Notices by mmalc (mmalc@mastodon.social)

@arstechnica

Splendid.

Supportive evidence for ‘I continue to suspect that there will be merit in some industries becoming "seasonal”.’

https://mastodon.social/@mmalc/112482354013635961

@arstechnica
There have been numerous others in the past decade or more — Sparrow, Tango, Pursu, Arcimoto etc. — but most have foundered. I really hope that this does represent an actual renaissance, perhaps with something like the Microlino to jolly things along if it comes to the US.

@arstechnica
To bring a point up to top-level, for those who assert that "all people need is a hood over the stove”: It doesn’t necessarily vent very well:

"Pollutant capture efficiency (CE) ranged from <15% to >98%, varying across hoods and with airflow and burner position for each hood.”

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es3001079

And of course that's only if people switch them on.

@arstechnica

I'm glad there's been some action on this, but a $1M fine is pathetic.

This was knowingly and willfully endangering public health (as well as probably contributing to the fallacy that “masks don't work); there should be jail time for those responsible.

#COVID
#COVIDPrevention
#WearAMask

@arstechnica

They're not for the suburbs either.

Large, heavy vehicles — especially trucks — are generally bad for safety and for the environment.
The hazard they impose increments with speed, as fuel efficiency decreases and kinetic energy increases.

Any vehicle registered as a truck should be legally limited to 55mph regardless of what highway they’re being driven on.

https://www.change.org/p/limit-trucks-to-55mph

@breadandcircuses

Gas/petrol leaf-blowers are bio-hazards.

Usually 2-stroke, they vent about 30% unburnt fuel into air around user, emit orders of magnitude more pollution than a truck:
https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/emissions-test-car-vs-truck-vs-leaf-blower.html

Per others’ comments, maybe a role for some people for *electric* blowers to clear some hardscapes, but they shouldn’t be used on other ground surfaces — usually powerful enough to lift the topsoil, fungus, spores etc. high into the air, ruining garden and causing pulmonary problems.

@arstechnica

“polling still shows a dangerous partisan divide … 79 percent of Democrats said they planned on getting the updated shot, but only 39 percent of Republicans said the same”

"dangerous”?