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Ear-splitting ads on Netflix and Hulu are no more at least if you live in California. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Monday that requires streaming services to prevent commercials from cranking the volume when they think the viewer might have popped into the next room for a snack. Unlike many pieces of legislation, California SB 576 is short and sweet. Starting next July, any streamer that serves video to California residents shall not transmit the audio of commercial advertisements louder than the video content the advertisements accompany. The bill cites a federal version of the law designed for traditional broadcast TV, extending the rules to the newer medium. We heard Californians loud and clear, and whats clear is that they dont want commercials at a volume any louder than the level at which they were previously enjoying a program, Newsom said in a press release. By signing SB 576, California is dialing down this inconvenience across streaming platforms, which had previously not been subject to commercial volume regulations passed by Congress in 2010. Bringing old rules into the streaming era The federal version of Californias legislation, the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation or CALM Act, became law in 2010 under former President Barack Obama. That law was designed to solve a complaint almost as old as TV commercials themselves, namely that commercials are often many times louder than the content that theyre sandwiched between. “Since the 1960s, consumers have complained about the jarring effect of television commercials that jump considerably in volume a trick used by the ad industry to grab viewers’ attention, Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a co-sponsor of the CALM Act, said when the bill passed. That bill mandated that broadcast stations ensure that volume remain consistent with the level set by the viewer across ads and normal programming. The CALM Act has been settled law for more than a decade, but enforcement is a different story. In spite of the prohibition on unreasonably loud commercials, complaints to the FCC the only way the regulatory agency learns of violations are rising dramatically. The FCC received around 750 complaints in 2022, but by 2024 that number had more than doubled to 1,700. Ultimately, complaints are subjective, but advertisers and broadcasters might just be ignoring the law due to the FCCs scant enforcement efforts. Because the CALM Acts requirements pertain to the average volume of an ad, the FCC notes that advertisers may amp up the volume during some parts of a commercial while keeping other parts quieter to get around the law. To take volume irregularities into their own hands, the FCC points consumers to in-TV settings for gain control and audio limiters that internally smooth out volume across different kinds of content. The rules are evolving, slowly Californias new law adapts the federal CALM Act to the streaming era, but actually investigating violations and pursuing enforcement is far from figured out. In 2023, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Anna G. Eshoo introduced an update to the CALM Act that would bring the law into the streaming age. Known as the CALM Modernization Act, the bill set out to accomplish what California just achieved on a state level, regulating the volume of ads on streaming services. Notably, the new version of the act also sought to strengthen the FCCs investigation and enforcement abilities, but both the House and Senate versions of the bill ultimately languished after being referred to committees. Enforcement is still an issue, but state laws can have an outsized nationwide impact depending on how theyre written. Californias government oversees the fourth largest economy in the world and the entertainment and streaming companies regulated by the new law are largely headquartered in the state, two factors that give the bills passage extra oomph. While an update to the federal legislation seems to have stalled out for now, the FCC could make some changes of its own. Early this year, the FCC signaled its interest in fixing the system when it opened a public comment phase in which the agency would consider other actions it could take to make sure TV viewers arent inundated by exceedingly loud commercials in the future. The FCC said that initially it saw viewer complaints drop in the early years after the CALM Acts passage, but that trend hasnt continued. Over the past several years the Commission received thousands of complaints about loud commercials on broadcast, cable, and satellite television, the agency wrote in a press release. The high number of complaints took a troubling jump last year, which warrants a second look.
