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Laurence Russell

Laurence Russell is a technology and culture journalist specializing in space technology, satellite communication and aerospace industries.

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Could this voluntary charter fix data ethics in big tech?

  • Digital transformation
  • min read
    • We know some people and businesses will, given the chance, use personal location data in unethical ways. When automotive cybersecurity experts Karamba Security posted a fake vehicle control unit online, they saw 25,000 attempted breaches in three days. Stalkers have used AirTag, Apple's coin-sized device for finding lost keys or other property, to track victims. Regulations like the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) define minimum standards of data ethics, but the case for going further is strong. To that end, what can help those tech businesses who want to stay ahead of the data exploitation curve by upholding the highest data ethics standards? Learning to foresee the unforeseen International non-profit the Locus Charter promotes a higher standard of responsibility for professionals and businesses when it comes to location data. They want to avoid unforeseen privacy breaches by working out what can go wrong and pinpoint big problems before they're exploited. They champion public interest by showing businesses how to prevent unintentional harm. The charter is based on ten principles that balance moral behavior with economic benefit, like realizing opportunities and understanding impacts. Location data is one of many frontiers. As veterans of data policy in and out of government, the charter's founders want to be part of all kinds of data discussions. Automation challenging data ethics "The most important focus in data ethics is exploring the power granted by the accumulation of data so everyone can recognize how that power can be used and misused," Ben Hawes, Technology Policy Consultant and co-author of the Locus Charter, told me. He continues, "There's an assumption automated systems and digital technologies are always better. Economic pressures mean companies prefer the promise of greater productivity at all costs, which can be alarming when people are unaware of many potential data misuses, accidental or deliberate." "Some risks in business going digital crop up in all sectors," said Hawes. "We often see 'designer biases,' where developers center their own experiences, leading to alienating people who don't fit the same racial, economic or physical profile. Another issue is automation making back-end processes more complex until they're opaque. There are also sector-specific issues." With the digital world's size and potential, regulating the space is an uphill battle. New ways to exploit data are appearing faster than lawmakers can address them. Is self-regulation enough? Hawes doesn't support a relaxed approach to data ethics. "It's unwise to avoid oversight and critical regulation in the hope self-regulation may be enough, as it rarely is." A 'wild west' model is attractive for short-term gains by freeing emerging markets from red tape, but loose protections don't create conditions for long-term growth or stable markets, especially in an age of social pressure on brands to be ethical. Can whitewashing be cleaned up? With limited regulative authority, a non-profit trade initiative likely isn't eager to bicker with companies they're working with. Organizations like Locus may be better placed, approaching economic ethics from a collaborative angle. Of course, some companies are only interested in the PR boost of appearing ethical by whitewashing their marketing because they don't want to be the only ones following the rules in a competitive arena. They end up paying lip service alone, without taking the issues seriously. Hawes thinks despite this, there's still benefit in working in good faith. "To get ethically reluctant companies to behave well with data, is it better to give them the benefit of the doubt or be critical and accusing? I think, better to have a company aspire to a good standard, even if it's empty promises, because they can at least be held to those standards in some way." Less direct ways of influencing A cooperative strategy may create the best conditions in a self-regulating atmosphere. When ethics groups collaborate with business, they influence thousands of staff members, creating internal pressure for higher standards in the boardroom. It's also worth championing an ethical company for consumers looking to do the right thing with their money. Though strategies like these can't do it all, they have worked, motivating large companies to produce net-carbon zero plans and banks to create green investment options. But data misuse is not the same as pollution. "It's harder to see and analyze compared with other high-profile scandals, so it's hard to translate into a common grievance that can unite people," says Hawes. Will something have to go badly wrong for the world to take it seriously? Hawes considers, "If authorities avoid developing solutions until a problem causes substantial harm, they'll still need about a decade to develop tools that would be effective in this complex market. Governments should be working on this yesterday." In other words, have a fire extinguisher ready when playing with matches, rather than trying to invent one as your house burns down. Reforming data use culture The task of reforming fast-evolving data industries is daunting. Hawes' recommended method involves slowly, steadily establishing ethical practice as the norm. "The UK has the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum for sharing information and approaches. It lets regulators gain knowledge of the risks data and digitalized business generate, so they can manage them sector by sector. We need a forum like that on an international scale," says Hawes. "Understanding risks like explainability, transparency and bias creates a foundation for building standards that address the problem and brings stability to the data economy." This pressure can also come from outside industry, and often flavors the expectations that filter into business. "More public debate on how we can avoid driving digital inequalities would go a long way," says Hawes. "This is particularly important in social media, which is the frontline of data ethics in many ways." While data privacy issues haven't seen the emphasis Hawes and his peers would like, they're eager to change the culture. Business can choose to be part of the solution and be heralded as ethical data use champions for their efforts.
satellite monitoring

