Chris

@crisg30
12 Followers
38 Following
76 Posts
Testing mastodon
ChrisNov 29
Electronic Frontier FoundationNov 28
The GUARD Act’s sponsors claim it will keep our children safe, but that’s not true. Instead, it will undermine both safety and autonomy by replacing parental guidance with government mandates and building mass surveillance infrastructure instead of privacy controls. Congress should reject the GUARD Act. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/11/surveillance-mandate-disguised-child-safety-why-guard-act-wont-keep-us-safe
A Surveillance Mandate Disguised As Child Safety: Why the GUARD Act Won't Keep Us Safe

A new bill sponsored by Sen. Hawley (D-MO), Sen. Blumenthal (D-CT), Sen. Britt (R-AL), Sen. Warner (D-VA), and Sen. Murphy (D-CT) would require AI chatbots to verify all users’ ages, prohibit minors from using AI tools, and implement steep criminal penalties for chatbots that promote or solicit certain harms. That might sound reasonable at first, but behind those talking points lies a sprawling surveillance and censorship regime that would reshape how people of all ages use the internet.

Electronic Frontier Foundation
ChrisNov 25
MongabayNov 24

Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler launched Mongabay with the idea “to make knowledge accessible and free, and to show that credible reporting could be a form of conservation in itself.”

For Butler, impact is Mongabay’s true metric of success, as it can make a difference in “how people think, decide, and act.”

Butler says the next 25 years of Mongabay will focus on strengthening impact & empowering the next generations of leaders in environmental journalism.

https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/the-secret-to-building-a-global-newsroom-lead-with-impact-says-mongabay-founder-rhett-ayers-butler/

The secret to building a global newsroom? Lead with impact, says Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler

“We only get so much time on this planet, and I want to make the most of it.” That sense of urgency has driven Mongabay founder and CEO Rhett Ayers Butler since his teens, when he visited a rainforest in Borneo. Later on, he learned that what had once been a teeming ecosystem full of […]

Mongabay Environmental News
ChrisNov 17
skryNov 17

“Studies have identified some of the main sources of #microplastics as:

- cosmetic cleansers
- synthetic textiles
- vehicle tyres
- plastic-coated fertilisers
- plastic film used as mulch in agriculture
- fishing rope and netting
- "crumb rubber infill" used in artificial turf
- plastics recycling.”

https://www.sciencealert.com/7000-microplastics-studies-show-we-have-one-really-big-problem

7,000 Microplastics Studies Show We Have One Really Big Problem

It's been 20 years since a paper in the journal Science showed the environmental accumulation of tiny plastic fragments and fibres.

ScienceAlert
ChrisOct 29
All smart TVs, from LG and Samsung to Sony and Roku, actively spy on you. They use Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) to capture audio and video not just from built-in apps but also from anything plugged in via HDMI. This means your viewing habits, including games and home movies, are regularly sent to manufacturers and data brokers. Opting out is complicated and sometimes disables smart features. Your TV is watching more than you think. #cheaptv #SmartTV #DataCollection
ChrisOct 19
The Senate just confirmed Douglas Troutman—a longtime chemical industry lobbyist—to lead the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety.Critics warn this risks weaker safeguards, regulatory capture, and harm to communities near polluting industries.#EPA #Environment #PFAS #Climate #USPolitics
ChrisOct 15
iFixitOct 14

Microsoft wants 2025 to be the "year of the Windows 11 PC refresh." They want up to 400 million perfectly good computers running Windows 10 to become e-waste. Why? So Microsoft can have their cake ($140-$200 for a Windows 11 license) and eat it (your data) too

It's time to switch sides, and break away from this cycle of endless upgrades. Our new guide walks you through installing a Linux-based operating system—keeping your computer secure long after Microsoft walks away

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/How+to+Install+Linux+on+a+Windows+PC/196722

ChrisOct 7
Microsoft is giving EU users a free extra year of Windows 10 security updates, but the rest of the world gets left out. This isn’t right—everyone deserves digital security and ownership. The FULU Foundation’s campaign to demand global access to free updates. Sign the petition info: https://fulu.org/take-action #RightToRepair #Windows10
ChrisSep 24
Ars TechnicaSep 24
Supermicro server motherboards can be infected with unremovable malware
Baseboard management controller vulnerabilities makes remote attacks possible.
https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/09/supermicro-server-motherboards-can-be-infected-with-unremovable-malware/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social
ChrisSep 22
Light bulbsSep 22
Scientists develop sunscreen made from pollen that doesn’t harm corals
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/09/scientists-develop-sunscreen-made-from-pollen-that-doesnt-harm-corals/
Scientists develop sunscreen made from pollen that doesn’t harm corals

Scientists have invented a pollen-based sunscreen, which their results suggest is as effective in blocking harmful ultraviolet rays as sunscreens containing chemicals that contribute to coral bleaching and pollution in oceans. In a recently published study, the researchers also showed their pollen sunscreen doesn’t harm corals. They added 1 milliliter (0.034 ounces) of both their […]

Mongabay Environmental News
ChrisSep 22
Ars TechnicaSep 22
Tesla’s robotaxi test: Three crashes in only 7,000 miles
Tesla's crash rate is orders of magnitude worse than Waymo's.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/09/teslas-robotaxi-test-three-crashes-in-only-7000-miles/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social