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The way society consumes energy is causing climate change on the planet. Therefore, scientists and companies are looking for alternatives to reduce the use of fossil fuels. One possibility is nuclear fusion, which could provide clean energy, but this is a plan that is still far from being realized. The Earth itself is capable of producing electricity through geothermal energy; but could this energy meet society's energy needs?

Geothermal energy is generated by processes that occur inside the Earth, where high temperatures are produced deep within the planet.. This happens mainly in regions with volcanoes, where the subsoil is heated intensely until the rocks turn into lava. In other words, it is through this natural system that electrical energy can be generated below our feet.

In fact, it is possible to take advantage of geothermal energy to generate electricity and power tools and machinery, but it is not as simple as it seems. The natural resource is widely available across the planet, but that is not the problem.

“Geothermal energy is a natural source of heat energy from within the Earth that can be captured and harnessed for cooking, bathing, heating, generating electricity, and other uses. The total amount of geothermal energy in the Earth far exceeds the world’s current energy needs, but it can be difficult to harness for electricity production,” Encyclopedia Britannica describes.

What is geothermal energy?

Geothermal energy is a resource constantly produced below the Earth's surface, where high temperatures are maintained by the processes of radioactive decay of potassium, thorium and uranium in the planet's crust and mantle, in addition to the friction generated by the movement of tectonic plates. This energy is expelled from the interior of the Earth through volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, among other natural phenomena.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, The Earth produces, on average, 50 to 70 milliwatts of energy per square meter annually. Just 10 km below the surface of North America, around six thousand times more energy is generated than all the world's oil reserves. In other words, this amount would be enough to supply the entire planet.

That's why, Geothermal energy has been the focus of study for researchers looking for new sources of renewable energy. Unlike solar and wind energy, geothermal energy can be accessed 24 hours a day, all year round. While solar energy depends on daylight, wind energy depends on the intensity of the winds in each region.

Some companies have already built geothermal plants in volcanic regions, such as Hawaii.Source: Getty Images

“Some ‘dry steam’ geothermal plants simply collect rising steam from the ground and pipe it directly to a turbine. Other plants, built around flash steam and binary cycle designs, use a mixture of steam and heated water (‘wet steam’) extracted from the ground to start the electrical generation process,” the Britannica Encyclopedia adds.

How does geothermal energy work?

Currently, several places already use geothermal sources to supply part of their energy consumption. In Iceland, approximately 25% of energy from renewable sources comes from geothermal energy. However, there is a clear reason why this energy is not widely used to generate electricity in many cities around the world. The construction of geothermal plants is extremely expensive.

To build a plant of this type, it needs to be close to volcanoes or other areas with extreme temperatures, which is not a reality all over the world. For example, there are no active volcanoes in Brazil.

According to the website The Conversationin addition to being expensive and not widely available, drilling into the ground to build the plants can cause small earthquakes. In other words, there are several challenges that make it difficult to use this energy, but it will certainly be one of the focuses of scientists in the coming years.

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Explosions occurred in Lebanon, this Tuesday (17), left at least nine people dead and around 2,800 injuredaccording to information from the local Health Ministry. The main suspicion is that pagers used by Hezbollah operatives were hacked and blown up in a coordinated attack, causing the incident, according to the Al Jazeera.

Quite popular in the 1980s and 1990s, Pagers are small communication devices that use radio signals to send and receive messages. Each device has a code that must be informed to the telephone exchange when transmitting the message.

Pager exploded

Despite having lost ground to cell phones, the device is still used. In the case of the armed group supported by Iran, its fighters began using the old device to replace smartphones as a way to avoid tracking by Israel, since they do not have a geolocation system.

According to Lebanese authorities, Hezbollah pagers were imported a few months ago and explosive charges of 10 g to 20 g were reportedly identified inside themin the middle of a fake electronic component. One of the injured reported that the device heated up moments before exploding.

Confusing story

After the pager explosions in Lebanon, one of the hypotheses being discussed is that the devices were the target of a cyber attack allegedly led by Israel to cause batteries to overheat and allow detonation.But according to the The Stackthe use of this method is unlikely, especially involving numerous devices.

For experts consulted by the publication, the possibility that the supply chain has been compromised is greater than the speculated cyberattack. In this case, the authors of the action would have accessed the pagers before sending them to users, even including explosives next to the battery of each one of them.

Accused of causing the incident, Israel has not responded to the accusations, so far. Lebanese government has urged all pager users in the country to discard their devices immediately.

An open letter signed by dozens of intellectuals from several countries was released this Tuesday (17) bringing criticism of large technology companies that try to override countries' digital sovereignty. They cite the Brazilian judiciary's dispute with Elon Musk, which resulted in the blocking of X, as an example of this type of action.

