WEBVTT - Tech News: The Sun is Angry 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.800 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:14.040 Hey there, and welcome to tech stuff. I'm your host 0:00:14.160 --> 0:00:17.080 job in Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:19.279 And how the tech are you. It's time for the 0:00:19.320 --> 0:00:23.920 tech news for Tuesday, August two, two thousand twenty two. Now, 0:00:23.960 --> 0:00:26.880 if you haven't seen reports already, you are likely to 0:00:26.880 --> 0:00:30.120 come across a headline or a news snippet saying something 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:32.159 along the lines of a solar storm is going to 0:00:32.240 --> 0:00:35.400 hit the Earth tomorrow. In case you're listening from the future, 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:39.800 tomorrow would be Wednesday, August three, twenty two. And if 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:41.800 you are from the future, how did it turn out? 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:44.880 Are the zombies as bad as we heard? I'm kidding. 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:49.199 So this news could sound a bit concerning, So I 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:52.240 am here to tell you what this actually means. And 0:00:52.640 --> 0:00:54.960 right at the top, there is no need to worry. 0:00:55.040 --> 0:00:59.280 There's no cause for panic here. This is a mild 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:04.720 solar storm, g one solar storm, and it's quite probable 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:07.039 that tomorrow will come and go and most of you 0:01:07.120 --> 0:01:10.880 won't even notice anything unusual. However, solar storms do have 0:01:10.959 --> 0:01:14.320 the potential to cause some disruption here on Earth. So 0:01:14.480 --> 0:01:18.080 here's what's going on. The Earth has a strong magnetic field, 0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:20.479 and that's great because it helps protect us from being 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:24.679 bombarded by stuff like solar debris, such as what is 0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:28.039 recently erupted from the Sun. These particles can carry a 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:29.959 lot of energy. They could be harmful if they were 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:33.600 to collide with us here on Earth. In fact, life 0:01:33.680 --> 0:01:36.360 would not really be possible if it weren't for the 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:38.880 fact that we had this magnetic field that helps protect us. 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:42.319 The magnetic field and the and the atmosphere together are 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:45.440 like a force field for us here on Earth. Well, 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:50.200 when the debris makes contact with Earth's magnetic field, that 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:53.640 field ends up contracting a little bit. It gets you know, constricted, 0:01:53.720 --> 0:01:57.560 It absorbs energy, and the result is we get geo 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:01.320 magnetic storms. Now, those can actually be gorgeous, They can 0:02:01.320 --> 0:02:06.120 be spectacular if they're strong enough. Fluctuations on Earth's magnetic 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:10.720 field are sometimes visible. That's what the Aurora borealis is, right, 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:14.240 the aurora at the polls. That's from these fluctuations of 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:17.600 the magnetic fields, so the northern and southern lights. In 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:21.880 other words, well, during a very powerful geomagnetic storm, those 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:27.560 aurora can sometimes be visible much further away from the source. 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:31.480 Than is typically possible. Like normally, for the Northern Lights, 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:33.720 for example, you have to be pretty far north to 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:38.920 see them, but in times of real geomagnetic storm activity, 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:41.160 it might be possible to see them as far south 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:47.360 as the Caribbean, which is unbelievable. So in places like Atlanta, Georgia, 0:02:47.360 --> 0:02:51.720 where I am, you know that's it's it's almost unheard 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:53.800 of to be able to see the Northern Lights. Now, 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:56.760 to be clear, that kind of activity is not going 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:59.480 to happen tomorrow. Again, this is a mild solar storm. 