SUMMARY
ROBINHOOD’S CRYPTO TRADING SURGES, AS OVERALL GROWTH SLOWS
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UNDER DELTA, SUPPLY CHAIN STRAINS, TOYOTA SLASHES PRODUCTION
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JAPAN AIMS TO BRING BACK SOIL SAMPLES FROM MARS MOON BY 2029
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INDIANA NOTIFYING 750K AFTER COVID-19 TRACING DATA ACCESSED
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CLIMATE IMPACT OF COAL SALES FROM US LANDS SCRUTINIZED
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ARMY: FULL ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF $9.4B PLASTICS COMPLEX
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ARE HONEYBEES DYING OFF? IT DEPENDS ON WHOM YOU ASK
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TEENAGER SEEKS TO BREAK WOMEN’S SOLO FLIGHT RECORD
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PUBLIC BETA: GAIN EARLY ACCESS TO CUTTING-EDGE NEW FEATURES
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HYDROGEN-POWERED VEHICLES: A REALISTIC PATH TO CLEAN ENERGY?
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E-MONEY: 3 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU BUY CRYPTO
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US PROBING AUTOPILOT PROBLEMS ON 765,000 TESLA VEHICLES
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HOW TO CALCULATE AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE’S CHARGE COSTS
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CENSUS HIT BY CYBERATTACK, US COUNT UNAFFECTED
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CU-BOULDER TEAM TO COMPETE IN TUNNEL BORING CONTEST
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DATA OF 40 MILLION PLUS EXPOSED IN LATEST T-MOBILE BREACH
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BOEING ASTRONAUT CAPSULE GROUNDED FOR MONTHS BY VALVE ISSUE
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‘CODA’ WELCOMES US INTO A FAMILY WE MAY NEVER FORGET
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ARETHA FRANKLIN BIO ‘RESPECT’ MAYBE TOO RESPECTFUL
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WALMART BOOSTS OUTLOOK AS BACK-TO-SCHOOL SALES RETURN
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FED’S POWELL: THERE’S NO RETURNING TO PRE-PANDEMIC ECONOMY
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GADGET SHOW JOINS RAIDERS IN VEGAS VACCINE VERIFICATION PLAN
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US AGENCIES SCRUB WEBSITES TO PROTECT AFGHANS LEFT BEHIND
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FOLLOWING PROTESTS, CUBA LAYS OUT LAWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA USE
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CHINA STATE FIRMS INVEST IN TIKTOK SIBLING, WEIBO CHAT APP
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ROBINHOOD’S CRYPTO TRADING SURGES, AS OVERALL GROWTH SLOWS
After helping a new generation of investors get into stocks, Robinhood is increasingly doing the same for cryptocurrencies. More than $4 of every $10 that Robinhood Markets Inc. made in revenue during the spring came just from customers trading dogecoin, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Robinhood also said that it lost $501.7 million, or $2.16 per share, compared with a profit of $57.6 million, or 9 cents per share, in last year’s second quarter. Most of the loss was due to accounting changes related to a fundraising round it undertook early this year. The loss was no surprise after the company had earlier given preliminary estimated results for the quarter. The company’s slowdown in revenue growth was also expected — it more than halved to 131% from 309% in the first three months of the year — and the company again said revenue will likely drop in the summer from the spring. 07
But the degree of the sharp rise in crypto’s importance to Robinhood’s business was striking. Cryptocurrencies made up 41% of all of Robinhood’s $565.3 million in revenue in the quarter that ended June 30. That’s up from 17% in the first three months of the year and from just 3% at the start of last year. The spring marked the first quarter for Robinhood where new customers were more likely to make their first trade in cryptocurrencies rather than in stocks. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said in a recent interview that he wants the company to make it easy to trade any asset its customers are interested in, and that increasingly means crypto. “They’re interested in exploring this new asset class,” he said. “So, no doubt, crypto has been very culturally relevant through the first six months of the year.” Tenev also said he sees cryptocurrency companies as Robinhood’s competitors, just like other stock-trading brokerages. Coinbase, a publicly traded crypto exchange, said it had $1.9 billion in transaction revenue during the second quarter, versus Robinhood’s $233 million in crypto-related trading revenue. With cryptocurrencies, Robinhood makes money by routing its customers’ trade orders to market makers. It’s similar to how Robinhood makes money from its customers trading stocks: It gets payments from Citadel Securities and other big trading firms after sending them the stock orders made by its customers. Interest in cryptocurrencies surged in the early part of last quarter, leading to a frenzy of trading activity. Bitcoin hit $64,829 in April after starting the year at less than $30,000. 08
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Even dogecoin, whose fans have been trying to help it shed its image as a joke cryptocurrency, soared. It got to 74 cents in May after starting the year at roughly half a penny. The majority of Robinhood’s crypto-related revenue last quarter came from dogecoin, at 62%. But cryptocurrencies are notoriously volatile, and their prices have continued to swing sharply since hitting those peaks. Bitcoin has since fallen back toward $45,000, and dogecoin has more than halved to roughly 30 cents. That could hinder Robinhood’s revenue growth going forward. The company said that its revenue will likely drop from the second quarter to the third. “We expect seasonal headwinds and lower trading activity across the industry,” Chief Financial Officer Jason Warnick said in a conference call following the release of the quarter’s results. Trading for brokerages is typically busiest in the first half of the year, before fading in the second half, he said. Robinhood’s revenue also does best when markets are volatile and customers are trading a lot, and the first two quarters of the year were punctuated by extreme volatility. In the first quarter, GameStop and other “meme stocks” soared to heights that professional investors called irrational, and cryptocurrencies had their own pop in the second quarter. Worries about potentially slower growth helped send Robinhood shares down 8%, to close at $49.80. Such swings are nothing new in the stock’s young life. Shares of Robinhood, which is based in Menlo Park, California, have veered between $33.25 and $85 since they began trading at $38 on July 29. 11
Image: Michel Spigler
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UNDER DELTA, SUPPLY CHAIN STRAINS, TOYOTA SLASHES PRODUCTION
Toyota is scaling back production in North America and Japan as the surging coronavirus pandemic in Southeast Asia and elsewhere crimps supplies. Japan’s top automaker said Thursday that it will cut back production at home by 40%, affecting 14 auto assembly plants in the country. In North America, Toyota said it expects August production to be slashed by 60,000 to 90,000 vehicles. A representative from Toyota said that output fluctuates month to month, but that it would equate to a production cut of between 40% and 60%. “Due to COVID-19 and unexpected events with our supply chain, Toyota is experiencing additional shortages that will affect production at most of our North American plants,” the 15
company said in a prepared statement Thursday. “While the situation remains fluid and complex, our manufacturing and supply chain teams have worked diligently to develop countermeasures to minimize the impact on production.” The company said production cuts in North America are not expected to have an impact on staffing levels. In Japan, production will halt completely next month at some plants and partly at others, affecting a wide range of models, including the Corolla subcompact, Prius hybrid and Land Cruiser sport utility vehicle. Global production for September will decline by 360,000 vehicles, according to Toyota Motor Corp. But it stuck to its annual forecast to produce 9.3 million vehicles, as coronavirus risks were figured in. Of the lost production out of Japan, 140,000 vehicles are for Japan and 220,000 for overseas, with 80,000 in the U.S., 40,000 in Europe, 80,000 in China, 8,000 in the rest of Asia and about 10,000 in other regions. Toyota had already announced smaller production cuts for July and August in Japan. “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to our customers and suppliers due to these changes,” Toyota said. A shortage of the computer chips used widely in vehicles has been problematic for months as the world appeared to emerge from the pandemic and demand surged. Toyota had not been hit as hard as some other major automakers, and now the spread of the delta variant has introduced new complications. 16
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David Leggett, auto analyst at GlobalData, said auto demand is now down in Vietnam, and sales have already been hurt in some markets for all manufacturers. “The pandemic is clearly far from over and appears, as far as the auto industry’s recovery path is concerned, to have a sting in the tail,” he said. Toyota has held up relatively well amid the pandemic, racking up a record profit for the April-June quarter at about $8 billion, an increase of more than fivefold from the same period the previous year.
