Impact Lab – Page 1245 – A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience

Big Problems, Crazy Stuff, Current Events, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Latest News

Chevron admits oil leak in Brazil hasn’t stopped

December 14, 2011

When will the spill stop?

Things just keep getting worse for Chevron. First, a deepwater drilling mishap off the coast of Brazil last month caused thousands of barrels of oil to spill into the Atlantic, which only after some dodging did Chevron take responsibility for, followed by Brazil’s petroleum agency deciding to suspend the company’s drilling rights altogether. And then there are the fines which could end up costing Chevron close to $100 million. But lo, it get’s worst yet. Today, the oil giant admitted that the situation is far from resolved as many had assumed. That’s right, the leak continues, and Chevron’s not sure when it can be stopped…

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Analysis, Big Problems, Health & Fitness, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

1 in 9 teens using synthetic drugs: survey

December 14, 2011

Synthetic drugs, such as K2, mimic the effects of marijuana.

Almost one in nine high school seniors have gotten high in the past year on synthetic drugs, such as “K2” or “Spice,” second only to the number of teens who have used marijuana, according to a new survey.

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Analysis, Business, Health & Fitness, Human Behavior, Science & Technology News

Workers are healthier, happier when they work a flexible schedule

December 14, 2011

When employers are more flexible about how and when a job gets done, workers are healthier and happier.

A new study shows, companies that focus on results rather than face time in the office may end up with healthier employees.

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Analysis, Economy, Latest Trend

Marriage on the decline in the U.S.

December 14, 2011

New marriages dropped 5% last year.

The number of all U.S. adults who are married has dropped to a record low 51 percent, according to a new report. If the trend continues, the institution will soon lose its majority status in American life.

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Analysis, Animals, Science & Technology News

Birds in cities sing at higher pitch: study

December 14, 2011

“Because sounds bounce and travel in different ways, birds have to use songs that can cope with this”.

Birds living in urban areas sing at a higher pitch to reduce the impact of echoes from surrounding buildings, a study claims. Higher-pitched songs travel further in built-up areas because their echoes fade more quickly, meaning the following notes are clearer and easier to pick out.

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government, Hot Issues, Science & Technology News

NTSB urges states ban all cellphone use by drivers

December 14, 2011

A sign in Havre, Mont., notifies drivers of the city’s handheld cellphone ban, which took effect in October.

The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday called for a ban on all cellphone use by drivers saying its decision was based on a decade of investigations into distraction-related accidents, as well as growing concerns that powerful mobile devices are giving drivers even more reasons to look away from the road. This is the most far-reaching such recommendation to date.

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Education, Entertainment, Internet, Latest News, New Viewpoints

YouTube makes its site classroom ready

December 14, 2011

Let’s play a quick game of word association. I say, “YouTube,” you say the first thing that pops in your head. Did the phrase “educational resource” come to mind? I didn’t think so, and therein lies a perception problem that often gets the video streaming site banned from schools.

To tackle this setback, the Google-owned property has created a safe-for-classroom network setting called YouTube Schools that restricts student access to just the content available on YouTube EDU. The subdomain contains hundreds of thousands of educational videos from YouTube’s more than 600 child-approved partners, including Smithsonian, TED and esteemed universities…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Photos, Crazy Stuff, Education, Latest News, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints

The trillion-frame-per-second video

December 13, 2011

Captured light ‘scattering’ below the surfaces of solid objects.

MIT researchers have created a new imaging system that can acquire visual data at a rate of one trillion exposures per second. That’s fast enough to produce a slow-motion video of a burst of light traveling the length of a one-liter bottle, bouncing off the cap and reflecting back to the bottle’s bottom…

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Analysis, Culture, Historical Perspectives, Latest News, New Discoveries

Young people are giving up on the American Dream of a house in the suburbs

December 13, 2011

What American Dream?

There are many in America who don’t like or trust cities, primarily because they harbor a disproportionate number of Democratic voters. They don’t like investments in transit, either, preferring the privacy and freedom of the car. But whether they like it or not, America is changing…

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Breakthrough Thinking, Entertainment, Great New Product, New Discoveries, New Inventions, New Viewpoints

These video glasses will let you walk and watch TV at the same time

December 13, 2011

Oh the things you will see with these glasses.

Video glasses are a pretty dorky vision of the future. I mean, put on a pair of blockers so you can watch video by yourself? A little bit anti-social, are we? Lumus wants to help a little bit by making glasses which let you watch video and see through the lens too…

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Architecture, Breakthrough Thinking, Education, Entertainment, Historical Perspectives, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints

The Obscura Society

December 13, 2011

Local geography CAN be interesting.

Atlas Obscura had a great success earlier this year with Obscura Day, a project to get people all over involved in their local geography and interesting places. It was so successful that they are now forming The Obscura Society, a club in which people not only explore places, but share their experiences with others.

Born of the success of Obscura Day, this real-world exploration arm of Atlas Obscura will be seeking out secret histories, unusual access, and opportunities to explore strange and overlooked places hidden all around us, all year round – and we could not be more excited about it…

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Analysis, Business, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Android and Apple lead smartphone market in U.S.

December 13, 2011

Android and Apple lead smartphone market.

Android operating system’s smartphone sales grew to 53% from January through October, up from 42% in 2010, and Apple’s iOS share rose to 29%, up from 21% last year, according to research firm NPD Group.

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