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:02.040 People in places like Michigan and Maine might be able 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:05.640 to see the Northern Lights, but folks as far south 0:03:05.680 --> 0:03:08.399 as I am are not going to see it. These 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:12.760 storms are electromagnetic in nature, so you get these electromagnetic 0:03:12.840 --> 0:03:18.720 surges and as a result, they can interfere with larger 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:23.920 electronic systems and devices, um stuff like power grids. You 0:03:23.960 --> 0:03:27.760 can see surges and power grids because these are enormous systems, right, 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:30.400 so you can almost think of them as a huge 0:03:30.440 --> 0:03:34.960 antenna for electro magnetic surges and that can then be 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:38.800 detected within those systems. Generally speaking, the larger the system, 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:41.520 the more prone it is to at least being affected 0:03:41.560 --> 0:03:45.160 a little bit by solar storms. Now, are really powerful 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:50.240 electromagnetic surge is something from a massive solar eruption or 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:55.040 maybe something you know, more terrestrial in in nature, like 0:03:55.120 --> 0:04:00.400 a blast from a nuclear warhead for example. That would 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:04.480 be powerful enough to affect things like personal electronics. But again, 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:07.480 that's not what's happening tomorrow. The solar storm will see 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:10.760 tomorrow will be very mild in nature, so there might 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:13.240 be some power surges here and there, but it's not 0:04:13.280 --> 0:04:15.600 going to be anything massive at least that's not what 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:21.240 anyone's predicting. So, uh, chances are most people are going 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:23.800 to go through the day tomorrow and not even notice 0:04:23.800 --> 0:04:28.279 that there was anything weird happening. We are entering into 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:32.120 an era of increased solar activity. This is not unusual. 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:36.080 This happens in cycles. The full cycle lasts eleven years, 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:39.480 and we're coming back round to the part of the 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:43.080 cycle where there's increased solar activity. Now, could this mean 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:47.040 that in the future there is a solar flare coronal 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:51.880 mass ejection that's large enough to have a noticeable effect 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:56.000 on systems here on Earth. Yes, that is possible. Way 0:04:56.040 --> 0:04:58.599 back in the nineteenth century, I believe it was eighteen 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:01.880 fifty nine there was a solar storm that was so 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:07.400 powerful that it ended up causing surges in telegraph lines 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:10.919 here on Earth and caused issues. Then that is not 0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:13.279 what we're gonna see tomorrow. Doesn't mean that we won't 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:15.560 see it in the future. It's another reminder that we 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:19.600 have to be very careful in how we prepare and 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:24.760 design our systems so that they can handle these kinds 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:28.919 of surges. As it stands, power grids on Earth typically 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:35.400 aren't built to survive massive spikes like that. We would 0:05:35.400 --> 0:05:39.400 likely see outages in a in a truly large solar storm, 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:42.279 So we can really think of this more as a warning, 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:47.680 but not anything to be alarmed about for the time being. Okay, 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:51.840 let's go for another Elon Musk Twitter update. So when 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:55.000 last we met, Twitter had sued Musk for trying to 0:05:55.000 --> 0:05:58.440 back out of his acquisition deal for the company, and 0:05:58.560 --> 0:06:01.040 a judge has now schedule a day five day court 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:03.920 case that's going to take place in October, and Twitter 0:06:04.000 --> 0:06:07.400 still has to hold a shareholder vote to get shareholder 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:12.240 approval for Musk purchasing the company. That vote will happen 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:14.920 later this year. Now, I suspect that the shareholders are 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:18.080 going to approve of the acquisition because Musk agreed to 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:20.839 buy Twitter at fifty four dollars and twenty since per share, 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:23.839 and right now Twitter stock is currently trading, you know, 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:27.839 somewhere around the forty one mark, so shareholders would stand 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:30.200 to make a good amount of money if they sold 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:33.719 their shares to Elon Musk. But the latest update is 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:39.239 that last Friday, Musk filed a counter suit against Twitter, 0:06:39.400 --> 0:06:42.880 so he has countersued Twitter. Now we know that the 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:46.159 filing is more than a hundred sixty pages long, but 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:49.080 we don't know what's in it. It was privately filed. 