140,000 electric Mini Coopers recalled over major fire risk
140,000 electric Mini Coopers recalled over major fire risk By Paul Homewood h/t Graham Worthington Whoops!! From The Driven More than 1400 luxury electric vehicles are being recalled in Australia amid warnings their batteries could short circuit and catch fire while being driven. The federal transport department issued the recall on Tuesday for Mini […]
Hotels in China start to ban EVs and electric scooters from underground parking lots
Hotels in China start to ban EVs and electric scooters from underground parking lots By Jo Nova We know it’s coming. One day, sometime there will be a skyscraper inferno started by an EV or a scooter and made so much worse because there were other EV’s in the basement carpark. At the moment companies […]
Ford Files Patent to Spy on Drivers: ‘Ford wants to listen to your in-car conversations’
Damion Smy of Drive.com: Ford has filed a patent to eavesdrop on vehicle occupants and play adverts over its infotainment system based on those conversations. Only months after the US launched an investigation into whether Chinese-made cars were being used to spy on its citizens, Michigan-based Ford filed the patent designed to collect voice and data from the vehicle to create targeted advertising within the car.
According to US outlet Motor Trend, the system could also use information such as the destinations in the vehicle’s navigation system to create advertising for, say, an outlet at the shopping centre you’re travelling to – or have frequented.
The US car giant has patented tech enabling it to listen in on your conversations – and play you adverts based on what you and your passengers have said.
#
Martin Armstrong: In September 2024, Ford filed a new patent to eavesdrop on riders. They plan to share this information with third-parties to personalize the advertisements riders hear. Ford will also take the driver’s destination into consideration to determine location-specific advertisements and suggestions.
“Cars have microphones and people have all kinds of sensitive conversations in them. Cars have cameras that face inward and outward,” a researcher with Mozilla Foundation told the Los Angeles Times. In fact, 19 automakers in 2023 admitted that they have the ability to sell your personal data without notice. Law enforcement may subpoena these records as well.
Ford claims that the patent was submitted, but they do not necessarily plan to use the technology. “Submitting patent applications is a normal part of any strong business as the process protects new ideas and helps us build a robust portfolio of intellectual property. The ideas described within a patent application should not be viewed as an indication of our business or product plans.
Lomborg: Shrinking island, vanishing polar bears — the climate scare stories that turn out to be false
https://nypost.com/2024/09/15/opinion/shrinking-island-vanishing-polar-bears-the-climate-scare-stories-that-turn-out-to-be-false/ By Bjorn Lomborg Excerpt: Looking back on more than 20 years of climate agitation, two themes emerge: a stubborn unwillingness by campaigners to acknowledge any inconvenient science, and ever-shifting favorite stories, first elevated and then dropped by the wayside. The one constant: a fixation on scaring the public, which has in turn shaped bad […]
Show me the GREEN! Enviro execs suck down annual salaries of $1.2 million, $922k, $758k & $705k – Leaders of World Wildlife Fund, Enviro Defense Fund & Nature Conservancy are among best paid
E&E: – By Robin Bravender: “Working for an environmental nonprofit can be lucrative — especially if you’re the boss.
Many of the leaders of major environmental and conservation groups take home annual compensation packages in the high six figures, according to tax documents nonprofits are required to release publicly.”
Carter Roberts, president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund: Roberts’ total reported compensation that year was $1,204,775.
Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund – Krupp’s total compensation that year was $922,022.
Jennifer Morris, CEO of the Nature Conservancy – Her total compensation that year was $758,013.
Elizabeth Gray, CEO, National Audubon Society – Her total compensation was $705,458
Mitchell Bernard, interim president, Natural Resources Defense Council – His total compensation that year was $705,195
Janis Searles Jones, CEO, Ocean Conservancy – Her total compensation that year was $692,836.
Stay in the Know
Sign up to get updates.