<ul class="summary-list"><li>Animal attacks on humans, such as by bears or sharks, are relatively very rare.</li><li>But experts recommend specific actions depending on which predator you're encountering.</li></ul><p>Despite lots of fear — and films suggesting otherwise — the risk of being attacked by a bear or a shark remains incredibly low.</p><p>Still, with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/southern-california-coast-hotspot-great-white-sharks-beaches-shore-2023-2">great white sharks</a> returning to Southern California and <a href="https://www.insider.com/predatory-bear-attack-in-montana-shows-importance-of-hiding-food-2022-7">grizzly bears</a> spreading out in Montana, it's good to know what to do if you do run into any potentially dangerous animals while in the outdoors or the ocean.</p><p>Wildlife officials have specific recommendations on the best course of action, but it varies depending on the animal. One thing you should always do regardless of the animal is keep your distance and not approach or surprise it.</p><p>Here's what you should do if you encounter any of these apex predators and how you can avoid an attack.</p><h2>Grizzly bears and black bears</h2><div type="image" title="grizzly bear" height="2316" width="3088" msid="100431847" hostid="261" sizebytes="389396"></div><p>There are two kinds of bears you're likely to run into while outdoors in North America, depending on where you are: grizzly bears and black bears. Black bears especially are widespread, located in most US states, while grizzlies are concentrated in areas of Montana and Wyoming, and throughout Alaska.</p><p>Hiking in groups is one way to <a href="https://www.insider.com/predatory-bear-attack-in-montana-shows-importance-of-hiding-food-2022-7">avoid a bear encounter</a>, as a group is likely to make more noise, thus allowing the bear to hear you coming rather than be caught off guard.</p><p>Regardless of the kind of bear you run into, the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/bears/safety.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Park Service</a> says it's important to stay calm and remember that it's rare for a bear to attack.</p><p>You should hold your ground, wave your arms around, and talk calmly to the bear, telling it to back off, in order to identify yourself as a human and not a prey animal. Screaming or making a sudden movement could scare the bear.</p><p>You can move away slowly and sideways, continuing to face the bear. Make sure to leave the bear an escape route and avoid boxing it in somewhere.</p><p>The park service says if a bear stands, it is usually just curious, rather than showing aggression.</p><p>A bear may bluff by charging at you and turning away at the last moment. If this happens, the park service says you should stand your ground. If you have <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/bearspray.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bear spray</a>, you should use it when the charging bear is 30 to 60 feet away, and spray until it changes direction.</p><div type="image" title="Closeup of a young Black Bear in Ontario, Canada" height="3429" width="4573" msid="100431848" hostid="261" sizebytes="338970"></div><p>The park service is clear that you should not run — bears can run faster than racehorses and are inclined to chase fleeing animals — and you should not climb a tree, which grizzlies and black bears can both do.</p><p>If the <a href="https://www.insider.com/what-to-do-if-you-see-a-bear-attack-2019-4">bear attacks</a>, how you respond will depend on whether it's a grizzly or black bear.</p><p><strong>If a grizzly bear attacks</strong>, you should play dead. The park service says you should lay flat on your stomach with your hands behind your neck, keeping your legs spread wide to make it harder for the bear to flip you over. Stay in this position until the bear leaves. If the bear continues the attack, then you should fight back and hit the bear in the face.</p><p><strong>If a black bear attacks</strong>, you should not play dead. The park service says you should try to find a safe place like a car or building. If that's not possible, you should fight back, taking aim at the bear's face and muzzle.</p><p>Regardless of the type of bear, the park service said that in the extremely rare event that a bear attacks you in your tent or stalks you and then attacks, it signals the animal views you as prey. You should not play dead and fight back as hard as you can.</p><h2>Sharks</h2><div type="image" title="Photo of a bull shark taken during a diving expedition in Tiger Beach, Bahamas." height="2519" width="3359" msid="100431849" hostid="261" sizebytes="756300"></div><p>Plenty of swimmers are in the close vicinity of sharks and never realize it because, as with bears, it is rare for sharks to attack humans.</p><p>One way to avoid a potential shark attack is to avoid swimming alone in waters where sharks could be present, as sharks tend to avoid busy beaches.</p><p>If you do see a shark while you are in the ocean, researchers say you should keep your eyes on it. Eye contact lets the shark know you see it and helps prevent the shark from interpreting you as prey, Marissa Wu at the Roundhouse Aquarium in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/southern-california-coast-hotspot-great-white-sharks-beaches-shore-2023-2">Southern California</a>, previously told Insider.</p><p>Most of the time, the shark is curious and will swim along after checking you out. You should keep an eye out for aggressive behavior, such as the shark swimming quickly toward or away from you. A shark that is simply curious will likely be swimming leisurely in a broad S-like pattern.</p><p>While keeping your eyes on the shark, you should calmly swim back to the shore.</p><p>If a shark does attack, you should hit it in the eye or nose, or, if possible, stick your hands into its gills and pull hard. In most instances, the shark will release and swim away, at which point you should call for help and get back to the beach as quickly as you can.</p><h2>Orcas</h2><div type="image" title="An orca" height="1780" width="2374" msid="100431851" hostid="261" sizebytes="226880"></div><p>Although known as "killer whales," <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-orcas-kill-great-white-shark-eat-liver-south-africa-2022-7">orcas</a> earned that name for their fierce reputation of hunting other animals — not humans. Still, if you encounter an orca there are several things you should do to avoid a dangerous encounter with the predator.</p><p>With orcas recently attacking sailboats, a whale expert told <a href="https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/environment/majestic-predators-of-uae-waters-expert-shares-what-to-do-when-you-see-killer-whales" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Khaleej Times</a> that you should <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/orca-killer-whale-attack-boat-expert-advice-2023-5">never enter the water if you see a killer whale</a>.</p><p>"Never swim with these animals because they are much bigger than us, even the small dolphins," Ada Natoli, a professor at Zayed University Abu Dhabi and Founder of the UAE Dolphin Project Initiative, said. "One can observe them from a kayak or paddle boat but always refrain from swimming with them."</p><p>Natoli also noted there are no known instances of fatal orca attacks on humans, but the recent conflicts with boats has caused some concern. If your boat encounters a killer whale, he said you should try to keep a distance of at least 50 to 100 meters, or 164 to 328 feet, turn off your engine, or at least slow down.</p><p>He also said you should avoid approaching an orca from the back or from the front and try to stay on their side. Orcas will often approach boats out of curiosity, but he said it should not be the other way around.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.theca.org.uk/orcas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Groupo Trabajo Orca Atlantica</a> (GTOA), an Atlantic orca working group, provides similar advice. They recommend slowly reversing away from an orca, if possible, and keeping a low profile on deck to avoid attracting an orca's attention.</p><p>GTOA also says you should keep a firm hold on the boat when moving around, in case the orca does ram the boat.</p><h2>Other large mammals that may seem harmless but can actually really hurt you</h2><div type="image" title="Bison" height="3042" width="4057" msid="100431853" hostid="261" sizebytes="446264"></div><p>Apex predators are not the only animals that can attack humans.</p><p>Every year, tourists to Yellowstone National Park underestimate the dangers posed by bison, and every year some are charged and gored. Bison have injured more people in Yellowstone, one of the country's most visited national parks, than any other animal, according to the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/safety.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Park Service</a>.</p><p>Although bison look similar to big, furry cows, they can run three times faster than humans and are extremely agile, able to swim, turn quickly, and jump fences.</p><p>Large mammals like elk and moose are also extremely fast and can cause harm to humans if spooked or provoked.</p><p>The park service recommends that visitors never approach wildlife, and stay at least 25 yards, or 75 feet, away from such animals. They recommend staying 100 yards away from bears and wolves.</p><p>If a bison or elk charges, the park service recommends immediately running away from the animal, which may be bluff charging. Retreat into a vehicle or building, or utilize your bear spray.</p>

From bears to sharks to orcas, here's what to do if you find yourself up against these apex predators