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:52.479 Only the court knows what's in it. Up to this point, 0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:56.120 the analysts whose work I've been reading about this haven't 0:06:56.120 --> 0:06:59.479 been terribly impressed with the arguments made by Musk's team 0:06:59.520 --> 0:07:02.159 of lawyers as to why he should be allowed to 0:07:02.200 --> 0:07:05.279 back out of the deal without any issue. But then 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:09.320 it may be that the countersuit contains more compelling arguments. 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:12.040 I just don't know. Now. We might get a redacted 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:15.040 version of the countersuit before too long, and then we'll 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:17.920 learn a bit more. I still don't know how this 0:07:18.000 --> 0:07:20.200 whole thing is gonna go. So my gut tells me 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:22.880 the musk is kind of up the creek due to 0:07:22.920 --> 0:07:27.160 the nature of that initial agreement to acquire Twitter, But 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:31.280 I am no legal expert, and anyway, sometimes court cases 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:36.320 defy logic, or at least what I call logic. Fast 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:39.360 Company has a report on how the tech sector continues 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:43.240 to cut back on costs, which includes stuff like hiring 0:07:43.320 --> 0:07:47.840 freezes and layoffs. So the Fast Company says that Oracle 0:07:48.480 --> 0:07:51.920 reports are saying that thousands of employees will be laid 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:54.080 off in the coming months in places like the United 0:07:54.120 --> 0:07:58.880 States and Canada, India, and Europe. Shopify laid off around 0:07:58.880 --> 0:08:03.120 ten percent of its work force last month. Lift has 0:08:03.160 --> 0:08:07.400 reorganized its business and in the process eliminated sixty jobs 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:11.040 in its rental division. Netflix, which is a company that's 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:12.920 been in and out of the news a lot this 0:08:13.000 --> 0:08:16.880 year due to issues with subscriber loss, has laid off 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:19.320 around three hundred employees this year so far, and has 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:22.120 also canceled a bunch of projects that I was personally 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:24.680 looking forward to. So sad that the world is not 0:08:24.800 --> 0:08:29.120 going to get an animated movie version of Bone phenomenal 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:32.640 uh comic book series. You can get the full collection 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:35.680 and I highly recommend it, and it is sad that 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:37.880 we're not going to get the animated version of it. 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:41.000 Fast Company also notes that coin Base, which is a 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:44.640 cryptocurrency exchange, is going to lay off nearly twenty percent 0:08:44.760 --> 0:08:48.480 of its workforce, and while it wasn't part of Fast 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:52.360 Company's report, we've also heard about companies like Microsoft and 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:57.000 Meta and Apple putting hiring freezes in place for certain departments. 0:08:57.360 --> 0:09:00.800 We've also heard Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicating that the 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:03.560 company is going to reduce headcount and try to do 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:06.880 more with less, saying things like they're probably people working 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:12.040 here who shouldn't be working here. Fun times. Well, we've 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:14.320 also got a few Apple related news I ams to 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:16.640 talk about that I am eager to get to. We're 0:09:16.640 --> 0:09:18.960 gonna take a quick break when we come back. I'm 0:09:18.960 --> 0:09:29.439 going to talk about these Apple stories. We're back. So 0:09:29.559 --> 0:09:33.960 Apple story number one, it's that Apple has sent out 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:36.520 an email to all employees saying that the company is 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:40.920 lifting its mask mandate for employees at quote most locations 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:43.120 end quote. In fact, I'm going to expand on that. 0:09:43.200 --> 0:09:47.000 Apple employees received an internal email that had one part 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:51.040 of it saying quote in light of current circumstances, wearing 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:54.640 a face mask will no longer be required in most locations. 