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JAPAN AIMS TO BRING BACK SOIL SAMPLES FROM MARS MOON BY 2029
Japanese space agency scientists said they plan to bring soil samples back from the Mars region ahead of the United States and China, which started Mars missions last year, in hopes of finding clues to the planet’s origin and traces of possible life. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, plans to launch an explorer in 2024 to land on Phobos, a Martian moon, to collect 10 grams (0.35 ounce) of soil and bring it back to Earth in 2029. The rapid return trip is expected to put Japan ahead of the United States and China in bringing back samples from the Martian region despite starting later, project manager Yasuhiro Kawakatsu said in an online news conference. 22
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NASA’s Perseverance rover has landed in a Mars crater where it is to collect 31 samples that are to be returned to Earth with help from the European Space Agency as early as 2031. China in May became the second country to land and operate a spacecraft on Mars and plans to bring back samples around 2030. JAXA scientists believe about 0.1% of the surface soil on Phobos came from Mars, and 10 grams could contain about 30 granules, depending on the consistency of the soil, Kawakatsu said. Tomohiro Usui, professor at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, said soil on Phobos is likely to be a mixture of material from the moon itself and material from Mars that was spread by sandstorms. Collecting samples from multiple locations on Phobos could provide a greater chance of obtaining possible traces of life from Mars than obtaining soil from a single location on Mars, he said.
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Any life forms that might have come from Mars will have died because of harsh solar and cosmic radiation on Phobos, JAXA scientists said. The NASA and the European Space Agency missions focus on potential life forms and evolution of the area of the Jezero crater, believed to be an ancient lake. By studying Phobos soil samples including material from Mars, scientists hope to learn about the evolution of the Martian biosphere, Usui said. He said Japanese research on Phobos and NASA’s samples from specific locations in the Martian crater can complement each other and could lead to answers to questions such as how Martian life, if present, emerged and evolved in time and place. Last December, a JAXA probe, Hayabusa2, brought back more than 5 grams (0.19 ounce) of soil from the asteroid Ryugu, more than 300 million kilometers (190 million miles) from Earth, in the world’s first successful return of an asteroid sample.
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INDIANA NOTIFYING 750K AFTER COVID-19 TRACING DATA ACCESSED
Indiana health officials said they are notifying nearly 750,000 state residents that a cybersecurity company “improperly accessed” their personal data from the state’s online COVID-19 contact tracing survey — a description the company disputed as a “falsehood.” The Indiana Department of Health said the state was notified July 2 that a company gained “unauthorized access” to data, including names, addresses, dates of birth, emails, and data on gender, ethnicity and race. The nearly 750,000 people whose data was accessed represent all of the state’s participants in its online COVID-19 contact tracing survey, said agency spokeswoman Megan Wade-Taxter. 31
state health department does not collect Social Security information for its COVID-19 contact tracing program, and no medical information was obtained. “We believe the risk to Hoosiers whose information was accessed is low,” Box said in a news release. State officials did not identify the company involved in their news release, but Wade-Taxter said the company was UpGuard, a cybersecurity company based in Mountain View, California. UpGuard spokeswoman Kelly Rethmeyer said in statement that Indiana’s news release describing the data access incident includes “many falsehoods.” “For one, our company did not `improperly access’ the data. The data was left publicly accessible on the internet. This is known as a data leak,” she said. “It was not unauthorized because the data was configured to allow access to anonymous users and we accessed it as an anonymous user.” Rethmeyer added that UpGuard “discovered this leaked information in the course of our research and notified the Indiana Department of Health since they were unaware of the leak.” She added that the company “aided in securing the information, in turn ensuring that it would no longer be available to anyone with malicious intent.” A message seeking comment on UpGuard’s statement was left Tuesday afternoon with Indiana’s health department. Indiana officials said in their news release that UpGuard signed a “certificate of destruction” 32
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last week with the state to confirm that it had destroyed the data and not released it to any other entity. Rethmeyer said that UpGuard has deleted “all the data in our possession.” The Indiana Office of Technology and the state health department added that they have corrected a “software configuration issue” involved in the data access incident. Both departments also requested the accessed records, and those were returned Aug. 4, according to the news release. “We have corrected the software configuration and will aggressively follow up to ensure no records were transferred,” said Tracy Barnes, Indiana’s chief information officer. Rethmeyer questioned the state’s description of the software issue, saying that “the `Configuration issue’ is that every record was made to be publicly accessible.” Indiana’s health department said it will send letters to affected Hoosiers notifying them that the state will provide one year of free credit monitoring and is partnering with Experian to open a call center to answer questions from those affected. The Indiana Office of Technology said it will also continue regular scans to ensure that the information was not transferred to another party.
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CLIMATE IMPACT OF COAL SALES FROM US LANDS SCRUTINIZED U.S. officials launched a review Thursday of climate damage caused by coal mining on public lands as the Biden administration expands its scrutiny of government fossil fuel sales that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. The review also will consider if companies are paying fair value for coal extracted from public reserves in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah and other states. Coal combustion for electricity remains one of the top sources of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, even after many power plants shut down over the past decade because of concerns over pollution. Almost half the nation’s annual coal production — some 250 million tons last year — is mined by private companies from leases on federal land, primarily in Western states. Coal lease sales were temporarily shut down under President Barack Obama because of climate concerns, then revived under President Donald Trump as he sought to bolster the declining industry. 39
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President Joe Biden suspended oil and gas lease sales in his first days in office — a move later blocked by a federal judge — and faced pressure from environmental groups to take similar actions on coal. Few leases have been sold in recent years as coal demand shrank drastically, but the industry’s opponents want to ensure it can’t make a comeback as wildfires, drought, rising sea levels and other effects of climate change worsen, according to a report last week from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The Interior Department review will consider the effects of coal mining on air quality and the local environment, whether leasing decisions should consider if the fuel will be exported, and how coal supports the nation’s energy needs. The agency said it will take 30 days of public comment and plans to announce its next steps by November. The coal program brought in more than $500 million for federal and state coffers through royalties and other payments in 2019, the most recent data available. The program supports thousands of jobs and has been fiercely defended by industry representatives, Republicans in Congress and officials in coal producing states. “Our public lands are intended for multiple uses, including the production of affordable, reliable energy for all Americans, and we look forward to providing comment throughout the government’s review,” said Ashley Burke with the National Mining Association, an industry lobbying group.