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-orcas-kill-great-white-shark-eat-liver-south-africa-2022-7">Killer whales, or orcas</a>, can be vicious hunters and have recently been <a href="https://www.insider.com/sailor-orca-attack-twice-getting-quicker-2023-6">attacking boats</a>.</li><li>A whale expert told the Khaleej Times <a href="https://www.insider.com/orcas-not-looking-eat-humans-when-attacking-boats-wildlife-filmmaker-2023-7">you should "never enter the water" if you see a killer whale</a>.</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/portugal-orcas-sink-a-sailboat-and-ram-another-in-atlantic-2022-8">Orcas keep attacking sailboats</a>, and nobody is sure why.</p><p>Just last week, <a href="https://www.insider.com/orca-attacks-polish-yacht-sinking-it-morocco-killer-whales-2023-11">a pod of orcas spent 45 minutes ramming into a Polish yacht</a> in the Strait of Gibraltar, according to Morskie Mile, the tour company that owns the vessel. The beleaguered company reported that its crew was safe, but the boat itself sank at the entrance of a Moroccan port.</p><p>In the past three years, hundreds of boat-orca interactions have been reported off the coasts of Portugal, Spain, and Morocco, including ambushes where the animals repeatedly rammed a sailboat and caused damage. This isn't even the first incident where the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/portugal-orcas-sink-a-sailboat-and-ram-another-in-atlantic-2022-8">killer whales sank a boat</a>.</p><p>The incidents all seem to come from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-orca-pod-family-behind-recent-boat-attacks-2023-7">one group of orcas in the area</a>, and scientists still aren't sure why this behavior has become so fashionable in that pod.</p><p>Still, the flood of orca ambushes has prompted boaters and scientists to put their heads together and come up with guidelines for <a href="https://www.insider.com/orcas-attack-yacht-portugal-coast-emergency-beacon-footage-2023-8">dealing with a killer-whale encounter</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/orca-attack-protocol-might-not-save-you-2023-7">There's no guarantee that this advice will stop orcas from damaging a boat</a> if they're really in the mood for it, but the below guidelines can reduce the risk for vessels and their passengers.</p><h2>What to do during an orca encounter</h2><p>Experts say if you see <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/orcas-beginning-whale-human-encounters-likely-to-rise-2023-7">any whales near you in the ocean</a>, you should "never enter the water."</p><p>"What I always suggest to the public is, not just whales but even with [small] dolphins, never enter the water," Ada Natoli, a professor at Zayed University and the founder of the UAE Dolphin Project, <a href="https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/environment/majestic-predators-of-uae-waters-expert-shares-what-to-do-when-you-see-killer-whales" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the Khaleej Times</a>.</p><p>"Never swim with these animals because they are much bigger than us, even the small dolphins," Natoli added. "One can observe them from a kayak or paddle boat, but always refrain from swimming with them."</p><div type="image" title="A person in a yellow kayak on the water paddling near an orca whale." height="1500" width="2250" msid="100194587" hostid="261"></div><p>Luckily, there's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/orcas-dont-pose-threat-to-humans-boat-encounters-have-risks-2023-6">no recorded fatal orca attack on humans in the wild</a>, Natoli told the Khaleej Times. They have a varied diet consisting of seals, sea lions, fish, penguins, and other whales but have never shown an appetite for humans.</p><p>That said, orcas — which can grow up to <a href="https://www.seattleaquarium.org/sites/default/files/files/Orca%20curriculum_07-2016-2.pdf">30 feet long</a>, about the length of two cars — can be incredibly dangerous, not just for their sheer size but also for their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/south-africa-orcas-ripping-out-livers-great-white-sharks-study-2022-7">vicious hunting abilities</a>.</p><div type="image" title="The backs of a pod of whales are shown on the surface of the water. In the background are green mountains." height="1339" width="2000" msid="100194589" hostid="261"></div><p>If you see an orca, Natoli said, you should keep a distance of about 50 to 100 meters (164 to 328 feet) and turn off your engine or, at the very least, slow down.</p><p>"Try not to approach them from the back or from the front. Stay on their side instead," Natoli told the Khaleej Times.</p><p>Moreover, if you see one far away, don't be surprised if it ventures closer.</p><p>"They are pretty curious animals, so they will, most of the time, approach the boat," Natoli added. "Usually, the public gets a chance to see them quite closely without disturbing. Us approaching them is quite different from them approaching us."</p><p>Natoli's advice lines up with guidelines <a href="https://www.theca.org.uk/orcas">published</a> by the Cruising Association and Grupo Trabajo Orca Atlantica in a collaboration between boaters and scientists. Here's what they recommend if an orca approaches your boat:</p><ul><li>"Disconnect autopilot to avoid damage and let the wheel/tiller run free. Keep hands away from wheel or tiller to avoid injury;</li><li>"Stop the boat, de-power and drop/furl sails;</li><li>"Contact the authorities on VHF 16 or by phone on 112;</li><li>"Keep a low profile on deck to minimise the interest to the orcas;</li><li>"Keep a firm hold when moving around to prevent injury in the event of ramming;</li><li>"Take photograph or video evidence whilst keeping a low profile. Make a note of location co-ordinates and timing of the interaction along with any other relevant details including the behaviour of the orcas for future reporting;</li><li>"After the interaction ceases wait for several minutes to allow the orcas to move away from the area before any interest is re-gained by moving off."</li></ul><p>The webpage with the CA's and GTOA's guidelines also discuss reversing the boat, which has worked for 16 of the 29 skippers who reported using the strategy to deter orca encounters. However, reversing can be dangerous in some sea conditions. The webpage also notes that some authorities have deemed it illegal to reverse in the presence of orcas, except in the case of an emergency.</p><p>"If skippers intend to use the reversing manoeuvre (and conditions are suitable), the CA recommends doing so as soon as orcas are sighted," the website says.</p><p>Orcas are in every ocean in the world, according to the <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/killer-whale" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a>. Because of that, orca sightings can be relatively rare or common depending on where you live. </p><p>For example, in the Salish Sea in the Pacific Northwest, Bigg's killer whales and humpback whales were spotted on a record 75% of whale-watching outings in 2022, <a href="https://www.goskagit.com/townnews/marine_biology/it-was-a-good-year-for-whale-sightings-in-pacific-northwest/article_f1a4dd44-9365-11ed-a9a6-0fd383157616.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Go Skagit</a> reported.</p><p>By contrast, in the United Arab Emirates, Natoli told the Khaleej Times that sightings were rare in the region, with only about one every year and a half.</p>

What to do if orcas attack your boat: If you see a killer whale, 'never enter the water' and turn off your engine

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/52499479.cms" /><br />
<br /> It took the efforts and talent of over 75 students from <keyword id="6355690" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Bombay">IIT-Bombay</keyword> to make a racing car, which is now set to enter the <keyword id="3383991" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Formula-Student-UK-competition">Formula Student UK competition</keyword>, where similar models designed by over 100 student teams from across the globe would also take part.<br />
 <br /> ORCA, the car made by the <keyword id="3383988" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-B-racing-team">IIT-B racing team</keyword> took nine months to get designed, and was sponsored by NRB Bearings, Tata Motors, CEAT Tyres and others.<br />
 <br /> "With an acceleration of 0-100kmph in 3.47 seconds, ORCA is faster than any other sports car made by Porsche, Tesla or Audi. Not only is its acceleration a record, it is the first time we have a special steel-frame chassis with carbon-fibre manufactured body, which not only reduces the weight but also stabilises the car at high speeds," said <keyword id="3383989" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rishabh-Kappasia">Rishabh Kappasia</keyword>, a 4th-year student of Engineering Physics at IIT-B, who leads Team ORCA.<br />
 <br /> "The car is awesome to drive thanks to its light weight, and its stability increases at high speeds," added <keyword id="3383990" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Manthan-Mahajan">Manthan Mahajan</keyword>, another 4th-year student who gets behind ORCA’s wheels every time the team participates in a competition.<br />
 <br />
Formula Student UK competition is an annual car competition where a panel judges the best electric and IC engine cars on the basis of several parameters like engineering and presentation skills. The IIT-B team has been participating in the annual event over the past five years, and has also received the FS award for design improvement for three consecutive years, being the only team to have done that.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://imagecdn2.cartrade.com/img/500/cars/IIT-Bombay-Racing-team-Orca.jpg"><em>Image source</em></a>

