stress, and improved well-being.

Comment Happened to me many times. (Score 1) 96

by 0xG (#65707064) Attached to: What Happens When AI Directs Tourists to Places That Don't Exist?

I have been doing a lot of travelling for pleasure.
Google, TripAdvisor, Apple iMaps (whatever), Zomato, Expedia, AirBnB, etc.
On many occasions I been directed to restaurants that didn't - and never could have - existed.
This was without directly consulting an AI, but perhaps those sites are populated with AI-generated data?

Submission + - Your Fresh Vegetables Could Be Sucking Up Plastic Right From The Soil (sciencealert.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: A team of scientists from the University of Plymouth in the UK placed radishes into a hydroponic (water-based) system containing polystyrene nanoparticles.

After five days, almost 5 percent of the nanoplastics had made their way into the radish roots. A quarter of those were in the edible, fleshy roots, while a tenth had traveled up to the higher leafy shoots, despite anatomical features within the plants that typically screen harmful material from the soil.

Slashdot Top Deals

Do not use the blue keys on this terminal.

Close