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California, New York, New Mexico and Washington state sued after then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke revived coal lease sales in 2017. The Northern Cheyenne Tribe, joined by the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, also filed a legal challenge, while state officials from Wyoming and Montana argued against reviving the moratorium. The Biden administration had sought to delay the legal challenges, but a federal judge said in June that the states and environmentalists faced potential damage if the case got stalled. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris cited pending lease applications for thousands of acres of federal land holding at least 1 billion tons of coal. “The administration must move quickly to address harm from federal coal development and stop new leasing. If they don’t, we are prepared to head back to court,” said attorney Jenny Harbine with Earthjustice, which represents the environmental groups and tribe. In 2017 and 2018, the government sold leases for 134 million tons of coal on public land in six states, according to figures provided by the Interior Department. That’s a relatively small amount compared with previous years, for example 2011 and 2012, when more than 2 billion tons were sold in Wyoming alone. Growing concerns over climate change have put a new spotlight on the once-obscure coal program, which last underwent major environmental reviews in the 1970s and 1980s. Extracting and burning fossil fuels from federal land generates the equivalent of 1.4 billion tons (1.3 billion metric tons) annually of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, according to 42
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a 2018 report from the U.S. Geological Survey. That’s equivalent to almost one-quarter of total U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. Over the past decade, oil and gas have eclipsed coal to become the biggest human source of greenhouse gas emissions from public lands and waters, federal production data indicates.
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ARMY: FULL ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF $9.4B PLASTICS COMPLEX
A civilian Pentagon official ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a full environmental assessment of a $9.4 billion Formosa Plastics complex planned in Louisiana, drawing praise from environmentalists. Jaime Pinkham, the Army’s acting assistant secretary for civil works, ordered the review after a virtual meeting with opponents of a Corps wetlands permit that allowed Formosa Plastics Group member FG LA LLC to build 10 chemical plants and four other major facilities on the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Critics praised the decision. “The Army Corps has finally heard our pleas and understands our pain. With God’s help, Formosa Plastics will soon pull out of our community,” 48
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said a statement by Sharon Lavigne, who founded the local group Rise St. James to fight the planned complex announced in 2018. Formosa, based in Taiwan, wants to produce polyethylene, polypropylene, polymer and ethylene glycol on 2,400 acres (970 hectares) in St. James Parish. Dubbed The Sunshine Project because it’s near the Sunshine Bridge, the project is expected to provide 1,200 permanent jobs and up to 8,000 construction jobs, the state has said. The Corps issued a permit in September 2019 to let FG LA dredge and fill wetlands and create detention ponds in wetlands, according to a lawsuit by opponents. It said the site includes more than 900 acres (364 hectares) of wetlands, of which nearly 62 acres (25 hectares) of wetlands and nearly 50 acres (20 hectares) of other waters would be permanently affected. It could take years to put together a full environmental impact statement, Lavigne said in an interview. She said she silently thanked God when Pinkham said he was planning the order. “I had to touch myself to see if I’m real,” said Lavigne, who earlier this year was awarded a Goldman Environmental Prize honoring grassroots environmental activism. Within an hour, she said, Pinkham’s memo to the Corps’ commanding general was posted on his office’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. Pinkham, who supervises and sets policy for the Corps’ civil works, wrote that he is committed to having the Army “be a leader in the federal government’s efforts to ensure thorough 50
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environmental analysis and meaningful community outreach.” The Corps needs “to thoroughly review areas of concern, particularly those with environmental justice implications,” Pinkham wrote. Major construction has been on hold since the Corps agreed in November to reconsider its permit for the plants in Welcome, where the Census Bureau estimates that nearly 97% of the 880 residents are Black. Pinkham’s tweet and letter provide little detail about what procedures the Corps intends to use, said an emailed statement from FG LA. “The company will continue to work with the Corps as we receive more guidance on the additional evaluation and has no further comment at this time,” it said. The memo does not identify the Corps’ commanding general. He is Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, according to the agency’s website. One of the people who challenged the permit, Julie Teel Simmonds of the Center for Biological Diversity, said the decision was a step toward greater oversight even if the permit wasn’t scrapped. “Although it does not revoke the permit, it at least lays out the proper process for an adequate environmental review of the project, which the Corps failed to do before,” Simmonds said in an email.
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Image: Boris Smokrovic
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ARE HONEYBEES DYING OFF? IT DEPENDS ON WHOM YOU ASK
Talk to a local beekeeper, and the potential consequences of the decline of the honeybee population are alarming, causing problems for pollination and sending ripple effects through the food supply chain and the entire ecosystem. Talk to a different beekeeper, and the deaths of honeybees may be overexaggerated, misleading the public about the supposed peril of billions of the hive-dwelling insects bred for crop pollination and honey production across the state and around the world. For all the beekeepers can agree on — that bees themselves perform the daily tasks of keeping the hive running, from attending to the queen to building the comb and defending the nest — they differ on their methods to circumvent decline and protect the insects supporting the state’s biodiversity and agricultural industries. 57
People like Bethlehem’s Paul Snellen teach and embrace the rituals of conventional beekeeping, including hive treatment options that Snellen acknowledges can have some adverse effects. Others, like Rodale Institute’s Mike Schmaeling, prioritize a chemical-free method focusing on the resilience of bees and innovative breeding techniques. But overall, as beekeepers work collectively to manage colony health, they’re still fighting an uphill battle. Beekeepers in the United States lost an estimated 45.5% of their managed honeybee colonies last year, according to a survey conducted by the nonprofit Bee Informed Partnership. Pennsylvania’s beekeepers reported a 54% annual loss, and Snellen estimates Lehigh Valley losses at around 30%-40% or more. The numbers prove beekeepers are encountering mass demise and must constantly work to restore honeybee numbers. They can only do so by honing in on the main causes of colony loss in their operations.
WHAT’S KILLING THE HONEYBEES? In 2017, beekeepers, researchers and conservationists from across the state gathered to write the Pennsylvania Pollinator Protection Plan. It outlined threats facing the honeybees and offered advice on how best to protect them. The recommendations, which included best practices for beekeepers and pesticide use, were spurred by threats to pollinators. During the winter of 2016-17, beekeepers across the commonwealth reported 52% losses in their colonies. Other pollinators, like some species of Image: Rick Kintzel
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butterflies, moths and bumblebees were found to be at risk, too. However, beekeepers’ losses have remained steady over the last five years, with beekeepers losing about half their honeybee colonies annually. Pennsylvania’s beekeepers have lost about have their colonies each year over the past five years, according to data from nonprofit Bee Informed Partnership. And bees’ worth to people is only increasing. In 2007, the state’s Department of Agriculture estimated that each honeybee colony provided $1,659.21 to Pennsylvania’s economy. Last year, the commonwealth’s apiary industry was worth more than an estimated $76 million. It’s not just Pennsylvania feeling the economic and environmental impact as colonies collapse. Honeybees are moved around the country to pollinate crops such as blueberries, almonds and apples. That’s why it’s important to ensure the health of both commercial and backyard honeybee colonies critical to food production and supply. Today, Snellen and other local experts point to a handful of key factors responsible for the largest die-offs:
PESTICIDES AND MITES Over the last few decades, pesticides have become what beekeepers say are a necessary evil among crop farmers. But those chemicals coat the seeds of many crops, and the amount of pesticides that reside on plants that honeybees pollinate is a huge factor in bees dying off. 61
Schmaeling says certain farming equipment is also responsible for affecting soil health, coating plants in pesticide powders and depleting soil of essential nutrients and microorganisms. “That land has just been treated and tilled and sprayed. There’s nothing in there that’s beneficial,” Schmaeling said during a recent interview on Rodale Institute’s Kutztown campus. “And all (the conventional farmers) are relying on is that the seed in the ground is treated and genetically modified to grow. But there’s nothing else ... (the soil) doesn’t have any health or life in it.” Scientists have found that when bees consume pesticides, it can impair their ability to navigate, reproduce and communicate with other bees. “If these bees are, you know, buzzed with certain types of insecticides, then they don’t have to be dead — but if their nervous system isn’t working properly, combine that with viruses, combine that with the fact that their strength is not up there because of mites, these things kind of accumulate and can cause problems,” said Marten Edwards, chair of Muhlenberg College’s biology department. The parasitic bee mite, varroa destructor, is cited by the USDA as one of the most serious pests of the honeybee. Female mites attach to the adult bees, feeding on their hemolymph, a fluid equivalent to blood found in invertebrates, according to the agency. And, when there are a lot of mites present in a colony, they can create malformations like shortened abdomens, misshapen wings, deformed legs or even result in the death of the pupa, the early, immature life stage of a bee. 62
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“So it’s not like we can just ban a certain type of insecticide and we’ll be fine,” Edwards said. “It’s not that we can cure the varroa mite problem and we’ll be fine. There are many complex challenges that are really hard to separate from each other.”