How satellites are becoming a crucial weapon against climate change

  • Tech for good
  • min read
    • This decade is critical in the fight against climate change. We're starting to experience its repercussions in our daily lives, and many governments now understand scientists' projections mean they must enact more stringent sustainability measures. With decarbonization policy, green energy overhauls and pollution taxes agreed as the best solution, government and industry must develop affordable, workable sustainability technologies. An eye on the Arctic European Space Agency (ESA)'s Mark Drinkwater explains, "Throughout the satellite era, polar scientists pointed to the Arctic as a harbinger of more widespread global impacts of climate change. As the events of 2020 make their marks in the climate record, it's evident a 'green' low-carbon Europe alone is insufficient to combat the effects of climate change." Our acute understanding of the scale of the problem we face is thanks in part to climate-monitoring satellites. While weather satellites have been in our skies since the Space Race days, observation platforms for environmental monitoring achieved lift-off in the 2000s. These satellites track disasters like wildfires, hurricanes and oil spills, and longer-term shifts in temperature, loss of polar ice and changes in the jet streams. ESA's Copernicus Program delivers expansive climate monitoring services using their Sentinel satellites. Copernicus recently reported July 2020 as the third warmest July on record and several heatwaves and wildfires in the Arctic Circle. Multiplying like wildfire Arctic permafrost contains some of the most carbon-rich soils of any environment, safely frozen for centuries. As it thaws, it releases stores of CO2 and particles, causing an exponential warming cycle, particularly when subjected to wildfires – common in the Arctic as they are elsewhere. Multiplier events like these have scientists worried that politicians' optimistic predictions are far-fetched. The next wave of Sentinel systems is gearing up as Copernicus 2.0 gains momentum. One candidate mission is the Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer (CIMR) platform, a microwave radiometer giving all-weather, high-resolution estimation of ocean and sea-ice features like temperature and salinity. Another is the CRISTAL mission, measuring sea ice thickness and snow depth with a dual-frequency radar altimeter and microwave radiometer. ESA's Director for Earth Observation, Josef Aschbacher, explains, "These missions will provide new year-round monitoring throughout the Arctic and CO2 emissions data to support the European Green Deal." Early warning of disasters could save lives The sharp end of environmentally turbulent times is the increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters. In April 2021, ESA awarded a three-year contract to develop a natural disaster early warning system to a consortium including a maritime satellite communications provider, an independent research group and a meteorological tech developer. Aiming to help governments with emergency response, it will use a reliable, mobile satellite network and earth-based internet of things (IoT) infrastructure to alert at-risk populations to danger. "We aim to demonstrate using a secure satellite communication‑IoT solution to help civil government reduce risks from geohazards like avalanches, debris flow and floods," said senior researcher Ivan Depina. The project will be trialed in Trøndelag, Norway, a region whose geology and climate make it especially susceptible to natural disasters like landslide and flood. Sounding the alarm on commodity-driven deforestation Constant monitoring at satellite scale could prove a powerful defense for vital natural ecosystems like forests and peatland, under threat from irresponsible agriculture, natural disasters and climate change impacts. One satellite sustainability project making a stir in this arena is Ecometrica's Forests 2020 project, funded by the UK Space Agency's International Partnerships Programme (IPP.) The satellite sustainability reporting service worked with the Ghana Forestry Commission and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to map land use across Ghana and segregate cocoa agriculture from natural forests. The Ecometrica platform, the new map and other satellite-based data like deforestation alerts mean commodity trading companies can have their environmental impact more accurately assessed to help stamp out deforestation. Ecometrica also works on soy, oil palm and tobacco projects, producing data commodity trading companies can use to regulate their activities and inform environmental protection investment. "To make an impact, satellite-derived insights must be delivered in ways decision-makers in government and the private sector understand. Forests 2020 made clear governments and companies can use this kind of information to understand their impacts and climate risks, and take action," says Ecometrica's McGregor. "Satellite-based monitoring is an affordable way to monitor ecosystems at scale, guiding priority interventions, investment needed to protect threatened ecosystems and future risks to these regions from climate change." NASA leading the charge NASA on their climate research and monitoring goals for 2022 and beyond In 2021 NASA asked the US government to increase funding for their work, including climate monitoring. The administration had already established a Senior Climate Advisor at NASA to prioritize environmental objectives. A large part of NASA's new climate work includes the Earth System Observatory, connecting satellites data to produce a "3D, holistic view of Earth, from bedrock to atmosphere," useful for tracking climate change, improving conservation and disaster mitigation. "I've seen first-hand the impact of hurricanes made more intense and destructive by climate change," explains NASA Administrator Senator Bill Nelson. "[Our] response to climate change matches the magnitude of the threat: A whole of government, all-hands-on-deck approach." The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine's 2017 to 2027 Earth Science Survey, outlining climate science objectives like air quality forecasting, drought assessment and ecosystem carbon fluxes, informed the observatory's design. Senator Nelson continued, "Over the past three decades, much of what we've learned about the changing climate is built on NASA satellite observations and research. NASA's new Earth System Observatory will expand that work, providing the world with an unprecedented understanding of Earth's climate system, arming us with next-generation data critical to mitigating climate change, and protecting our communities in the face of natural disasters." Scientists know well the extent of climate change and national organizations are starting to act. With corporations following suit, we could have the power to reverse climate change's worst-case scenario, a genuinely apocalyptic 4 degrees warmer world. With the best tools identifying the options to move forward, we cannot afford to ignore their observations. Our eyes in orbit see the bigger picture unfolding.

