Fortunately, a decent chunk of California is on the coast, meaning one solution to the drought is utilizing desalination technologies to turn seawater into fresh water. However, large desalination plants take years to become operational and are expensive to operate (nearly $3,000 per acre-foot of seawater). Additionally, many places experiencing drought in the West, such as Arizona and New Mexico, are not on the coast. But desalination isn’t just an option for freshening up seawater, says Brent Haddad, a professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz....

National Geographic announced this week, on World Oceans Day (June 8), that the Southern Ocean will be joining the ranks of official oceandom. The organization will be updating its maps and resources accordingly. The newly dubbed Southern Ocean encircles Antarctica, extending from the coast up until 60 degrees south line of latitude. This decision is hardly out of the blue. The Washington Post reported that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recognized the Southern Ocean as early as 1999, when the US Board on Geographic Names approved the name “Southern Ocean....

Ford is one of the many automakers that realized that an electric car is essentially a giant power bank on wheels. Most recently, it officially announced that its battery-powered F-150s will even be able to share its stored charge with other vehicles in Ford’s EV lineup—and beyond—that need a little boost to get to the next charging station. It should come at no surprise that Ford had some rather utilitarian tricks up its sleeve for the all-electric 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning and its hybrid cousin....

Right now, you can choose from two refurbished iPads at discounted rates as a part of our Refurbished Event, which is running through 9/30. The refurbished iPad Pro 9.7″ 32GB and iPad Pro 9.7″ 128GB, both in space gray, are available for over 50 percent off of their regular prices. Equipped with 9.7 inch Retina display, you can view all of your content in stunning deal with the refurbished iPad Pro 32 GB and refurbished iPad Pro 128GB....

The cool thing about this enigma is that only two possible answers can fill each blank: zero and one—and each grid has a sole solution. But only two consecutive zeros or ones can sit next to or below each other, and each row and column must have the same number of zeros and ones. No row or column can be the same. Can you crack it? To view a large version of the puzzles: Click Here To view the answers to the puzzles: Click Here...

Lidar sensors emit pulses of laser light into the surrounding environment. When these light waves bounce off of objects and come back to the sensor, they provide information on how far away the object is. This type of 3D imaging is useful for directing machines like drones, robots, or autonomous vehicles. But Lidar devices are big, bulky and expensive, not to mention that they need to be built from scratch and customized for each type of application....

Ehang burst onto the international scene at CES in Las Vegas in 2016, promising a dream of personal robotic transportation by drone. Now it looks like it’s made good on its promise, with more tests to follow in Dubai and Las Vegas. Importantly, the 1,000-plus flights have involved a broad range of conditions, including traveling in inclement conditions. With eight electrically-powered rotors, the Ehang 184 can fly for 10 miles at speeds of up to 80 mph or more—a handy way to hypothetically beat the traffic to airports in places like New York, Las Vegas, and Shanghai....

1. Coffee cup Java will stay hot for up to six hours inside the 12-ounce Hydro Flask coffee mug. A vacuum-​­sealed chamber between double stainless-steel sides insulates your beverage throughout endless meetings. 2. Lunchbox Throw the PackIt commuter lunch bag in the icebox overnight to turn the 10-by-9-inch sack into a food igloo. Freezable gel in its walls will keep your grub at a safe temp for up to six hours (in our experience)....

You may have heard about “hygge,” which has been the subject of countless books, articles and commercials. Often mistranslated to mean “cozy,” it really describes the process of creating intimacy. But another word “pyt”—which sort of sounds like “pid”—was recently voted the most popular word by Danes, beating out “dvæle” (to linger) and “krænkelsesparat” (ready to take offense). Pyt doesn’t have an exact English translation. It’s more a cultural concept about cultivating healthy thoughts to deal with stress....