IIT-Bombay students have made India’s fastest sports car ORCA

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/57425850.cms" />There seems to be a global race of sorts to build self-driving cars, with biggies like Tesla, Uber and Google leading the race. And now, India has also decided to jump in, with three top colleges of the country joining hands to do the same.<br />
<br />
Kharagpur, Kanpur and Bombay branches of Indian Institutes of Technology have deployed their teams to work on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/self-driving-car-startups-could-be-creating-a-bubble-in-silicon-valley/articleshow/57136377.cms">driverless cars</a> and as expected, Indian automotive companies are showing interest in the project.<br />
<br />
Even though the names of the companies were not disclosed, sources said that all major auto companies are involved with the three institutes.<br />
<br />
"We are developing technology for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/self-driving-cars-are-already-deciding-who-to-kill/articleshow/56244211.cms">driverless cars</a> keeping the Indian market in mind, in contrast to the global tech majors who are building and testing technologies in the Western market," <keyword id="6364832" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Kharagpur">IIT Kharagpur</keyword>'s Debashish Chakravarty, head of the autonomous ground vehicle (AGV) project, told <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/indl-goods/svs/engineering/three-iits-join-hands-to-build-self-driving-cars/articleshow/57419669.cms">ET</a>.<br />
<br />
While students at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/from-one-engineer-to-other-sundar-pichaisadvice-to-students-at-iit-kharagpur/articleshow/56388875.cms">IIT Kharagpur</a> are testing autonomous vehicles that they have built from scratch in their campus, those at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Same-face-same-marks-same-college-same-course-Twins-who-have-made-it-to-IIT-Kanpur-have-a-LOT-IN-COMMON/articleshow/53336240.cms">IIT Kanpur</a> are also planning to build its own <keyword id="1044059" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="autonomous-vehicle">autonomous vehicle</keyword>.<br />
<br /> Similarly, <keyword id="61708" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Bombay">IIT Bombay</keyword> students are also running the pilot testing of the autonomous vehicle in their campus.<br />
<br />
<strong>Also read:</strong> <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/IIT-Bombay-ORCA/articleshow/52499437.cms">IIT-Bombay students have made India’s fastest sports car ORCA</a><br />
<br />
All three institutes are also individually designing a prototype vehicle using outsourced 3D laser sensor lidar, so that they can have advanced road detection, a feature crucial for autonomous vehicles. Other than these sensors, everything is being built in the campuses itself.<br />
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<em>(Image source: IndianCarsBikes)</em><br />
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Three IITs are working together to build self-driving cars

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/573c920652bcd0210c8c395b-2400/rts2bzq.jpg" alt="Google car" data-mce-source="Reuters/Elijah Nouvelage" data-mce-caption="A line of Lexus SUVs equipped with Google self-driving sensors await test riders during a media preview." data-link="http://pictures.reuters.com/Package/2C0FQEQQF68U#/SearchResult&amp;ALID=2C0FQEQQF68U&amp;VBID=2C0FC0UY28HT&amp;POPUPPN=7&amp;POPUPIID=2C0FQEQI0L2Q" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/Package/2C0FQEQQF68U#/SearchResult&amp;ALID=2C0FQEQQF68U&amp;VBID=2C0FC0UY28HT&amp;POPUPPN=7&amp;POPUPIID=2C0FQEQI0L2Q">Reuters/Elijah Nouvelage</a></span></p><p class="caption">A line of Lexus SUVs equipped with Google self-driving sensors await test riders during a media preview.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Google's self-driving cars just learned a new trick: how to honk - and how to do it politely. </p><p>Google's<a href="https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/www.google.com/en//selfdrivingcar/files/reports/report-0516.pdf"> Self-Driving Car Project May report</a> outlines the work it's done to teach its cars how and when to honk. Testing was initially performed inside the vehicle so as not to confuse other drivers, but the cars are now ready to hit the road with horns blaring.</p><p>During testing, the cars learned the difference between what Google called "false positives" - like a car driving the wrong way down the street versus a car facing the wrong way because it's making a three-point turn - and learned the proper response for different situations. If another vehicle is reversing toward a Google car, for example, the car will emit "two short, quieter pips as a friendly heads up," but will let out a louder, longer honk for more urgent or dangerous situations. </p><p>"Our self-driving cars aim to be polite, considerate, and only honk when it makes driving safer for everyone," Google wrote in the report. </p><p>"Our goal is to teach our cars to honk like a patient, seasoned driver. As we become more experienced honkers, we hope our cars will also be able to predict how other drivers respond to a beep in different situations," the report added.</p><p>Engineers also equipped the cars to make other sounds, like a hum that's more audible than the car's usual electric whir and changes in pitch when the vehicle accelerates and decelerates. Pedestrians, cyclists and the visually impaired rely on those sounds, the report said, and the cars have previously been too quiet. </p><p>And if the car's new noises sound familiar, it's because Google tested numerous sounds so make a personalized voice for its vehicles. The company said it tested the sound of an orca, consumer electronics and ambient art sculptures to create what it called "a voice that matches our face."</p><p>Google is currently testing a fleet o f 24 Lexus RX450h SUVs and 34 pod-shaped prototype vehicles on public roads in California and three other states. The company reported one accident in May: a prototype vehicle traveling 9 miles per hour in manual mode struck a median in in Google's hometown of Mountain View, California and sustained minor damage, but no other vehicles were involved. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/turn-macbook-into-external-hard-drive-2016-5">How to turn your MacBook into an external hard drive by pressing one button</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="g1eWNtMzE6vll8lLcajligF8I9SJy_7O" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'g1eWNtMzE6vll8lLcajligF8I9SJy_7O',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Google wants to teach its self-driving cars to honk politely

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d4b1aaa100a244ccd0c95e2-2400/ms from engagement shoot.jpg" border="0" alt="M&amp;S from engagement shoot.JPG" data-mce-source="Courtesy of Shannon Page" data-mce-caption="Shannon Page and husband Mark." /><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Shannon Page</span></p><p class="caption">Shannon Page and husband Mark followed a longstanding dream to live on Orcas Island.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Shannon Page and her husband are both full-time freelancers. That means their yearly income is pretty unpredictable.</li><li>They live on Orcas Island in Washington - they have a small mortgage, and covered their first three years of payments with their savings.</li><li>Below, Shannon shares how they spent their money in a week that included an out-of-town visitor, car repairs, and some overdue taxes.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></strong></li></ul><p>My husband and I are freelancers: I'm a 52-year-old writer, editor, and proofreader; <a href="http://www.markferrari.com/">Mark</a> is a 62-year-old illustrator and writer. We had a financially stable life - a paid-for house, gym memberships, enough income to pay our bills - in Portland, Oregon. But the Rose City is being loved to death. Tens of thousands of people a year are being drawn there by the nice climate, the foodie culture, the great music, the Portlandia vibe. The city we knew is vanishing. Escalating crime, gridlock, road rage and constant construction left us feeling embattled in our own house.</p><p>Happily, working at home for remote clients means we can live anywhere that has a decent internet connection. So, two years ago, we followed a long-standing dream and bought a lovely house with five acres (and a pond!) on Orcas Island, Washington. This meant a small mortgage, and because our income is unpredictable, we immediately put enough of our Portland house proceeds into a savings account to cover our first three years of payments.</p><p>Our "typical" monthly "budget" is always difficult to define. Working at home for dozens of clients means no two days - or jobs - are alike. Work floods in all at once, or not at all for months. So both income and expenditures are wildly unpredictable. Last year we grossed only $41,000 - that's not a typo. This year, we had surpassed that by the end of June, and are now on target for around $80,000.</p><p>Unless something unexpected happens! (<em>Insert evil laughter from offstage</em>.)</p><p>Speaking of which, this year we've had a few medical issues, and are already out of pocket $4,000 not covered by our health insurance. Then Mark's main computer died, and his backup computer, and then his Cyntiq drawing computer. Then a printer - all within three months. And then we got <a href="https://medium.com/s/story/can-we-talk-about-taxes-ab81497e8ac7">our tax bill</a>.</p><p>Hoping to shield ourselves from some of this chaos, we became an S Corporation in May, incurring lawyer and accountant fees - planned expenses, for once. We're hoping this will help with our taxes next year. Fingers crossed.</p><p>Our "average" monthly spending looks like this:</p><ul><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Mortgage (principal, interest, escrow for property taxes &amp; home insurance)</strong>: $1,737</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Business expenses</strong>: $1,575</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Income &amp; self-employment taxes</strong>: $1,090</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Groceries</strong>: $800</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Travel/entertainment/dining out/clothing/gym/books/gifts/charity/haircuts/household necessities/etc.</strong>: $700</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Medical</strong>: $575</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Utilities (including firewood, our sole winter heat)</strong>: $430</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Insurance (auto, life, umbrella, medical, emergency airlift)</strong>: $385</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Garden</strong>: $220</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Legal &amp; accounting fees</strong>: $200</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Auto (gas, maintenance, ferry fees)</strong>: $120</li></ul><p><strong>Total $7,832</strong></p><p>With our projected average income of <strong>$6,667/month,</strong> you can see that these numbers don't exactly pencil out.</p><p>Fortunately, we do have two years of mortgage money left in that savings account. But we're barely treading water here. And the Pacific Northwest is expensive; island living is costlier still. Gas is $4 a gallon here; asparagus can be $9 a pound. Ferry fees are $56.55 per car.</p><p>Choosing adventurous living over the path of least resistance is challenging. Here's what we spent during a recent week, July 24 to July 30.</p>

