environment and natural resources

Elon Musk wants to colonize Mars. Is that profitable?

13Dec

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Technology

Elon Musk wants to colonize Mars. Is that profitable?

Austin, TX CNN Business — Elon Musk has spent nearly two decades rallying SpaceX fans around his goal of colonizing Mars, something world governments aren’t currently attempting — in part because of the unfathomable price tag such a mission will entail. Musk, the company’s CEO and chief engineer, refers to his interplanetary ambitions more like a sci-fi protagonist with a moral calling than an entrepreneur with a disruptive business plan. “If there’s something terrible that happens on Earth, either made by humans or natural, we want to have, like, life insurance for life as a whole,” Musk said during a virtual Mars conference on Aug. 31. “Then, there’s the kind of excitement and adventure.” ...

Apple just killed the iPhone Lightning connector. What to do with your old chargers

Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN Business’ Nightcap newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free, here. New York CNN — At long last, Apple is killing its proprietary Lightning port in the iPhone 15 and embracing a charging cable that’s compatible with non-Apple products. That’s one less extra cord cluttering your nightstand. One less thing to forget when packing for a weekend getaway. But the move, hastened by a European regulatory mandate passed last year, is a largely symbolic measure that comes years after most other gadgets switched to USB-C. And it won’t do much to shrink the mountains of e-waste piling up around the globe. “I would classify the EU law a...

Here’s why Apple’s charger switch is such a big deal

CNN — Apple retired its Lightning charger on Tuesday exactly 11 years to the day it was first announced. The effort marks a milestone moment for the company by finally adopting USB-C, a universal charging system. That’s noteworthy not only because Apple has been resistant to do so for years but because it’s about to make charging that much easier for its customers. But, as with most things, there’s a catch: The switch to a universal standard means Apple is giving up control of its wired charging ecosystem, and identifying good chargers from bad ones won’t be obvious to many consumers. At its iPhone 15 event, the company announced all of its next-generation smartphones will launch ...