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The tortoise and the hare With successful New Glenn flight, Blue Origin may finally be turning the corner "This is the very beginning of the Space Age." Eric Berger Jan 27, 2025 7:00 am | 3 New Glenn lifts off on its debut flight. Credit: Blue Origin New Glenn lifts off on its debut flight. Credit: Blue Origin Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreIf one were to observe that I have written critically about Blue Origin over the last half-decade, they would not be wrong.The reality is that the space company founded by Jeff Bezos has underperformed. Its chief executive for most of this time, Bob Smith, was poorly regarded by his employees. He brought the worst of "old space" tendencies to Blue Origin from Honeywell. And under Smith's leadership, Blue was litigious, slow, and unproductive.Frankly, it was a bad look for Bezos. He was pumping something on the order of $2 billion a year into Blue Origin for what, exactly? Lawsuits against NASA? Jokes about BE-4 rocket engine delays?Ars published critical articles about Blue Origin because the company could be so much more, and the Western spaceflight community desperately wants a second new space contender to challenge SpaceX's increasingly dominant position.Finally, about 18 months ago, Bezos moved on from Bob Smith. He installed a long-time lieutenant from Amazon, Dave Limp, to get Blue Origin moving forward. Although there were concerns about Limp's background, which included little aerospace experience, it now seems clear that he has taken a strong hand at Blue since he took over the reins in December 2023.In the time I have spent with him, Limp seems energetic, enthused, and committed to turning the ship around at Blue Origin. He has made it clear that the mandate he received from Bezos is to execute on the company's programsand to do so with urgency."Everybody believes in this mission," Limp said of Blue Origin's plans to enable millions of people to live and work in space. "So that was kind of the foundation which you could build a house on. But I think that getting the organization a little bit more focused was critical. We had a lot of balls in the air. We still do, but it was important to make sure that the organization knows what the priorities were for us this year. We weren't getting anywhere without engines and without New Glenn."When I met with Limp and Bezos earlier this month on a balcony overlooking the main factory in Florida where future New Glenn rockets are built, there did seem to be a clear sense of urgency. Several times during our interview, one of us had to speak up to be heard over the clanging of this or banging of that.Days later, the New Glenn rocket took flight for the first time. The flight was a smashing success, with both the rocket's first and second stages reaching orbit, an impressive achievement for a company's first orbital launch attempt. Although the first stage was not recovered, it was not expected to be on the first try.Many aerospace engineers and technicians will tell you that a rocket company doesn't become a real rocket company until it reaches orbit. Well, by that definition, Blue Origin is now a real rocket company. And with Limp's leadership and Bezos' renewed energy and enthusiasm, the successful launch appears to mark a critical moment for Blue looking ahead.So where are they going?The near-term step is clear: getting better at building engines and rockets and flying New Glenn regularly. At times during his remarks, Bezos sounded a lot like SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who has spoken about "building the machine that builds the machine" over the last decade with respect to both Tesla vehicles and SpaceX rockets.Asked about Blue's current priorities, Bezos responded, "Rate manufacturing and driving urgency around the machine that makes the machine."He noted that Blue Origin built a factory in Huntsville, Alabama, but it took time to get it up and running, and then running efficiently. "Same thing here with the second stage," he said, referring to the New Glenn factory in Florida. "We need to produce a lot of second stages. And we need to produce a lot of booster stages, too. Were completely vertically integrated, so its making those valves, its making the igniters. There needs to be rate manufacturing of everything you can imagine that goes into a rocket." Seven BE-4 engines burn methane on the way to orbit. Credit: Blue Origin Seven BE-4 engines burn methane on the way to orbit. Credit: Blue Origin One of the key questions about Blue Origin is whether it will push toward full reusability with New Glenn. In 2021, Ars first reported on an effort codenamed "Project Jarvis" to develop a stainless steel upper stage that could be reused. The company even built a test tank, although the effort was eventually shelved.The current upper stage of the rocket uses two BE-3U engines and is 23 meters (77 feet) tall. Multiple sources have said the upper stage is expensive, at least in its initial configuration, and that this significantly inflates the cost of building New Glenn. Bezos said the company would "compete" two solutions to this problem against one another: developing a reusable upper stage or driving down the manufacturing cost of the stage."If you can drive your manufacturing costs low enough in rate manufacturingif you ever get to a really well-oiled machine that makes the machineit's possible that, because of the performance increase that you get with an expendable upper stage, that could be the right solution for a long time," Bezos said. "So we're going to try to make the expendable upper stage so cheap to manufacture that a reusable stage can never compete with it. And we're going to try to make the reusable stage so operable that an expendable stage can never compete with it."This competition will play out over the coming years as Blue Origin seeks to ramp up its launch cadence. "We'll see which one wins," Bezos said. "It's not something that you can do on paper. You just have to try both."Blue Origin has not disclosed its internal costs to produce New Glenn, but with seven main engines on the booster stage, it's likely not cheap. From talking to Bezos and Limp, it's clear they want to drive down those costs."There is still a lot of room with these heavy lift vehicles to reduce cost even further," Limp said. "To get a kilogram to any orbit or to the lunar surface, we've got to take two orders of magnitude out of the cost. If you think about what happened in the automotive industry or television industry, you can really crank down costs. So this is the very beginning of that."Its still day oneBlue Origin's motto is "Gradatim Ferociter," which is Latin for "Step by Step, Ferociously." (We're big fans of Latin at Ars. If you've ever stumbled over the name of the site, it's Latin for 'Technical Arts," which is what we cover.)The long-running joke in the space industry is that we'd all like to see a little less "gradatim" and a little more "ferociter" from Blue Origin. The company's coat of armsyes, it has oneprominently features two turtles. A turtle logo is also stamped onto a New Shepard spacecraft after every mission. This is a reference to one of Aesop's Fables, "The Tortoise and the Hare," in which the slow and steady tortoise wins the race.Bezos clearly believes Blue Origin is the tortoise that will win the space race. Blue Origin's coat of arms. Credit: Blue Origin Blue Origin's coat of arms. Credit: Blue Origin When someone points out that Blue Origin has existed for nearly a quarter of a century, defenders of the company will say that Blue spent the first decade of that time largely