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:59.880 End quote. Now I'm curious what those current circumstances are 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:04.000 because we're kind of in another COVID nineteen surge, and 0:10:04.040 --> 0:10:07.120 then there's an increased concern for other diseases, like you know, 0:10:07.320 --> 0:10:10.760 monkey pocks is a growing concern. And now I should 0:10:10.800 --> 0:10:13.760 still add that doctors are still working out to what 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:16.760 extent monkey pocks could transmit from person to person through 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:21.920 you know, respiratory excretions. Uh, there's there's not a full 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:25.960 understanding of that. There's some evidence to suggest that it 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:28.920 can happen, but we don't know to what extent. However, 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:32.040 I would think that would be enough to raise concerns 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:35.880 in certain areas like you know, California, for example, and 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:39.040 suggest that maybe masks would be a good idea. So 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:42.880 I don't I don't understand. In fact, over in San Francisco, 0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:45.720 which is not too far from where Apple headquarters is, 0:10:46.040 --> 0:10:48.960 I mean it's not like super close, but it's not 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:52.480 super far either, BART, which is also known as the 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:57.400 Bay Area Rapid Transit System, has reinstated it's mask mandate. 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:02.880 So weird that Apple would remove its mask mandate just 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:06.600 as you down the road, Bart is putting it back 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:08.960 in place. I guess it just feels like odd timing 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:11.520 to me. I am not sure what is going on 0:11:11.640 --> 0:11:14.320 here now. I will say that Apple's email reiterated that 0:11:14.360 --> 0:11:17.320 if employees feel more comfortable wearing a mask, they should 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:20.840 do so. Uh, and that the company wants all employees 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:23.680 to respect each other's decisions about whether or not to 0:11:23.760 --> 0:11:28.720 wear a mask. Um. Again, just odd timing. I don't 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:34.439 know what prompted that, but there you go. Next up, 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:38.280 Apple reported a decline and its profits last week. The 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:41.400 company's profits were down by more than ten percent compared 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:46.560 to the end of the second quarter of last year. Revenue, however, 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:49.720 is up. The company is growing at a slower pace 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:51.920 than it was last year, so it's still growing, just 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:56.000 not growing as quickly. Uh. Insert rant from Jonathan here 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:59.240 about how using growth as a prime metric for business 0:11:59.880 --> 0:12:03.400 is ultimately destructive. I'm sparing all of you all that 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:07.200 this time. Just imagine that I'm ranting about it now. Anyway, 0:12:07.240 --> 0:12:10.199 Despite the fact that Q two of two thousand twenty 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:12.640 two didn't perform as well as Q two of two 0:12:12.640 --> 0:12:17.400 thousand twenty one, Apple still beat expectations, and so it 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:20.440 saw its stock price increase as a result. The company 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:24.360 also reported that Apple's services division saw twelve growth. Now 0:12:24.920 --> 0:12:27.960 that's something that I would be a little bit concerned about, 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:32.080 given what's going on with Apple in the world right now. 0:12:32.120 --> 0:12:35.160 So Tim Cook has been guiding Apple into becoming more 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:39.400 of a services company for years. That's that's been the path, 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:42.319 the trajectory that Apple has been on for quite some 0:12:42.360 --> 0:12:46.240 time now. But we're seeing more regulatory agencies around the 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:50.440 world pushing back against Apple's processes. At the heart of 0:12:50.440 --> 0:12:52.360 the matter for most of these is whether or not 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:57.520 Apple's approach is ultimately anti competitive, namely that the company 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:00.480 requires all in app purchases to use Apple his own 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:05.360 payment processing system, which automatically gives Apple a fifteen to 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:09.880 cut of each in app transaction. Uh, it gets a 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:12.319 little more tricky than that, but that's the general gist 0:13:12.360 --> 0:13:15.480 of it. So if we see Apple lose ground on 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:19.200 that matter, that would have a potentially massive impact on 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:23.000 an increasingly important revenue source for the company, and it 0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:27.040 could force Apple to have to pivot again. But it's 0:13:27.120 --> 0:13:29.800 early days and I expect we're gonna see Apple perform well, 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:32.040 at least in the short term. It's just the question 0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:35.520 of when is the other shoe going to drop? And 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:39.599 now for some weird Apple news, the company has requested 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:42.480 emergency relief from a U S court over how it 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:47.560 cannot sell five G iPhones and iPads in Colombia. And 0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:51.160 you might say, Colombia is not in the United States. 