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Articles by Chris Schults

Web Developer for PCC Natural Markets

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Wikipedia Scanner reveals orgs that edit Wikipedia articles

Chris Schults Technology

Ah, Wikipedia. Many of us at Grist frequently use this resource, but we do so knowing that just about anyone can edit a Wikipedia article at anytime. So, can we really trust the information contained within?

Fear not! As Wired reports, there is a new tool that sheds some light on who is editing what:

On November 17th, 2005, an anonymous Wikipedia user deleted 15 paragraphs from an article on e-voting machine-vendor Diebold, excising an entire section critical of the company’s machines. While anonymous, such changes typically leave behind digital fingerprints offering hints about the contributor, such as the location of the computer used to make the edits.

In this case, the changes came from an IP address reserved for the corporate offices of Diebold itself. And it is far from an isolated case. A new data-mining service launched Monday traces millions of Wikipedia entries to their corporate sources, and for the first time puts comprehensive data behind longstanding suspicions of manipulation, which until now have surfaced only piecemeal in investigations of specific allegations.

Wikipedia Scanner — the brainchild of Cal Tech comput... Read more

Chris Schults Technology

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  • The TV show 24 will reduce its carbon footprint

    Fans of 24 know that if there's one person that can stop climate change, it ain't Al Gore. It's Jack Bauer.

    If you are not familiar with Jack, here are some of his qualifications from the site Random Jack Bauer Facts:

    1. There are two hands that can beat a royal flush. Jack Bauer's right hand and Jack Bauer's left hand.
    2. Most people would need months to recover from 20 months of Chinese interrogation. Jack Bauer needs a shower, a shave and a change of clothes.
    3. The city of Los Angeles once named a street after Jack Bauer in gratitude for his saving the city several times. They had to rename it after people kept dying when they tried to cross the street. No one crosses Jack Bauer and lives.
    4. If Jack Bauer had been a Spartan the movie would have been called "1".
    5. Some people see the glass as half full. Others see it as half empty. Jack Bauer see the glass as a deadly weapon.

    Yup, Jack is one tough son-of-a-gun, and he and the producers of 24 have pledged to fight climate change and take the following steps to reduce their carbon footprint:

    Chris Schults Culture

  • Making electricity visible helps reduce consumption

    Here's what might be an ingenious idea, as reported by Wired:

    Chris Schults Climate & Energy

  • Antarctica gig lined up for Live Earth concerts

    Antarctica gig lined up for Live Earth concerts:

    OK, so they're not rock stars. But scientists with the British Antarctic Survey will guarantee Al Gore's promise that the Live Earth concerts on July 7 will be performed on all 7 continents.

    They'll be performing during the dead of winter at the Rothera Research Station. In fact, it'll be the first time anyone outside the station has heard the indie rock-folk band, Nunatak, play at all. (Nunatak, by the way, is a Greenlandic word that means an exposed summit of a ridge mountain or peak within an ice field or glacier.)

    Chris Schults Culture

  • The tiny island nation of Tuvalu is threatened by global warming.

    Possibly one of the most tragic outcomes that may result from climate change is the extinction of an entire nation's culture and homeland. As the United Nations discussed the threat that global warming poses to the security of nations, Afelee Pita, an ambassador from the tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, was there to represent his country.

    Tuvalu may be one of the first nations whose way of life could disappear as a result of the actions (or in this case, the lack of action) of other countries. NPR is covering this story as part of their year-long Climate Connections series. Here's a quote from the piece:

    "We face many threats associated with climate change," Pita said to the U.N. "Ocean warming is changing the very nature of our island nation. Slowly our coral reefs are dying through coral bleaching. We are witnessing changes to fish stocks. And we face the increasing threat of more severe cyclones. With the highest (land) point of four meters above sea level, the threat of more cyclones is extremely disturbing."

    Listen to the entire story on NPR.org.

    And check out a small Grist slideshow of photos taken by Gary Braasch in 2005.

    Update [2007-6-12 13:1:43 by Chris Schults]: NPR also has a related piece about the islands of Fiji.

    Chris Schults Climate & Energy