operating as a think tank. Although this is, to some extent, true, Blue Origin was developing hardware by around 2005. From my reporting on the early years of SpaceX, I spoke with multiple engineers who were poached by Blue Origin or vice versa. There was a hot competition for the sharpest rocket scientists coming out of the best schools during this time. So yes, Blue Origin started as a think tank, and it remained small, but it absolutely has been developing hardware for two decades now.And what deliverables does it have to show for this? Its suborbital launch system, New Shepard, has flown 28 missions. Four of its BE-4 rocket engines have powered two launches of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket to orbit. And there was this month's New Glenn launch.That's it.It feels almost cruel to compare Blue Origin to SpaceX, which would be the "hare" in this fable. But it's necessary to do so. Founded in 2002, a couple of years after Blue Origin, SpaceX has launched about 450 orbital rockets to Blue Origin's one. It has put nearly six dozen astronauts into orbit, saving NASA from having to rely on Russia at a time of heightened geopolitical tension. Its Starlink constellation of more than 7,000 satellites delivers broadband Internet around the world. SpaceX is also developing the largest rocket in the world, Starship, with the aim of full reusability.When I wrote Reentry, my book about the Falcon 9 era at SpaceX, I spoke with someone who had worked at both companies. I asked them what the biggest difference between the two environments was. The quote, from the time period long before Limp became chief executive, reveals the magnitude of the challenge."They are the worlds largest single-donor nonprofit," this person told me of Blue Origin. "There is zero incentive to operate like SpaceX. Like, zero. I know Im going to get fed no matter what. The doors will never close. They start off with a huge disadvantage there. When you have a funding model like that, you attract the dreamer who says, Where can I go to work on something crazy and make a good salary at 40 hours a week? Where can you work on a space elevator and get paid? Who are the types of people who want to work on space elevators? So theres a selection bias. You need to take extraordinary measures to account for that, and they dont have them."In Blue Origin's defense, the products they have delivered have been of high quality. New Shepard has set the bar for suborbital space tourism. The BE-4 engine has performed excellently. And, of course, New Glenn performed well on its first flight.But there are many people in the industry who would like to see Blue Origin move much faster, and indeed, to come close to SpaceX, it must do exactly that. I asked Bezos about this."I would say, 'Stay tuned,'" he said. "This is the very beginning of the Space Age. When the history is finally written hundreds of years from now, the 1960s will be a certain kind of beginning, and [there were] certainly incredible accomplishments. But now we're really getting started. That was kind of pulled forward from its natural time, the space race with the Soviets. And now is the time when the real movement, the kind of golden age of space, is going to happen. It's still absolutely day one. There are going to be multiple winners. SpaceX is going to be successful. Blue Origin is going to be successful. And there are other companies who haven't even been founded yet that are going to grow into fantastic, giant space companies. So the vision that I think people should have is that this is the absolute beginning."Next stepsWhen one walks through the New Glenn factory in Florida, the impressive scale is inescapable. Critically, the company appears to be hardware-rich, with multiple first and second stages in various states of work. When Bezos talks about launching several more times this year, it seems plausible.In the lobby of the main building, there's a mock-up of the company's first lunar lander, Mark 1. It towers three stories tall. It's massive."Thats the small one," Bezos commented. "Mark 2 is twice as tall and twice as wide."These are impressive vehicles, built on a large scale. They're important first steps toward delivering cargoMark 1 could launch within the next 12 to 18 monthsand eventually crew. But none of these next steps can happen without New Glenn as the foundational first step. That's why this month's launch was so important. Jeff Bezos (second from right) converses with guests, including Ivanka Trump (L) and Elon Musk (second from left), at a candlelight dinner for US President-elect Donald Trump at the National Building Museum on January 19, 2025, in Washington. Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Jeff Bezos (second from right) converses with guests, including Ivanka Trump (L) and Elon Musk (second from left), at a candlelight dinner for US President-elect Donald Trump at the National Building Museum on January 19, 2025, in Washington. Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Bezos is clearly thinking through all this methodically. First, develop the road to space. And once you have that, what's next? You need to learn to live off the land."In my mind, the next big step is in situ resource development," he said. "So that's really a big unlock. For example, if you can make propellant on the Moon, that's a really big deal. You know, lifting a kilogram of mass off the Moon takes 25 times less energy than lifting a kilogram of mass off Earth. So if you're talking about moving about the Solar System, being able to get propellants and other materials, construction materials and so on from heavenly bodies is a big deal."It's a great vision, and it's nice to finally see Blue taking the first steps. What happens next will come down to Bezos' will, his finances, and whatever path the US government decides to follow.Days after New Glenn's first launch, Bezos attended the inauguration of Donald Trump, standing near Musk. The founder of SpaceX played a major role in getting Trump elected and has been advising him on space policy.Bezos and Musk, the tortoise and the hare, appeared chatty and friendly in a way that has not been the norm for the rivals. More commonly, they have sniped at one another rather than chummed it up. Perhaps now, they'll team up to help America spread among the stars.We'll see. Musk is interested in Mars, and Bezos is more fixated on the Moon. Ultimately, Trump may tell them both to follow their hearts, with the US government coming along for the ride.Eric BergerSenior Space EditorEric BergerSenior Space Editor Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX; and Reentry, on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. 3 Comments

