Patrick Bellew Source:&nbsp Astrid Eckert / PhotographieEnvironmental engineer Atelier Tens founding director Patrick Bellew is stepping down after 34 years Bellew will leave the environmental design, building services and lighting design consultancy at the end of the year, Atelier Ten confirmed.The award-winning engineer founded the company in 1990. It now employs more than 350 staff in 11 different countries.As of January, Bellew will step into a new role as senior sustainability adviser at the Surbana Jurong Group (SJ Group) the global design collective which Atelier Ten joined in 2020. There he will continue to provide mentorship and ambassadorship of SJs sustainability, according to Atelier Ten.AdvertisementThe SJ Group is a Singaporean government-owned consultancy whose 16,000-strong workforce includes architects, designers, planners, engineers, facilities managers and other specialists. It has more than 120 offices in 40 different countries.The other member companies in the group are AETOS, B+H, CHIL, KTP, Prostruct, Robert Bird Group, SAA and SMEC.Bellew will also be reprising a former role as visiting professor at Yale Universitys School of Architecture, where he will run a design studio, and embracing a second educational role as a royal designer for industry at theRoyal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).Nico Kienzi, a founding director of Atelier Tens New York City office, who has worked with Bellew for 21 years, took over as senior executive director of Atelier Ten internationally in 2023.Meanwhile, Duncan Campbell, a director of the London office since early 2023, will become Atelier Tens UK executive director.AdvertisementThe consultancy has collaborated on projects including Googles new London HQ with Heatherwick Studio and BIG, the National Theatre in London with Haworth Tompkins, Singapore's Gardens by the Bay with WilkinsonEyre and Grant Associates, and Zaha Hadid Architects Beeah HQ in Sharjah, in the UAE.Atelier Ten said Kienzi and Campbell will be working closely to bring forward a new generation of leadership to take on the environmental challenges of the next decade while ensuring Atelier Ten continues to work on the most exciting, interesting and cutting-edge construction projects in the UK.Bellew said: After 34 years leading Atelier Ten, four years of which have been within SJ, it is the right time to hand over the baton so I can take on a strategic advisory role and pursue other interests including teaching and writing.I have had the immense privilege of working with some incredible people from colleagues to clients, collaborators, and peers who have each played a vital role in our ambition for a greener future.I am confident that both Atelier Ten and SJ will continue to drive forward innovation in the built environment to create a more sustainable world.Campbell said was is delighted that Bellew would continue to support [Atelier Ten] in his new role, adding: The opportunity to work with a pioneer in this field is what attracted me to work at Atelier Ten, and we will continue to use his positive, proactive approach to develop the next chapter of Atelier Ten in the UK and Europe.2024-11-12Anna Highfieldcomment and share

Goodbye, October!Our teams around the globe got festive to mark the end of last month! From costume contests and spooky movie marathons to joyous Diwali celebrations, enjoy some photos of our favourite moments now.In LondonOur London crew dressed to impress this year with a spook-tacular range of costumes!In CanadaIn Montreal and Vancouver, our crews celebrated with all-day spooky movie marathons, karaoke competitions, and amazing costumes!In SydneyOur Sydney crew showed off their egg-celent costumes (sorry, couldnt resist!) and amazing artistry.In IndiaTo celebrate Diwali, our CEO Namit Malhotra hosted a Diwali Puja in our Santacruzoffice! Huge thank you to all our incredible employees who joined the festivities!

California residents have plenty of broadband options. Here are CNETs picks for the best internet providers in the Golden State.

H&R Block has agreed to a $7 million proposed settlementby the Federal Trade Commission, following a lawsuit filed against the tax filing service by the agency in February.The FTC accused H&R Block of deceptively marketing its do-it-yourself tax filing services as free to customers who didn't qualify for its Free Online tier. And even if they did qualify, H&R Block nudged users into upgrading to paid tax-filing products they didn't need."American taxpayers who seek tax-filing help should be able to choose the services they need -- and know the truth about how much they'll pay," Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement.The $7 million payment will be used to pay customers impacted by the H&R Block's business practices, according to the FTC.Similar to FTC's legal battle with TurboTax, H&R Block will be required to disclose in its free advertising the "percentage of taxpayers who are eligible" for the tier or if the "majority of taxpayers do not qualify.""H&R Block prides itself in providing consumers with quality online tax preparation products, which has never been an issue in this matter," an H&R Block spokesperson told CNET in an email. "We will continue to work through this process with the Commission."Read more: TurboTax Can't Call Its Services Free Anymore, Unless They're Free to AllH&R Block software changes in 2025 and 2026As part of the settlement, H&R Block will implement changes to its software by 2026 to fix a few pain points of using the service.Previous versions of H&R Block software made it difficult for customers to downgrade from a paid tier to its free service. If you were to start your return with H&R Block Deluxe (which currently costs $55 for a federal return and $49 per state return) and realize you can file for free, you'd have to call H&R Block to downgrade or contact a customer service agent via live chat.If you were to reach out to customer service and downgrade, you'd have to start your tax return over -- and the information you already entered wouldn't be saved.Starting on Feb. 15, 2025, H&R Block will be required to allow customers to downgrade tiers without needing to contact customer service. This includes providing an "easily noticeable and always available way" for consumers to downgrade online, the FTC said. By 2026, H&R Block will also have to return customers to the same point of their tax return after downgrading so they can continue.

