Many people don’t know the extent to which pollution is currently affecting our environment and will continue to in the future. There is currently a mass of garbage in the middle of the pacific ocean the size of Texas. In Hong Kong, there is a layer of fog over the city because of how much pollution there is. If we don’t act soon, there will be extreme consequences. For example, the amount of marine animals will decrease, and most marine animals will have some type of plastic in them. In addition, air pollution can cause many breathing problems and diseases.

Technologies are being invented to try and decrease the amount of ocean and air pollution produced each year. The Ocean Clean Up  Project which was founded by Boyan Slat. This involves huge machines being placed in the middle of the ocean and they have a conveyor belt which picks up ocean plastic pollution. Thus plastic is then stored and later collected to be recycled.

In addition, the invention of autonomous cars will help lower start and go traffic which creates more pollution. Many scientists predict that autonomous cars will improve efficiency by anywhere from 15 to 40%. This will help decrease the amount of air pollution.

Air purification devices are also  being invented. Recently, a Dutch design company designed a smug free tower. This tower will suck in polluted air and send out clean, purified air. One tower is capable of cleaning 3.5 cubic meters of air per day. This could have huge impact on air pollution.

Overall, these new technological advancements will help promote a cleaner earth. I cant wait to see what else is invented in the future.

ttps://policyexchange.org.uk/6-new-technologies-which-could-improve-urban-air-quality/

https://www.theoceancleanup.com/

November 3rd 2017, Apple released the iPhone X to the public. The iPhone X has a lot of new features we have never seen before. Some of these new features include; a larger touch screen with retina display, a more durable glass, stainless steel, wireless charging, and water and dust resistance. In addition, the iPhone X has a facial recognition feature, which may be life changing. Currently our phones are able to hold our fingerprints, our credit cards, and our medical information. Personally, I think this is enough, but now Apple is moving onto storing our facial data.

Facial recognition technology allows a person to point a mobile camera at another person and automatically pull up their information which is accessible over the internet. Yes, this information is publicly available, however people do not realize how much information this actually includes. Facial recognition can possibly be very dangerous from a privacy standpoint. It will allow for widespread tracking across the world. Meaning that the government and other institutions will be able to know when and where we are somewhere at all times. I think this is pretty creepy.

Aside from the negatives relating to privacy, facial recognition can have some positive effects. Facial recognition would be able to protect against identity theft and fraud. If all devices eventually have facial recognition as part of its operating systems, ATM machines and computers will be able to tell if the wrong person is trying to access an account. Therefore, the systems will be able to alert the person and the bank/company, that the wrong person is trying to access the account.

Overall, I feel that facial recognition is pretty creepy. However, it does have the capabilities of being beneficial for society. I’m excited to see where this new technology takes us in the future.

Sources:

1. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4766568/Facial-recognition-strike-right-privacy.html
2. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/25/blippar-ai-facial-recognition-tool-may-destroy-your-privacy.html

Have you ever wondered if answering late night text messages, gaming at night, or watching a show could affect the quality of that nights sleep? Well, it can! Research shows that using some type of device before bed is directly linked to our health. Meaning that using a device before bed can make it harder to fall asleep or even decrease the quality of that nights sleep. After reading this post, I hope you will be able to recognize if this problem relates to you, and how you can prevent it.

So, what exactly is the problem behind devices? One problem is the blue light. Blue light is known for helping us stay awake throughout the day. Actually, some factories are lit with blue lights to try and keep workers awake during late shifts. In addition, the blue light suppresses melatonin. Melatonin is a key hormone that controls sleep cycles. So, the lack of melatonin makes it harder to fall asleep.

The second problem being that when we are on our devices, we are usually doing something that intrigues us. This is another factor that keeps us awake. It causes your brain to start thinking it needs to stay awake.

Unfortunately, this problem impacts teens the most. This is because we happen to use our phones the most because we always want to be informed and up to date. But, what most people don’t realize is that teens actually need more sleep than adults. Teens also go through a lot of brain changes which could effect their sleep, and device use just adds to it. Dr. Chris Seton says, “The screens not only take away sleep because they take up time, but they make kids more wakeful”. In fact, between the years 2010 to 2016 there has been a major increase in the amount of complaints about deficient sleep for 18-24 year olds. Meaning, this problem is just getting worse.

Now you may be thinking; what can I do to prevent this from happening to me?? A lot actually! One thing you can do is dim the light on your screen. Another thing is to try and put your phone away 30 minutes before going to bed so your brain has time to relax. Some people actually found a way to “red shift” their phone between the hours 9pm- 7am. This means that your iPhone doesn’t use a blue light between those hours.

I never knew how much our devices affected our sleep. In fact, I’ve been struggling to fall asleep lately and I think my phone could be the problem. I will definitely be changing my habits in the future. I hope this post can help do the same!

Johnson, Cathy. “How Technology Use Messes with Your Sleep and What You Can Do about It.” ABC Health News, 20 Oct. 2016, www.abc.net.au/news/health/2016-10-21/how-technology-use-messes-with-your-sleep/7950336.

Ware, Arista. “How Technology Impacts Sleep Quality.” Sleep.Org, Sleep.Org, 13 Nov. 2014, sleep.org/articles/ways-technology-affects-sleep/.

“Trend Hunter.” Trend Hunter, www.trendhunter.com/trends/technology-affects-sleep.