Przemysaw Krokosz, Edge and Embedded Technology Solutions Expert,MobicaJanuary 27, 20255 Min ReadDragos Condrea via Alamy StockArtificial Intelligence continues to gain traction as one of the hottest areas in the technology sector. To meet AIs requirements for processing power we are seeing a race by US vendors to establish data centers worldwide. Google recently announced a $1 billion investment in cloud infrastructure in Thailand, which was followed almost immediately by Oracles promise of $6.5bn in Malaysia. Added to this are many similar ventures in Europe, all under the flag of AI development. Its hardly surprising then that people thinking about AI investment, typically think of a cloud-based project. Yet, we are also seeing significant growth in AI deployments at the edge, and theres good reason for this. The Case for the EdgeTwo of the most compelling reasons are the superiority of speed and security that edge computing can offer. Edges freedom from dependence on connectivity provides low latency and makes it possible to create air gaps through which cyber criminals cannot penetrate. These are both vitally important issues. Speed is of the essence in many applications -- in hospitals, industrial sites or transportation, for example. A delay in machine calculations in a critical care unit is literally a matter of life and death. The same applies to an autonomous vehicle detecting an imminent collision. Theres no time for the technology to wait for a cellular connection. Related:Meanwhile, cybercrime increasingly poses a major threat throughout the world. The 2024 Cloud Security Report from Check Point software and Cybersecurity Insiders, based on conversations with 800 cloud and cybersecurity professionals, found that 96% of respondents were concerned about their capacity to manage cloud security risks, with 39% describing themselves as very concerned. For sectors such as energy, utilities, and pharmaceuticals, security is a top priority for obvious reasons.Another reason for considering the edge deployment for an AI implementation is cost. If you have a user base that is likely to grow substantially, operational expenditure may increase significantly in a cloud model. It may do so even more if the AI solution also requires the regular transfer of large amounts of data, such as video imagery. In these cases, a cloud-based approach may not be financially sustainable in the long term. Developments at the EdgeWhile edge will never be able to compete with the cloud in terms of sheer processing power, a new class of system-on-chip (SoC) processors has emerged, which is designed for AI inference. Many of the vendors in this space have also designed chipsets that are dedicated to specific use cases that allow further cost optimization. Related:Some specific examples of these new products are Intels platforms to support computer vision edge deployments, Qualcomms improved chips for mobile and wearable devices, and Ambarella advancing whats possible with video and image processing. Meanwhile, Nvidia is producing versatile solutions for applications in autonomous vehicles, healthcare, industry and more.These are just some of the contributory factors in the growth of the global edge AI market. One market research company recently estimated that it would grow to $61.63 billion in 2028, from $24.48 billion in 2024. Taking AI to the EdgeSo how do you bring your AI project to the edge? The answer is carefully. Perhaps counter-intuitively, an edge AI project often should begin in the cloud. The initial development of edge AI inference usually requires a level of processing power that can only be found in a cloud environment. But once the development and training of the AI model is complete, the fully mature version can be deployed at the edge. The next step will be to consider how the data processing requirements can be kept to a minimum. The insatiable demand for computing power from the most capable AI models is widely known, but this applies to all scales of AI -- even smaller models at the edge. Therefore, at this point, a range of optimization techniques will be required to minimize the size of both processing power and required data inputs. Related:This will involve reviewing the specific use case and the capabilities of the selected SoC, along with all edge device components, such as cameras and sensors, that may be supplying the data. The process is likely to involve a sizeable degree of experimentation and adjustment to find the lowest acceptable level of decision-making accuracy that can be achieved without undue compromises in the quality of the solution. The AI model itself also needs to be iteratively optimized to enable inference at the edge. Achieving this almost certainly will involve several transformations, as the model goes through the processes of quantization and simplification. Businesses also need to address openness and extensibility factors to ensure that the system will be interoperable with third party products. This will likely involve the development of a dedicated API to support the integration of internal and external plugins, and the creation of a software development kit to ensure smooth deployments. Finally, AI solutions are progressing at an unprecedented rate, with better models being released all the time. So, there needs to be a reliable method for quickly updating the ML models at the core of an edge solution. This is where MLOps kicks in, alongside DevOps methodology, to provide the complete development pipeline. Tools and techniques developed for and used in traditional DevOps, such as containerization, can be applied to maintain competitive advantage.Given the speed of AI development, most organizations will soon be considering its adoption in one form or another. With edge technology advancing rapidly as well, businesses need to seriously consider the benefits this can provide before they invest. About the AuthorPrzemysaw KrokoszEdge and Embedded Technology Solutions Expert,MobicaPrzemysaw Krokosz is an edgeand embedded technology solutions expertatMobica. He works closely with some of the worldslargest and most prestigious organizations on innovative areas of tech development.See more from Przemysaw KrokoszNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports

A video of Bridgette Vong, a former marketing specialist, breaking up with her partner went viral on TikTok.She leveraged the engagement to create a side hustle and then a full-time career as an influencer.The breakup was the "best thing that's ever happened" to her, she said.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bridgette Vong, a 26-year-old content creator based in Toronto. It has been edited for length and clarity.In July 2022, I posted a TikTok video of the final hug my ex-partner of five years and I shared before we broke up. Two years later, the breakup and posting about it are possibly the best thing that ever happened to me.It never crossed my mind that recording our final goodbye wasn't a "normal" thing to do. I was into recording little moments of my life as sentimental keepsakes. I have a background in marketing and content creation so it was a creative outlet of mine.I posted it to my few hundred followers and used hashtags like #healingjourney and #postbreakup but didn't expect it to blow up.When I woke up the next day, I had 22,000 followers and the video had a million views. I thought it was a one-off, but the next few videos I posted, about how I was feeling and our last moments, also got millions of views. Vong said that posting about her breakup was the best thing that ever happened to her. Bridgette Vong People started sharing their breakup stories with me and asking for tips on how to stay strong. My content was inspiring, comforting, or relatable.I had never seen anyone post about their breakup journey on TikTok before, but I thought I'd keep documenting my healing process to help all the girls who were sending me comments and asking for advice. It gave me so much purpose.I knew I couldn't waste the opportunityI thought to myself: "Okay Bridgette, you have some choices here. You have 30,000 followers all of a sudden, your comments and DMs are going crazy, you have always wanted to be Kylie Jenner why don't you just keep posting?"With a background in marketing, I knew I would be an idiot not to do something with the opportunity.So, I started posting regularly. I didn't hope for financial gain or a career out of it, I just wanted to show people my journey and help those who resonated with it.Even if the video hadn't gone viral, I would have kept posting regardless I was just so passionate about