All posts tagged: Milton

Drones are playing a critical role in Milton and Helene recovery

Drones are playing a critical role in Milton and Helene recovery

Published by skeptic

When Hurricane Helene and Milton hit the Southeast US, they left a trail of devastation in their wake. Roads, homes, and chunks of towns were swept away by torrential floods. Thousands of residents were left without homes and forced to take refuge in community centers which were cut off from access to critical supplies and resources. One of those shelters, a senior center in Marion, North Carolina, has received a lifeline from an unlikely source. For a little over a week, a white, buzzing autonomous drone operated by Wing has been collecting prescription drugs, baby formula, and other critical resources from a nearby Walmart supercenter and airdropping them to the senior center.  Walmart has been working with Wing for several years to roll out a commercial drone delivery program but federal regulations currently limit how far those drones can operate. In this case, however, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted temporary approval to extend Wing’s operation beyond the visual line of sight so they could provide potentially life-saving supplies. People housed at the senior center …

Milton Disrupted the Flow of Drinking Water—so Florida Deployed a Machine to Harvest It From Air

Milton Disrupted the Flow of Drinking Water—so Florida Deployed a Machine to Harvest It From Air

Published by skeptic

David Stuckenberg, cofounder and chief operations officer at Genesis Systems, explains that the WaterCube uses proprietary liquid and solid sorbents—materials that absorb water—that essentially “form a handshake with the water in the air.” The machine then heats these materials to extract the water. Atmospheric water generators typically require a substantial amount of energy to run, but Stuckenberg claims the company’s materials work 400 percent better than those that are currently commercially available, and that they have a very high affinity for water. But the tech comes at a steep price. The WaterCube delivered to St. Petersburg is listed at $860,000. The company just started selling a second, smaller device for home use called the WaterCube 100, which retails for $20,000 and is about the size of an HVAC system. That device can generate about 100 to 200 gallons of water per day. Efficiency ranges from 0.07 to 0.8 kilowatt-hours per gallon of water and costs anywhere from $10 to $80 a day to operate, depending on cost of energy and humidity. A WaterCube can run …

Hurricane Milton disrupts Yom Kippur plans for Jews in Florida

Hurricane Milton disrupts Yom Kippur plans for Jews in Florida

Published by skeptic

WINTER PARK, Florida (AP) — Many Jews worldwide will mark Yom Kippur in fasting and prayer at their synagogues this weekend. But for the faithful in Florida, destructive Hurricane Milton has disrupted plans for observing the Day of Atonement — the holiest day of the year in the Jewish faith — that begins Friday evening and caps off the High Holy Days that began with Rosh Hashana on Oct. 2. Across the storm-threatened areas, rabbis and their congregants spent part of the Days of Awe — the span between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur — protecting their homes and synagogues as Milton churned off the coast, spiraling into a Category 5 storm. Many — though not all — evacuated, heeding the voluntary and mandatory orders, and found safekeeping for their synagogues’ Torah scrolls and themselves. Milton hit Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday as a Category 3 cyclone, with damaging winds, heavy rains and tornadoes. By Thursday, the storm has moved eastward into the Atlantic Ocean. Why this Chabad rabbi decided against evacuating before the storm …

How The Tampa Museum of Art Prepared for Hurricane Milton

How The Tampa Museum of Art Prepared for Hurricane Milton

Published by skeptic

Editor’s Note: This story is part of Newsmakers, a new ARTnews series where we interview the movers and shakers who are making change in the art world. As Hurricane Milton landed last night as a Category 3 hurricane, Tampa Museum of Art executive director Michael Tomor was prepared to be at the institution for at least three or four days. “When I moved down here, which was this morning, I have enough food and clothing and I have army cots for the next three to four days, because I actually have no idea when I can go home,” Tomor told ARTnews. “You just make it happen.” Related Articles Tomor’s choice to be at the museum was due to his home being located in a red Zone A, which the Florida Division of Emergency Management defines as “most vulnerable and the most likely to evacuate first.” And while the museum is also in a red Zone A, Tomor said he needed to be “in a position of decision making” in case anything happened, and that he felt very safe inside. …

Hurricane Milton Was a Test

Hurricane Milton Was a Test

Published by Sam

Updated at 10:24 a.m. ET on October 11, 2024 In the night hours after Hurricane Milton smashed into Siesta Key, a barrier island near Sarasota, Florida, high winds and a deluge of water pummeled the state’s coastal metropolises. In St. Petersburg, a construction crane toppled from its position on a luxury high-rise, meant to soon be the tallest building on the flood-vulnerable peninsula. The crane crashed down into the building across the street that houses the newspaper offices of the Tampa Bay Times. High winds ripped the roof off a Tampa stadium set to house emergency workers. Three million homes and businesses are now without power. As this morning dawned, Hurricane Milton was exiting Florida on its east coast, still maintaining hurricane-force winds. The storm came nerve-rackingly close to making what experts had feared would be a worst-case entrance into the state. The storm hit some 60 miles south of Tampa, striking a heavily populated area but narrowly avoiding the precarious geography of Tampa’s shallow bay. Still, the destruction, once tallied, is likely to be …