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:53.800 That's a different country entirely. What is going on? All right, 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:57.760 let's sort all this out. So Apple's five g iOS 0:13:57.840 --> 0:14:03.720 products rely on ed technology that's out from Ericsson. So 0:14:03.960 --> 0:14:07.320 Ericsson holds the patent on these technologies. Apple does not 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:10.520 dispute this. This is something that all parties agree upon. 0:14:10.679 --> 0:14:14.120 And until recently, Apple was paying a licensing fee to 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:17.880 Ericsson to make use of that technology. So far, so good. 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:20.920 But then Apple decided, Yo, this is expensive and I'm 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:24.280 not gonna pay it anymore, and so Apple stopped paying Ericson. 0:14:24.800 --> 0:14:28.560 So Ericsson started reaching out to various markets, with Columbia 0:14:28.640 --> 0:14:31.840 being a very earlier one, and and said, hey, Apple 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:36.040 is illegally selling these products. They are violating our patents, 0:14:36.160 --> 0:14:39.840 so do not sell five G products in your stores. Really, 0:14:40.440 --> 0:14:44.080 Ericson said this to Colombian courts, and the courts in 0:14:44.120 --> 0:14:47.640 Columbia ordered stores there not to sell these five G 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:52.080 Apple products. So then Apple goes in files an emergency 0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:56.120 motion in the Eastern District of Texas, arguing that Ericsson 0:14:56.240 --> 0:15:01.240 owes Apple damages for disrupting its operations and Colombia. Now 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:05.800 the judges said, you're on your cotton picken minds. One, Apple, 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:08.400 you're in the wrong here by refusing to sit down 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:12.280 with Ericson and negotiate a licensing fee to Ericson is 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:16.160 within its rights to defend its patents. Three, this is 0:15:16.400 --> 0:15:19.560 not an emergency situation. And if you do this again, 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:21.480 I'm gonna make you go out there and get me 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:26.920 a switch. I am paraphrasing, I should add anyway, Now 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:30.600 Apple's filing another emergency motion, so it might be a 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:33.280 switch time. Uh, And I'm sure that's gonna get a 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:36.800 fun response from the courts. And the argument is that 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:41.359 Apple's making is get this, It's human rights are being violated, 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:44.600 as an Apple's human rights are being violated. So Apple, 0:15:44.760 --> 0:15:50.080 or maybe It's arguing its products have had human rights 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:53.840 that have been violated by this action by Ericsson. Now 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:58.080 you might be saying, but that none of those things 0:15:58.080 --> 0:16:01.600 that you talked about are actually human You are right now. 0:16:01.760 --> 0:16:04.880 You could potentially argue that corporations in the United States 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:09.040 are granted a legal form of personhood, but that doesn't 0:16:09.080 --> 0:16:12.920 necessarily extend human rights to them. Plus, experts are arguing 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:15.200 that even if it did, there are no human rights 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:19.280 violations happening here anyway. So we'll have to see how 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:21.720 this plays out. It might just be that Apples trying 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:23.840 to wait out Ericson and hope that the loss of 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:26.840 revenue will be enough to make Ericson go belly up 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:28.760 and they won't have to pay anything anymore because no 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:32.600 one will be around to own those I p um. 0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:36.160 I don't know. It's just bizarre. It's this is one 0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:38.520 of those stories where as I read it, I was thinking, 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:42.440 am I awake or is this a fever dream? Uh? 