Every one of Japan’s 47 prefectures posted a population drop in 2022, while the total number of Japanese people fell by nearly 800,000. The figures released by the Japan’s internal affairs ministry mark two new unwelcome records for a nation sailing into uncharted demographic territory, but on a course many Read more…
U.S. and European officials are growing increasingly concerned about China’s accelerated push into the production of older-generation semiconductors and are debating new strategies to contain the country’s expansion. President Joe Biden implemented broad controls over China’s ability to secure the kind of advanced chips that power artificial-intelligence models and military Read more…
UN scientific advisors have recommended the Great Barrier Reef not be placed on a list of World Heritage sites “in danger” but stressed the planet’s biggest coral reef system remains under “serious threat” from global heating and water pollution. Unesco said in a report that the Australian government had taken Read more…
The world just broke “another terrifying climate record,” reports CNN: Antarctic sea ice has fallen to unprecedented lows for this time of year. Every year, Antarctic sea ice shrinks to its lowest levels towards the end of February, during the continent’s summer. The sea ice then builds back up over Read more…
The man behind the race to replace gasoline-fueled cars with electric ones is worried about having enough juice. In recent days he has reiterated those concerns, predicting U.S. consumption of electricity, driven in part by battery-powered vehicles, will triple by around 2045. That followed his saying earlier this month that Read more…
Friday America’s Department of Energy announced plans to re-purpose some of the land it owns — “portions of which were previously used in the nation’s nuclear weapons program” — for generating clean energy. They’ll be leasing them out for “utility-scale clean energy projects” in an initiative called “Cleanup to Clean Read more…
The world’s largest community of 3D-printed homes, located in Texas, has unveiled its first completed house. CNN reports: With walls “printed” using a concrete-based material, the single-story structure is the first of 100 such homes set to welcome residents starting September. The community is part of a wider development in Read more…