Digital not-for-profit Jisc takes offices at Milton Park

Digital not-for-profit Jisc takes offices at Milton Park

Published by skeptic

Milton Park business campus in Oxfordshire has welcomed Jisc, a digital, data and technology agency focused on higher education, research and innovation. Formerly the Joint Information Systems Committee, Jisc supports education providers with cloud connectivity and cybersecurity, data analytics and tools to enrich learning and employability. Its vision is to help make the UK a world leader in technology for education, research and innovation. Funded by a combination of the UK further and higher education funding bodies, plus higher education institutions, an estimated two thirds of the UK’s further education sector uses Jisc’s digital elevation tool.   The Bristol-based organisation has now moved into a recently refurbished office at 85 Park Drive, joining other occupiers in the education sector including RM plc and Taylor & Francis. Alison Jolly, Facilities Manager at Jisc, commented: “We were drawn to Milton Park because its modern workspaces suited Jisc’s estate strategy, which ensures our employees have access to easily accessible facilities that are flexible, functional, practical and inviting.  “The team was attracted to Milton Park because of its connectivity and proximity to …

Milton Park welcomes green ammonia innovators Nium

Milton Park welcomes green ammonia innovators Nium

Published by skeptic

Nium, a startup aiming to eliminate emissions from ammonia production, has relocated its headquarters to Milton Park in Oxfordshire. The company has taken 7,500 sq ft of R&D space at the park to capitalise on its growth plans off the back of a £2.3 million seed funding round last year. Founded in 2022 at Carbon13, Cambridge, Nium’s nanocatalytic solutions were developed by its CTO over two years at the Diamond Light Source synchrotron facility, based at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. It uses nanotechnology – manipulating atoms at a very small scale – to decarbonise ammonia production, the planet’s most polluting chemical industrial process. Read the March 2024 issue of The Business Magazine, including our feature on net zero The current Haber-Bosch method of creating ammonia – which is used as fertiliser in half of all food produced globally – is more than 100 years old, and releases two tonnes of CO2 for every tonne of ammonia produced. Nium’s renewably powered solution takes hydrogen from water and nitrogen from the air to produce green ammonia …

Man jailed for ramming motorcyclist off Milton Keynes bridge in ‘extreme’ road rage | Crime

Man jailed for ramming motorcyclist off Milton Keynes bridge in ‘extreme’ road rage | Crime

Published by skeptic

A man has been jailed for ramming a motorcyclist off a Buckinghamshire bridge in what police described as an act of “extreme” road rage. Nikesh Mistry, 34, repeatedly tried to force the motorcyclist off the road, which resulted in him sustaining serious injuries, police said. He was jailed for four years and 10 months after being convicted at Aylesbury crown court of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and grievous bodily harm with intent. The incident took place in November 2022 when Mistry was driving a silver BMW near the Walton roundabout in Milton Keynes. After what police described as a “non-verbal exchange”, Mistry then attempted to force the man in his 40s riding the motorbike off the road. They ended up driving down the wrong side of the road as the motorcyclist had to take evasive action to avoid a collision. Mistry, of Milton Keynes, kept trying to force him off the road, trapping him between his vehicle and a metal barrier as they crashed into an oncoming car, police said. The motorcyclist was …

Milton Park inspires 1,000 students to consider STEAM careers in first year

Milton Park inspires 1,000 students to consider STEAM careers in first year

Published by skeptic

Milton Park in Oxfordshire has capped off a successful first year for its schools engagement initiative, having engaged with around 1,000 young people. More than 40 volunteers from the park’s occupiers took time out of their days to host a range of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) activities for students as part of Explore Milton Park. Delivered by the Ahead Partnership – a non-profit which aims to connect businesses with young people – these activities included careers panels, interview practice sessions and trips to the park. One Year 9 pupil said: “I enjoyed visiting the workshop, learning about the different careers and presenting all our ideas back. Hear the latest insights from property experts on The Business Magazine’s new podcast “It was informative and made me excited for a future career in science!” They weren’t alone – 88 per cent of participating students said the programme boosted their understanding of the skills, qualifications and entry routes involved in STEAM careers. Among the Milton Park occupiers helping to deliver the initiative were Evotec, Vertex, …