LOSS OF HABITAT As the state’s agriculture industry grows and farmers work to increase yields, both native pollinators and managed, nonnative honeybees are losing their habitats, another key issue when researchers and scientists look at colony collapses and annual losses. “Agricultural practices have changed that there’s almost no weeds on the borders of our fields, in the fields,” Edwards said. “And if you’re a farmer, that’s a good thing. If you’re a farmer, you don’t want to have lots of weeds in your fields — I get it.” But it’s not good for the bees — what might look like a just a patch of weeds to people is home for the honeybees and vital to other native pollinators, he said. Dense agricultural areas, like in Monroe County, have proven to be an issue for honeybees, Jeremy White of Pocono Apiaries said. He lost about 50% of his bees last year, and said other beekeepers in the area are facing similar losses. “We need those farms, for sure,” he said, explaining that corn and alfalfa are good crops for people and the agricultural industry. “But that is not good for the bees.” Honeybees need pollen-producing plants, like dandelions, White said.
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“I think that’s one of the biggest things you need is more (pollen) because there’s just not enough for them to be able to actually beef up enough for us to be able to get them to kind of start producing honey on time,” White said. However, introducing plants and flowers in urban areas has helped. “We have a lot of plants around the bees like, and so you actually find a lot of bee diversity right here in the city,” said Edwards, who lives in the West End of Allentown. “You’d be amazed if you look at a plant, look at the tiny little things that you might think flies, or just random bugs, some of them are absolutely beautiful little tiny bees and different types of bumblebees.”
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Planting flowers or even allowing patches of weeds and native plants to grow can help bolster bee populations and combat habitat loss, he said. And, skipping pesticides is important, too. “There are certain plants like echinacea and goldenrods that are nice to look at, and are really fantastic for pollinators. So you can you can have your cake and eat it, too,” Edwards said, noting a small garden can make a big difference. “Even if you live in an apartment, you can work with the neighborhood to make a bee garden or put some flowers on your balcony.”
BEEKEEPER EDUCATION The Lehigh Valley Beekeepers Association has bolstered its ranks to almost 300 members from Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Berks, Bucks and surrounding counties. The group’s mission is to promote the art and science of beekeeping, and Snellen is among its master beekeepers — those considered to have extensive knowledge of honeybee biology and expertise in the proper practices of beekeeping. Even as a hobbyist, Snellen takes the job seriously. He builds his own beekeeping boxes, and his diverse operation in East Allentown includes treating and feeding thousands of honeybees (upward of 40,000 per box currently, while those populations can be much higher at other parts of the year). When honeybees are not able to collect enough food through natural sources, which is known as a dearth, people like Snellen step in. The most common way to help is by feeding the bees sugar water, a substitute for plant nectar that will help to keep the colony alive. However, supplemental 69
feeding is not practiced or endorsed by all beekeepers and failure to do it right can create more problems. “For a colony low on food, at a time of year when you have that dearth and there are no flowers and nothing to pollinate, that sugar water can mean the difference between life and death,” Snellen said, while noting the practice creates division among beekeepers and depends on the location and condition of each colony. The sharing of such techniques and information among local beekeepers is imperative to sustaining honeybee populations, Snellen said, noting there is really no oversight for bad backyard beekeepers. While some practices on managing hives can be polarizing, complete neglect and a lack of proper inspections of hives is an even bigger problem. “I believe if you can afford to buy bees, you can afford to manage them properly,” he said. “By not properly maintaining your hives, you are contributing to this continuous cycle of issues. Educate yourself and take the proper actions to become a responsible beekeeper.”
THE FUTURE OF BEEKEEPING If there’s one universal truth about beekeeping, it’s that asking the same question to many beekeepers will yield different answers from each. For White, who serves as secretary for Monroe County Beekeepers Association, honeybees hit a crisis point decades ago, when mites started infesting colonies across the country. But the advent of treatments has helped sustain colonies since then. 70
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The available information to protect pollinators, coupled with an uptick in beekeeping’s popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, has created a overwhelming state of awareness, White said. “People are more aware of what is happening and are being more of a smart consumer in terms of not even just their own products, but what they want to do themselves or for their own growth in their own environment,” he said. And it’s a time for action, to protect and encourage native plant growth that pollinators depend on and combat habitat loss. To that end, some beekeepers may even turn to agtech, or the agricultural technology sector, for solutions. Beewise, an agtech startup, has created what it calls the first fully autonomous beehive. The device allows beekeepers to remotely treat their hives and care for the bees, the company’s website says. But experts are skeptical of the technology and its ability to act as a self-contained, autonomous guardian. “It’s just important to keep the human element,” Schmaeling said. “I guess that’s the thing is that if we want to move things (in that direction), you know ... technology is what’s creating climate change, but we’re not going to create hardworking women and men who are hands on with these bees if they have something like that to go into the hives or do the farming for you.” He likened the thought of an AI-type beehive to why beekeepers have to work together to bolster the honeybee populations, the same way the bees work together in the hive. “You know, the queen bee doesn’t make the decisions alone,” he said. “The bees make decisions as a group and as a whole. Their colony 73
is like a super organism. It’s one organization. Within that, they all do stuff together. They make decisions to work together.” Snellen agreed, noting that beekeepers have a collective goal of stopping the spread of pests and diseases that are detrimental to all bees. “Maybe organic is going to be the future of beekeeping, and you’ll have these different breeding techniques and going treatmentfree. Now, to me, there’s a difference between treatment-free and splitting a hive or re-hiving a queen. Things like that. To me that’s a treatment. But we’ve got to keep the focus on how the bees are surviving, not just that they’re dying.”