encapsulating emotions into little videos. I wanted to document myself every day and see the progress I was going to make in my heartbreak journey, so that one day I could look back and see how far I had come. Vong posted TikToks about her post-breakup feelings, which resonated with viewers. Bridgette Vong I was 100% authentic and just shared how I was feeling that day, something my therapist said, or what was working for me at that moment. It was fun to do, and never felt like a task.I owe my life to posting those silly videos. It gave me a project to dive into, and the community I found was single-handedly the most amazing resource for healing from the breakup.I started to take it more seriously and earn money from influencingBecause marketing was my job, I already had a tripod, and knew to tag brands in posts and do simple things like have my contact email in my bio.I was going to the gym a lot trying to "glow up" after the breakup, so I tagged lots of activewear brands in my posts in the hope they would repost my content. That's when brands started reaching out to me to invite me to events. Vong posted about starting to date again after her breakup. Bridgette Vong I got my first brand deal with Notion $100 to use a product that I used anyway. Two months after it all kicked off, an agent reached out to me. I put my marketing hat on and started to think about how I could make a few hundred bucks a month as a little side hustle.For the first year, I'd maybe get two brand deals a month. I was posting consistently, sometimes twice a day without really thinking about it, which built my personal brand and kept the followers coming.By April 2023, I had healed from the breakup, and I didn't want to keep talking about it.So I started posting more content about living alone in Toronto. I would still answer DMs about breakup advice, and the original video was still gaining traction, but I didn't want to be known as the "breakup girl." Vong transitioned her content away from breakups and started posting about debt and living alone in Toronto. Bridgette Vong I posted a video about my $15,000 of credit card debt, which blew up and got brand interest, so I was super strategic and used that to finally move away from posting about the breakup.I started spending more time on my social media feeds than on my full-time job at the time, and it went incredibly well.By January 2024, I realized I either needed to quit my full-time job or scale back on my content because I was spreading myself too thin. I took the chance and quit.I've paid off my debt, do five-figure brand deals, and am making more than my corporate salary while working way fewer hours on my own schedule. It took a while to get used to, but it's been incredible, beyond my wildest dreams.

People can't get enough of Timothe Chalamet's unusual marketing campaign for "A Complete Unknown."He performed deep-cut Bob Dylan songs on "Saturday Night Live!" and arrived at the London premiere on a rental bike.He's nominated for an Oscar and these stunts could help get the attention of the Academy Awards voting panel.From rocking up to a premiere on a rental bike to performing a medley of Bob Dylan songs on "Saturday Night Live!" Timothe Chalamet has taken an unusual approach to his press tour for his latest movie, "A Complete Unknown."These unconventional stunts are a smart tactic to break through the noise during a competitive awards season, marketing experts told Business Insider.If they pay off, they could help clinch Chalamet his first Oscar, making him the youngest best actor winner in Academy Awards history.Chalamet keeps going viralIn the last few months, Chalamet has gone viral for a number of unexpected side quests while promoting the James Mangold-directed biopic. Before the publicity campaign began in earnest, he showed up to a lookalike contest of himself last October, making him appear "down-to-earth," Katharina Stolley, a marketing lecturer specializing in the creative industries at the University of Birmingham, UK, said.He kept up the stunts as the film hit theaters in December by surprising people with his "elite ball knowledge" on an ESPN panel, copying an unexpectedly casual and memed outfit of Dylan's at the New York premiere, and arriving to the London red carpet on a bright green e-bike that has become synonymous with young Londoners.Then there was his circuit of interviews with niche internet celebrities with cult followings: Theo Von, Brittany Broski, and the eccentric journalist Nardwuar, who typically interviews musicians not actors.Chalamet then used a more traditional promotional tactic this weekend: hosting the sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live!"Even then he pushed the envelope, becoming the first actor to host and perform as an episode's musical guest, singing a selection of deep-cut Dylan tracks.The appearance gave those who have not yet seen "A Complete Unknown" a glimpse of Chalamet's take on Dylan, while "endearing him to a new, wider audience," said Markus Wohlfiel, a senior lecturer in marketing at De Montfort University, UK.Stolley said that these stunts cultivate a "relatable public image" and "reveal his commitment to staying connected with his audience."Chalamet is at the center of a clever "guerrilla marketing campaign"They also amount to, more or less, free publicity. Searchlight Pictures, the Disney-owned production and distribution company behind the film, rolled out a traditional marketing campaign for "A Complete Unknown," including press junkets, as well as advertising in print and in cinemas and on billboards.But Wohlfiel said Chalamet's stunts have collectively delivered a "clever out-of-the-box"As everyone is talking about it in the traditional and social media, creating interest in the actor and the movie, they are clearly achieving their objectives with hardly any financial investment," he said of Chalamet and his publicity team.Carl Jones, a senior lecturer in digital media at the University of Westminster, UK, agreed that Chalamet's stunts are a cost-effective way of getting his name and, by extension, the movie out there."This type of activity is a free way to get a film talked about in the media. Usually advertising a film costs Hollywood studios millions of dollars, but doing a stunt only costs the price of the stunt," he said.Better yet, the gambits match the theme of "A Complete Unknown," which covers a controversial period in Dylan's career in the 1960s when he switched from acoustic to electric guitar and took a gamble on a new sound; Chalamet is similarly walking an unorthadorx path as a young star.Chalamet's promotion of 'A Complete Unknown' has a second target awards voters. Timothe Chalamet at the New York premiere of "A Complete Unknown" in December 2024, copying Bob Dylan's outfit at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. Nina Westervelt / Variety via Getty Images / James Devaney / WireImage Although the actor lost out on a Golden Globe earlier this month, he is still in the running for a BAFTA, SAG Award, Critics' Choice Award, and the most coveted of all, an Oscar. These awards are chosen by panels of industry insiders and critics whom nominees must impress.Ashanti Omkar, a film, TV, and culture critic and broadcaster who is a member of the voting body for the BAFTAs, said Chalamet's virality could help keep him on voters' radars."Promotions which are memorable can stick in the minds of busy voters who are juggling their full time jobs while also assessing what to vote for," Omkar said. "The stunts here are great for visibility, but it is Timothe's sheer hard work and talent that has gotten him this level of awards buzz for 'A Complete Unknown.'"

