Paul Sutton @zleap@qoto.org

Reforestation programs could threaten vast area of tropical grasslands

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1034016

"A study published in the journal Science reveals that an area the size of France is under threat by forest restoration initiatives due to inappropriate restoration in the form of tree-planting."

"They warn that planting trees in these grassy areas [..] could be a risk to wildlife such as rhinos and wildebeest, as well as people who depend on these #ecosystems."

#Ecology #Reforestation

This is the day.

From now on, the Digital Services Act becomes enforceable on all online platforms in the EU.

The #DSA empowers users, EU countries and platforms to:

⏩ Counter illegal content, goods, and services
⏩ Ban sensitive data for targeted ads
⏩ Protect minors and their personal data
⏩ Inform users about ads and their sponsors
⏩ And more

We will ensure all platforms play by the rules.

Discover how 👉 https://europa.eu/!4fXYH4

If I thought that "Social Media" meant using X or Facebook... I might agree with "stay away" But, that isn't the whole universe (we know that here, but who else knows?) and these are the kind of people who should know!

In the future social media will be media. The end.

What will that be like? We are building it now. Please for the love of God we need smart people to participate in this project. 4/4

🎉 To commemorate CONFIRMED RAPIST DONALD TRUMP having to pay another $350 MILLION FOR COMMITTING FRAUD, how about chipping in $350, $35 or even $3.50 to help re-elect President Biden & keep the Senate blue? #blue24

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/senateblue24?refcode=gabamasto

I think we reached the point in this spam wave where every admin in the fediverse should disable free registration on their instance for the moment. And we need better tools for spam protection. #mastoadmin

And for the person who thinks making many volunteers a lot of work is funny. I wish you the most annoying and unfixable bugs for the rest of your life. 😘

Israel grants gas exploration license in areas considered to be within Palestine's maritime boundary
Israeli government grants licenses to six Israeli and international companies to explore for natural gas in areas recognized under international law as Palestinian maritime areas

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israel-grants-gas-exploration-license-in-areas-considered-to-be-within-palestines-maritime-boundary/3138367

Even for creative uses, I dislike this. What is impressive about generating a clip of a beautiful bird in close-up? It’s not real, no photographer sat patiently with their camera to catch that movement.
Or rather: many photographers did, and OpenAI is stealing their work and plagiarizing it. Both notions are sickening to me.

I wish this tool had never been created.
#ResistTheHype

Andrew Weissmann nails it again, “this guy can’t be trusted to run a company for three years without a babysitter?”

But we’re going to let him run the most powerful country on the planet????”

#Trump #law #politics #criminal #fraud #legal #VoteBlue #corruption

NASA Experiment Sheds Light on Highly Charged Moon Dust:
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/kennedy/nasa-experiment-sheds-light-on-highly-charged-moon-dust/

Recovering hydrogen from ammonia at large scale

Ammonia technology licensor KBR has brought a cracking technology to market #hydrogen #Hydrogen https://kbin.social/m/Hydrogen/t/841447

Today in 1965, 59 years ago: Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the crewed Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the "Sea of Tranquility" would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.

#OnThisDay

Unlocking the Secrets of Bone Loss in Zero Gravity https://scitechdaily.com/unlocking-the-secrets-of-bone-loss-in-zero-gravity/ #science

ONLINE & LIVE guided tours for individual visitors

Booking: https://visit.auschwitz.org/?lang=en

There are still places available for today:
English (13.30 CET) - 27
German (13.15 CET) - 29

Places in English tours available in the next 3 days (13:30 CET):

18 Feb - 26
19 Feb - 27
20 Feb - 30

Cost: 60 PLN (some 14 euro)

Booking is open for dates three months in advance. Check the hours for online tours for individuals: https://www.auschwitz.org/en/visiting/online-guided-tours-for-individual-visitors/

HOT TAKE

FRONT END DEVELOPERS SHOULD BE BANNED FROM USING THEIR HARDWARE FOR A MONTH EACH YEAR AND INSTEAD GIVEN A LOW END 10 YEARS OLD NETBOOK

What's most noteworthy about the judgment against Trump today is that he's been a crook for decades. Countless prosecutors, banks, and others who were in positions to hold him accountable -- including journalists in some ways -- totally capitulated to him when it mattered most.

Our democracy is teetering in significant part because of those abject failures.

Law enforcement seems to have learned from what it did wrong. Journalism plainly has not.