Suppressing fires has failed. Here’s what California needs to do instead.

The Download

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09.17.20

Good morning! Today: how California should manage its fires, and we need to go to Venus as soon as possible. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day.

A crisis: Five of California's 10 largest fires in modern history are all burning at once. Together, this year's wildfires have already destroyed 4,200 buildings, forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes, and scorched more than 3.2 million acres across the state. And scientists say climate change will ensure even worse fire seasons to come. To anyone who lives here, or anyone who’s watching, the situation is maddening and seems utterly unsustainable.

So what’s the solution? There’s an overwhelming to-do list. But one of the clearest conclusions, as experts have been saying for years, is that California must begin to work with fires, not just fight them. That means reversing a century of US fire suppression policies and relying far more on deliberate, prescribed burns to clear out the vegetation that builds up into giant piles of fuel. Read the full story.

—James Temple

We need to go to Venus as soon as possible

A surprise: We’ve spent the majority of the last century pinning some of our biggest hopes of finding signs of extraterrestrial life on Mars. That all changed this week, with the discovery of a gas associated with biological processes called phosphine in the clouds above Venus. That’s renewed hopes there’s life on Venus. Now we need to know for sure.

What’s needed: There’s only so much we can do using Earth-based instruments. We’ll have to plan multiple missions to explore Venus in concert, the way we currently do with Mars. Given Venus’s crushing pressure and scorching temperatures, an orbiter would be the most sensible way to start, peering into the atmosphere to see how phosphine or other potential biosignatures change over time. Eventually, a sample return mission could be possible, in which a spacecraft flies into the atmosphere and bottles up some gas to bring back to Earth for laboratory analysis. NASA has two prospective Venus missions in the works, but others could happen—and sooner. Read the full story.

—Neel V. Patel

Podcast: COVID-19 is helping turn Brazil into a surveillance state

Brazil has led discussions about the global rules regulating digital privacy and surveillance for over a decade. But the country has shifted towards a more authoritarian path. Last October, President Jair Bolsonaro signed a decree compelling all federal bodies to share the vast troves of data they hold on Brazilian citizens and consolidate it in a centralized database. The government says it wants to use the data to improve public services and cut down on crime, but critics warn it could be used to spy on political dissidents. Hear more about how covid-19 is helping to turn Brazil into a surveillance state in the latest episode of our Deep Tech podcast.

We can still have nice things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)

+ A monkey left a gift for a Malaysian man when he recovered his missing phone.
+ Previously unreleased footage of Jimi Hendrix playing Voodoo Chile in Maui, Hawaii.
+ A feline musical collaborator.

The top ten must-reads

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 The US plans to start distributing a vaccine for free within 24 hours of approval
But we still can’t guarantee any of the candidates currently being tested will work. (NYT $)
+ Coronavirus infections are rising again in 17 US states. (Axios)
+ Many states aren’t reporting rapid covid-19 test results. (The Verge)
+ Wearing a face mask is the best tool against infection we have, says CDC director. (Axios)
+ Eli Lilly claims to have found an experimental antibody drug that treats covid-19 patients. (NYT $)

2 A pro-Trump group is creating a“troll farm”
Turning Point Action is paying teens to pump out disinformation. (WP $)
+ It’s becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between foreign meddling and domestic disinformation. (Axios)

3 What it’s like to achieve overnight fame on TikTok
Teen girls dominate the app, and popularity can be more explosive than on any other platform. (The Atlantic)
+ Trump may well refuse to sign off on the Oracle TikTok deal. (Reuters)
+ The deal could earn Oracle over $1 billion if approved. (The Information $)
+ What might happen next. (Axios)

4 A tech company claims it invented contact tracing tech
The CEO says his patent lawsuit is purely motivated by concerns about privacy and effectiveness. Nothing to do with money. (Wired $)

5 Schools are spending big on temperature sensors. They probably won’t help.
Anyone heard of asymptomatic carriers? (NBC)

6 The way you walk could be used to identify you 🚶‍♀️
Gait analysis has been around for years, but it’s starting to go mainstream. (New Scientist $)

7 Cheaper air quality sensors are making it easier to track the climate crisis
Let’s hope better data leads to more action. (The Verge)
+ How climate migration will reshape America. (NYT $)

8 The 13 women who never made it to space 🚀
They passed all the tests to prove they could be astronauts in the early ‘60s. But then the program was shut down. (CNET)

9 A death penalty handed out over Zoom has shocked Nigerians
The lack of public access to proceedings is particularly shocking. (Rest of World)

10 The new ways to party online 🥳
People are sick of Zoom. These apps hope to do a better job of helping us to socialize. (New Yorker $)

What are the next big innovations–and how can they help us solve the world's toughest challenges?

Join us virtually at our flagship event, EmTech MIT, as we bring together leaders, researchers, and innovators from across the globe to find out. Register now.

Take a stand

“We live in fear and that’s no way to do business.”

—Darya Danilava, chief executive of Belarussian startup RocketData, tells the Wall Street Journal why the country is facing a tech exodus.

Top image credit: AP PHOTO | NOAH BERGER

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—Charlotte