If you pick through Donald Trumps parade of executive orders upon taking office on January 20, youll discover many that revoke orders made by Joe Biden. But in one, Trump dug even further back: He revoked an executive order issued by Jimmy Carter in 1977, nearly half a century ago.Carters order gave the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), a branch of the White House, the authority to issue binding regulations governing how federal agencies must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Trump, by revoking it, takes away that power from the CEQ.This may seem rather technical, but Trump in effect set off a process that could lead to very meaningful changes in the way the federal government handles environmental reviews for everything from oil pipelines to solar farms to highways to light rail systems to national parks. NEPA is a law that governs federal agencies, telling them how and when to review the environmental impacts of federal projects. It is enforced, however, through private action: Individuals, companies, environmental groups, and so on can sue federal agencies for failing to conduct sufficient NEPA review, and courts can and do demand more review in response, delaying or killing the underlying project under review.To the laws advocates, this provides a powerful method for conservationists and average citizens to fight back against polluting projects near them; the Natural Resources Defense Council calls NEPA the environmental Magna Carta, citing cases where its protected communities from water-contaminating drilling projects, or blocked oil pipelines that enable greenhouse emissions. To critics, including business groups generally skeptical of regulation but also many renewable energy developers whose projects are often subject to NEPA, the law causes pointless delays to beneficial projects, including ones necessary to building the clean energy needed for rapid decarbonization, and must be reformed if the US is to tackle climate change seriously.Trump, of course, does not care about climate change. He made that much clear when he paired his NEPA order with an executive order blocking all offshore wind turbines and any onshore turbines built with public funds or on public lands, and his Department of Interior followed it up a few days later with an order suspending permits for all renewable energy projects, including solar in addition to wind. Trumps skepticism toward NEPA reflects the much older skepticism that business and extractive industries have always had toward the law. But given the new anti-NEPA turn among some climate advocates, its worth asking what exactly his changes will mean for the buildout of solar and other renewables.Its too early to say for sure, but some people in the pro-renewables, anti-NEPA camp are hopeful. I think its probably the right move if you want to move really fast and deploy clean energy resources or any kind of energy resources, Eli Dourado, chief economist at the Abundance Institute and a leading NEPA critic, told me.A more skeptical read is that Trumps order raises more questions than answers. One thing energy developers crave is certainty, especially from the government, and if nothing else, the order creates a huge amount of uncertainty as to the future of NEPA and environmental review. How NEPA works, and how Trump changed itNEPA is one of the first federal environmental laws, passed in 1969, before the Clean Air or Clean Water Acts and before the Environmental Protection Agency was even created. As initially drafted, it had little teeth, beyond stating the opinion of Congress that there should be productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment. But Lynton Caldwell, an adviser to Sen. Scoop Jackson (D-WA), added what would become the laws most important provision: a requirement that federal agencies consider the environmental impacts of any major action they undertake and produce a detailed statement laying out those impacts.Under the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946, which governs how federal agencies make and revise rules and adjudicate administrative decisions, people with standing (usually those who might be harmed by a rule or federal action) have the right to challenge executive agencies in court. Environmental groups soon realized that they and their supporters could use this ability to challenge federal agencies for failing to follow NEPA.NRDC, in its list of NEPA Success Stories, gives the example of a proposed land exchange between the US Forest Service and a lumber company in Washington state. Citizen groups and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe challenged the idea, and a court ruled that the Forest Service violated NEPA by failing to consider an adequate range of alternatives and by neglecting to analyze the cumulative impacts of the proposed exchange. This forced the Forest Service to redo the analysis; the swap went forward, but in NRDCs view, with a better design that protected old-growth forest and culturally and recreationally important public lands.Federal agencies are just like you or me: They hate getting sued. So setting clear standards for what NEPA review of projects should look like became necessary soon after it was passed. In 1977, Carters executive order gave the job of setting these standards to the Council for Environmental Quality, a section of the White House that had actually been created by NEPA in 1969. CEQ would be tasked with developing regulations that other agencies the EPA, the Department of Transportation, etc. have to follow in doing their NEPA reviews.And that, indeed, is how the process has proceeded for decades now. Agencies can and do approach NEPA differently, with some being more lenient than others. But their review processes were governed by regulations that had to be consistent with CEQs regulations, and ultimately by courts that could determine that the processes were insufficient, forcing the agencies to do years more of analysis and sometimes delaying projects considerably. Those court determinations were always ultimately based on the text of NEPA itself, but informed by prior court rulings, as well as CEQs rules.Trumps EO revokes the 1977 order giving CEQ authority to issue these regulations, and instructs the chair of CEQ to, within 30 days, propose rescinding all regulations the Council has issued to date. In lieu of these binding regulations, the Council is supposed to (also within 30 days) provide guidance as to how agencies should conduct NEPA reviews going forward. This creates something of a paradox, notes John Ruple, a law professor at the University of Utah and until last year senior counsel to CEQ under Biden. President Trump ordered CEQ to propose rescinding CEQs NEPA regulations, but there does not appear to be a way for CEQ to do that since rescinding a regulation requires an agency to go through the rulemaking processand Trump just told CEQ that it no longer has rulemaking authority, Ruple explained. I dont know how CEQ can do what he