How the car industry hid the truth about diesel emissions
March 22, 2019, The Guardian
John German had not been looking to make a splash when he commissioned an examination of pollution from diesel cars back in 2013. The exam compared what came out of their exhaust pipes, during the lab tests that were required by law, with emissions on the road under real driving conditions. Nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution from the Jetta’s tailpipe was 15 times the allowed limit, shooting up to 35 times under some conditions; the Passat varied between five and 20 times the limit. German had been around the auto industry all his life, so he had a pretty good ideawhat was going on. This had to be a “defeat device” – a deliberate effort to evade the rules.
Make Spring time a safe time
March 20, 2019, PR Newswire
It’s spring again! That means families can enjoy more outdoor activities as well as do some spring cleaning around the home. As you remove old clutter and make room for new items, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is encouraging consumers to spring clean for safety. Follow these tips to keep you and your family spring time safe!
E-scooters, hoverboards – the tech transforming travel
March 19, 2019, BBC
Electric scooters and other new modes of transport could be allowed on Britain’s roads under a wide-ranging review. It is currently illegal to ride powered scooters – which can travel up to 30mph – on public roads or pavements, but the government has said the traffic laws are “a barrier to innovation” and is considering changing them. That’s the headline anyway. The Department for Transport has subsequently played down the possibility of reform in the short term.
Charms Race: How tech is becoming the lead character in today’s movie toy launches
March 20, 2019, Toy News Online
Films today have become a battleground for technology and explosive entertainment, and with that has come a greater expectation from the toys that tie it all together. Robert Hutchins takes a look at how tech is fast becoming the lead character in today’s movie toy launches
Own It and #PreventPoison: CPSC, Health Canada, and PROFECO Observe National Poison Prevention Week March 17-23, 2019
March 15, 2019, cpsc.gov
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) marks National Poison Prevention Week (NPPW), March 17-23, 2019, encouraging consumers to “Own It” and focus on poison proofing their homes. During Poison Prevention Week, CPSC is collaborating with product safety agencies north and south of America’s borders to raise awareness about unintentional poisonings. CPSC, Health Canada, and Mexico’s Procuraduria Federal del Consumidor (PROFECO) are working together to make North America the safest continent for consumer products.
State considers financially punishing cities that ban sunscreens harmful to coral reefs
March 22, 2019, First Coast News
A measure by the State of Florida would financially penalize local cities that ban chemicals in certain sunscreens that harm coral reefs. This move is strongly supported by one senator from the First Coast.
Lauren Estes was surprised to hear about the move. She owns Mangrove Surf Shop in St. Augustine. She developed and now sells a reef safe sunscreen.
The politicization of youth
March 21, 2019, National Review
Full disclosure: I am not licensed to practice psychology, though I’m about to do it anyway. We say that parents try to “live through” their children. Their hopes and dreams, thwarted ambitions, unrealized goals — all of these are loaded onto their offspring in a set of impossibly heavy expectations in order to have their children become just like them, only better. Here, though, with these parents, it seems to be reversed. They don’t want their kids to be like them; they want to betheir kids.
3 Key Shifts Changing Business for Product Innovators
March 20, 2019, EBN Online
New product development (NPD) and new product introduction (NPI) practices have shifted drastically over the last decade as companies increase the pace of innovation to survive and prosper in the face of customer demands for greater performance at a lower price, increased global competition, and more stringent regulatory requirements.
Recreational off-Highway Vehicles (ROVs) Market – Actionable Insights and Analysis by Key Regulations, Technology Roadmap
March 22, 2019, University Chronicle
The report finds that off-highway recreational vehicles market has also been negatively impacted by product recalls and notable faults in prominent brands. The US$ 27.25 million civil penalty on Polaris Industries for failure to notify the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and American Honda’s decision to recall nearly 65,000 recreational off-highway vehicles due to fire and burn hazard have led to a significant dent in consumer confidence. The increasing spate of product recalls and performance issues can create impediments to growth, finds the study.
Global science, technology, engineering, and mathematics STEM toys market current industry status
March 22, 2018, Redfield Report
Rising application of Al in STEM toys to drive market growt, where Hasbro, Learning Resources, LEGO Group, Mattel, Spin Master are considered leaders.. The application of artificial intelligence (Al) in STEM toys has grown over the last few years. Al-powered STEM toys are becoming popular, especially among working parents. This is because these toys act as learning companions for children and offer customizability for a range of lessons in core STEM disciplines and coding
Boeing to mandate 737 MAX safety feature missing on Lion Air and Ethiopian jets
March 22, 2019, ABC Australia
Boeing plans to make standard a safety featurethat might have warned of problems that possibly played a role in Ethiopian and Indonesian plane crashes that killed almost 350 people, two officials briefed on the matter say. Boeing will mandate a previously optional cockpit warning light as part of a software update to the 737 MAX fleet that was grounded in the wake of the fatal crashes, said the officials, who asked not to be identified.
