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Obama talks social media and climate change in final address
During his farewell address President Obama tackled many different issues, from the importance of our democratic institutions and the lingering effects of racism. But he also took a few moments to briefly address the economic, environmental and technical challenges facing Americans of all stripes.
Obama: Clean energy has an 'irreversible momentum'
Listen to the rhetoric and you'd be forgiven for thinking that Barack Obama's presidential legacy will be torn apart in the next couple of months. But the 44th president believes that his work in pushing America toward a cleaner, greener future won't be undone as easily as his successor believes. That's the subject of a piece that Obama has written for Science entitled "The irreversible momentum of clean energy."
Obama's social archive is available for your perusal
Twitter and Facebook first appeared to the masses around 2006, and two years later, Barack Obama became president. As such, he was the first @POTUS to use social media, to the tune of more than 100 social media profiles and over 250,000 posts. To record all that for posterity, the White House collaborated with ArchiveSocial on the White House Social Media Archive. It's a searchable database of everything Obama and his administration posted on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Instagram and Pinterest over two terms and eight years.
Obama uses 1953 law to block Arctic drilling under Trump
President Obama has blocked any attempts at drilling for oil off the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. This would "indefinitely" stop oil and natural gas extraction in the areas, according to a report by CNBC. And unlike executive orders that've been signed into place over the past eight years, this apparently can't be easily undone by President-elect Trump when he takes office.
Obama administration says Putin orchestrated US election hacks
Russian president Vladimir Putin personally oversaw the cyber attacks on the United States' political infrastructure this year, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said today in a press conference attended by the AP. This follows yesterday's report from NBC News claiming US intelligence officials had evidence that Putin was involved in the hacks. The White House has not offered evidence for its claims, though intelligence officials first revealed Russia's involvement in the cyber attacks in October.
Washington Post: CIA concluded Russia intervened to help Trump
President Obama has reportedly opened an investigation into cyber attacks and foreign influence on the recent election, however, according to the Washington Post, a CIA assessment has already pointed the finger. The Post claims a CIA shared its latest report with senators in a briefing last week, telling them it was "clear" that Russia had a goal of electing Donald Trump. This differs from previous reports, where intelligence agencies said interference occurred to undermine US confidence in the election.
Obama's got a new cybersecurity plan, but what's the point?
There's been a lot of hot air blown across headlines this week about the big cybersecurity plan proposed by the White House's Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity (PDF). The plan for a commission to create long-term recommendations on beefing up America's cybersecurity was first hatched in April. It's a roadmap that should've been plotted many years ago, and is now being regifted to the next administration. Which may or may not use it for toilet paper.
Cybersecurity commission calls for increased investment and innovation
In April, President Obama officially formed the The Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity to examine the country's electronic vulnerabilities in the wake of high-profile hacks like that of the Office of Personnel Management in 2015. Today that commission finally wrapped up its duties and delivered a comprehensive report to the President (and the public) identifying areas of weakness and offering concrete steps to improve.
The next president gets Obama's 11 million Twitter followers
For the nation's first social media president, the peaceful transfer of power includes a little more than turning over the nuclear launch codes to the next Commander in Chief -- it also includes handing over access to the official @POTUS Twitter account. According to the White House, on January 20th, 2017, that handle and all of its 11 million followers will go to the nation's 45th president, while all of President Obama's tweets will be moved over to his new, official Former President account at @POTUS44.
Galaxy Note 7 recall becomes a presidential punchline
Samsung is having a tough time. The fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 is one the biggest blunders ever in tech and now President Obama is using it as a punchline.
WikiLeaks dump reveals Obama's personal email address
Hacked files published by WikiLeaks reveal that Barack Obama's personal email address in 2008, just before he secured the US presidency, was bobama@ameritech.net. The information comes via emails stolen from Hillary Clinton campaign chief John Podesta and published on WikiLeaks, CNBC reports. Messages to and from Obama's personal email account largely focus on planning his new administration (yes, before he actually won the election).