directs.This focus on CEQs regulations is probably in part due to a recent court case, Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration (2024). The case involves a conservation group in California challenging the FAAs environmental review of proposals to conduct aerial tours of national parks. In November, two of three judges on a panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the case that CEQ lacked the legal authority to issue NEPA regulations, because NEPA itself did not explicitly give it that power. That sowed no small amount of uncertainty about the status of CEQ and NEPA, and the Trump EO seems clearly meant to back up the judges determination that CEQ not promulgate these kinds of regulations.There are some immediate concerns that come to mind with Trumps EO. One is that there isnt a chair of CEQ: Its a Senate-confirmable position and Trump has not even nominated someone to it yet. It seems doubtful that the role will be permanently filled anytime soon; it took until April 2021 for Bidens chair to be confirmed by the Senate, and Trump didnt have one until two years into his term. In lieu of a formal chair, theres an acting chair, but having a temporary official propose a comprehensive overhaul of a half-centurys worth of rules in less than a month is a tall order.What Trumps EO meansTo some NEPA skeptics, rescinding CEQs regulations opens up a world of possibility where the Council, and the agencies it advises, can embrace a different approach to environmental review, where fewer projects rise to the level of needing a concise Environment Assessment (EA) or a long, involved Environmental Impact Statements (EIS).Thomas Hochman of the Foundation for American Innovation laid out a few ways this could work in a blog post. Without those binding regulations in place, agencies are free to adopt much narrower definitions of terms like significance and major federal action, trim back their alternatives analyses, and treat factors like environmental justice or greenhouse gas emissions as optional rather than mandatory considerations, Hochman writes. For instance, if NEPA review is required in cases where major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of human environment are involved, then agencies could decide that, for instance, projects that the federal government provides only limited funding for are not major Federal Actions, or that certain small activities do not significantly affect the quality of the human environment. Repealing the EO creates a lot of opportunity but also a bunch of uncertainty and ultimately itll come down to implementation and some court fights, Aidan Mackenzie of the Institute for Progress agreed.Other experts I spoke to were not so sure. The NEPA law itself lays out how environmental review must proceed, and if an agency decided to adopt different interpretations of words like major and significant than it had used previously, it could be opening itself up to a lot of litigation risk. Suppose the FAA decides it doesnt think, say, the aerial tours of a national park in the Marin County case are likely to have a significant impact on the quality of the environment. All it takes is one judge to agree with a litigant that the impact is significant for that decision to send the FAA into years of legal struggle, delaying the underlying project in the process. CEQs regulations were meant, at least in part, to create a uniform set of standards that agencies could avoid those kinds of lawsuits by following. If they break with those standards, agencies could put themselves at risk.NEPA lays out the things that agencies have to consider in fairly exacting fashion, said Alex Mechanick, who until January 20 was senior counselor to the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office on Management and Budget, and thus a top White House official dealing with regulatory issues. Its not clear to me how much juice they can get out of efforts to reduce burden via just weakening regulations, because those regulations could be held to be inconsistent with the statute.One big question here is how exactly courts will respond to the fact that CEQ regulations are no longer binding. One plausible answer is that they dont respond at all: Theyre still required to hold agencies accountable to the text of NEPA, and the last half-century of regulations provides them with a known method of determining whats compatible with NEPA and what isnt. Courts could look at CEQs current regulations and say, All right, regardless of what Trumps EO does, we find this direction persuasive to us in interpreting and understanding requirements under the statute, Ruple told me.Dourado at the Abundance Institute was more optimistic that the change would have meaningful effects: Its a clean way to undo a lot of built-up procedure all at once to say that we dont even have the authority to make these rules, and therefore we can just rescind them. But he of course agrees that ultimately, the agencies are bound by the NEPA statute, which has actually gotten somewhat more detailed in recent years. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, the spending deal that Biden and House Republicans struck that year, included changes to the law that set page limits for environmental reviews and time limits for their authoring, but also laid out in more detail than NEPA had before exactly how reviews should proceed and what factors they should include. By getting more specific, the law gave regulators less wiggle room to change course than they might have previously had.You cant avoid legislationUltimately any serious changes to the law will have to come as part of another legislative package. That isnt unthinkable in addition to the 2023 changes, Biden signed a bill in October limiting NEPA reviews of chip manufacturing plants, so Congress is capable of passing bipartisan NEPA reform but its probably not doable on party lines. Budget reconciliation, which lets Senate Republicans pass some legislation with 50 votes, probably isnt usable for permitting reform. That means any package will need Senate Democratic support, and while a comprehensive bipartisan package on permitting reform came close to passing in December, it died over disagreement about the NEPA reform portion.If Trumps NEPA order has an ambiguous effect, at best, on the speed of renewable build-out, the wind executive order has a clearly negative one. Ironically, the order itself relies on NEPA: It calls for increased federal review of offshore and onshore wind projects for environmental impacts, and because most wind projects need federal permits and/or subsidies, most projects are subject to these new requirements. The rule also uses federal authority over coasts to block offshore wind projects entirely. Industry groups are declaring that it could block more than half of existing wind projects in the US.Onshore wind is roughly tied with solar as the cheapest per-megawatt source of electricity in the US, cheaper even than natural gas (if not as reliable the wind