OpinionNovember 12, 20245 min readWe Need to Ensure Legal Cannabis Is SafeTodays cannabis plant is highly cultivated and incredibly potent. Treating it like a commodity, and not a testable, regulated medicine, is hurting peopleBy Yasmin Hurd Aninka Bongers-Sutherland/Getty ImagesFruit-flavored gummies. Tinctures. Creams.Todays cannabis is not simply dried flowers in plastic baggies or the special ingredient in dorm-room brownies. These days, it comes in candy form, suppositories and even vaporizable dab and wax concentrates. This new cannabis is heavily engineered, cultivated and manufactured to reach THC concentrations of up to 90 percent (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), whereas earlier plants had only 2 to 4 percent. And while the cannabis of yore was something that required more under-the-radar action, todays cannabis, blended into a cornucopia of products, is readily available at a neighborhood store, depending on where you live.The ubiquity of cannabis creates the impression that it is akin to an evening glass of wine or a nice IPA. That is misleading. The reality is that scientists, policy makers and public knowledge have not kept pace with the rapid expansion of the cannabis market; we do not even know if the products on shelves of dispensaries are truly safe or alleviate the specific symptoms retail cannabis sellers claim they will.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.I study both the beneficial and harmful health effects of cannabis, and in a recent report released by the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM), my co-authors and I broke down the public health concerns we saw with the commoditization and high-THC cultivation of cannabis in this country. The bottom line is that our state patchwork of laws leaves many users in legal limbo. Our knowledge of what high-potency cannabis does to the body is evolving. To treat it simply like a food, cosmetic or over-the-counter medication as its now sold is misleading, if not dangerous. We have to do more to make sure what people consume is uniform and safe.The push to legalize cannabis in the U.S. has created an unprecedented situation. The Food and Drug Administration by law mandates thorough safety and efficacy testing to determine whether new plant, medicine or food products can be marketed to the public. For cannabis, voters and ballot measures have decided that cannabis is medicine and safe for public use.Thus cannabis and derived cannabinoid products, which are marketed as treatments for sleep, anxiety and pain, and as ways to augment creativity, have largely bypassed this federal regulation. That legislative leapfrog has resulted in a state-by-state patchwork of laws in the U.S., allowing new cannabis products to enter the market with minimal oversight. While those gummies and tinctures may tell consumers how much THC is in them, or in what form, consumers don't know if the product is safe. Nor do we know if it's effective. We don't even independently know if the "dosage" on the label is actually correct.This includes hemp-derived products, sold on the unsubstantiated assertions that they are THC-light. While these are intoxicating, consumers are told they are safer than traditional cannabis (hemp has less than 0.3 percent THC). Until rigorous research is conducted on the various forms of cannabis, classifying it uniformly as a safe drug is wrong.In my work as director of the Addiction Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, I know that we still lack sufficient understanding of how these modern, highly potent and concentrated forms of cannabis affect our health. Highly potent and concentrated cannabis and cannabinoid products are associated with significant mental and physical health risks, including the development of schizophrenia or psychosis, respiratory symptoms including chronic bronchitis, and lower birth weight from prenatal exposure. This is not adequately or equitably reflected in our legislation or public understandingWhat this means is that states that fully legalize cannabis use fail to consider the hazards of high potency and concentrated THC. Hemp-derived semi-synthetic products, including delta-8-THC, are far removed from the original plant, and on top of intoxicating users, they can contain harmful chemicals that are a byproduct of processing. Marketing these products as safe is dishonest and not supported by data.If we want the public use of cannabis to be not only safe, but effective and nondiscriminatory, laws on cannabis must be standardized nationally, based on data. In many states, using the products of cannabis plants still arbitrarily carries criminal charges. In others, while hemp products are being sold legally from stylized brick-and-mortar dispensaries, using other forms of cannabis is illegal.The federal government must be proactive; rather than waiting to address further harms, which is how we developed our alcohol and tobacco policy, it can use that established policy to set the groundwork on safe cannabis use.In many ways, cannabis legalization has made it easier to conduct research on its use. What we know now is that cannabis use disorder is a growing concern likely because of the availability of extremely potent products, as well as daily