Why we can’t plug Southern California’s massive methane leak

There’s a burgeoning environmental disaster playing out in Southern California — but unlike the widespread media coverage on the Deepwater Horizon, this leak has been invisible until quite recently. In late October, the Southern California Gas Company detected an underground methane leak spewing an estimated 110,000 lbs of gas per hour into Aliso Canyon. Since it discovered the problem, the company has evacuated an estimated 1,700 people and closed two schools.

The leak is normally invisible, but an infrared video taken by the Environmental Defense Fund captured the massive leak and the methane escaping from it at multiple points.

Several of the problems associated with a leak this size are purely practical. The methane reeks of rotting eggs, because we add a chemical called tert-Butylthiol to the normally odorless gas to make certain people can smell a leak.

Remember Templeton from Charlotte’s Web? It’s that, times a billion. Image by SailorLoveSong

Reeking like an unventilated football stadium on $1 steak and free draft beer night ought to be punishment enough for anyone in one lifetime, but methane is also explosive, an asphyxiant, and a potent greenhouse gas.

CO2 vs. methane

Most of the conversation around greenhouse gas emissions revolves around carbon dioxide, or CO2. According to the EPA, CO2 emissions account for about 82% of anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change. Methane, in contrast, only accounts for about 10% of total warming. Pound-for-pound, methane is about 21x more potent than CO2 over a 100-year cycle, and as much as 72x more potent within shorter timeframes.

The potency discrepancy reflects the different environmental persistence between the two gases. Methane persists in the environment for 10-12 years after it’s released, but ultimately reacts with water vapor in the upper atmosphere and is converted into carbon dioxide and water. The fact that methane still takes a decade or more to dissipate out of the atmosphere, however, means that a massive leak like this one is still capable of having an impact for a significant period of time.

Current estimate of the total gas leak is around 800,000 metric tons. That’s enough methane gas to boost California’s estimated methane emissions by 25% for the year — and bear in mind, this leak is thought to have begun on October 23.

Why can’t we plug the leak?

There’s another parallel between the Deepwater Horizon leak and the current methane problem in Aliso Canyon — in both cases, the depth and ferocity of the leak made it extremely difficult to plug. In this case, the methane is pouring out of a massive underground containment facility more than 8,000 feet below the surface. Traditional methods of sealing the broken pipe have already failed, so SoCalGas has drilled a second well to intersect the broken pipe.

Once the new well intersects the old one, fluid and eventually concrete will be injected to seal the pipe, rather than attempting to perform the injections at the surface. As of this past weekend, the drillers had located the broken pipe responsible for the leak. That’s no small feat, considering that the second well must be drilled far enough away to prevent any risk of explosion, and the broken line is just seven inches in diameter.

Unfortunately, we’re still months away from actually sealing off the problem. The relief well is currently at 3,800 feet, but the rest of the operation is expected to take until February or March. By that point, enough methane will have been released into the atmosphere to make an impact on the United States’ total yearly emissions — to say nothing of the costs and upheaval residents of Aliso Canyon have endured, or the financial cost of repairing the broken line. Residents of the area have already filed suits against the company, and it’s not clear what penalties or lawsuits it might face from the government of California.

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Strangling Superfish: Microsoft will block ad-injection software to prevent attacks

 
Lenovo’s Superfish scandal of early 2015 was one of the most significant computer security issues of the last decade. For those of you who don’t recall, the Chinese manufacturer shipped a number of IdeaPad models with a root certificate installed that fundamentally broke SSL encryption, and allowed a third party to inject content virtually at will, as well as to spy on any user’s web browsing if desired. Microsoft has now announced that it intends to put new security standards in place for Windows 10 that would block this kind of behavior and prevent certain types of man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks.

Microsoft initially revised its guidelines last April, but adware authors have evolved their products to bypass the company’s requirements. According to Redmond, it’s now common to see software use injection by proxy, change DNS settings, and manipulate the network layer.

To be clear: Microsoft isn’t going to declare all ad injection to be bad, and companies will still be allowed to create this type of software. What they’re cracking down on are programs that attempt to obfuscate their own behaviors behind advanced network settings and functions that are buried deep within the operating system or submenus that only advanced users know how to access.

From Microsoft’s “acceptable” adware policies.

Redmond has previously published its list of objective criteria for acceptable vs. unacceptable ad software. It states that all advertisements must have an “X” or other visible and obvious method for closing an ad, that the name of the program creating the advertisement must be clearly stated, and there must be a method of uninstalling software. Now, it’s adding a new requirement:

“[P]rograms that create advertisements in browsers must only use the browsers’ supported extensibility model for installation, execution, disabling, and removal.” (Emphasis original)
Currently, Microsoft Edge doesn’t support browser extensions, which is probably why MS will wait until March 31, 2016 to put this new rule into effect. The company has previously stated Edge extensions would arrive in Q1 2016. By limiting adware platforms to the extensibility platform(s) approved by various browsers, MS is also giving itself another method of controlling software, should vendors prove unwilling to adjust their applications to conform to Redmond’s requirements. Windows Defender can also be updated with the signatures of applications that refuse to play by the rules.

Whether this will actually accomplish its intended goal is an altogether different question. In nearly 20 years online, I’ve yet to see a single browser adware platform that delivered any kind of meaningful value. Instead, such applications shovel advertising at a frantic pace, often in ways that undercut the ads the actual site owner has chosen to display. These applications tend to be riddled with their own security flaws and instabilities, and often harass users with flashing lights and fake antivirus sales pitches. The best of them are parasites; the worst are criminals.