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Toyota is recalling nearly 400,000 vehicles because the rearview camera may not display when backing up, increasing the risk of a crash, federal traffic safety regulators said. Included in the recall are 2022-2025 Toyota Tundras and Tundra hybrids and 2023-2025 Sequoia hybrids. The number of automobiles in the recall total 393,838, with the non-hybrid Tundra making up more than half of them. The camera display malfunction is caused by a software problem, which will be fixed with an update by dealerships free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 16. Owners can contact Toyotas customer service at 1-800-331-4331. The numbers for the recall are 25TB10 and 25TA10. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration vehicle safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-888-275-9171), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
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Every night some 74,000 gallons (280,000 liters) of water are frozen at Norton Audubon Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. The hospital used to get all of its air conditioning from a conventional system found in most U.S. buildings, but now 27 tanks of ice sustain a network of cold-water pipes keeping operating rooms at safe temperatures and patients comfortable. This type of thermal energy storage, also known as ice batteries, is being added to buildings in the U.S. for its ability to provide cool air without releasing planet-warming emissions. These systems cut electricity usage and lower the strain on the grid. With rising temperatures and the growing demand for electricity in the U.S., ice thermal energy storage offers a sustainable option for cooling buildings. Trane Technologies, a company that makes heating and cooling equipment, says it has seen a growing demand for this technology over the past few years. Its ice batteries are mostly used in schools as well as commercial and government buildings. Nostromo Energy, another company that makes ice batteries, is pursuing customers among energy-intensive data centers that have high cooling demands. Smaller systems are also made for homes by companies such as Ice Energy. Tanks of ice thaw to create air conditioning Ice thermal energy storage technology varies between manufacturers, but each follows a similar concept: At night, when electricity from the grid is at its cheapest, water is frozen into ice that thaws the next day to cool the building. The ice chills water that is circulating through pipes in the building, absorbing heat from the rooms and creating a cooling effect. Air cooled by the system is then pushed through vents. Norton Audubon Hospital uses a Trane ice battery system. Trane said its ice batteries are often used alongside traditional air conditioning, and the ice-based cooling is used to lower energy costs during peak demand times. The traditional AC components are typically left in place or downsized when ice batteries are added. The stored ice doesn’t require energy to thaw, which reduces the strain on the grid and minimizes the buildings electricity usage, ultimately lowering monthly bills. Storing energy for further uses is where were going with the future of the grid, said Ted Tiffany, senior technical lead at the Building Decarbonization Coalition. He said access to air conditioning is a major public health need that is being exacerbated by a warming planet, and ice batteries are a sustainable way to address health risks associated with extreme heat. Energy costs at Norton Audubon were $278,000 lower for the first year the ice battery system was in operation after it was installed 2018. The hospital estimates that the system and other energy-saving measures have saved it nearly $4 million since 2016. The technology has been awesome for us, said Anthony Mathis, a Norton Healthcare executive who oversees sustainability. He said he receives inquiries from other building operators about the technology and thinks more facilities will adopt it as awareness grows. Using ice to meet growing energy demands Experts on sustainable energy say ice thermal energy storage is among the options commercial buildings can use to reduce electricity demand or store excess energy. Some commercial buildings use lithium batteries, which can store excess solar or wind energy that are available intermittently. Dustin Mulvaney, environmental studies professor at San Jose State University, said ice batteries are a sensible option for health care settings and senior homes because lithium batteries can pose a fire risk. Manufacturers also see opportunities in data centers, which are increasing in number to support artificial intelligence and have high energy and cooling needs. A December report from the Department of Energy found that data centers consumed more than 4% of the electricity in the country in 2023 and that number could grow up to 12% by 2028. Data centers are very energy-hungry and about 30% to 40% of their energy use is for cooling thats where a solution like ours could really help, said Yoram Ashery, CEO of Nostromo Energy. Nostromo Energy said it is discussing deals to install its systems with several large data center operators, but declined to provide further details. Its ice battery technology is also used at the Beverly Hills Hotel in California. California is currently the biggest market for this technology because the grid there uses a lot of solar power during the day but switches to polluting energy sources such as natural gas after the sun sets. Ice batteries can be used for air conditioning in the late afternoon and evening instead of drawing from the grid. A lot of utilities are really interested in this type of load-shifting technology, said Joe Raasch, chief operating officer at Ice Energy, another ice thermal energy storage company. He said summer is typically the most expensive time for utilities to operate because of the air conditioning demand. Its really great technology that the grid really needs because so much of the future electric load is driven by cooling, said Raasch. ___ The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Isabella O’Malley, Associated Press
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