or near-daily use. Cannabis use in people ages 12 and older currently exceeds that of alcohol consumption. My research, along with that of many other investigators, demonstrates that developmental THC exposure has long-term effects on both brains and behavior that are relevant to psychiatric risk into adulthood.Framing cannabis as a general wellness product or a benign recreational drug is an overcorrection from the fear-mongering days of it being a gateway drug. While those fear-based campaigns caused real harm to our communities, the current promotion of cannabis as completely harmless is equally misleading. An evidence-based, public education campaign, especially one targeting people most at risksuch as children, teens, pregnant individuals and those over 65 would significantly improve knowledge and encourage safer health choices regarding its use.Providing accurate information about reducing the risks associated with cannabis can empower individuals to make informed decisions about their health. Health equity must also address the impact of the high density of cannabis retailers now placed in low-income communities and communities of color, which have already suffered from the previous harsh cannabis laws. Moreover, while cannabis arrests did decrease in states that legalized it, the NASEM report indicates that this decline primarily benefited white people. Our current landscape of state laws continues to promote racial inequities in both justice and health.In addition to standardizing legalization policies, I strongly urge policy makers to remove barriers to effective research on the health impacts of cannabis legalization. As noted in our report, enhanced population-level data collection from the CDC, and elimination of the restrictions against studying the legalization of cannabis by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, would enable health researchers to keep better pace with the evolving cannabis landscape. This would ensure that cannabis products are safe and that there are data to inform consumers about their effectiveness.The cannabis plant itself is not inherently good or bad, but its modern iterations are more varied and less understood. This knowledge gap should be a real cause for concern; a historic 42 percent of adults in 2023 ages 19 to 30, and 29 percent of those ages 35 to 50, used cannabis during the prior year. Without more nuanced and updated data on cannabis, policies will unfortunately continue to be driven by public perception rather than public health. We owe it to the public to investigate this complex and evolving cannabis landscape and to develop evidence-based policies that prioritize peoples health.This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

November 12, 20244 min readMethane Leaks Are Everywhere. The Trump Administration May Repeal Penalty Meant to Reduce ThemA fee created to push oil and gas companies to plug methane leaks could be axed by the incoming Trump administration, hampering efforts to curb the potent greenhouse gasBy Jean Chemnick & E&E NewsA natural gas flare burns near an oil pump jack at the New Harmony Oil Field in Grayville, Illinois, US, on Sunday, June 19, 2022. Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesCLIMATEWIRE | EPA finalized regulations Tuesday for a fee that oil and gas companies could begin paying on excess methane emissions next year if Republicans dont repeal it first.The rule guides implementation of a levy created by the 2022 climate law and is the last important climate standard of the Biden administration. It was unveiled at an event on the sidelines of this years U.N. climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, shortly before a U.S.-China methane summit.EPA Administrator Michael Regan, who did not attend the global meeting, said in a statement that the rule is the latest in a series of actions under President Bidens methane strategy to improve efficiency in the oil and gas sector, support American jobs, protect clean air, and reinforce U.S. leadership on the global stage.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.EPA estimated that the levy would keep 1.2 million metric tons of methane out of the atmosphere through 2035 and deliver up to $2 billion in climate benefits.Companies will begin paying the levy next year for excess emissions released in 2024. Oil and gas operators will pay $900 for each metric ton of methane that's above a threshold enshrined in the Inflation Reduction Act. The fee, called the waste emissions charge, will climb to $1,500 a ton for 2026 and beyond. The levy reinforces EPAs Clean Air Act rules for methane by ensuring that if operators arent covered by those standards or dont comply with them they would pay the fee.But President-elect Donald Trumps victory last week throws doubt on the future of President Joe Bidens methane policies particularly the methane fee. Trump could direct former Rep. Lee Zeldin, a New York Republican whom Trump announced as his future EPA administrator Monday, to pare back elements of those policies or scrap them. Zeldin faces Senate confirmation.The Biden EPA has rolled out important methane rules at each of the last three U.N. climate summits. The administration has also built its climate diplomacy around the need to curb methane a superpollutant that's 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at raising temperatures over a 20-year time horizon.The U.S. joined the European Union in 2021 to launch the Global Methane Pledge, which has resulted in more than 150 countries promising to work together to reduce global methane at least 30 percent by 2030. The U.S. summit with China on Tuesday marks the second time the biggest two polluters are meeting to curb the potent gas.But under Trump, EPA could quickly begin the process of pulling back and replacing Biden-era methane rules with laxer standards including those that drive implementation of the methane fee. Because the rule is being finalized so late in Biden's term, Republican lawmakers could invalidate it through a Congressional Review Act resolution.But experts say those moves wouldnt absolve Trumps EPA from having to implement the fee.The law is still the law, said one industry advocate who was granted anonymity to talk about future policies.A CRA resolution would allow the Trump administration to craft a more industry-friendly methane fee. It could, for instance, make it easier for oil and gas operators to claim fee exemptions offered under the Inflation Reduction Act. Trump could also let operators delay paying the fee until their annual greenhouse gas reports are finalized late in the year. The Trump EPA could also allow corporations to net emissions across all assets, removing restrictions on how cleaner facilities may compensate for dirtier ones to mitigate fees.If Trump and congressional Republicans wish to kill the methane fee, they would have to enact legislation to repeal it. Democrats and Biden moved the IRA through the annual budget process, and the GOP could potentially use the same maneuver to undo parts of it. Trade groups like the American Petroleum Institute and Independent Petroleum Association of America oppose the fee.Rosalie Winn, an attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund, said legislation to scrap the fee would be directly contrary to the interests of the American people.We know that reducing methane pollution is the single most important and lowest-cost way to lower the warming that we are experiencing today and to protect the communities across America that are already being affected by extreme weather events and rapidly increasing insurance costs, she said, noting that the methane fee is a revenue raiser and its repeal would add to the federal deficit.Although the fee is unpopular with industry, not all of Biden's other methane policies are.EPA is on track to release hundreds of millions of dollars from the IRA in the coming weeks to help operators slash emissions. Many oil and gas industry advocates fear that jettisoning EPA rules for leak prevention and monitoring could leave U.S. companies vulnerable to international and state methane policies. They also note that many operators have their own climate commitments that are roughly in line with EPAs methane rule.This story also appears in Energywire.Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2024. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.

Gorgeous horticultural puzzler Botany Manor comes to PlayStation in DecemberFlower power.Image credit: Balloon Studios/Whitethorn Games/Eurogamer News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 12, 2024 Botany Manor - the beautiful, bucolic country house puzzler from developer Balloon Studios - is finally PlayStation-bound, and will be planting itself on PS4 and PS5 from 17th December.Botany Manor, which released for Xbox and PC earlier, whisks players to Somerset, England on an almost impossibly Mediterranean summer's day in 1890. Here, they'll embark on a wonderfully serene journey through the life of retired botanist Arabella Greene, which unfolds as they explore her sprawling, memorabilia-strewn home - the Botany Manor of the title - doing a sport of genteel first-person puzzling as they go.Central to Botany Manor's puzzles is the Herbarium a book of pressed plants for scientific study - which players gradually fill in by combining and cross-referencing clues found around Arabella's home, slowly uncovering how the fantastical flowers detailed within will bloom out in the wild. Its conundrums can only be fully completed, however, once freshly procured seeds have been teased to life by replicating the process in the book using artificial means.Botany Manor - PlayStation trailer.Watch on YouTubeIt's soothing, quietly brilliant stuff, Botany Manor's puzzles gradually increasingly in complexity in a way that really encourages players to explore their beautiful surroundings and immerse themselves in Arabella's world. "Perhaps an afternoon in Botany Manor's company will inflame your own curiosity for nature," I wrote in my four star review earlier this year, "or perhaps you'll simply be content to explore its sun-dabbled corners, solve its few clever puzzles, and enjoy the timeless pleasures of an enchanting summer's day stroll."Botany Manor is a genuinely lovely thing, and - I imagine - a perfect summery escape for PlayStation owners who'll be firing it up as the icy embrace of winter draws near. And if that appeals, it'll cost 20.99/$24.99 USD when it launches for PS5 and PS4 on 17th December.

