The New York Times wrote a great investigative piece this weekend about how the massive data centers required to run platforms like Facebook are terrible for the environment, as well as wasteful and polluting. Here’s an excerpt:

Most data centers, by design, consume vast amounts of energy in an incongruously wasteful manner, interviews and documents show. Online companies typically run their facilities at maximum capacity around the clock, whatever the demand. As a result, data centers can waste 90 percent or more of the electricity they pull off the grid, The Times found.

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CODE2040 is a non-profit organization that works to help black and Latino software engineers gain experience and networking opportunities in Silicon Valley. We wrote about the organization’s mission previously, but now applications are open for students who might want to take advantage of this great opportunity. Starting today CODE2040 will be accepting applications for 20 spots for the summer of 2013; apps close later this year. Fellows get an internship with a top start-up, as well as mentoring, access to speakers, visits to other tech companies, executive coaching and lots more.… more

According to a campaign currently warning against the dangers of texting and driving, Latino teens may be more at risk than other groups:

What is surprising though is that Hispanics engage in this dangerous behavior of texting while driving in higher numbers than other ethnic groups.  Whereas 97% of all teens say that texting while driving is dangerous (with three out of four saying it is very dangerous), 78% of Hispanic teens say that texting while driving is common among their friends. 

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You may or may not have noticed all kinds of political ads bombarding the periphery of your Facebook profile in the past few weeks. I noticed it right about the time the conventions started, and since I’ve been clicking on them to see where they link to, I’ve been served with even more — to the point that they outnumber the non-political ads on my profile now. According to a study by 140 Proof the political social ad market is about $142 million this year and it seems like all sides, as well as some on the sidelines, are piling on.… more

A website in Texas aims to help Latino voters get a better understanding of everyone on the ballot that’s not  running for president in November. The site, available in English and Spanish, is called Down Ballot Vote. According to the site’s mascot, a dog named Ballot:

In politics, “down ballot” refers to ALL candidates underneath the Pres and VP. Don’t know who’s on your ballot? Don’t stress! That’s why I built this site.

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A study in Research in Higher Education found that, “majoring in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) proves to be the most profitable for minority students, whether they actually pursue the STEM field professionally or not.” According to a story in The Huffington Post, the study followed over 1,000 Asian, Latino and black students for nine years, finding that:

Among the students surveyed, those who majored in STEM subjects earn at least 25 percent more than their peers who majored in humanities or educational fields, the study found.

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An interesting article in Nonprofit Quarterly highlights the work of several non-profit organizations working to help Latinos interface with technology in different ways. The report notes that a recent study from the Public Policy Institute of California found that Latinos lag behind other groups in the adoption of technology. An excerpt from the story shows that:

About six million Latinos in California aren’t online and large disparities among Latinos persist. Some Latino subgroups are similar to other racial/ethnic groups in their access to broadband.

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By Cammy Harbison, Voxxi According to a report compiled by Pew Research Center, one in every five students in America is now of Hispanic descent. By 2050 it is predicted that Hispanics will make up more than half of all students found in the United States public school system and comprise 74 percent of the workforce. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) recently released a report showing that: “Over the past 10 years, growth in STEM jobs was three times greater than that of non-STEM jobs, and STEM jobs are expected to continue to grow at a faster rate than other jobs in the coming decade.… more

Every year in San Antonio present and former members of the media via the Society of Professional Journalists put on a show, Gridiron, to raise money for scholarships. This year, hot on the heels of his lauded Democratic National Convention speech, San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro participated. He helped the group make the following video in which the Siri iPhone app reveals itself to be chock full of stereotypical Latino assumptions. Castro — who we interviewed and actually fully understands the need for more Latinos in tech and is working towards a solution in his hometown — plays along, and it’s pretty funny, check it out.… more

Super Wi-Fi is a type of wireless Internet signal that is able to reach a much wider area than traditional wireless signals. This technology is currently being deployed in the U.S. using “white spaces,” or unused broadcast television spectrum. This wireless broadband can travel up to hundreds of miles, but in daily life it would probably be closer a to few miles, blowing a few hundred meters with regular Wi-Fi out of the water. Technology like this has a lot of people excited, according to The Raw Story:

This could provide high-speed Internet to sparsely populated rural areas which lack broadband.

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