My husband and I are both freelancers with unpredictable incomes. Two years ago, we moved to an island off the coast of Seattle - here's what a week of our typical spending looks like.

<p class="drop-cap">If you listen to <keyword id="12257531" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gus-dapperton" source="Orion">Gus Dapperton</keyword>'s <keyword id="11898471" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="music" source="Orion">music</keyword>, you'd probably imagine its creator to be polite, self-aware, and supremely chill - almost disarmingly so. You would be exactly right.</p><p>Dapperton arrived at our <keyword id="11905869" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="interview" source="Orion">interview</keyword> location, a bright Japanese restaurant he selected in <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@tara.raani2/video/6978227978752871686?sender_device=pc&amp;sender_web_id=6941467851099670022&amp;is_from_webapp=v1&amp;is_copy_url=0s_copy_url=0">Brooklyn's famously hip Bushwick neighborhood</a>, exactly on time. He made a point to shake my hand, even though I had my back to the door and hadn't risen to greet him. Then, in a move I found both strange and endearing, he took the chair next to me instead of sitting across the table.</p><p>This guileless charm is the core of Dapperton's work. Though he's ambivalent about the oft-used label "bedroom pop," he said he understands what it's trying to communicate.</p><p>Dapperton's favored blend of shimmery synths and Beach Boys-worthy guitar licks feels warm and familiar - like a dream you had long ago, or a half-awake heart-to-heart with an old friend. His writing style is reflexively candid, just as he is in real-time.</p><p>"I'm comfortable just saying whatever comes to my mind because I know I'm not going to say anything too rude," he told me over a plate of spicy tuna rolls, chopsticks poised mid-air.</p><p>But, as he explained, that comfort was learned - not intrinsic.</p><p>"In high school, I was miserably introverted. I didn't even plan on being a performer and then I kind of had to perform. Over time, I got better at it," he mused. "Somehow, I came to enjoy it."</p><p>By "had to perform," Dapperton meant that his passion and talent collided in a way that simply refused to be ignored.</p><div type="image" title="gus dapperton film photo 1" height="1600" width="2400" msid="86812767" hostid="261"></div><hr /><p class="drop-cap">Dapperton, 24, grew up as Brendan Rice in Warwick, a farm-heavy town in upstate New York. He spent most of his time skateboarding and editing videos on his computer, not auditioning for school plays or crooning at talent shows.</p><p>"My sister was always a super talented singer, but I wasn't good. I wasn't super gifted at the guitar or anything, either. I just dabbled," he explained. "When you're young, you're pushed to do the things that you're 'better' at. But I loved music."</p><p>When Dapperton was in eighth grade, his school's newly-installed computer lab presented an opportunity. His class was instructed to create a song in GarageBand, and whichever one the teachers liked best would be played on the town's radio station. Dapperton stayed late after school every day, tinkering away, determined to make sure they picked his.</p><p>They did.</p><p>"Immediately I was like, 'This is what I want to do for the rest of my life,'" he said.</p><p>Dapperton originally envisioned himself as a producer, making beats behind the scenes. But many producers also act as cowriters, and when Dapperton tried his hand at lyricism, something clicked. He began to discover his own voice, both physically and proverbially: "I realized the songs I was writing were meant for me."</p><p>As he developed his unique musical style, Dapperton used different monikers to play with a variety of genres: Spazzy McGee made "old-school hip-hop beats," Fvcking Digital whipped up electronic remixes, and Pablo Pistachio only worked with classical piano.</p><p>Gus Dapperton was the persona behind his official debut single, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjlTOqagjuY">"Moodna, Once With Grace,"</a> which he released in 2016.</p><p>The name suggests a collision of youthful simplicity and stylish panache, allowing the artist to write music that felt true to both his inside and outside. It stuck.</p><div type="image" title="gus dapperton first aid press photo" height="3000" width="1998" msid="86812772" hostid="261"></div> <div type="image" title="gus dapperton press photo" height="3000" width="1929" msid="86812775" hostid="261"></div><p>Dapperton's early releases were heavily inspired by artists like Odd Future and King Krule - fellow skater kids who had "weird voices" and no inhibitions - but he also cited supermassive stars like The Beatles, Timbaland, and Britney Spears.</p><p>"When I hear my sister sing those big pop songs, it's impossible to deny how beautiful they sound," he said. "My family would all be in the car chanting <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/taylor-swift">Taylor Swift</a> songs and stuff. I think 'Love Story' by Taylor Swift is one of my favorite songs of all time. My dad would just turn up the volume as loud as possible."</p><p>"That's why I never denied the pleasures of pop music growing up," he continued.</p><p>Indeed, Dapperton's music-making ethos is equally rooted in pop's exultant, communal power and a private individualism typically favored by singer-songwriters.</p><p>"I definitely always have the intention of sharing my music and making it for people to enjoy," he explained. "But I make songs for me, without any outside forces messing with the agenda."</p><p>Although Dapperton was courted by several major labels at the dawn of his career, he knew it wasn't time to commit to a contract. His music is currently distributed by AWAL, a division of Kobalt Music Group that <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8482434/kobalt-awal-anti-record-label">allows artists to retain majority ownership of their music</a>.</p><blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper"><q class="pullquote-quotation">I make songs for me, without any outside forces messing with the agenda.</q></blockquote><hr /><p class="drop-cap">Superfans anxious for a spillage from Dapperton's vault will be disappointed. He estimated that he's sitting on 250 completed songs and "probably 10,000 beats."</p><p>"I make a ton of beats and then just never come back to them," he said. "Basically, every time I get up to 500 files in Logic," which is a popular music production platform, "I just get a new computer, because it stops working after that."</p><p>Even more mind-boggling: Dapperton described the bulk of his unreleased songs as catchy ear worms that will never see the light of day.</p><p>"When I see myself writing a song to be a hit, I'm like, 'I just know I'm never going to come back to this again,'" he explained. "I do those things for practice."</p><p>Dapperton revealed he's made about 40 full songs since the 2020 release of his sophomore studio album, "Orca" - not including the three new tracks on the album's deluxe version, which was released in early June.</p><div type="image" title="gus dapperton film photo 2" height="2400" width="1600" msid="86812777" hostid="261"></div><p>When I cautiously requested a peek into the new musical direction, Dapperton laughed.</p><p>"I don't really answer to anyone, so I can just talk about this," he said.</p><p>Only a small selection of those 40 songs will likely make the final cut, he revealed, but his third album is definitely taking shape. He already has the title decided.</p><p>"A couple weeks ago, I had this revelation. I have the vision. I have all the songs' names," he said, teasing a "slightly more R&amp;B and jazz-oriented" sound. "It's not <em>about</em> New York City, but it's a love letter to <em>my</em> New York City."</p><p>While "Orca" explored the cycle of depression and healing, Dapperton's forthcoming music will tackle another powerful dualism: love and fear. The two often go hand in hand, but Dapperton is oddly at peace with the turbulence. Contentedness is where he squirms.</p><p>"I wrote this poem recently for the intro, and I say this line like, 'It happens when everything is lost,'" he said. "Sometimes, when I'm so happy, I'm like, 'Well, I'm not going to make a fucking good song for a while.'"</p><p>Dapperton, who has been dating photographer Jess Farran for more than three years, described the new album's themes as "growing with love, and heartbreak, and time, and being scared of growing old, and growing old with this monotony that's healthy for you."</p><hr /><p class="drop-cap">With 2 million monthly listeners on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/6sHCvZe1PHrOAuYlwTLNH4?si=sOTi0KntRk2-U2-iuYMFQw&amp;dl_branch=1ch=1">Spotify</a>, nearly 40 million views on <a href="https://gusdapperton.lnk.to/youtubeYD">YouTube</a>, a show-stopping <a href="https://youtu.be/WzldfXlxGdc">late-night performance</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb6Scz-5YOs">a top-40 hit under his belt</a>, it seems absurd that Dapperton has only just begun to feel at home in the "indie darling" conversation - let alone that he's one of its leading voices.</p><p>"I only had about six songs out when we started touring. We had no production, no sound. It was just four of us at the time - my sister, who plays keyboards and sings, and then my bassist and my drummer," he said. "We've played all these big stages and stuff, and it's taken up until <a href="https://youtu.be/tkllCCqlhtA">this year's Lollapalooza</a> for me to feel like I finally belong there."</p><p>"I mean, I feel like I belong playing music for people, but on main stage?" he asked, his voice filled with awe as he noted: "Tyler, the Creator is headlining it later!"</p><p>That serendipity had actually struck once before - at a festival in Paris. Dapperton performed mere hours before the former Odd Future ringleader took the same stage.</p><p>"It looked like we were just some band off the street that they got, like we were busking or something," he chuckled. "But this time, I felt like we had everything prepared. I felt so comfortable up there. I was not nervous whatsoever. It was just pure joy."</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G8G3Tcc0sns" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>After playing <a href="https://www.musicmidtown.com/">Atlanta's Music Midtown festival</a> last month<strong>,</strong> Dapperton will officially kick off his <a href="http://gusdapperton.com/tour/">North American tour</a> on October 17 in Carrboro, North Carolina. And if his sparkly eyeshadow, ever-changing hair colors, and cinematic music videos are any indication, fans are in for a full sensory experience.</p><p>"It's about individuality. It's not about trying to stand out so people listen to your music," he explained. "I want to be fashionable because fashion is an art form. I want to make good music videos because directing music videos is an art form. I want to nail a great performance because it's an art form."</p><p>"I want to put 100% into all those things. I don't want to just put 100% into music and then put 0% into everything else that I'm still choosing to immerse myself in. That's lazy."</p>