Image: Daniel Prudek
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TEENAGER SEEKS TO BREAK WOMEN’S SOLO FLIGHT RECORD
A Belgian-British teenager took to the skies Wednesday in her quest to become the youngest woman to fly around the world solo. With her parents looking on, 19-year-old Zara Rutherford took off from an airstrip in Kortrijk, western Belgium in gusty, overcast conditions. Rutherford is aiming to break the record set by American aviator Shaesta Waiz, who was 30 when she set the world benchmark in 2017. By narrowing the gap from 12 years to just one, she hopes to show other young women and girls that the sky’s the limit when it comes to making their own mark on the history of aviation. Rutherford aims to fly her fast and light Shark sport aircraft over five continents and 52 countries in an aerial trek that’s likely to take 2-3 months. 78
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“I am very nervous, I think. I am also in a bit of disbelief. I think my next step is to check the weather again,” she told before takeoff. “Normally, I am reaching Scotland tonight. I am not sure that will work. But I will try my best, while staying safe, of course,” Rutherford hails from a family of pilots. She’s been traveling in small planes since the age of 6, began jumping out of them – with a parachute – at 11 and then started flying herself at 14. She’s logged about 130 hours of solo flights. She said she wants to inspire girls and young women to get into aviation and encourage them to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics; also known as STEM. “This is her dream. It’s what she wants to do,” Rutherford’s father, Sam, said. “I am very, very proud that she wants to try and attract more young women and girls into STEM and aviation. Because 5% of pilots in the world are women. That’s really not a statistic in which we should be proud.” Rutherford’s plane was specially fitted out for the journey. It’s normally a two-seater, but an extra fuel tank now takes up one of them. That will also help erase any doubts about whether she’s flying alone. The Shark is too small for long-distance flying over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. For the crossing over the Atlantic, Rutherford plans to fly up through Europe and over Greenland. She’ll head down through the United States, then back up to Alaska to cross the Pacific. From there, she’ll head across Asia back to Europe. Mental fatigue and loneliness on such longdistance flights can be a big challenge. 82
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“These are things I am keeping in mind. I will also be on the phone with my parents often and just friends and family,” Rutherford said. ”Sadly, I cannot watch movies. But I have music lined up, I have podcasts lined up. So hopefully, that should keep me busy whilst I am up in the air for five, six hours at a time.” The men’s record for a solo round the world flight is held by 18-year-old Travis Ludlow of Britain.
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Apple will release the next generation of iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS in less than a month’s time, but that hasn’t stopped millions of consumers and tech fans from installing the public beta to access new features ahead of time. If you’re excited to get your hands on the all-new Safari, Universal Control and FaceTime improvements, the beta could be for you. 90
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UNDERSTANDING THE BETAS Every year, Apple holds its now iconic Worldwide Developers Conference, also known as the WWDC or dub-dub, where it shows off the exciting changes it’s been making to the world’s most popular operating systems. Immediately after, developers can get their hands on an early build of the software so that they can test out the features and see how it’ll work with their apps. Developers must register to be part of the program and pay the arbitration fee of $99 per year, but it offers them the early builds of the new release which might be buggy. In comparison, the Beta Software Program offers consumers the chance to get their hands on iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS 12 Monterey, watchOS 8, and tvOS 15, and whilst beta testers will still likely run into some bugs and performance issues, the Public Beta is designed to help Apple collect more data on how the operating systems are working and make tweaks and refinements to ensure a stable public release, which is typically in the second week of September for iOS, watchOS, and tvOS, and in the middle of October for macOS releases. This year, Apple has ramped up its Beta Software Program, expanding the number of beta testers able to access the software, and even sending emails to those subscribed to the beta program to try out its latest public betas. Why? The company doesn’t want a repeat of some of its previous iOS releases, which were plagued with bugs and usability issues, resulting in dozens of point-releases just days after the initial release. In an email to testers in July, Apple said that “The iOS 15, iPadOS 92
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15, macOS Monterey, tvOS 15, and watchOS 8 public betas are now available. As a member of the Apple Beta Software Program, you can help shape Apple software by test-driving prerelease versions and letting us know what you think.” Previewing Apple’s public betas is a way not only to be aware of all changes coming in future updates, but help Apple to find and squash bugs that might have been missed. It’s also worth noting that the Developer and Public betas are typically the same build when they are released together, but the most notable difference is that the developer beta is updated more frequently than the public beta. Developer betas may have device-breaking bugs that render your iPhone or MacBook useless until the next beta release, meaning it’s not recommended for those who want to run a beta on their actual smartphone or laptop. It’s common that iOS and macOS betas feature bugs that only developers or those with a good computer knowledge can work around, so those that want a stable pre-release should stick with the public beta. Having said that, there’s also no guarantee that the public beta will be all that stable - again, you should only install it on a device that isn’t your “everyday” iPhone.
BIG CHANGES ACROSS THE BOARD One of the reasons why Apple is ramping up beta testing on this year’s software updates is because they introduce a whole host of new features for consumers. On iOS 15, FaceTime has been overhauled with SharePlay, stream parties, the ability to listen to music at the same time, and the ability to share your screen on your Mac or iPhone. Spatial audio also 96
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comes to FaceTime, with individual voices sound like they’re coming from the direction in which each person is positioned on your screen, and Grid View makes it easier to chat to groups of people. FaceTime links allow users to enjoy conversations with others on the go, and Voice Isolation minimises background noise and puts your voice front and centre. Other big changes coming to iOS 15 include a new Shared With You tab in iMessage and Search, new Memoji, Photo collections, and a focus feature that helps you stay in the moment when you need to concentrate or step away. Notifications have been redesigned on the iPhone, and Maps introduces a stunning new city experience. Safari has been built from the ground up with a new tab design, tab groups, and more, and voice search comes to Siri and Safari for the first time. On the Wallet app, users can add their house key to their Wallet, whilst Live Text intelligently unlocks rich and useful information in images, so you can make a call, send an email or look up directions with just a tap on the highlighted text in a photo. Visual Look Up allows users to quickly learn more about art, landmarks, nature, books and pets simply by tapping a photo on your device or on the web, whilst Spotlight and Health also introduce new features, and new Privacy features arrive as part of the iCloud+ subscription service. macOS has similarly been overhauled with Monterey, allowing users to connect, share and create like never before. The same FaceTime and Safari overhauls from iOS 15 come to the Mac, ideal for today’s work-from-home culture, and Quick Note allows users to capture a 99
thought as they carry out their work, whilst Universal Control means Macs and iPads can work side-by-side Move your cursor from your Mac to your iPad, type on your Mac and watch the words show up on your iPad, or even drag and drop content from one Mac to another. AirPlay comes to the Mac for the first time, and the Shortcuts app is also new. On watchOS, users can set Portrait mode photos as their watch face, and Memories can be added so that you never forget an important moment in your life. It’s now also possible to share photos via Messages and Mail, whilst a new Home app means that you can control your smart connected devices from your wrist. The Wallet app has been given some love as part of this year’s release, meaning you can add your home key to your watch, and thanks to the Ultra Wideband technology in Apple Watch Series 6, your digital car key recognises you as you approach your vehicle. Messages and Mail have been overhauled on the watch, too, with a new library of GIFs and the ability to share music from your wrist, and the Focus app has been ported from iOS to watchOS. Breathe has been renamed Mindfulness and allows users to take a moment to meditate and reflect after a busy day, whilst the Sleep app checks your respiratory rate and tracks sleeping trends over time. Other changes include a Pilates workout option, tai chi, and exciting changes to the Apple Fitness+ experience on the watch. All in all, this year’s updates are set to change the way we use our smartphones, computers, and smartwatches, and if you’re keen to see those changes in action, it could be time to 100
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sign up to the Apple Beta Software Program, where you can enroll your devices to access the public betas and try out the latest features. Simply head to the Apple website, log in using your Apple ID and you’ll find the updates waiting for you in the Settings app of your iPhone, Mac, or Apple Watch app. You can also unenroll your devices should you decide the program is not right for you, and head back to the current iOS 14 or macOS Big Sur build in a few taps.