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:46.720 Turns out I was awake. Amazon released its sustainability report 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:50.160 and the news isn't great. Now, the company did try 0:16:50.200 --> 0:16:53.880 to spin it into a positive direction. So here's the 0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:57.720 quote unquote good news. Amazon has managed to decrease the 0:16:57.720 --> 0:17:00.440 amount of emissions it generates on a more US per 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:03.960 dollar level, so meaning the amount of emissions produced for 0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:09.280 every dollar of merchandise sold fell by just under two percent. Uh. 0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:13.680 They referred to this as carbon intensity, So from that perspective, 0:17:13.720 --> 0:17:16.880 things are moving in the right direction. Right Like per operation, 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:23.000 Amazon's emissions are decreasing. But here's the big issue. Amazon 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:27.760 also saw an enormous boom in business, and the volume 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:33.679 of these operations increased dramatically. So while the carbon intensity 0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:38.320 of each individual operation dropped slightly, the total number of 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:42.399 operations meant that carbon emissions ballooned by eighteen percent in 0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:46.520 twenty one. That means Amazon generated more than seventy one 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:51.119 million metric tons of carbon dioxide last year. As The 0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:54.280 Verge points out, that's roughly equal to the amount of 0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:57.439 carbon dioxide that a hundred eighty gas fired power plants 0:17:57.440 --> 0:18:00.639 would generate over the course of a full year. The 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:04.479 Verge also rightfully points out that companies like Amazon us 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:08.080 stuff like carbon offsets to push toward being a net 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:14.320 zero carbon company on paper. But here's the thing offsets. Really, 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:17.600 what that means is that you're pouring money into projects 0:18:17.640 --> 0:18:22.159 that are at least intended to remove carbon from the 0:18:22.200 --> 0:18:24.960 atmosphere in some way, Like it might be a program 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:28.119 where you're planting lots of trees for all, for certain 0:18:28.160 --> 0:18:31.280 amounts of carbon that you're emitting, and you get credits 0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:34.639 for that right because you're spending money, you get credits 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:38.200 that allow you to emit that carbon. Here's the problem. 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:42.840 You're dumping all that carbon now, and the solutions can 0:18:42.920 --> 0:18:46.080 take years to mature and start to make an impact. 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:50.760 So in the in between that you've got this growing 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:55.240 issue of of increasing amounts of carbon being emitted into 0:18:55.280 --> 0:19:00.160 the atmosphere with the quote unquote solution for the problem 0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:03.439 not really even making an impact until years later. You 0:19:03.480 --> 0:19:07.000 can't do that that there's a there's a recipe for disaster. 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:10.920 It's heading toward collapse. But that is how a lot 0:19:10.960 --> 0:19:14.480 of these companies deal with trying to look like they're 0:19:14.480 --> 0:19:18.720 being carbon neutral. They're not actually carbon neutral. They're essentially 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:23.960 buying the right to emit more carbon. And since these 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:27.600 companies have enormous amounts of money, they can do that 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:31.000 because in the end, the money they spend in order 0:19:31.040 --> 0:19:34.520 to appear carbon neutral on paper is way less than 0:19:34.560 --> 0:19:36.680 the money they would have to spend to actually overhaul 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:42.680 operations so that it truly was carbon neutral. Dark times, y'all, 0:19:42.880 --> 0:19:45.000 it's it's tough, and this is something It's not just 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:46.960 Amazon that does this, So I don't want to give 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:51.120 that impression. It's not only Amazon that is guilty of 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:54.480 kind of doing this sort of bait and switch or 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:57.080 or juggling numbers around on a piece of paper to 0:19:57.160 --> 0:20:00.520 make it look better. This is something that's problemat throughout 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:04.040 multiple industries, not just the tech industry. So it's something 0:20:04.080 --> 0:20:06.040 that we really do have to pay more attention to 0:20:06.320 --> 0:20:10.960 and make sure that we address in a responsible way. Alright, 0:20:11.000 --> 0:20:13.639 We've got a few more stories to cover before we 0:20:13.720 --> 0:20:16.960 conclude this episode, but first let's take another quick break. 