Every year, your office must probably be inundated with customized mugs, fuzzy socks, and pen holders. While there’s nothing wrong with gifting your cubicle mate another World’s Best Teammate mug, you may want to step up your game this year and catapult yourself to best colleague status. Instead of going with the usual presents, get them something that would improve their everyday workflow, like the Edge Full Kit, which just so happens to be on sale for 13 percent off for a limited time....

Le Creuset is a celebrated classic for a reason—if aesthetics are important to you, there are few brands so attractive as this one. The signature sumptuous colors are sure to brighten up any kitchen, but that doesn’t mean giving up quality. Unlike other cast irons, the black enamel interior of this pan requires no additional seasoning. If you want the benefits of a cast iron without the laborious cleaning, this pan is also dishwasher safe....

This year’s concept is called reCharge and it envisions a complete wheel system that dynamically creates its own tread using material dispersed from replaceable liquid cartridges. The foundation of the wheel itself wouldn’t change—it’s a permanent, airless space supported by a series of internal metal structures. The actual compound that hits the road would protrude through holes in the tire’s surface. In practice, it looks a lot like Play-Doh coming through an extruder in a uniform pattern....

But as conservation biologist Jodi Rowley points out on Twitter, the toads are doing more than just riding the python. They are riding the python. As in, mounting the python. In a sexual way. This overeagerness to hump isn’t out of the ordinary when it comes to cane toad behavior. The invasive amphibians tend to be quite, ahem, thirsty—Rowley even Tweeted a photo of one toad trying to mate with a mango....

Take Hurricane Florence, for instance. The storm’s intense downpour triggered the spill of coal ash, the arsenic-laced substance that remains after burning coal, from a coal-fired power plant in North Carolina. Hurricane Harvey’s torrential waters also quickly turned toxic with industrial chemicals, including dioxin—a chemical linked to cancer and reproductive issues—released from a heavily contaminated, abandoned paper mill along the San Jacinto River in Texas. Hurricane Sandy’s vicious waters caused Newtown Creek, one of the most polluted waterways in the country, to overflow into the surrounding Queens and Brooklyn communities....

Triumph is using a version of that Moto2 engine to power its Daytona Moto2 765 Limited Edition bike, an impressive near-race bike which will be available in limited quantities of only 765 motorcycles for North American buyers (with another 765 for the rest of the world). According to the company, it’s the closest thing you can get to an actual race bike for the road. The carbon fiber bodywork wraps a machine that is lighter than the previous-generation Daytona, though official curb weight is not yet available....

The Army’s anti-mine laser will go on top of MRAPs, or Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles. The Army invested heavily in MRAPS during the Iraq war, where they protected patrolling soldiers and Marines from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted along the road. IEDs function similarly to the industrial mass-produced landmines of wars past, but are generally made by insurgents and, as the name suggests, cobbled together from whatever materials are available....

Here’s a list of our favorite pans currently available. This classic frying pan from Calphalon makes a great all-around workhorse for your kitchen with its generous circumference and depth. The included tempered glass lid fits great if you’re looking for a speedy simmer, and the pan is even oven safe up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit so you can fry and bake without dirtying another pan or bothering with a transfer....

The researchers tested eight commercially available repellants, two fragrances, and a vitamin B patch that reportedly keeps the mosquitoes at bay, on two different species of disease-carrying mosquitoes. To test the efficacy of each, the researchers put a mosquito at the long end of a Y-shaped plastic tube. One of the researchers who is particularly attractive to mosquitoes placed her two hands at the ends of both forked tubes—one hand was untreated, the other treated with the chemical being tested....

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) published findings Monday from its study on this form of payment, which the agency defines as any “digital representation of value.” Typically, virtual currencies are not tied to government-issued currencies or distributed by banks but can sometimes be converted into legal currencies through exchanges or be used at select retailers like Microsoft, Overstock, and AT&T. Since this type of currency can offer users anonymity and can be easily transmitted internationally, it’s attractive for people looking to participate in illicit activities, Gretta Goodwin, a GAO director who worked on the study, explained on the agency’s “Watchdog Report” podcast....