Apple’s ‘carbon neutral’ claims questioned | Finland and Estonia cable damage possibly deliberate

Apple’s ‘carbon neutral’ claims under scrutiny

The iPhone maker recently announced the launch of its new Apple Watch claiming it to be its first ever carbon neutral product. However, this has come under scrutiny by the Institute of Pubic and Environmental Affairs — a nonprofit entity in Beijing — in a new report which suggests the company may be ‘climate-washing’ or overstating its efforts to address climate change.

Apple responded to IPE’s claim, assuring its new ‘Watch’ line has been verified by SCS Global Services, an environmental standards and certification organisation.

Ma Jun, IPE’s director, said more disclosure was needed:

“Just to say that a third party has done it, that’s not sufficient. Apple should be the one that needs to be held accountable for this and should provide a more transparent way for this to be verified.”

Read more…

Finland and Estonia cable damage possibly deliberate

There are now concerns that the damage to a gas pipeline and submarine telecoms cable connecting Finland and Estonia were deliberately sabotaged. Preliminary investigations suggest the cable damage was the result of human interference.

The incident occurred at a time of heightened tensions in the Baltic Sea, with explosions having ruptured the Nord Stream pipeline just last month, cutting Europe’s access to Russian gas.

NATO forces quickly increased their patrols in the region, using ships, drones, and reconnaissance aircraft to observe the area.

Both the Finnish and Estonian governments have reportedly contacted authorities in China seeking cooperation in their investigation. Russia has denied involvement in either incident.

Read more…

Biggest-ever supercomputer simulation delves into universe’s evolution

Astronomers are now performing the biggest-ever computer simulations to investigate how the universe has evolved over time.

Developed at Durham University, the COSMA 8 machine has the power of 17,000 home PCs. Experts had to develop a new code to distribute the massive workload over thousands of computer processors.

Researchers at the university are now exploring virtual reality to create virtual galaxies and clusters of galaxies in detail as simulations progress. They hope to compare the virtual universe with images of the real thing from NASA’s James Webb telescope and the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope.

Read more…