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Ultimately, deciding whether or not to upgrade to the bleeding-edge releases of iOS, macOS, and tvOS is up to you. If you’re desperate to get your hands on new features before anyone else, the Beta program is worthwhile.
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If you value stability and are happy to wait, it’s best to hold off until the software is released in September and October this year. Not long now!
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HYDROGENPOWERED VEHICLES: A REALISTIC PATH TO CLEAN ENERGY?
Each morning at a transit facility in Canton, Ohio, more than a dozen buses pull up to a fueling station before fanning out to their routes in this city south of Cleveland. The buses — made by El Dorado National and owned by the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority — look like any others. Yet collectively, they reflect the cutting edge of a technology that could play a key role in producing cleaner inter-city transportation. In place of pollutionbelching diesel fuel, one-fourth of the agency’s buses run on hydrogen. They emit nothing but harmless water vapor. Hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, is increasingly viewed, along with electric vehicles, as one way to slow the environmentally destructive impact of the planet’s 1.2 billion vehicles, most of which burn gasoline and diesel fuel. 111
Manufacturers of large trucks and commercial vehicles are beginning to embrace hydrogen fuel cell technologies as a way forward. So are makers of planes, trains and passenger vehicles. Transportation is the single biggest U.S. contributor to climate change, which is why hydrogen power, in the long run, is seen as a potentially important way to help reduce carbon emissions. To be sure, hydrogen remains far from a magic solution. For now, the hydrogen that is produced globally each year, mainly for refineries and fertilizer manufacturing, is made using natural gas or coal. That process pollutes the air, warming the planet rather than saving it. Indeed, a new study by researchers from Cornell and Stanford universities found that most hydrogen production emits carbon dioxide, which means that hydrogen-fueled transportation cannot yet be considered clean energy. Yet proponents of hydrogen-powered transportation say that in the long run, hydrogen production is destined to become more environmentally safe. They envision a growing use of electricity from wind and solar energy, which can separate hydrogen and oxygen in water. As such renewable forms of energy gain broader use, hydrogen production should become a cleaner and less expensive process. Within three years, General Motors, Navistar and the trucking firm J.B. Hunt plan to build fueling stations and run hydrogen trucks on several U.S. freeways. Toyota, Kenworth and the Port of Los Angeles have begun testing hydrogen trucks to haul goods from ships to warehouses. 112
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Volvo Trucks, Daimler Trucks AG and other manufacturers have announced partnerships, too. The companies hope to commercialize their research, offering zero-emissions trucks that save money and meet stricter pollution regulations. In Germany, a hydrogen-powered train began operating in 2018, and more are coming. Frenchbased Airbus, the world’s largest manufacturer of airliners, is considering hydrogen as well. “This is about the closest I’ve seen us get so far to that real turning point,” said Shawn Litster, a professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University who has studied hydrogen fuel cells for nearly two decades. Hydrogen has long been a feedstock for the production of fertilizer, steel, petroleum, concrete and chemicals. It’s also been running vehicles for years: Around 35,000 forklifts in the United States, about 4% of the nation’s total, are powered by hydrogen. Its eventual use on roadways, to haul heavy loads of cargo, could begin to replace diesel-burning polluters. No one knows when, or even whether, hydrogen will be adopted for widespread use. Craig Scott, Toyota’s head of advanced technology in North America, says the company is perhaps two years from having a hydrogen truck ready for sale. Building more fueling stations will be crucial to widespread adoption. Kirt Conrad, CEO of Canton’s transit authority since 2009, says other transit systems have shown so much interest in the technology that SARTA takes its buses around the country for demonstrations. Canton’s system, which bought its first three hydrogen buses in 2016, has since added 11. It’s also built a fueling station. Two 114
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California transit systems, in Oakland and Riverside County, have hydrogen buses in their fleets. “We’ve demonstrated that our buses are reliable and cost-efficient, and as a result, we’re breaking down barriers that have slowed wider adoption of the technology,” Conrad said. The test at the Port of Los Angeles started in April, when the first of five semis with Toyota hydrogen powertrains began hauling freight to warehouses in Ontario, California, about 60 miles away. The $82.5 million public-private project eventually will have 10 semis. Hydrogen fuel is included in President Joe Biden’s plans to cut emissions in half by 2030. The infrastructure bill the Senate approved passed this week includes $9 billion for research to reduce the cost of making clean hydrogen, and for regional hydrogen manufacturing hubs. The long-haul trucking industry appears to be the best bet for early adoption of hydrogen. Fuel cells, which convert hydrogen gas into electricity, provide a longer range than battery-electric trucks, fare better in cold weather and can be refueled much faster than electric batteries can be recharged. Proponents say the short refueling time for hydrogen vehicles gives them an edge over electric vehicles for use in taxis or delivery trucks, which are in constant use. That advantage was important for London-based Green Tomato Cars, which uses 60 hydrogen fuel cell-powered Toyota Mirai cars in its 500-car zero emission fleet to transport corporate customers. Co-founder Jonny Goldstone said his drivers can travel over 300 miles (500 kilometers) on a tank and refuel in three minutes.
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Because drivers’ earnings depend on fares, Goldstone said, “if they have to spend 40, 50 minutes, an hour, two hours plugging a car in in in the middle of the working day, that for them is just not acceptable.” For now, Green Tomato is among the largest operators of hydrogen vehicles in what is still a tiny market in Europe, with about 2,000 fuel cell cars, garbage trucks and delivery vans on the roads. About 7,500 hydrogen fuel cell cars are on the road in the U.S., mostly in California. Toyota, Honda and Hyundai produce the cars, which are priced thousands more than gasoline-powered vehicles. California has 45 public fueling stations, with more planned or under construction. Unlike with buses and heavy trucks, experts say the future of passenger vehicles in the U.S. lies mainly with electric battery power, not hydrogen. Fully electric vehicles can travel farther than most people need to go on a relatively small battery. And for now, hydrogen production is adding to rather than reducing pollution. The world produces about 75 million tons a year, most of it in a carbon emission-creating processes involving steam reformation of natural gas. China uses higher-polluting coal. So-called “blue” hydrogen, made from natural gas, requires an additional step. Carbon dioxide emitted in the process is sent below the earth’s surface for storage. The Cornell and Stanford study found that manufacturing blue hydrogen emitted 20% more carbon than burning natural gas or coal for heat.
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That’s why industry researchers are focused on electrolysis, which uses electricity to separate hydrogen and oxygen in water. Hydrogen mixes with oxygen in a vehicle’s fuel cell to produce power. The amount of electricity generated by wind and solar is growing worldwide, making electrolysis cleaner and cheaper, said Joe Cargnelli, director of hydrogen technologies for Cummins, which makes electrolyzers and fuel cell power systems. Currently, it costs more to make a hydrogen truck and produce the fuel than to put a dieselpowered truck on the road. Hydrogen costs about $13 per kilogram in California, and 1 kilogram can deliver slightly more energy than a gallon of diesel fuel. By contrast, diesel fuel is only about $3.25 per gallon in the U.S. But experts say that disparity will narrow. “As they scale up the technology for production, the hydrogen should come down,” said Carnegie Mellon’s Litster.
