How we drained California dry

The metaverse has a groping problem already 

Sponsored by Morgan Stanley The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology Making California 12.16.21 Good morning! Today: a stunning essay about the role water played in the making of California. Also: the metaverse already has a sexual assault problem. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. How we drained California dry   ​​ For our upcoming Water issue, California native Mark Arax wrote a deeply intimate exploration of the pivotal role that water—and the lack of it—played in making the state what it is today.  The opening is below, but I do urge you to read the whole story on our site. It feels epic and personal all at the same time. It is a story of remaking the land and taking the water until there is nothing left.  Near the beginning, Mark talks about going to visit an old friend, a farmer named Masumoto. He writes: “There is no way to make this drive out of Fresno at harvest’s end, through the dog-tired fields of the most industrialized farm belt in the world, without thinking about water: the idea of it, the feel of it; the form as it falls from the sky as rain and snow, that man captures with his invention and implementation, his magic and plunder, the dam, the ditch, the canal, the aqueduct, the pump, the drip line; the water that gives rise to every animate and inanimate thing that now stretches before my eyes, the vineyard, orchard, cotton field, and housing tract; the water whose too much can destroy us, whose too little can destroy us, whose perfect measure of our needs becomes our superstition and story.   You should know that I have written about the matter of California and water a few times before, and I’m not above borrowing from old refrains. In my hunt for new words, I have driven Highway 99 a thousand times through a valley that geologists call the most-altered landscape by human hands in history. I now see the gashes of fresh alterations. What has been done here, by any means necessary, has been done for the want of water.” —Mark Arax The whole issue is due to go live next week! If you want to read this story and the rest of the pieces in the magazine you can subscribe for as little as $50 a year. The metaverse has a groping problem already The news: Last week, it emerged that a beta tester in Meta’s new virtual-reality social media platform, Horizon Worlds had been groped by a stranger. The woman said that “being in VR adds another layer that makes the event more intense.” Katherine Cross, who researches online harassment at the University of Washington, says VR groping triggers the same internal nervous system and physiological responses as it would in person. Meta’s response: Meta said the beta tester should have used a tool called “Safe Zone”: a protective bubble users can activate when feeling threatened. Within it, no one can touch them, talk to them, or interact in any way. However, that effectively places the full onus of keeping themselves safe onto the user. That’s unfair, and it doesn’t work. Read the full story. —Tanya Basu We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + A truly awesome video from the NASA Parker Solar Probe shows you what it’s like to fly through the Sun’s corona.     + There was some good news this year (no really!) Here’s a reminder of some of it.   + These penguins are cheering up care home residents in the UK.   + What a year it’s been… 2021 in pictures.   + When life imitates memes… dozens of feral hogs invaded a neighborhood in Texas. I can’t tell you if there were 30-50 of them, though.    + A baby Java mouse-deer has been born at Warsaw Zoo in Poland. Are you intellectually curious? Tech-obsessed? We are too.   Get an insightful look into the technology of the future without getting bogged down by the jargon. Subscribe to MIT Technology Review today (subscriptions start at just $50 per year). Sponsor Message Building Equity Along the Blockchain | Access & Opportunity Podcast On this episode, we delve into the world of NFTs, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology. We hear from artist Lauren Washington, a senior at Northwestern University, who is using NFTs to help connect with a new community of collectors and artists of color. Then, host Carla Harris sits down with Erikan Obotetukudo, founder of the Audacity Fund. Erikan discusses the potential for cryptocurrency to change the narrative for entrepreneurs of color and others left behind around the world. Learn more The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 The UK just reported its highest daily number of covid cases ever Omicron is starting to really make its presence felt here. (CNBC)   + Denmark and Australia had record-breaking case numbers yesterday too. (Gizmodo)   + France has effectively banned travelers from the UK. (Reuters $)   + What’s behind the staggering rise in cases? (BBC)   + Omicron replicates 70 times faster than delta in bronchial tissue, which may explain its transmissibility. (The Guardian)   + Current boosters are enough to fight omicron, says Fauci. (NBC)   + But the US faces a towering wave of cases. (Ars Technica)   2 Chinese-backed hackers are already exploiting the Log4j vulnerability It’s a bonanza for hackers of all types. (WSJ $)   + It’s Christmas come early for cyber criminals. (Scientific American $)   + If Log4j sounds bad, that’s because it is. (Gizmodo)   3 How climate change is already changing our world A country-by-country snapshot of the damage that’s being done. (NYT $)   + Inside the scientific endeavor to attribute “freak” weather events to climate change. (Wired $)   + Wind power became Spain’s dominant energy source this year. (El Pais)   + Google says it’s green. But it’s still making ad money from climate change denial. (WP $)   4 Apple has postponed plans to return to the office indefinitely Giving up guessing seems like the only logical stance at this point. (WSJ $)   + It’s closed several US stores due to covid outbreaks. (CNBC)   5 The biggest deepfake abuse site is growing in worrying ways And victims are virtually powerless to stop it. (Wired $)   6 Inside the implosion of an electric delivery van startup 🚚 For a small company, Chanje caused an awful lot of collateral damage. (The Verge)   + More electric pick-up trucks are coming. (WSJ $)   7 Trolls and sexists could ruin the metaverse If Mark Zuckerberg thinks the metaverse is a way to avoid knotty content moderation problems, boy do I have bad news for him… (Bloomberg $)   8 How Shein ushered in a new era of cheap, ultra-fast fashion 👚 Who’s going to tell the Gen Z buyers about the working conditions and the environmental impact? (Rest of World)   9 An online scam is targeting prominent Indian women with fake job offers Some have given up their careers to take positions that never existed. (NYT $)   10 NFTs are tearing the Crazy Frog community apart There are death threats flying around. About Crazy Frog. Death Threats. (Vice)   + Stan Lee is an NFT now. Fans are furious. (Vice)   Quote of the day “I put somebody in a body bag every day that I worked, for two months.” —Joelle Craft, an ICU nurse at Saint Claire Hospital in Morehead, Kentucky, tells Bloomberg about the awful feeling of failure many in her profession feel as they were unable to save covid patients, many of them unvaccinated, during this summer’s surge.  Top image credit: TOMAS OVALLE Please send penguins to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up today Becoming an AI-Driven Business Join us | March 29–30, 2022 For a limited time, get early bird savings when you register by December 31 Register now Want to change how you receive these emails? You can *update your preferences or *unsubscribe from this list.  Subscription Information This message was sent to  Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally    Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142