Recycled plastic rocket fuel has lift-off in waste-free space

  • Emerging tech
  • min read
    • The space rocket was once thought an achievement of human ingenuity so grand that the pollutants it generated were hardly considered. But now we're seeing several launches a month, their carbon dioxide (CO2) output is adding up. Scottish space company Skyrora thinks it's found an answer: A high-grade fuel manufactured from petrochemicals sourced from previously unrecyclable plastics. They believe Ecosene, a fuel similar to kerosene, could disrupt the fossil fuel economy. Recycling plastics isn't the solution many of us imagine as we dutifully rinse our milk and shampoo bottles. A paper published in Science Advances estimates we're recycling less than nine percent of plastic at the end of its life, and encouraging more recycling can't address the reasons for the low rate of plastic recycling. In 2015, a paper in the journal Science estimated that up to eight million tons of plastic enter the oceans each year. The Ocean Conservancy calculates seas will contain 250 million tons of plastic by 2030. A proven eco-fuel I spoke to Derek Harris, Business Operations Manager at Skyrora. "We need a way to extend the life cycle of plastics – one that doesn't include burying or burning them," Harris explains. "We developed the first batch of Ecosene at a small test facility in Slovakia, turning about a ton of unrecyclable plastic into about 600kg of high-performance fuel for rockets or commercial jet aircraft." That's enough for an efficient jet to fly over 24,000 passenger kilometers – further than London Heathrow to Auckland, New Zealand. To further reduce aviation's footprint, Skyrora hopes to make a transportable system called a 'skid' that allows processing materials to make Ecosene at airports. Making the eco fuel at its site of use would cut another environmental cost of aviation: Transporting fuel from where it's made to where it's needed. Manufacturing innovation meets recycling breakthrough "We use plastics like polystyrene, polyester and polypropylene that are usually unrecyclable when clean," Harris clarifies. "Ecosene's production process means we can even use unclean waste plastics." Mixed plastics, some harder to recycle than others, and unclean plastics, are barriers to effective plastic disposal and recycling, which has motivated some countries to burn plastic waste, releasing pollutants into the air. Being able to use unclean plastics stands this eco-fuel apart as a recycling option. The fuel's developers have produced plans for marine vehicles that would collect plastic waste from oceans and perform the first step in the Ecosene manufacturing process onboard. The vessels would then transport the waste to nearby facilities for the next steps to convert the plastics to eco-fuel. Manufacturing petrochemical fuel can produce damaging waste, which Ecosene also addresses. "Processes similar to Ecosene production release harmful gases, but we use these for heating, recycling some of the waste within the manufacturing process." Ecosene also contains less sulfur than the form of kerosene rockets use (RP-1 kerosene.) As an atmospheric pollutant, sulfur causes respiratory disease, acid rain and tree and crop damage. Others have tried to recycle petrochemical plastics into usable fuels before, often failing because it's hard to extract excess the paraffin waxes manufacture generates. Skyrora's breakthrough was a low-temperature catalytic pyrolysis process that separates the paraffin waxes, leaving an effective eco-fuel. Too good to be true? Ecosene boasts more commercial competitiveness and environmental effectiveness than fuels from other energy companies. Having followed Ecosene's journey from inception to testing to launch, I had to ask Harris if it was all too good to be true. He told me, "Before I agreed to take over the Ecosene project from Skyrora, I wanted to see the process working and tested. 21 tests later, including an upper-stage rocket engine for low-earth orbital missions and support, we found Ecosene was one to three percent better than kerosene in energy characteristics. Their claims stood up to scrutiny, and there were signs we could further improve the formula." Harris continued, "That said, I wouldn't claim it's the ultimate solution to the plastic waste crisis. We must address the climate crisis at source, but in the meantime, we've found a strategy to address one of its many symptoms." With hydrogen and biofuels on the rise, Ecosene will see its share of competitors. While reliable and designed to address plastics mitigation at its core, Ecosene is still a CO2-producing fuel that can't contribute to carbon neutrality targets. But hydrogen fuels and engines struggle to produce the power needed for flight: Airbus says their commercial hydrogen jets would be ready to fly around 2035. In the meantime, in rockets and jets, Ecosene makes a compelling replacement for traditional kerosene.
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