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While a diesel semi can cost around $150,000 depending on how it’s equipped, it’s unclear how much fuel cell trucks would cost. Nikola, a startup electric and hydrogen fuel cell truck maker, estimated last year that it would receive about $235,000 for each hydrogen semi it sells. Clean electricity might eventually be used to make and store hydrogen at a rail yard, where it could refuel locomotives and semis, all with zero emissions. Cummins foresees the widespread use of hydrogen in the U.S. by 2030, sped by stricter diesel emissions regulations and government zero-emissions vehicle requirements. Already, Europe has set ambitious green hydrogen targets designed to accelerate its use. “That’s just going to blow the market open and kind of drive it,” Cargnelli said. “Then you’ll see other places like North America kind of follow suit.” 121
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E-MONEY: 3 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU BUY CRYPTO
Investing in cryptocurrency can be as easy as a few taps on your phone, and with crypto all over the news and coming up in conversations with friends, it’s tempting to dive right in. However, depending on your financial situation and appetite for investing risk, crypto might not be an appropriate investment for you right now — or ever. “I am the biggest crypto hippie you’ll talk to in a very long time,” says Tyrone Ross, CEO of Onramp Invest, a cryptoasset platform for registered investment advisors . And yet, he cautions against it. “I don’t think the general public should be investing in crypto.” Picture your finances as an ice cream sundae, with crypto as the cherry on top. It makes up a small proportion of the overall sundae, and not everyone wants one. And before you fish that cherry out of the jar, you need to assemble the 123
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rest of your dessert. In non-ice-cream terms, that means creating a strong financial foundation and learning everything you can about crypto before you put any real money in.
1. PUT FINANCIAL SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE First and foremost, you need to prepare for those times when things don’t go as planned. Over the past year, workers who lost income because of the pandemic had to tap into savings, take on debt or enter into hardship programs to afford their bills. This time has been a stark reminder of the importance of having an emergency fund. “When you’re young, you can feel like Superman or Superwoman, but when the bubble happens, you could easily be out of a job for nine to 12 months,” says Theresa Morrison, a financial planner in Tucson, Arizona. “Don’t underestimate systemic shocks to the market.” Morrison recommends saving up six months of living expenses if you’re single, or around three months if you share expenses with a working spouse or partner. But stashing away even a few hundred dollars can be helpful when you’re faced with an unexpected expense . And if you have any high-interest debt, like credit card debt, paying this down can further strengthen your financial position.
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Review your insurance coverage, too, because these policies can provide much-needed money during difficult times. Life insurance can be especially important if you have dependents.
2. SAVE AND INVEST FOR FUTURE PLANS Once you have money set aside for emergencies, begin thinking about your short-, mediumand long-term financial goals. Retirement is, of course, a big thing to save for, so contribute to retirement accounts (especially if you have access to a plan with an employer match). But set specific savings goals for other major life steps. “Most people want to travel every year, buy a house in 10 years, get married in 10 years. These things cost money,” Morrison says. “Put down how much it’ll cost in today’s terms and figure out how much to save out of your paycheck every month. From my experience, that alone can be $1,000 a month.”
3. GET EDUCATED ABOUT CRYPTOCURRENCY You’ve got the money and you’re ready to jump on the crypto bandwagon, only you have no idea how someone even buys crypto. Or how it will fit into your overall financial plan. Or if it’s too risky for you. Time out. Don’t do anything with your money that you don’t understand. Dedicate some time to learning everything you can about crypto. Understanding the mechanics is important, but so is learning what kind of investor you are, because that also affects the kinds of investments that would be a good fit for you.
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“There’s a process you have to go through to determine if this new asset class is right for you. What’s your plan? How old are you? What are your goals? How tech-savvy are you? Do you understand what it means to hold these assets and have them not be insured? If something happens to you, who in your family knows about this stuff to retrieve it?” Ross says. “People don’t do the right due diligence before dumping money into something. I know that’s not the sexy answer, but it’s the truth.”
IF YOU STILL WANT TO DABBLE IN CRYPTO, START SMALL Once you have a grasp on how it all works, you can begin to think about allocating some of your excess cash (after you pay your bills and meet your monthly savings goals) toward crypto. But keep your investment totals small and manageable. Ross recommends investing up to $500 or so. This way, even if you lose it all, it’s an amount you specifically budgeted. “If you invest in crypto, think of it as dead money. Money you’ll never get back,” says Danny Lee, a financial planner in Denver. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be a speculative investment.”
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US PROBING AUTOPILOT PROBLEMS ON 765,000 TESLA VEHICLES
The U.S. government has opened a formal investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot partially automated driving system after a series of collisions with parked emergency vehicles. The investigation covers 765,000 vehicles, almost everything that Tesla has sold in the U.S. since the start of the 2014 model year. Of the crashes identified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as part of the probe, 17 people were injured and one was killed. NHTSA says it has identified 11 crashes since 2018 in which Teslas on Autopilot or Traffic Aware Cruise Control have hit vehicles at scenes where first responders have used flashing lights, flares, an illuminated arrow board or cones warning of hazards. The agency announced the action in a posting on its website. 131
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The probe is another sign that NHTSA under President Joe Biden is taking a tougher stance on on automated vehicle safety than under previous administrations. Previously the agency was reluctant to regulate the new technology for fear of hampering adoption of the potentially lifesaving systems. The investigation covers Tesla’s entire current model lineup, the Models Y, X, S and 3 from the 2014 through 2021 model years. The National Transportation Safety Board, which also has investigated some of the Tesla crashes dating to 2016, has recommended that NHTSA and Tesla limit Autopilot’s use to areas where it can safely operate. The NTSB also recommended that NHTSA require Tesla to have a better system to make sure drivers are paying attention. NHTSA has not taken action on any of the recommendations. The NTSB has no enforcement powers and can only make recommendations to other federal agencies. “Today’s action by NHTSA is a positive step forward for safety,” NTSB Chair Jennifer L. Homendy said in a statement. “As we navigate the emerging world of advanced driving assistance systems, it’s important that NHTSA has insight into what these vehicles can, and cannot, do.” Last year the NTSB blamed Tesla, drivers and lax regulation by NHTSA for two collisions in which Teslas crashed beneath crossing tractor-trailers. The NTSB took the unusual step of accusing NHTSA of contributing to the crash for failing to make sure automakers put safeguards in place to limit use of electronic driving systems.
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The agency made the determinations after investigating a 2019 crash in Delray Beach, Florida, in which the 50-year-old driver of a Tesla Model 3 was killed. The car was driving on Autopilot when neither the driver nor the Autopilot system braked or tried to avoid a tractortrailer crossing in its path. “We are glad to see NHTSA finally acknowledge our long standing call to investigate Tesla for putting technology on the road that will be foreseeably misused in a way that is leading to crashes, injuries, and deaths,” said Jason Levine, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, an advocacy group. “If anything, this probe needs to go far beyond crashes involving first responder vehicles because the danger is to all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians when Autopilot is engaged.” Autopilot has frequently been misused by Tesla drivers, who have been caught driving drunk or even riding in the back seat while a car rolled down a California highway.
