Tag: responsible

Categories
Mashable

White supremacists responsible for most 2020 domestic terror attacks

The numbers are in. White supremacists are responsible for the majority of terrorist plots and attacks that occurred during the first eight months of 2020, according to a recent report by the nonpartisan think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).  Researchers found that white supremacists, anti-government extremists from the violent far-right, and involuntary celibates (incels) carried out 67 percent of all domestic terrorist plots and attacks. Far-left terrorists accounted for 20 percent of the plots and attacks. CSIS analyzed 61 incidents from Jan. 1, 2020 to Aug. 31, 2020. Terrorism, the report states, is defined by “the deliberate use — or threat— of violence by non-state actors in order to achieve political goals and create a broad psychological impact.”  So, incidents like hate crimes or protests and riots (like the racial justice demonstrations we saw this summer after the police killing of George Floyd) didn’t factor into the research. Though the researchers acknowledge hate crimes and terrorism can overlap, hate crimes aren’t always violent. In protests for racial justice over the summer, far-right terrorists primarily targeted demonstrators. Some of their tactics included vehicle attacks, which were committed mostly by white supremacists or people who were against the Black Lives Matter movement.  Far-left terrorist attacks went up in 2020, with four times as many in 2020 as in 2019. The number of far-right terrorist attacks stayed the same in 2019 vs. 2020. Despite the violence, there were only five people who were killed (all by guns) during these domestic…Continue readingWhite supremacists responsible for most 2020 domestic terror attacks

Categories
The Next Web

Why the moon’s early magnetic field might be responsible for life on earth

The habitability of a planet depends on many factors. One is the existence of a strong and long-lived magnetic field. These fields are generated thousands of kilometers below the planet’s surface in its liquid core and extend far into space – shielding the atmosphere from harmful solar radiation. Without a strong magnetic field, a planet struggles to hang on to a breathable atmosphere – which is bad news for life as we know it. A new study, published in Science Advances, suggests that the Moon’s now extinct magnetic field may have helped protect our planet’s atmosphere as life was forming around 4 billion years ago. Today, Earth has a strong global magnetic field that protects the atmosphere and low-orbiting satellites from harsh solar radiation. In contrast, the Moon does not possess either a breathable atmosphere or a global magnetic field. Global magnetic fields are generated by the motion of molten iron in the cores of planets and moons. Keeping the fluid moving requires energy, such as heat trapped within the core. When there is insufficient energy, the field dies. Without a global magnetic field, the charged particles of the solar wind (radiation from the Sun) passing close to a planet generate electric fields that can accelerate charged atoms, known as ions, out of the atmosphere. This process is happening today on Mars and it is losing oxygen as a result – something that has been directly measured by the Mars atmosphere and volatile evolution (Maven) mission. The solar wind can…Continue readingWhy the moon’s early magnetic field might be responsible for life on earth

Categories
The Next Web

4 small ways to be a socially responsible founder

Last week, I read this in Alan Murrays Fortune Newsletter; What is the social responsibility of business? The late Milton Friedman had a simple answer to that question: abide by the law and make a profit. But most big company CEOs have moved beyond that narrow framework. Our Fortune 500 CEO poll, which is still in the field, shows only about 5% of today’s CEOs adhere to Friedman’s view, expressed this way: ‘I believe my company should mainly focus on making profits, and not be distracted by social goals.’ Roughly half of the CEOs aligned themselves with this answer: ‘I believe my company has a responsibility to address social problems through charitable activities, but not as part of our core business strategy.’ And a solid 44% — up 4 points from last year — chose this answer: ‘I believe my company should actively seek to solve major social problems as part of our core business strategy.’ I am firmly in the latter camp. I believe my company should actively seek to solve major social problems as part of our core business strategy As a missionary founder, I believe in what Niklas Zennstrom refers to as “Conscious Scaling.” Maybe its my churchy, community upbringing, but I believe if you have the opportunity to make things better for others, then you should. But what does that actually mean in practice? I first became aware of the power of social responsibility with my first business, WAH Nails. In 2009, Dalston was a very different place. A Flat White didn’t…Continue reading4 small ways to be a socially responsible founder

Categories
The Next Web

Electric car sales are on the up — but is coronavirus responsible?

Lockdowns across Europe to curb the coronavirus pandemic drastically changed how we move around the world. Work-from-home restrictions, furlough schemes, and job losses left millions of cars gathering dust in driveways. It is not surprising that the demand for new cars plummeted. In Germany – Europe’s largest car market – new car registrations in the first half of 2020 declined by 35% compared to the same period in 2019, and during the height of restrictions (April), sales slumped a historic 61%. Sales for 2020 across the rest of Europe’s largest car markets in the first half of 2020 performed even worse: Spain (-51%), UK (-49%), Italy (-46%), and France (39%). But one segment of the car market is still growing. Electric vehicle (EV) sales, both full battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in-hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) have bucked the trend, not only in terms of their market share, but also in absolute terms. In Germany, EV sales from January to June increased from 47,584 in 2019 to 93,848 in 2020, supported by particularly strong PHEV growth. [Read: 5 reasons why autonomous cars still aren’t on our roads] This is an incredible performance, given the current economic and public health situation. Similar trends are evident across Europe with France, for example, seeing an even higher shift to EVs in 2020. Electric Vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Sales – Germany. Data: Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt Declining car sales Before we label EVs as the new iPhone, it’s good to take a step back and look…Continue readingElectric car sales are on the up — but is coronavirus responsible?