In the document, entitled “Against the Big Tech Attack on Digital Sovereignty”, the signatories show themselves concerned about the actions of these companies as if they were authorities. For the authors, this is the result of the lack of international agreements to regulate the functioning of the sector.

OX has been suspended in Brazil since the end of August.Source: Getty Images/Reproduction

“Brazil's dispute with Elon Musk is just the latest example of a broader effort to restrict the ability of sovereign nations to set a digital development agenda free from the control of US-based megacorporations”, says the public letter. The text also mentions that the suspension of the old Twitter was motivated by the failure to comply with court orders.

In another passage, the document mentions that attitudes like Musk's send a warning: “democratic countries that seek independence from the domination of big tech run the risk of suffering disruptions to their democracies.” The signatories also speak of the involvement of some of these companies with far-right parties and movements.

Support for Brazil

In addition to stating that technology giants act contrary to independent agendas defined by public authorities when this affects their interests, The letter asks the Brazilian government not to fail to implement its digital agenda. The authors also suggest that any pressure be reported.

Finally, intellectuals ask people to take an interest in defending “democratic values.” that support Brazil in its pursuit of digital sovereigntyrequesting that the United Nations (UN) follow up on the case. “This is a crucial moment for the world,” the signatories justified.

The list of people who signed the text is made up of Daron Acemoglu (professor do MIT), Shoshana Zuboff (philosopher and professor emeritus at Harvard Business School), Francesca Bria (Italian economist) and David Adler (American economist). French economists Julia Cagé, Gabriel Zucman e Thomas Piketty are also among the authors.

The document also had the participation of Brazilians Jose Grazianoformer director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and academics Marcos Dantas (UFRJ), Helena Martins (UFCE) and Sergio Amadeu da Silveira (UFACB), among others.

A few months after its arrival on the Brazilian market for display, the new Chevrolet Blazer EV begins to be sold on a pre-sale basis and in a single version for R$479.000 or through the GM Fleet subscription service, available to legal entities.

Launched worldwide in 2022, the Blazer EV is a new product that has no connection whatsoever with the old SUV of the same name that was sold in Brazil between the 1990s and 2000s. Its mission in the country is to be a technology showcase for Chevrolet's national range and, at the same time, try to be more successful than the Bolt EV hatchback and the Bolt EUV compact SUV.

Measuring 4.88m long, 1.98m wide, 1.65m high and with a 3.09m wheelbase, the Blazer EV is a large and imposing SUV. It will be offered in a single RS version, one step below the top-of-the-line SS in the United States, imported from Mexico with a rear engine of up to 347hp and 44.9kgfm; it goes from 0 to 100km/h in 5.8 seconds.

It is powered by a 102kWh battery, enough for a range of up to 481km according to PBEV/Inmetro. Its platform is the BEV3, from the Ultium family, dedicated to electric vehicles and present in models such as the Equinox EV, as well as the Cadillac Celestiq, Lyriq and Optiq. Abroad, the Blazer EV can also receive all-wheel drive.

The list of equipment includes Bose sound, panoramic sunroof, Head-Up Display, all-LED optical set, safety assistance such as blind spot monitoring, door opening alert, front and rear cross-traffic monitoring, electric trunk opening, among many others.

Those who pre-order the Blazer EV will have benefits such as: choosing between a portable or wallbox charger, 1 year of EZVolt recharge credit for up to 1,200kWh, 4 years of OnStar service, 3 years or 30,000 km of free inspections with the option of pick-up and drop-off service, 1 year of exemption from the Sem Parar tag monthly fee, among others.

The first deliveries are scheduled for next October and the GM Fleet subscription service has 12, 24 and 36-month plans. If the customer chooses to purchase the armoring (maximum level III-A) at an authorized dealership, the vehicle's original warranty will be maintained.

On Monday (16), TikTok and ByteDance tried to argue against the United States legislation that bans the platform from the country. The hearing took place between the lawyers of the platform and its owner and the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The meeting lasted about 2 hours, according to Reuters. At the hearing, TikTok's defense raised arguments against the new legislation and the impossibility of meeting all government demands.

TikTok and ByteDance attorney Andrew Pincus says the new law violates the U.S. Constitution on multiple levels, including the First Amendment. In this excerpt, it is established that Congress cannot implement laws that limit the freedom of expression of the population.

“The law before this court is unprecedented and its effects could be staggering,” Pincus said. “For the first time in history, Congress has expressly targeted a specific American speaker and banned his speech and the speech of 170 million Americans.”

Sanctioned by US President Joe Biden in April of this year, the new United States law determines that the ByteDance to sell platform to US company by January 2025. Otherwise, the platform may be suspended in the country.