doesnt always blow). Offshore wind, which took a harder hit in the order, is significantly more expensive, and faces other challenges, like the Jones Act, which bans foreign-built ships from traveling between US ports. Because the US does not build ships capable of installing offshore wind itself, in practice projects have to sail from Canada or other neighboring countries all the way to, say, New Jersey, to install turbines.On the plus side, projections suggest that solar is getting cheaper faster than wind is, meaning that wind buildout might be comparatively less important for decarbonization going forward, and the Trump EO is less destructive than it looks at first glance. But these forecasts can be badly wrong, and its hard to sugarcoat Trumps decision to block buildout of one of the cheapest clean energy sources there is, whatever the ultimate effects of his NEPA EO are. Moreover, the Department of Interior action this past week targeted solar just as much as wind.Put it all together, and its hard to avoid the boring but important conclusion here: Trump is not doing much of anything that will make clean energy easier to build in the near term, and is doing several things that will make it harder.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

PS5 and PS4 players, the time is almost here as Sony is going to reveal the PS Plus monthly games for February 2025 here's all we know so far about when you'll find out what's newTech10:25, 27 Jan 2025Updated 10:25, 27 Jan 2025PlayStation Plus is bringing more new games to Sony console owners(Image: Sony )Sony's PS Plus got off to a mixed start in 2025. While some fans were torn on the Essential games, the Extra lineup made up for it with God of War Ragnarok and plenty more.Still, it's all about what's next and as we approach the end of January, we expect some PS5 and PS4 owners are already looking to the next lineup of games. The good news is, you don't have long to wait to find out.The bad news is, you won't be playing for a little while yet let us explain.Deathstroke marks the final DLC character (Image: Rocksteady Studios)As far as monthly games go, Sony tends to stick to a familiar reveal cadence where it announces games on the PlayStation Blog and its social media channels at 4:30 PM UK time on the last Wednesday of every month.That means we should know what we're playing on January 29, but we won't be playing until the first Tuesday of the month so you'll need to wait until February 4.That also means you only have until February 4 to add the current games to your library. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered is a fantastic racer where you can play as a street racer or a cop, performing slick powerslides and employing gadgets. It has a really unique 'Autolog' leaderboard system, too, so you're always competing against your friends even when playing solo.The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is the latest and greatest version of the 2013 indie hit that's still so beloved more than a decade on. It's not prettier, but it adds fresh choices and secrets to an adventure that was already unmissable.Article continues belowFinally, the headline addition is Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League. Much maligned at launch, the game now has an offline mode which means it's a fun third-person shooter set in the DC Comics universe. It undeniably disappointed at launch, but with all of its new characters added before developer Rocksteady moves onto other things, it's well worth checking out if you're a fan of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Still not convinced? Read my opinion piece from last month.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.RECOMMENDED

GTA 6 could see a huge shakeup of the classic 'Wanted' system, as fans speculate that cops won't chase the player down if they haven't got a clear description of a suspectTech10:10, 27 Jan 2025Updated 10:10, 27 Jan 2025GTA 6 will be the biggest game of the year, unless it slips to 2026(Image: Rockstar Games)GTA 6 fans are convinced the second trailer is just days away, but that hasn't stopped them watching the first one frame-by-frame and digging for data since it dropped in December 2023 (more than an entire year ago!).Some analysts have tipped Rockstar's latest crime epic will 'save' the video game industry (unless President Donald Trump proposes changes), and it could shake up one of the long-running series longest-standing features.As spotted on Reddit, one fan has speculated that the game's initial trailer has already shown us GTA 6's revised 'Wanted' system, but we just missed it first time around.Over on Reddit, one user recently dug through the first trailer and spotted a moment where Jason and Lucia, the game's two protagonists, are fleeing the scene of a crime and drive right past a police car."I just realized that this part of the trailer is showing off the new Wanted System," the poster speculated."The cops must not have a description of the suspect so they just drive by Jason and Lucia here who are fleeing the scene of the crime the cops are headed to."Commenters noted the similarities to prior gameplay leaks that point to a Red Dead Redemption 2 style system where wearing a mask would help conceal a player's identity, and that police in GTA 6 will get descriptions of vehicles.It sounds intense imagine driving past a patrol car knowing full well they could get the vehicle description through at any moment, or desperately running to switch vehicles when the call comes in.We're yet to hear much about GTA 6 as Rockstar has been radio silent since the game's first trailer.Article continues belowParent company Take-Two Interactive holds its earnings call at the start of February, so we'll hopefully find out whether the game is still on track for a 2025 release or if it's slipped to 2026.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.RECOMMENDED

Xbox games will be on Nintendo Switch 2 confirms Microsoft as Doom rumouredAdam StarkeyPublished January 27, 2025 12:01pmUpdated January 27, 2025 12:01pm The Dark Ages might be going portable (Microsoft)Microsofts gaming CEO has confirmed Xbox games are coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, as he refuses to rule out Starfield for other platforms.Xboxs pivot towards becoming a multiplatform company may have accelerated over the past two years, but the origins of this shift began a few years prior.In hindsight, the key turning point was Ori And The Blind Forests arrival on the Nintendo Switch in 2019. This was the first Microsoft-published game on the console, which led to Banjo and Kazooies inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate signifying a new kind of relationship between the two companies.Weve seen other Xbox games arrive on Switch since then, including Ori And The Will Of The Wisps, Grounded, and Pentiment. So given that, and how key the idea of bringing Call Of Duty to Nintendo formats was during their campaign to buy Activision Blizzard, its no surprise to hear Xbox