Eating sushi with Gus Dapperton, the polite king of bedroom pop

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I've visited Cabo frequently for the last two decades and always find a new adventure to try.</li><li>As a <keyword id="11896628" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="travel" source="Orion">travel</keyword> reporter, here are my favorite activities, from swimming with whale sharks to golfing.</li></ul><p>I became an adventure-travel reporter because I love doing things that other people find somewhat scary and writing about it to reassure them that the adventure experience is worth fighting off the fear factor. From backpacking into bear country in Montana to climbing up steep walls to see Aboriginal wall paintings created 40,000 years ago in Australia's Northern Territory, I've had adventures across the globe, but one place that always thrills me is Los Cabos and Baja California Sur.</p><p>Discovering Baja California Sur so close to my home base of Los Angeles many years ago was a revelation, as I realized I didn't have to go too far to satisfy my wanderlust for unique experiences. If you can tear yourself away from the margarita-drenched pool scene at your hotel, you'll find some of the most incredible adventures in <keyword id="11933000" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mexico" source="Orion">Mexico</keyword>'s peninsula.</p><p>From swimming with sharks to zooming down sand dunes, here are my 10 favorite ways to get your adrenaline fix in Baja California Sur and Los Cabos. </p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="Scuba diving in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico" height="3791" width="5055" msid="92524491" hostid="261" sizebytes="1208460"></div><p><strong>Scuba diving in the Sea of Cortez</strong></p><p>The scuba diving in the clear, warm waters of the Sea of Cortez is justifiably famous, for this place just teems with traveling sea creatures of every size and shape. Each dive is different, especially depending on the time of year, and the water is never cold, <a href="https://www.cabosanlucas.net/fast-facts/cabo-water-temperature" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">ranging from 65 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to nearly 80 in summer</a>.</p><p>There are <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/pew-bertarelli-ocean-legacy-baja-californias-pacific-and-the-sea-of-cortez" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">nearly 900 species of fish in these waters</a>, according to Pew, as well as seasonal visitors like hammerhead sharks, moray eels, eagle rays, sea turtles, and – the ones who live there all year round – very friendly sea lions. I saw my first hammerheads on a dive off La Paz, and I thought my heart would hammer right out of my chest; I was so happy. The water conditions are clearest from July to December, with the calmest times and warmest water in September and October.</p><p>There are diving spots to be seen out of <keyword id="14313321" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cabo-san-lucas" source="Orion">Cabo San Lucas</keyword> and along the Tourist Corridor as well. Most resorts' concierges or activities desks will steer you toward the kind of dives that meet your level of experience. </p><p>Personally, I like to make the <a href="https://www.cortezclub.com/scuba-diving/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Cortez Club La Paz</a> my home base when I go diving here (which is every time I visit), as it always has well-maintained boats and dive equipment, as well as knowledgeable and very professional dive masters on board. Plus, it always tries to send its boats to the places where the most interesting undersea creatures are congregating. Those new to diving can go out for what's called a "resort" dive, where they teach you the basics and have you descend only about 30 feet. You can also get your first Professional Association of Diving Instructors scuba certification or add advanced coursework to your diving repertoire through the club's courses, which take a few days to complete and culminate with exhilarating open-water dives. </p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="swimming with whale sharks in Cabo san Lucas, Mexico" height="3862" width="5150" msid="92524492" hostid="261" sizebytes="738118"></div><p><strong>Swimming with whale sharks</strong></p><p>Whale sharks — those 15-ton plankton-eating denizens of the depths — arrive into the Sea of Cortez from November to April, giving visitors the chance to jump in with a snorkel and mask and swim with them. It's a surreal experience to be in the water with these creatures, who are the largest sharks in the world, as well as the biggest fish in the sea.</p><p>Their <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/whale-shark" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">huge mouths are not dangerous</a>, as these sharks don't have any sharp teeth, nor do they care one bit that you're in the water with them. You can join in the fun by taking a special cruise designed to transport you to the spots whale sharks love, run by the <a href="https://www.cortezclub.com/whale-sharks/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Cortez Club La Paz</a>, <a href="https://www.bajaadventureco.com/whale-shark/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Baja Adventures</a>, and other adventure-tour operators in the region. My whale-shark experiences have been similar with both of those companies. I spent part of the trip getting to where the whale sharks had been recently sighted, then once we'd found them, small groups of snorkelers dropped off the boat into the water, swam along with the giant fish for a while, tried not to swallow the ocean as they went by, and then scrambled back up the ladder on the boat to let the next group go (each group gets multiple turns). With each time I drop into the water, I get an emotional rush being so close to these amazing and beautiful creatures. </p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="Sportfishing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico" height="3738" width="4985" msid="92524494" hostid="261" sizebytes="796326"></div><p><strong>Sportfishing</strong></p><p>Sportfishing is a hugely popular part of Los Cabos' draw, with charter boats going out every day from Cabo San Lucas and La Paz to fish in the Sea of Cortez. There are big-money tournaments, too, as anglers from all over the world gather to vie for bragging rights. Depending on the time of year, you'll find marlin, tuna, grouper, snapper, and more. </p><p>Fishing trips can be single-day adventures or longer live-aboard experiences. I've found that going out for a single day is really an exhilarating adventure, and I quickly learned that fishing for larger fish is definitely a workout. When we returned to the docks in the Cabo marina, the hungry sea lions who crawled right onto the back of our boat to beg for fish were an added bonus. They're hilarious and know they'll get fed by the boat captains — just make sure they don't climb aboard and steal your prize catch. Most sportfishing boats will clean your fish for you, and then you can take your catch to many local eateries in both Cabo and La Paz where the chef will fix it up for you in a delicious meal. Try <a href="https://www.bajaadventureco.com/fishing/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Baja Adventures</a> for a terrific day out on the water — on my trip, they took care of everything, from picking us up to cleaning our fish and getting them ready for the local chefs to cook up for us.</p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="Whale watching in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico" height="4000" width="5333" msid="92524495" hostid="261" sizebytes="853228"></div><p><strong>Whale watching up close</strong></p><p>From November to April, whales are everywhere in the Sea of Cortez, and getting up close and personal with them is the ultimate Cabo adventure. Blue whales, humpbacks, minkes, sperm, and orcas are just some of the whales that migrate to the sea every winter to birth their babies. Then they stay while the young whales gain strength for the migration back north toward Alaska.</p><p>Whale-watching tours can be had from small boats, Zodiacs, and larger sailboats; some have gotten me so close that I was able to pet a whale mother as she majestically swam by. I've also seen juveniles happily romping in the water, breaching and bounding across the waves, all the while followed by their mother and what the boat guides call "the nanny," another adult whale along for protection. It's truly magical to see.</p><p>Go in February, and you're virtually guaranteed to see whales that will take your breath away. Numerous companies run boats in the season; try<a href="https://www.diveninjaexpeditions.com/whale-watching-cabo-san-lucas/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored"> Dive Ninja Cabo San Lucas</a> and <a href="https://www.cortezclub.com/whale-watching/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Cortez Club La Paz</a> for two well-run operations that provide everything from hotel pickup and drop-off to life jackets and professional whale spotters.</p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="surfing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico" height="2554" width="3406" msid="92524496" hostid="261" sizebytes="563894"></div><p><strong>Surfing and kitesurfing: Bring your boards or take lessons</strong></p><p>Surfing happens from the Pacific side all the way to the East Cape above Los Cabos, with lessons offered in various places for newbies. I'm not such a great surfer, but getting a chance to ride a few waves without crowds around makes the breaks in Baja California Sur a lot more fun for a beginner like me. I've taken lessons with <a href="https://www.hightideloscabos.com/tour/surf-lessons-at-cerritos/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">High Tide Los Cabos</a> on the Pacific side, where a group lesson lasts most of the day (six hours or so) and are taught with both your skill level and comfort in the water taken into consideration.