0:20:24.840 --> 0:20:30.760 We're back. So, the chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, 0:20:30.800 --> 0:20:34.760 better known as t s MC, released a statement that 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:38.359 I think kind of says the obvious, like it's something 0:20:38.440 --> 0:20:40.919 where everybody knows this, but I guess by saying it 0:20:40.960 --> 0:20:44.840 out loud, you make it more ominous. What he said 0:20:44.920 --> 0:20:49.280 was that if China were to invade Taiwan, that would 0:20:49.359 --> 0:20:53.840 cause huge economic turmoil in the entire region, it would 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:58.320 change global economies, and it would render t s MCS 0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:04.040 semiconductor factory's nonoperable. Now, this has been something that's been 0:21:04.080 --> 0:21:07.560 a huge concern for a long time. So so let's 0:21:07.720 --> 0:21:10.440 do a very quick cliffs notes version of what's going 0:21:10.480 --> 0:21:14.600 on here. Taiwan is off the coast of mainland China. 0:21:14.760 --> 0:21:17.760 The two entities, China and Taiwan have had a long 0:21:17.960 --> 0:21:21.879 and complicated history. Way back in the nineteen forties, the 0:21:21.960 --> 0:21:25.600 Republic of China, which was the government that was in 0:21:25.680 --> 0:21:31.000 place of the entire nation at that time, was being 0:21:31.040 --> 0:21:34.560 pushed out by the People's Republic of China, a totally 0:21:34.560 --> 0:21:38.520 different group, and the Republic of China fled to Taiwan. 0:21:39.040 --> 0:21:44.679 The People's Republic of China assumed control of the Chinese mainland. Essentially, 0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:47.280 both governments more or less claim that they're the rightful 0:21:47.320 --> 0:21:51.440 power for all of China. So, uh, you have these 0:21:51.440 --> 0:21:54.919 two different entities that that essentially say, yeah, we're in 0:21:55.000 --> 0:22:02.359 charge of everything. Um well, effectively they operates separately. Although 0:22:02.440 --> 0:22:06.240 China and Taiwan have a lot of connections, obviously there 0:22:06.240 --> 0:22:09.359 are people who go back and forth. China has been 0:22:09.400 --> 0:22:13.280 accused of stealing talent from Taiwan for years now in 0:22:13.359 --> 0:22:18.160 order to bolster its own semi conductor industry in China, 0:22:18.320 --> 0:22:21.600 and there have been tensions there for ages. So this 0:22:21.680 --> 0:22:27.880 has been a huge reason why places other places around 0:22:27.920 --> 0:22:31.240 the world, like particularly here in the United States, we've 0:22:31.280 --> 0:22:36.800 seen a real push to create semiconductor fabrication facilities in 0:22:36.920 --> 0:22:41.320 order to reduce the dependence upon Taiwan. Right now, Taiwan 0:22:41.760 --> 0:22:45.240 produces nearly half of all semi conductors that are used 0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:47.960 in the world, and and more than half if you're 0:22:48.000 --> 0:22:51.840 looking at the really advanced semi conductors. That's because you know, 0:22:51.840 --> 0:22:56.480 Taiwan poured billions of dollars into developing this industry, and 0:22:56.600 --> 0:22:59.359 companies in other places like the United States, chose to 0:22:59.440 --> 0:23:03.800 outsource manufacturing to Taiwan because it made more economic sense. 0:23:04.359 --> 0:23:06.639 But now when you start looking at it and you 0:23:06.680 --> 0:23:10.320 look at the vulnerability of putting, you know, all of 0:23:10.359 --> 0:23:13.920 your semiconductor eggs in Taiwan's basket, you start to get 0:23:13.920 --> 0:23:17.119 a little nervous, especially when China seems to get a 0:23:17.119 --> 0:23:21.840 little more aggressive and it stands towards Taiwan. So an 0:23:21.880 --> 0:23:25.520 invasion would be a massive disruption to the entire tech 0:23:25.600 --> 0:23:29.960 sector and beyond. And I think the reason why this 0:23:30.040 --> 0:23:32.720 even came out in the news at all is because 0:23:33.000 --> 0:23:36.840 the United States Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, has 0:23:36.880 --> 0:23:40.520 announced a planned visit to Taiwan, which in turn prompted 0:23:40.600 --> 0:23:45.119 China to warrant that, you know, Western interference in Taiwan 0:23:45.200 --> 0:23:49.280 would raise tensions in the region. So there's this general 0:23:49.320 --> 0:23:53.679 worry that this is going to precipitate into a cascading 0:23:53.720 --> 0:23:59.560 event that will upend the entire semiconductor industry. My hope 0:23:59.600 --> 0:24:02.160 is that that doesn't happen, because obviously if it did, 0:24:02.280 --> 0:24:06.840 it's going to be incredibly disruptive across everything. Um it 0:24:06.840 --> 0:24:11.280 would be terrible for for millions of people uh directly 0:24:11.320 --> 0:24:16.840 affected by such a thing, and then indirectly billions more. So, obviously, 0:24:17.600 --> 0:24:21.919 here's hoping that we don't see, uh, this rhetoric grow 0:24:22.160 --> 0:24:27.520 into more drastic action. On the United States side, the 0:24:27.560 --> 0:24:32.080 government is placing more restrictions on what companies are able 0:24:32.119 --> 0:24:36.480 to export to China when it comes to chip making tools. 0:24:36.520 --> 0:24:40.040 So China has been investing billions in building more semiconductor 0:24:40.119 --> 0:24:44.960 facilities within China itself, and it has been importing some 0:24:45.119 --> 0:24:48.920 of the the advanced chip making tools from other countries 0:24:48.920 --> 0:24:51.720 like Japan and the United States. So you can kind 0:24:51.720 --> 0:24:53.879 of look at this as a political approach to trying 0:24:53.920 --> 0:24:57.320 to slow China's progress a little bit. The U s 0:24:57.359 --> 0:25:00.920 government is essentially saying to come needs within the US 0:25:01.040 --> 0:25:06.840 that you cannot sell current tools to China. You can 0:25:06.960 --> 0:25:12.760 sell much older tools, tools that are essentially obsolete when 0:25:12.960 --> 0:25:14.560 when you compare to the state of the art of 0:25:14.600 --> 0:25:18.200