Stellar Blade targeting 2025 PC release, sales expected to "exceed" consoleNew year's Eve.Image credit: Sony News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 12, 2024 Stellar Blade, the well-received sci-fi action-adventure from developer Shift Up, is targeting a 2025 release on PC, and the studio says it expects sales to exceed those seen on console.Stellar Blade, which tells the story of sword-wielding soldier Eve as she attempts to liberate Earth from a monstrous alien threat known as the Naytibas, released exclusively for PlayStation 5 back in April, going on to sell 1m copies by the end of June.And now Shift Up has announced plans to follow that success with a PC version at some point next year. The news was shared in the developer's Q3 2024 earnings report, where it said a Stellar Blade PC release was "being considered within 2025". It then added that due to "Steam's expanding market share in the AAA game sector and the global success of Black Myth: Wukong, we expect the performance on PC to exceed that on consoles."Stellar Blade launched for PS5 back in April.Watch on YouTubeBlack Myth: Wukong, for context, was a barnstorming success when it released in August, managing to sell 10m copies across PC and PS5 in just three days and quickly becoming the most-viewed game on Chinese livestreaming platforms. And while Shift Up's targets for Stellar Blade on PC are likely to be considerably more modest, the developer still has positive expectations for the game's ongoing popularity."To enhance the IP value and maintain momentum, we have been consistently releasing content patches and updates, which has helped sustain the game's popularity," it noted of the PS5 version, adding that, "With the addition of the Nier: Automata DLC and ongoing marketing activities, we plan to maintain the IP's popularity until the platform expansion."Stellar Blade's Nier: Automata DLC launches for PS5 on 20th November, and there's also a "no ponytail" hair option for Eve, plus a new photo mode, on the way.Eurogamer's Jessica Orr awarded Stellar Blade four stars when she reviewed it earlier this year. "[There's] a fair bit of weirdness," she wrote, "but its killer tunes and vibey, flow-state combat - plus a transformative hard mode - are enough to leave you entranced."

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereFortnite has been through multiple changes when it comes to its overall design, UI, gameplay and even the core modes Epic caters to its player base. From the leap of graphics in Unreal Engine 5.1 using Nanites and Lumen, to the change in locker system and Battle Pass progression, players have been quite vocal about the said modifications made to the game.Now one feature is something that players have been asking for from Epic ever since it was leaked in Creative mode and thats a First Person View or First Person Camera in the game. Epic has finally announced that the feature is arriving but might not be exactly how players wanted.Fortnite to launch first-person camera in UEFN this DecemberThe official Fortnite Creators account has announced that islands that are using the experimental First Person Camera in Creative mode will finally be allowed to be published starting December 11.Fortnite UEFN islands will be allowed to publish first-person maps next month. Image by Epic Games.This Weeks Fortnite Quiz Test Your Skills, Win FREE V-Bucks!Sign up for our newsletter, and well tell you exactly how you can win V-Bucks in this weeks Fortnite challenge!With the launch of Chapter 5 Season 4, Epic released an experimental camera that allows players to play in FPV mode but was restricted from publishing islands using that.Now since the camera is finally being made public, players are wondering if theyll have the option to change their view mode in Battle Royale and Zero Build game modes. Keeping in mind that while using some weapons in BR lets you enter an FPV camera mode, its highly likely that Chapter 6 will finally bring about this change in core Fortnite gameplay.Players who have been waiting for this update expressed their joy on socials with one user saying, Something devious will be unleashed. Another wrote, Its gonna be like a whole new game.However other Fortnite players expressed their concerns over the compatibility of non-moddable weapons with the first-person camera, and are hoping Epic finds a workaround for the same. FortnitePlatform(s):Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/XGenre(s):Action, Massively Multiplayer, Shooter9VideoGamerSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereFortnite players are always wondering about what Epic Games has in store for them next after the ongoing season comes to an end. With the current Chapter 2 Remix, loopers were hit hard with nostalgia for the iconic Chapter 2 island and gameplay once again, but with a unique twist.However, the same nostalgia was experienced by players a year ago when Fortnite OG arrived and it shattered all records Epic had set since the games launch. Now in a breakthrough announcement, Fortnite has officially announced that the beloved OG season will make a comeback, just the way players wanted.Fortnite OG makes a return as a game mode this DecemberFortnite has officially announced that the OG season will become a permanent game mode on December 6. The mode will be called Fortnite OG and will kick off with the Chapter 1 Season 1 island.Fortnite OG is returning as a permanent mode. Image by VideoGamer.This Weeks Fortnite Quiz Test Your Skills, Win FREE V-Bucks!Sign up for our newsletter, and well tell you exactly how you can win V-Bucks in this weeks Fortnite challenge!Epic further added that players will be able to relive Battle Royale from the start and explore the OG map, collect OG loot, and relive OG seasons when its out. Furthermore, leaks suggest that every month the mode will receive an update which will change seasons as it happened in the original Fortnite seasons back in 2017.Although it is still unclear if this will have any impact on the core Chapter 6 Battle Royale gameplay which is said to bring a Japanese theme and new POIs and gameplay mechanics. However, players are hoping for the mode to offer a similar OG experience as Reload and are looking forward to reliving some of the classic live events in-game once again. FortnitePlatform(s):Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/XGenre(s):Action, Massively Multiplayer, Shooter9VideoGamerSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share