TikTok's source code is huge

In contrast, US Department of Justice advocate Daniel Tenny, defended the congress' decisionmentioning that ByteDance's control poses a risk to national security. The Chinese company has access to a vast amount of personal data of Americans, and this would allow China to manipulate information through the app.

“It is a farce to suggest that with these two billion lines of code, 40 times more than the entire Windows operating system and changed 1,000 times a day, that we are somehow going to detect that they (China and ByteDance) have changed anything,” the lawyer said. “There is a lot going on in China outside of the control of the United States that puts our national security at great risk.”

In the view of one of the judges of the Court of Appeal, Neomi Rao, the estimated time to analyze TikTok code would be three yearsnot counting the updates. He mentions that ByteDance's defense seeks to place Congress as an agency of the executive branch, not one of the branches of government.

The imminent ban on TikTok has become an issue for US presidential candidates. Donald Trump, former president and now presidential candidate, has an active profile on the social network and supports the network's continued presence in the US.

Voxel is TecMundo's gaming channel with news about releases, reviews, market rumors, tips and promotions.

Meta announced on Monday (16) the banning accounts used by some media outlets associated with the Russian government from their platforms. The decision was justified by the use of deceptive strategies in covert online influence operations by these companies.

The sanctions come at an important moment in the US presidential race. In the 2016 and 2020 elections, Russian foreign influence was a major campaign issue.

Read also: Meta admits to using public posts since 2007 for AI training

Russian TV channel RT is on the ban list released by Meta.Source: Getty Images/Reproduction

One of the companies banned from using Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp is RT, old Russia TodayRussian state-funded TV network. The news agency Russia Today and some other state channels in the country were also included in the sanction confirmed by big tech.

“After careful consideration, we have expanded our ongoing enforcement against Russian state-owned media outlets. Russia Today, RT and other related entities now are banned from our apps globally for foreign interference activity”, said the company led by Mark Zuckerberg, in a statement.

The banning of Russian state media companies from Meta's social networks should come into effect in the next few days. As a result, they are prevented from posting, interacting with followers and using other resources available on the platforms while the ban lasts.

Russia reacts to ban

The relationship between Meta and the Russian government, which is not good, is likely to get even worse with the ban. Previously, the tech giant had already applied other sanctions to media managed by the country's administrationsuch as reducing the reach of posts and prohibiting the publication of advertisements.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday (17), Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented that the measure makes the possibility of improving the relationship with the company more distant. “Meta is discrediting itself with these actions. Such selective actions against Russian media are unacceptable,” he commented, as reported by Reuters.

As a way of opposing changes in policies to combat hate speech on social media, Russia blocked Instagram and Facebook in 2022, after calling the companies “extremist”. The country also went as far as to apply fines to Meta for failing to remove content deemed illegal by Moscow.

Instagram has announced the arrival of “Teen Accounts” on the platform. The category applies to users under the age of 16 and, similar to TikTok, applies automatic protections to provide a better experience on the network.

The new feature was introduced by the head of the social network, Adam Mosseri, and detailed in an official Meta publication. Basically, the “Teen Accounts” category aims to provide more peace of mind and support to parents regarding their children's routine on social media.

By default, all Instagram users under the age of 16 will be classified as “Teen Accounts”. Within this category, settings and restrictions can only be changed with the authorization of the responsible adult.

“The new Teen Account protections are designed to address some of the most common concerns parents have, including who their teens are chatting with online, what content they’re viewing, and whether their time on the app is being used wisely,” Meta says. Special settings include:

• Accounts are private by default;
• Only mutual followers can send messages;
• The most restrictive setting for sensitive content control is applied;
• Teen accounts can only be tagged or mentioned by followers;
• Time limit reminder is activatedinforming you to close the app after 60 minutes a day;
• Sleep mode is activated between 10pm and 7am.

This isn’t the first time Instagram has implemented specific settings for younger users — though it’s the most robust yet. In January of this year, for example, the platform introduced a rest warning for teenagers who use the app at night.

More supervision options

On the side of the responsible adult, Important new features for parental control have also been added. New features include:

• O guardian can see who the teenager is talking tobut does not have access to the conversation;
• It is possible to set a daily time limit for the use of Instagram, being able to increase or decrease the default limit;
• It is possible to block teenagers from accessing Instagram during specific periods;
• Instagram shows you the topics your teen has chosen to view based on their interests.

All new features will be added to the “Supervisory Feature” package.

New feature is released for everyone

As New Teen Accounts go live this Tuesday (17)According to Instagram, children under 16 who already use Instagram will receive a notification about the changes in settings and will have the restrictions applied next week.

Meta plans to roll out the new status to all teens within 60 days, starting in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. The rest of the world will begin receiving the new status in January.