Microsoft may have good reason to allow these kinds of applications to exist, since it could face lawsuits and claims of abusive behavior if it acted to ban them altogether, but it’s not at all clear that there’s a happy medium to be found on this issue.

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The Tech Stories That Surprised, Shocked, and Amused Us in 2015

Every day, thousands of tech stories make headlines, but only a select few stir up a prolonged frenzy or keep our attention for weeks at a time.

This year had its share of surprising announcements, from BlackBerry embracing Android to Google becoming Alphabet. The Apple Watch also hit stores, while drones hit ... ferris wheels?

Tech companies and their execs got into fights, Silicon Valley had a few major fails, and products said farewell. But what were the biggest stories in tech this year? What products, scandals, and gaffes overloaded your Twitter feed, invaded your Slack channels, and dominated the chatter among your tech-savvy friends?
 
 

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CES 2016 Preview: Smart Home Gadgets

 
Last year's CES focused a lot on the Internet of Things, a clunky, vague term that came to define products fitted with electronics, software, and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Basically, it means everything from your oven to your toothbrush to your dog's food bowl will be able to connect to your phone, the Web, and your social networks, where you'll control every possible parameter and share your hygiene and cooking habits with the world. It's a neat if potentially alarming idea, and we're sure to see even more home appliances take advantage of wireless networking at CES 2016.

Beginning to See the Light
Smart bulbs are rapidly replacing traditional incandescent bulbs. They last longer, use less energy, and you can control them with a few taps on your smartphone or tablet. They can also feature a whole host of functions unrelated to lighting. Companies like Sengled and MiPow $69.99 at Amazon will likely show off more bulbs with integrated speakers so you can play music from your phone via Bluetooth. Hopefully the speakers' sound will be improved since most current versions sound a bit tinny.

Sengled already sells a bulb that boosts your Wi-Fi signal to dead zones around your house, and we can expect to see more lighting solutions like that, including ones that respond to your voice, send you reminders, or come with an HD camera so you can monitor your home while away. All of this will simply become more intuitive.

Companies like Caséta $59.95 at Amazon will likely introduce more remote controls to control your lights, as well as wall-mounted or tabletop lights that allow you to record favorite lighting scenes and other light bulbs. Caséta, along with other companies' products, like Philips Hue Bridge 2.0 £49.95 at Amazon, now works with Apple HomeKit, too, so iPhone users can talk to Siri to control their lights. Expect almost every lighting solution on the show floor to connect with HomeKit in some way.

Speaking of Protocols…Bluetooth LE, Lutron ClearConnect, Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, and ZigBee are all home automation and connectivity protocols, and they'll all rear their heads at CES 2016. But the one to look out for may be something called Bluetooth mesh networking, a new standard that will extend the distance for Bluetooth technology. That means you won't need a Wi-Fi network to connect smart bulbs or other appliances across an entire home. No doubt many products at CES 2016 will take advantage of this upcoming initiative.

Appliance PartyRobotic cleaning vacuums like the Neato Botvac Connected £547.97 at Amazon and the iRobot Roomba 980$899.99 at Amazon are another category that will grow even more in 2016. All of the usual appliance manufacturers, from Samsung to LG to GE, will most likely have fridges, ovens, microwaves, and robots with Wi-Fi to debut, so you can check the temperature of your meals, clean your throw rub, and monitor the lettuce while you're doing other things.

We also know that Haier will debut a fridge modeled after R2-D2 at this CES. It bloops and bleeps like you'd expect, but it even moves around on its own, like BB-8£128.60 at Amazon and delivers drinks to you. But don't get too excited. It's going to cost $9,000.

And the Weird…Surely, we'll see some outright strange smart home products at CES 2016, including peripheral devices that make dumb things "smart." They'll automatically turn light switches on and off, close doors and windows, and connect regular smoke detectors to wireless networks via sound recognition. You can find similar things like that on Indiegogo, like the Microbot Push, a robotic finger that, well, pushes buttons. It's gonna be great.
 
That should give you an idea of the tech you're going hear about at this CES. For all of the official announcements, along with photos and video, stay tuned for in-depth coverage from the CES show floor.

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Report: Samsung Pay Coming to Lower-Cost Phones

 
The gift-giving season may be over, but Samsung reportedly has one more present for owners of lower-priced smartphones.
 
Samsung Pay Global Co-General Manager Thomas Ko this week told Reuters that the mobile payment service will expand to more handsets "within the next year."
 
Initially introduced in South Korea via a handful of phones, Samsung Pay arrived in the U.S. in late September alongside the Galaxy Note 5 $349.99 at Best Buy and Galaxy S6 Edge $299.99 at Best Buy devices. The program uses NFC and magnetic stripe transmission (MST) for tap-to-pay functionality compatible with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.

Currently available on all major U.S. wireless networks and Galaxy S6£389.97 at Amazon, S6 Edge, S6 Edge Plus$349.99 at Best Buy, and Note 5 smartphones, the mobile wallet is expected to reach more lower-priced devices soon. There is no word, however, on which smartphones will join the lineup.

Samsung also reportedly plans to soon add online payment support — a perk already available to Android Pay and Apple Pay users.
 
Samsung did not immediately respond to TCMall's request for comment.

The tech titan entered the mobile payment arena in February with its acquisition of LoopPay, a mobile wallet firm that lets users pay with their phones.

A recent LoopPay breach, however, did not affect Samsung Pay, the company promised in October. An attack by the "Codoso Group" or "Sunshock Group" affected three servers on LoopPay's internal office network, separate from the one that handles mobile payment transactions.

Apple, meanwhile, debuted its own payment system in the fall of 2014 on its iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and new iPads; the service also works on the Apple Watch.

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