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A message was left seeking comment from Tesla, which has disbanded its media relations office. Shares of Tesla Inc., based in Palo Alto, California, fell 4.3% after the announcement. NHTSA has sent investigative teams to 31 crashes involving partially automated driver assist systems since June of 2016. Such systems can keep a vehicle centered in its lane and a safe distance from vehicles in front of it. Of those crashes, 25 involved Tesla Autopilot in which 10 deaths were reported, according to data released by the agency. Tesla and other manufacturers warn that drivers using the systems must be ready to intervene at all times. In addition to crossing semis, Teslas using Autopilot have crashed into stopped emergency vehicles and a roadway barrier. The probe by NHTSA is long overdue, said Raj Rajkumar, an electrical and computer engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University who studies automated vehicles. Tesla’s failure to effectively monitor drivers to make sure they’re paying attention should be the top priority in the probe, Rajkumar said. Teslas detect pressure on the steering wheel to make sure drivers are engaged, but drivers often fool the system. “It’s very easy to bypass the steering pressure thing,” Rajkumar said. “It’s been going on since 2014. We have been discussing this for a long time now.” The crashes into emergency vehicles cited by NHTSA began on Jan. 22, 2018 in Culver City, California, near Los Angeles when a Tesla using Autopilot struck a parked firetruck that was
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partially in the travel lanes with its lights flashing. Crews were handling another crash at the time. Since then, the agency said there were crashes in Laguna Beach, California; Norwalk, Connecticut; Cloverdale, Indiana; West Bridgewater, Massachusetts; Cochise County, Arizona; Charlotte, North Carolina; Montgomery County, Texas; Lansing, Michigan; and Miami, Florida. “The investigation will assess the technologies and methods used to monitor, assist and enforce the driver’s engagement with the dynamic driving task during Autopilot operation,” NHTSA said in its investigation documents. In addition, the probe will cover object and event detection by the system, as well as where it is allowed to operate. NHTSA says it will examine “contributing circumstances” to the crashes, as well as similar crashes. An investigation could lead to a recall or other enforcement action by NHTSA. “NHTSA reminds the public that no commercially available motor vehicles today are capable of driving themselves,” the agency said in a statement. “Every available vehicle requires a human driver to be in control at all times, and all state laws hold human drivers responsible for operation of their vehicles.” The agency said it has “robust enforcement tools” to protect the public and investigate potential safety issues, and it will act when it finds evidence “of noncompliance or an unreasonable risk to safety.” In June, NHTSA ordered all automakers to report any crashes involving fully autonomous vehicles or partially automated driver assist systems. 138
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Tesla uses a camera-based system, a lot of computing power, and sometimes radar to spot obstacles, determine what they are, and then decide what the vehicles should do. But Carnegie Mellon’s Rajkumar said the company’s radar was plagued by “false positive” signals and would stop cars after determining overpasses were obstacles. Now Tesla has eliminated radar in favor of cameras and thousands of images that the computer neural network uses to determine if there are objects in the way. The system, he said, does a very good job on most objects that would be seen in the real world. But it has had trouble with parked emergency vehicles and perpendicular trucks in its path. “It can only find patterns that it has been quoteunquote trained on,” Rajkumar said. “Clearly the inputs that the neural network was trained on just do not contain enough images. They’re only as good as the inputs and training. Almost by definition, the training will never be good enough.” Tesla also is allowing selected owners to test what it calls a “full self-driving” system. Rajkumar said that should be investigated as well.
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HOW TO CALCULATE AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE’S CHARGE COSTS
One of the challenges people have with electric vehicles is figuring out how much they cost to operate. The price of fully charging an electric vehicle’s battery can vary wildly depending on when and where you charge it. For the bigger picture, you should also include the amortized cost of buying and installing a home charging station and the rates your utility company charges. Here’s how to calculate what it will cost to charge your EV, as compiled by industry experts.
IN: KILOWATT-HOURS PER 100 MILES, OUT: MPG When you’re shopping for a gasoline-powered car, you pay attention to how many miles per gallon it gets. For plug-in vehicles, the window 142
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sticker and the government’s fueleconomy.gov website will have a big EPAestimated mpg equivalent figure. But this isn’t a useful metric for determining cost. A battery stores energy in kilowatt-hours, much like a gas tank stores fuel in gallons. Instead, look for the amount of energy an electric car consumes, which is measured in kilowatt-hours per 100 miles (kWh/100 miles). This value tells you how much energy in kilowatt-hours a vehicle would use to travel 100 miles. Note that this is just the government’s estimate; your EV’s actual consumption can vary because of your driving style and environment.
COST FOR CHARGING AT HOME The cost of electricity is more stable than the cost of gasoline, but that cost varies state by state. According to the most recent data, the residential average per kilowatt-hour ranges from 9.9 cents in Idaho to 32.3 cents in Hawaii. The national average is 13.3 cents, which is only about 2 cents more than it was a decade ago. To find your state’s average, check this state-bystate list of the average cost per kilowatt-hour. Your state’s average is just that, however. What you pay is determined by your utility company and the plan you use. Electricity cost usually rises with your consumption and varies depending on the time of use. A kilowatt during the day at peak hours or at month’s end is likely to cost more than one during nighttime offpeak hours or at the beginning of the month. Look at your latest utility bill or check your utility’s website to see the current rates.
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To estimate your cost of charging at home, multiply your vehicle’s kWh/100 miles figure by the electric rate for the time of day you’ll most often be charging. That figure will tell you the cost per 100 miles. Here’s an example: Let’s say you own a 2021 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus — it gets an EPA-estimated 24 kWh/100 miles — and your utility’s pricing plan starts at 18 cents per kWh and rises to a maximum of 37 cents per kWh. As such, it would cost as little as $8.64 to recharge at home after driving 200 miles or potentially $17.76 if you recharged during your utility’s peak rates. EVs vary in efficiency too. Let’s say you sold your Model 3 in the above example and replaced it with a 2021 Audi e-tron. The Audi uses an estimated 43 kWh/100 miles. Now you’d be paying $15.48-$31.82 after driving 200 miles using the same rates above.
COST OF HOME CHARGING SETUP Besides understanding what it will cost to power an EV, it’s also important to know the cost of the charging equipment itself. Technically, the vehicle’s “charger” is actually built into the car. That box with the colored lights, long cord and connector plug that you hang on the wall of your garage or carport is properly known as the “electric vehicle supply equipment” or EVSE. But it’s OK if you call it a car home charging station or an EV charger — almost everyone does. Most vehicle automakers have a preferred charger provider, but there are dozens of companies selling EVSEs. A search online will 146
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help you find the features, power output and pricing that best suit your needs. Just search for “EVSE” or “EV home chargers.” Prices for a good 240-volt Level 2 home system can range from just under $200 to more than $1,000 before installation. Some of these systems can report exactly how much electricity you use to charge your vehicle. Installation costs for EVSEs vary by region, depending on such factors as local labor rates, materials used, and government permit costs and requirements. The biggest variable is typically permit costs. National average costs for a wall-mounted EVSE can range from $850 to $2,500. EV charging is unfamiliar territory for anyone raised in a gas-car culture. But if you spend just a little time getting familiar with how it works and what’s involved, figuring out your charging costs will eventually be less work than driving to a pump. And cheaper too.
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