By: Tommy Savoia
New River State Park officials are holding training and education sessions for “prescribed burns” to prevent wildfires in the Boone area. According to The Watauga Democrat, prescribed burns are small fires made by experts to eliminate “low-lying, dry brush” that would normally act as the catalyst for giant wildfires in an uncontrolled environment. The slogan the organization wants us to remember is that “good fires prevent bad fires”.
The Appalachian lists a report from Environment North Carolina which states that North Carolina is ranked “eighth in the nation for solar energy potential” when regarding assistance from large retail chains. Krista Early, speaking for the organization, is quoted as saying that solar energy is the “fastest growing form of electricity generation” in the US in part thanks to its plummeting price. Solar power is being used in North Carolina 265 times more than it was in 2010, which indicates an extreme spike in recent usage.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Google is looking to implement heavier privacy features that will act to prevent “cross-app tracking” on Android phones. This will restrict advertiser’s abilities to track usage among different applications on a smartphone, ultimately providing better protection for users’ privacy. This is similar to the new framework that Apple introduced recently that performs the same function on iPhones. While Google has not gone into detail about the inner workings of the new software, it assures consumers that plenty of information will be revealed ahead of its release.
Today’s weather is brought to us by Booneweather.com. This Thursday morning you can expect frequent clouds and fog. Rain will be a constant throughout the day with the possibility of thunderstorms moving into the evening. A high of 56 and a low of 35 degrees can be expected, so be prepared when walking outside.