</p><p>Kitesurfing and windsurfing are also popular in the East Cape, where wind conditions allow for flying through the air over the Sea of Cortez in the winter months. If those are the aquatic adventures that make your heart sing, don't go in the summer, when the wind is at an ebb. There are a number of companies that will outfit you and teach you how to fly high, including <a href="https://exotikite.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">ExotiKite Kiteboarding</a>, which is renowned for its safety standards and ability to make beginners of all ages into experienced kiteboarders.</p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="Baja dirt racing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico" height="3499" width="4665" msid="92524497" hostid="261" sizebytes="1336016"></div><p><strong>Get down in the dirt and get moving</strong></p><p>There's tons of excitement away from the water in Los Cabos, too, especially if you've got a love for speed like I do. For off-roading, check out <a href="https://www.wideopenbaja.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Wide Open Baja Racing</a>, which offers half- or full-day experiences driving race cars in the Baja California Sur desert.</p><p>It's pricey ($1,200 a car for a half-day adventure for two drivers), but when you're tearing around the company's Margarita Ranch Track, rolling across a dirt track as fast as you dare run the stick shift in a Baja Challenge-ready car, you'll think it's worth every penny. You can go for a full day to run across open spaces, too (that experience costs $2,740 a car for two people) in a manual-transmission vehicle. Whatever you do, don't wear white.</p><p>The same can be said for riding Polaris ATVs across the desert dunes — driving up and over the dunes and dodging cacti is great fun, albeit harder than it looks. <a href="https://www.cabo-adventures.com/en/tour/atv-desert-adventure" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Cabo Adventures</a> will get you there — and back — safely.</p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="Golf course in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico" height="3075" width="4100" msid="92524498" hostid="261" sizebytes="1494948"></div><p><strong>Golfing with a view</strong></p><p>While some might not consider playing a round of golf a real adventure, when you're in the Baja California Sur desert, you never know what sort of critter might turn up. Snakes on the golf course? Check. Coyotes or condors? I've seen them all in Baja California Sur while on the course, especially snakes and coyotes early in the morning. </p><p>Baja California Sur has some of North America's best golf courses, including the Tiger Woods-designed<a href="https://golfdiamante.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored"> Diamante golf</a> course in Cabo San Lucas and the Gary Player-created <a href="https://elcortesgolf.com/en/home/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored">Puerto Cortés Golf Club</a> in La Paz. Many of these desert courses are juxtaposed against the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean or the Sea of Cortez, offering beautiful vistas and challenging holes. Lessons are readily available at every course for those in need of help with their short or long games, and I recommend playing early in the morning, as temperatures will heat up as the day progresses, no matter what time of year it is.</p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="turtle beach in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico" height="3886" width="5181" msid="92524500" hostid="261" sizebytes="1809170"></div><p><strong>Watch baby sea turtles hatch</strong></p><p>One of my favorite eco-adventures in Los Cabos happens from September to December, when baby sea turtles hatch at Pedregal Beach and head toward the sea. Perhaps it's because it reminds me of my father (who was a herpetologist) and his love for reptiles (turtles on land or sea are not amphibians, as you might have thought, but hard-shelled reptiles), or perhaps it's just because it's so fantastic to see these tiny creatures begin their lives. This sea adventure by proxy is supervised by scientific experts, which allows visitors and local volunteers to help release the babies on their perilous journey into the water. I recommend booking with the Cabo Turtle Hatchery and <a href="http://www.cabotrek.com">Cabo Trek</a>, which make sure the baby turtles are as protected as possible and that we, as helpers, do not do anything invasive to interrupt their hatching. </p><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="Playa El Chileno in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico" height="4000" width="5333" msid="92524501" hostid="261" sizebytes="2042540"></div><p><strong>The beach adventure, Cabo style</strong></p><p>A final thought on adventure in Los Cabos is to be aware that many of the waters near beaches in Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo are very dangerous, even for experienced swimmers. That's why so many resorts do not allow swimming at their properties, as it's far too easy for guests to get injured or even drown because of the jagged rocks and rip currents along much of the Tourist Corridor. So be sure to pay attention to the flags posted on the beaches, as red flags mean do not get in the water — and they mean it. </p><p>As mentioned in the hotel section of this guide, select hotels like the Montage Los Cabos and the One&amp;Only Palmilla do have swimmable private beaches, but most do not. Here are some of the public beaches in Los Cabos where swimming (and snorkeling) is safe for both adults and children.</p><ol><li><strong>Medano Beach:</strong> This long public beach is in downtown Cabo San Lucas and often the most crowded around, as locals as well as tourists from hotels without swimmable water come here. You'll find bathroom facilities, lifeguards, and people selling everything from tamales and tacos to jewelry, sarongs, and locally made art pieces.</li><li><strong>Lovers Beach:</strong> This small public beach near El Arco in Cabo San Lucas is accessible only by boat and swimmable only when the tides are out. While it's a little sliver of a beach that appears only at low tide, I recommend visiting because it is such a picturesque place. </li><li><strong>Playa Acapulquito:</strong> This small, sunny beach near San José del Cabo can sometimes get very crowded with locals and tourists alike. It's a great place to catch some waves, and you can rent surfboards nearby. Families like this beach, as kids of varying ages can find fun things to do here, from surfing and boogie boarding for tweens and teens and just playing in the sand for the younger set.<br /><div type="image" title="Cannery beaches in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico" height="4000" width="5333" msid="92524502" hostid="261" sizebytes="2164964"></div></li><li><strong>Cannery Beaches:</strong> These two small public beaches are near the Cabo San Lucas marina and get very crowded on warm days. They're easy to get to and offer good snorkeling, but on a hot day, they are overrun with people, so be warned. Shade from the large rocks that frame the beach make these places where families come for a chance to be in the sand but not in the sun.</li><li><strong>Palmilla Beach:</strong> This is a large public beach near San José del Cabo, not far from the One&amp;Only Resort, but it does not have any restaurants nearby, so bring along a cooler with water and snacks. You can try to snorkel here, but the water is often choppy, so visibility isn't good, but it's fine for swimming. This beach isn't so great for families with small children, as the water can be hard to handle. Many vendors come and set up to sell cool drinks and typical beach wares, like towels, sarongs, and sunscreen.</li><li><strong>Chileno Beach:</strong> This less-crowded beach is well north of Cabo San Lucas' center on the Tourist Corridor. It has restrooms, lifeguards, and good snorkeling. Some parts of this beach have more dangerous waters, so be sure to swim in the designated green-flagged areas. Like most beaches on the peninsula, the sand is fine and the sun is relentless, so be sure to bring an umbrella and plenty of water when coming to this less-popular spot.<br /><div type="image" title="Cabo Pulmo in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico" height="4000" width="5333" msid="92524503" hostid="261" sizebytes="1053886"></div></li><li><strong>Cabo Pulmo Beach:</strong> This uncrowded beach with great snorkeling is in the state park two hours north of Cabo San Lucas, past San José del Cabo. It's very clean with beautiful sand, but there are no restaurants or other amenities here, so pack what you need ahead of visiting.</li><li><strong>Balandra Beach:</strong> Baja California Sur's most famous beach, it is north of La Paz on a calm lagoon and accessible by car, bus, or boat. Often called Mexico's "most beautiful beach," it really is a perfectly picturesque place. Kayaks and stand-up paddleboards are usually available for rental here, and the lagoon is perfect for either of those activities. Families love this beach, as the lagoon waters are generally calm and not too deep near the beach, so small kids can have fun in the water without encountering any dangerous conditions.</li></ol><p><a href="https://insider.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-traveling-to-cabo-san-lucas-mexico" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>View Insider's comprehensive guide to visiting Cabo San Lucas and Baja California Sur, Mexico</em><em>.</em></a></p>

Cabo San Lucas is a paradise for the outdoors — here are 8 adventures for an adrenaline rush, plus the best 8 beaches to relax in the sun

<ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Whether you're heading out for a weekend camping trip, an afternoon in the park, a tailgating party, or you're grilling in the backyard, you'll need a cooler if you like cold drinks and fresh food.</strong></li><li><strong>The <a href="https://amzn.to/2NiU9Vd" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Coleman Performance 48-Quart Cooler</a> is our top pick because it's a true classic that stands the test of time with its incredibly low price and three-day ice retention in 90-degree temperatures.</strong></li></ul><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To the fisherman, a reliable cooler makes the difference between bringing home fresh fillets or wasting the catch as it spoils in the heat. At the tailgate party or picnic, a good cooler means cold beer and soda instead of warm swill. For the campers, a cooler keeps food chilled and safe for days on end even when the nearest refrigerator is a three-day hike back out of the woods. And so forth. Frankly, I feel confident that you know plenty about using coolers. When it comes to choosing a cooler, however, I think I can help.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I own four coolers, which I readily admit is a bit excessive. But they're just so damn handy, right? I only use two of them all that often, these being a large hard-shelled classic and a soft-sided compact cooler. There's nothing wrong with the other two coolers, one is just a bit small for the family and the fourth is simply redundant, yet I can't bring myself to part with it.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It's probably going to surprise you just how much some coolers cost. But what also might be a surprise is the fact that a great cooler can be a lifetime purchase. No, buying a cooler is not as important or complicated a decision as selecting a car or a major appliance, but you will almost surely have the cooler for many years more than any vehicle, fridge, or washing machine, so you owe it to yourself to choose wisely. Be ready to spend a few bucks if it turns out the cooler that best suits your needs happens to be pricey.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The coolers on this list are all distinct from one another in multiple ways. There's a good chance that a few of them will be the outright wrong choice for some people, but there's a great chance that at least one will be the absolute best cooler for you. Read on to see which of our picks fits your needs.</span></p><h2><strong>Here are our top picks for the best coolers you can buy:</strong></h2><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Best overall: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BXQE0U/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_101117_best-coolers-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B001BXQE0U&amp;linkId=20d9eb180e57687697e580030febc166" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Coleman Performance 48-Quart Cooler</a> </strong></li><li><strong>Best backpack cooler: </strong><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C4QB3FM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_101117_best-coolers-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B07C4QB3FM&amp;linkId=73d151e362be262c52c944b02458e39d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Igloo Marine Backpack Cooler</a></strong></li><li><strong>Best for longterm use: <a href="http://www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=cl&amp;merchant_id=34b9202d-e8bf-40e2-acdc-4374738881c5&amp;website_id=9597bdee-ce2a-4552-aa13-419b5f275c06&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yeti.com%2Fen_US%2Fhard-coolers%2Ftundra-75-cooler%2FYT75.html&amp;ctc=biipgf_101117_best-coolers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yeti Tundra 75</a></strong></li><li><strong>Best soft cooler: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071229PP8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_101117_best-coolers-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B071229PP8&amp;linkId=7e82fc7cfcc5cf23a945e294d63eb6f3" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pelican Elite Soft Cooler</a></strong></li><li><strong>Best cooler bag: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KPW8ZEK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_101117_best-coolers-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B01KPW8ZEK&amp;linkId=f12284e0833550a5a29da67e7ab7cc60" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CleverMade Cooler Tote</a></strong></li><li><strong>Best cooler with wheels: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C2JBMK6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=biipgf_101117_best-coolers-20&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;creativeASIN=B07C2JBMK6&amp;linkId=fa0c312479a07c4bf3466d8e43258043" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RovR RollR cooler</a></strong></li></ul><p><em>Updated on 10/29/2019 by Owen Burke: Updated formatting, prices, &amp; copy. We're currently testing new coolers from Pelican, Yeti, Igloo, Coleman, Orca, Cabelas, Rtic, and Engel for consideration in our next update.</em></p><p class="tagline"><p><a href="http://e.businessinsider.com/join/ci/insider-picks">Subscribe to our newsletter.</a><br><br>Find all the best offers at our <a href="https://coupons.businessinsider.com/">Coupons page</a>.<br><br>Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/insiderpicks">Insider Picks</a> team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at insiderpicks@businessinsider.com.</br></br></br></br></p></p>

