Downshift

Do What's Right.

Day: 10 July 2023

Temperatures are already off the charts, but more records are imminent

2023-07-10 /

Global sea surface temperatures reached record highs in May, June, and July of this year – and the warming El Niño weather pattern is only just getting started, said experts at the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

UN »

“We are actually at the beginning of that process, so El Niño hasn’t had as much of an effect as it is going to later in the year. So, we’re seeing these high temperatures in the North Atlantic…despite the fact that El Niño hasn’t really got going yet.”

According to the WMO’s Mr. Baddour, the warmest year is expected to be post-2023, when El Niño is expected to pick up. A record year in 2024 is likely, if the strength of El Niño continues to develop in line with forecasts.

Sweden’s privacy protection agency orders four local companies to stop using Google Analytics as doing so unlawfully transfers personal data to the US

2023-07-10 /

Sweden issues the first major fine for illegally transferring personal data out of the EU via Google Analytics, a significant first in Europe.

VoA »

The GDPR allows the transfer of data to third countries only if the European Commission has determined they offer at least the same level of privacy protection as the EU. A 2020 EU Court of Justice ruling struck down an EU-U.S. data transfer deal as being insufficient.

The IMY said it considers the data sent to Google Analytics in the United States by the four companies to be personal data and that “the technical security measures that the companies have taken are not sufficient to ensure a level of protection that essentially corresponds to that guaranteed within the EU.”

Related » Silicon Angle | The Next Web

Electric-Vehicle charging stands outnumber gasoline pumps at a Circle K service station outside Kongsberg, Norway

2023-07-10 /

Bloomberg »

It’s a scene that is steadily being replicated all over the Nordic country, offering a glimpse of what may be in store for drivers the world over in the years ahead.

When it comes to electric vehicles, Norway is very much a trailblazer. It has moved much more rapidly away from the internal combustion engine than its neighbors thanks to generous tax breaks and incentives, which made Tesla Inc.’s battery-powered Model Y cost competitive with a gasoline-burning Toyota Motor Corp. RAV4.

Most countries can’t afford to move quite as fast as wealthy Norway — the nation’s government estimates that various supports measures cost it some $1.8 billion annually in lost revenue. But the International Energy Agency says the rest of the world is going in the same direction, bringing peak oil demand before the end of the decade.

BRICS summit in August to be in person

2023-07-10 /

South African  President Cyril Ramaphosa said next month’s summit for the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) will be “physical” for the first time in nearly three years despite an active International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

France 24 | EuroNews

PFAS Chemicals » US outdoor sports retailer REI will ban cancer-causing ‘Forever Chemicals’ from clothes and cookware it retails by 2024

2023-07-10 /

Grist »

After more than a year of pressure from environmental groups, the major outdoor retailer REI announced on Tuesday that it will ban hazardous “forever chemicals” from all its clothing and cookware by fall 2024.

REI’s new product standards will require its suppliers to eliminate all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, from the pots, pans, apparel, shoes, bags, packs, and similar gear sold by the retail chain. Suppliers of heavy-duty apparel like professional-grade raincoats will have until 2026 to make those products PFAS-free.

Related » Patagoina is doing the same.

Syria withdraws BBC’s media accreditation

2023-07-10 /

AP »

Syria’s Information Ministry revoked the BBC’s media accreditation, days after the British public broadcaster aired a report linking members of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s family and senior army officials to the production and smuggling of illicit drugs.

The documentary, broadcast in late June, describes a multibillion dollar business involving the highly addictive amphetamine known as Captagon

Downshift.ca is not responsible for content of external Internet sites and no endorsement is implied.

 

© 2024 Downshift

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