Can big data and AI fix our criminal-justice crisis?
America, land of the free. Yeah, right. Tell that to the nearly 7 million people incarcerated in the US prison system. The United States holds the dubious distinction of having the highest per capita incarceration rate of any nation on the planet -- 716 inmates for every 100,000 population. We lock up more of our own people than Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan or Russia. And once you're in, you stay in. A 2005 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) followed 400,000 prisoners in 30 states after their release and found that within just three years, more than two-thirds had been rearrested. That figure rose to over 75 percent by 2010.
President Obama will guest host on Science Channel this week
Just because President Obama is months away from leaving office doesn't mean he's done promoting science education. The American leader is guest hosting Science Channel's Science Presents DNews every day this week (April 11th through 15th) -- yes, the head of the country will be delivering the latest happenings in biology, space and technology while you're settling down for the night. If you want to check it out, you can tune in at 9PM.
Obama proposes oil tax to fund clean transportation
President Obama has proposed a $10 per-barrel tax on oil to fund cleaner mass transit and cleaner vehicle research. The plan, laid out in a fact sheet, is a "smart, strategic integrated investments to help reduce carbon pollution, strengthen economy" according to the White House.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: The Detroit Auto Show, SOTU and more!
The North American International Auto Show kicked off this week in Detroit, and we hit the floor to bring you seven of the best green cars, including a hot hydrogen sedan and the world's first electric minivan. The Obama administration heralded the age of autonomous vehicles with a new plan to invest $4 billion in self-driving car technology. As usual, Tesla is ahead of the curve: This week Elon Musk announced that the automaker's first fully autonomous cars will hit streets by the year 2018. And Tesla also took honors as the Model S was declared the world's top-selling electric car of 2015.
Go behind the scenes of the State of the Union with Snapchat
The White House announced today that it had joined Snapchat ahead of tomorrow's State of the Union address, the last before President Obama leaves office. Snapchat is a social site where users' fleeting posts disappear after just a few seconds. It boasts over 100 million active users, most of which weren't even old enough to vote when he was elected -- that is, they're under 25. Users can follow the president's posts by adding WhiteHouse or scanning the snapcode below.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Elon Musk's solar energy plan
It's been a good week for environmental news. For starters, world leaders sealed the deal on a historic climate agreement in Paris, President Obama announced the largest energy efficiency rule in US history and congress extended solar and wind tax credits for another five years. Elon Musk found a way to power the entire United States with solar energy, and Bernie Sanders declared war on global warming in his ambitious climate plan. Google expanded its free online solar power calculator to nine more states, while SolarPod launched an innovative line of photovoltaic panels that can be installed on any roof without drilling a single hole.
Congress will give NASA nearly $20 billion next year
In a surprise move, the Republican-controlled Congress has promised to give NASA roughly $19.3 billion dollars next year as part of its 2016 omnibus spending bill. That's nearly a billion dollars beyond the $18.5 billion that the Obama administration had requested and $1.23 billion more than the agency received last year.
Chicago's mayor wants every American high school grad to know how to code
Rahm Emanuel, former Chief of Staff for the Obama administration and current mayor of Chicago, has called on the president to institute computer coding competency as a national requirement to graduate high school. "Just make it a requirement," Emanuel said during a recent Washington Post-sponsored policy event. "I am fine with Common Core. We adopted it in the city, one of the first cities to do it. I'm great. [But] you need this skill — national policy. Make it a high-school graduation requirement."
White House Demo Day focuses on diversity
When the White House hosts a Demo Day, tech entrepreneurs come out to play. The Obama administration kicked off its first ever showcase for startups today. It isn't your typical day of demonstrations and matchmaking that brings entrepreneurs closer to prospective funders. Instead, it's about pushing for much-needed diversity in the largely homogenous tech world. As such, the innovators showcasing their stories directly to POTUS come from diverse backgrounds. According to the site, "these stories exemplify how we can 'grow the pie' by including all Americans in our innovation economy."
