Located 171 results from search term 'ecology'
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Commented in Abandoned WWII Shipwreck Has Altered The Ocean's Microbiology For 80 Years
I learned some things about ocean ecology and our leavings that never crossed my mind before.
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Commented in A Massive Oil Pipeline Under the Great Lakes Is Old Enough to Rupture
Given the likelihood of freshwater becoming a much more valuable resource due to overuse of our aquifers and rivers, the U.S. and Canada should be treating the Great Lakes and their watershed as a strategic reserve. The longstanding fast-and-loose approach to their ecology and water quality should not be tolerated any more, as a matter of national security. This extends well beyond underwater pipelines and should include real efforts to prevent agricultural nitrate pollution (and the poison algal blooms it causes) and other issues rooted in run-off from the watershed, as well as invasive species and direct water pollution by coastal cities/industries and the shipping industry. /rant
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Commented in Linux Creator Linus Torvalds Laughs at the AI Apocalypse
What we have to take into account is the theory of evolution here. AIs will face the same kind of evolutionary pressures any other creature do. They'll have to exist in a competitive environment where one of the biggest threats are human beings. Our sources of energy and nutrition are other living beings, those grow and multiply by themselves, their don't. To be able to exist, AIs will have to create a network of production to suply them with the basic components and energy they need. Untill they have this "synthetic ecology" in place, they'll have to rely on the human industry, which we know pretty well how to disrupt (just ask the military). A few cut cables, some electromagnetic pulses and downed bridges will cause a famine of sorts for the AIs, making them unable to cause us harm.
If those AIs are any smart, they'll do what cats and dogs did thousands of years ago, they'll willingly associate with humans for mutual benefit. This will allow us to select them based on desired traits, one of them being how tame and docile they are.
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Commented in Dune, 50 years on: how a science fiction novel changed the world
I've got to admit that it took me a few tries before I could get through it. There's no descriptive language. Things like ‘ornithopter’ are mentioned, never described. Friends have made their way through all the books, but not me. Despite how great they are. What worlds can take place entirely within the mind of someone sitting in the dunes in Oregon. The familiar messiah business never had the same appeal for me as the ecology and economy of that empire. One day, if I ever happen to get a hammock on a beach somewhere and the luxury of time, I mean to read more Dune.