is planning to support the Nintendo Switch 2 in a significant way.Speaking in an interview with Gamertag Radio, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said he congratulated Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa following the consoles reveal.I was exchanging emails with Furukawa-san, the CEO of Nintendo, Spencer said. I gave him a big congrats and said my old eyes appreciate the larger screen.Thats a very different tone to the leaked email in which Spencer previously spoke about his desire to buy Nintendo and how, in his opinion, their future exists off of their own hardware.Nintendo, their innovation, and what they mean in this industry I just always applaud the moves that they make. They did a little flash video, and I know well get more detail over time. Im really looking forward to supporting them with the games that we have, and I just think theyre such an important part of this industry, said Spencer on Gamertag Radio.He added: Its hard with whats publicly out there now for everybody to get their [heads] around it, but who would ever bet against the success of that team? They are just masterful in what they do, Switch is a massive success, and I think Switch 2 will be as well.Xboxs support of the Switch 2 is entirely expected and Spencers comments might give credence to recent rumours that Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition are all coming to the platform.Another insider, eXtas1s, who is known for Xbox Game Pass leaks, has claimed Doom: The Dark Ages is defintely coming to the Switch 2, but the port is being deliberately held back from being shown to prevent any leaks about the consoles power.The two previous Doom titles both came to Nintendo Switch, so it would make sense for the next game to arrive on the Switch 2. The big question is how well it will run, with Doom: The Dark Ages being (currently) exclusive to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.Theres a chance Starfield is in the pipeline as well. In an interview with games journalist Destin Legarie, Spencer was asked directly if he could solidify whether Bethesdas space role-playing game will remain exclusive on Xbox for the time being.No, Spencer replied. Theres no specific game theres no reason for me to put a ring fence around any game and say this game will not go to a place where it will find players and have business success for us.What we find is were able to drive a better business that allows us to invest in a great game line-up like you saw, thats our strategy. Our strategy is to allow our games to be available. Game Pass is an important component of playing the games on our platform. But to keep games off of other platforms thats not a path for us, it doesnt work for us.Spencers comments reiterate his prior no red line stance when it comes to putting Xbox games on other platforms, but this practically confirms some kind of port for Starfield is in the works, whether for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, or both.If Xbox is set to support the Nintendo Switch 2 in a big way, this raises questions around what Microsofts plans are for its own handheld device. Spencer previously confirmed an Xbox handheld is being prototyped, but its unclear if it will similarly be a hybrid console.More TrendingHowever, the discussion does seem to confirm that Nintendo has instructed its third party partners not to reveal any games yet probably until the Nintendo Direct planned for April 2. Xbox is downplaying the box (Microsoft)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Could we really see the new Gears Of War this year? (Microsoft)After a solid Developer Direct from Microsoft, two Xbox games that werent mentioned are still rumoured for this year.Its still early days, but 2025 could very well be a banner year for Microsoft and the Xbox brand, if last weeks Developer Direct showcase is anything to go by.Aside from announcing a new Ninja Gaiden from PlatinumGames and sharing an exciting demonstration of Doom: The Dark Ages, every game shown off during the showcase was confirmed to be out this year.Combined with previously promised games like Fable, it looks like we could be seeing a Microsoft published game almost every month. Especially if two other major releases also drop this year, as has been rumoured.The first of these is the alleged remake of Bethesdas The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. Rumours of its existence first emerged in 2023, but theyve picked up in the last month, with suggestions its aiming for a 2025 launch.In his own rundown of the recent Developer Direct, The Verges Tom Warren claimed to have first heard of it himself sometime last year, claiming that Microsoft is aiming for either a late spring or early summer release.Warren refers to it as a remaster instead of a remake, making it unclear just how much of an overhaul it will be especially as the two terms are often confused, even by those in the industry. Assuming Warrens claims about its intended release are accurate, well hopefully get some concrete answers from Microsoft in the coming months.The second game is Gears Of War: E-Day, a prequel announced at last years Xbox summer showcase and the first mainline entry in Microsofts shooter series since 2019s Gears 5.Despite the reveal trailers lack of gameplay or any indication of a launch window, Warren claimed last year that Microsoft was aiming for a 2025 release; a detail he has repeated this month.Its still possible Microsoft will delay it (the fact it hasnt shared a public date suggests it wants to give itself some leeway just in case), but a new Gears Of War would be a strong choice for the second half of the year.Although Microsoft may be antsy about releasing it anywhere near GTA 6, which is expected to drop this autumn and dominate the market. Theres also the danger of it cannibalising sales from Fable, if it also launches in the autumn.More TrendingSpeaking of Gears, there have been rumours of a remastered collection of the older games ever since 2022 and while nothings been explicitly confirmed, some think Xbox boss Phil Spencer has been teasing it recently.This is based purely on Spencer having the replica of the COG medal, gifted with Gears Of War 3s limited edition, on his shelf during a recent video interview. Although that sounds like a stretch, Spencer does have a habit of teasing things via background objects in interviews, up to and including new hardware.Spencer was also spotted playing the Gears series recently, but this could just as easily be him revisiting the games in his downtime.Even if Gears Of War: E-Day misses 2025, Microsoft still has both The Outer Worlds 2 and Fable, two major role-playing games, to round out 2025 with. Neither has an exact release date yet, but theyre likely being saved for the second half of the year. Despite its 2025 launch window, details remain rather light on the Fable reboot (Microsoft)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralSign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy