Posts Tagged: island

The Pacific island nation of Tuvalu is turning to the metaverse to preserve its culture

With global temperatures expected to rise as much as 2.8 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, the island nation of Tuvalu says it has no choice but to build a digital version of itself. On Tuesday, Simon Kofe, the country’s foreign minister, told the COP27 climate summit Tuvalu would look to the metaverse to preserve its culture and history amid rising sea levels (via Reuters).

“As our land disappears, we have no choice but to become the world’s first digital nation. Our land, our ocean, our culture are the most precious assets of our people. And to keep them safe from harm, no matter what happens in the physical world, we’ll move them to the cloud,” Kofe said in a video that sees the camera slowly zooming out to reveal that he’s in front of a greenscreen recreation of his home.

At last year’s COP26 summit, Kofe famously addressed the conference standing knee-deep in seawater to highlight the existential threat climate change poses to island nations like Tuvalu. In his latest address, the metaverse is framed as a potential home for all countries if there’s not a global effort to address the problem.

“Only concerted global effort can ensure that Tuvalu does not move permanently online and disappear forever from the physical plane,” he said. “Without a global conscience and a global commitment to our shared well-being, we may soon find the rest of the world joining us online as their lands disappear.

Tuvalu is an archipelago consisting of nine islands located between Australia and Hawaii. It’s home to approximately 12,000 people. Climate scientists anticipate the entire country will be underwater by the end of the 21st century.

To achieve the 1.5C target put forward by the Paris Agreement and avoid significantly worse climate outcomes, the world has eight years to reduce annual global emissions by a further 45 percent, compared with projections based on current policies. To limit the rise in temperatures to under 2C, an extra 30 percent reduction in emissions is needed.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Hey look, the iPhone’s Dynamic Island has come to … Android?!?

Apple recently caused a lot of excitement when it unveiled the Dynamic Island feature for its iPhone 14 Pro devices. And now it’s come to Android (sort of).
Android | Digital Trends

Amazon is planning to appeal Staten Island union’s victory

Amazon will reportedly object to a recent union election victory at its warehouse in Staten Island, alleging that organizers pressured workers into voting to organize. The Wall Street Journal reported that the company revealed its intention to appeal JFK8’s election in a legal filing released to the public on Thursday. Roughly 55 percent of workers at the JFK8 warehouse voted to join the Amazon Labor Union, the first victory of its kind for Amazon workers in the US. The company has until April 22nd to gather evidence and formally file its objections to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

In the document, Amazon gave a preview of what objections it plans on raising. The company wrote that it believes that the union threatened employees unless they voted to unionize. Some may think this is a fairly ironic move on Amazon’s part, considering NLRB accused the company of threatening employees unless they did the opposite. Amazon also accused the union of “electioneering” or interfering while employees waited in line to vote. It argued that unusually long waits at polling booths led to insufficient voter turnout. The company also believes organizers loitered by the polling area and intimidated voters, even going as far as to threaten immigrant employees with the loss of their rights if they didn’t vote to unionize.

Eric Milner, an attorney who represents the ALU, believes that Amazon’s objections will be dismissed. "To say that the Amazon Labor Union was threatening employees is really absurd," Milner said to Reuters. "The Amazon Labor Union is Amazon employees."

Meanwhile, a separate labor union attempting to organize an Amazon facility in Alabama filed its own objections on Thursday regarding the pending results of its recent rerun election. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) is accusing Amazon of “countless attempts to intimidate workers” in the Bessemer plant, including firing or suspending workers who supported the union. The results of that election are currently too close to call and will be determined in the coming weeks by an NLRB hearing over several hundred challenged ballots.

“Amazon’s behavior must not go unchallenged, and workers in Bessemer, Alabama must have their rights protected under the law. We urge the NLRB to carefully review our objections and ensure no company, not even with the bottomless pockets of Amazon, is allowed to act above the law,” said RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum in a statement.

Engadget has reached out to Amazon for comment on both matters, and will update if we hear back. 

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Leaked ‘Fortnite’ Chapter 3 trailer shows a new island and Spider-Man

Fortnite Chapter 2 has only just come to an end, but that isn't preventing sleuths from finding out what Chapter 3 will hold. As Kotakulearned, the game's official Polish YouTube channel briefly shared a Chapter 3 trailer revealing many of the planned changes to the battery royale brawler. You can expect a new island (and new characters, including Gears of War's Marcus and Kait as well as Spider-Man — there even appears to be web-swinging like you've seen in Insomniac's Spider-Man games, not to mention locales like the Daily Bugle.

Chapter 3 will add some new mechanics on top of fresh weapons and items. You can slide (seen in the Chapter 2 finale), and set up camps to both heal your squad and stash items you can carry over to future matches. And there's even a degree of star power: The Foundation, a character voiced by Dwayne Johnson, will carry over from the Chapter 2 shutdown.

It's not clear when Chapter 3 debuts. However, Epic wasn't afraid to repeat history and kick players out of Fortnite as the previous chapter came to an end. Chapter 2 closed in dramatic fashion, with The Foundation helping to defeat a Cube Queen invasion and flipping the entire island upside-down. If you stuck with the event, you were left treading water and with no option but to quit the game. Clearly, Epic is betting this dramatic ploy will work a second time.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

Deep Silver hasn’t killed off ‘Dead Island 2’

Dead Island's long-awaited sequel is alive and well despite numerous setbacks after its trailer was revealed way back in 2014. The game's Twitter account has reassured a fan asking about Dead Island 2 that it's still in development — the release of…
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New York greenlights massive 90-megawatt wind farm off Long Island

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has approved a massive 90-megawatt wind farm that is to be built off the easternmost tip of Long Island. It will be the largest offshore wind farm in the United States.

The post New York greenlights massive 90-megawatt wind farm off Long Island appeared first on Digital Trends.

Cool Tech–Digital Trends

This man-made private island has a penthouse, helipad, and shark-feeding station

If you’ve been wondering what to do with your billions, maybe you should splurge on a moveable, man-made private island from Migaloo. It has a helipad, spa, and shark-feeding station.

The post This man-made private island has a penthouse, helipad, and shark-feeding station appeared first on Digital Trends.

Cool Tech»Digital Trends