The best coolers

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Megalodons — huge, prehistoric <keyword id="6785521" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sharks">sharks</keyword> — reached lengths of 50 feet, with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/megalodon-sharks-size-car-length-heads-fins-tall-as-people-2020-9">heads the size of cars</a>.</li><li>The predators are super-sized compared to other sharks, both living and extinct. But how megalodons achieved that massive size is a mystery.</li><li>A new study suggests the sharks' size could be explained in part by the fact that they ate each other in the womb.</li><li>Scientists aren't sure how megalodons hunted, but a decline in prey and an increase in competitors may have caused their extinction.</li></ul><p>A <keyword id="1802231" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Megalodon">megalodon</keyword>'s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/megalodon-sharks-size-car-length-heads-fins-tall-as-people-2020-9">head alone was the size of a car</a>.</p><p>The prehistoric monster was largest meat-eating shark to ever roam the oceans: It reached lengths of 50 feet, with dorsal fins that jutted 5 feet out of the water.</p><p>The ancient predator has been thrown into a cultural and scientific spotlight in the last few years after nearly a dozen new studies and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/director-of-the-meg-set-out-to-make-the-most-fun-movie-of-the-summer-2018-8">a 2018 Hollywood blockbuster</a> revitalized interest in the "Meg."</p><p>Researching the creature is difficult, since all we have left of the "Meg" are its 6-inch long, serrated teeth. That makes it challenging for scientists to figure out how how large these creatures actually got and why they were able to reach such enormous sizes.</p><p>But new studies that examine Megs' descendants are helping us understand the prehistoric shark's size in new ways.</p><p><a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/emb_releases/2020-10/tfg-bso092120.php">One analysis</a>, published on Monday, suggests that baby megalodons may have set themselves up to get super-sized before they're even born.</p><p>Meg eggs hatch inside the womb, where they grew ever bigger and hungrier before their mothers give live birth. But not all embryos survive the gestation process: Some are eaten by their womb-mates.</p><p>"'Early-hatched' embryos will begin to eat surrounding unhatched eggs," Kenshu Shimada, lead author of the study and a professor of paleobiology at DePaul University, told Business Insider. "The consequence is that only a few pups will survive and develop, but each of those pups can become considerably large in body size at birth."</p><h2>Elusive fossil evidence makes <keyword id="6589204" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="the-meg">the Meg</keyword>'s size 'hard to pin down'</h2><h2><div type="image" title="meg tooth shimada" height="584" width="1000" msid="78564206" hostid="261"></div></h2><p>Shimada's group first wanted to pin down how big megalodons could get.</p><p>So the researchers looked at how Meg's modern relatives, called lamniforms, live today. These sharks — which include great whites, makos, and sand tigers — have the same diet and body type as Meg did. So Shimada measured the size ratio between those sharks' teeth and body proportions, then applied that comparison to <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiwx7jD6ZPsAhWDknIEHbGYCVEQFjAMegQICRAC&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fmegalodon-teeth-found-in-flooded-cave-mexico-2019-11&amp;usg=AOvVaw3N8FWyKdxlcJ_HU64l8LQD-11&amp;usg=AOvVaw3N8FWyKdxlcJ_HU64l8LQD">fossilized megalodon teeth</a>.</p><p>That revealed that the maximum length a Meg could get is about 50 feet (15 meters) — more than double the length of a great white, the biggest carnivorous shark alive today.</p><p>"This does not mean that Megalodon individuals larger than 15 meters did not exist, but their existence has not been substantiated based on scientific specimens in museum collections," Shimada said.</p><p>Indeed, a group of UK researchers did similar tooth-body comparisons in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-71387-y">a September study</a>, and found that megalodons could have been 52 feet long. That research also showed that a 52-foot (16-meter) megalodon had a head and tail 13 feet (4 meters) long, and a dorsal fin equal to the height of an average woman.<div type="image" title="megalodon fin" height="340" width="576" msid="78564207" hostid="261"></div></p><p>"It has been hard to pin down these dimensions because we only have teeth remains," Catalina Pimiento, an author of that September study, told Business Insider.</p><p>Scattered vertebrae exist, but scientists have yet to find any other bones, since sharks' soft, cartilaginous skeletons rarely survive fossilization.</p><p>"It may be we will never find a complete skeleton," added Mike Benton, Pimiento's co-author. </p><h2>Cannibal megalodons</h2><p>Given the paucity of <keyword id="6377866" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fossils">fossils</keyword>, scientists are forced to make educated guesses about what influenced megalodons' lives and diets using their modern counterparts.</p><p>There are, in theory, two ways a shark can get enough food to become as gigantic as the Meg: either they become filter-feeders and munch on abundant plankton, like whale sharks do, or they gain the ability to control their own body temperatures, which improves their hunting skills.</p><p>A <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-01/su-rsw012419.php">January 2019 study</a> from Pimiento's group suggested that megalodons followed the latter route: They were mesothermic, meaning they could regulate the temperature of their organs. This enabled the sharks to live in colder waters and swim faster — and therefore catch more prey.</p><p>Mesothermy was "a key driver in the evolution of its gigantic size," Pimiento said.</p><p>What drove these sharks to become mesothermic? Shimada thinks the key to answering that question has to do with the way lamniforms give birth.</p><div type="image" title="megalodon" height="1800" width="2700" msid="78564208" hostid="261"></div><p>A female lamniforms' eggs hatch inside her body, then the pups develop in her womb before being born. The babies that hatch early have the benefit of getting to eat their unhatched brothers and sisters — a process called "intrauterine cannibalism."</p><p>Sometimes, like in sandtiger sharks, hatched pups will eat their litter mates after they're born, too.</p><p>Given that lamniforms are related to megalodons, Shimada said the same rules likely applied to the prehistoric predators.</p><p>In the new study, his group suggested that such cannibalism could've kickstarted megalodons' mesothermy: The task of nurturing a small number of gigantic offspring — well fed on their siblings' blood — in their wombs may have prompted Meg moms to eat more. And in order to eat more, they needed to either switch to a plankton diet, or crank up their internal temperatures to hunt better.</p><h2>'Its hunting style was likely a single-strike tactic'</h2><p>The prehistoric shark's teeth can tell us more about how Megs preferred to hunt.</p><p><a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-03/fmon-hmt030419.php">One study</a> suggested in March 2019 that the sharks liked to bite hard then step back. Adult megalodons packed a bite force of 11 tons. </p><div type="image" title="megalodon" height="1200" width="1800" msid="78564210" hostid="261"></div><p>"Megalodon's teeth suggest its hunting style was likely a single-strike tactic, designed to immobilize its prey and allow it to bleed out," Victor Perez, the lead author of that study, said in a release. He added: "A shark wouldn't want to grab and hold onto a whale because it's going to thrash about and possibly injure the shark in the process."</p><p>Researchers have discovered megalodon bite marks on marine mammal bones, but whether those remarks represent predatory attacks or scavenging activities is still unknown, according to Shimada.</p><h2>Dwindling prey and competition with other sharks may have caused the Meg's extinction</h2><p>The biggest megalodon mystery has little to do with its size, however. Paleobiologists like Shimada and Pimiento still aren't sure how the shark went extinct.</p><p>Megalodons dominated the oceans for 20 million years before disappearing from the fossil record between 3.6 and 2.6 million years ago. Theories about their abrupt extinction run the gamut.</p><p>A <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/uok-dsk121118.php">2018 paper</a> posited that fallout from a supernova 150 light-years away dosed megalodons in deadly radiation. <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-02/uowo-gs021219.php">Another study</a> suggested the newly evolved great white shark out-competed them.</p><div type="image" title="A great white shark at Guadalupe Island, Mexico." height="2792" width="3723" msid="78564217" hostid="261"></div><p>Pimiento said megalodons' extinction did indeed coincide with the appearance of great whites and orca whales, but at the same time, there was a decline in marine mammals — their preferred prey — as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jbi.12754">global sea levels</a> dropped.</p><p>As the Meg jockeyed with more competitors for less prey in a shrinking ocean habitat, its fate was sealed.</p><h2>Some people think the Meg still roams the oceans, but scientists disagree</h2><p>In the 2018 film "The Meg," Jason Statham battles a megalodon that, according to the story, appears in modern times after swimming out of the depths of the Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean. The movie was based on the 1997 book, "Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror."</p><p>Benton said that, although the idea that a Meg could suddenly appear in today's oceans isn't believable, the on-screen shark's dimensions match his recent study's findings.</p><p>"I guess the book and movie got the size about right, and much of the behaviour was OK being based on the modern great white shark," he said.</p><div type="image" title="The Meg 2 Warner Bros." height="858" width="1716" msid="78564218" hostid="261"></div><p>Steve Alten, the author of "Meg," told Business Insider his fans constantly ask him whether he believes the creatures are still alive.</p><p>"My response is always the same," he said. "Because so much of the oceans remain unexplored, the possibility remains they could be out there in deep water."</p><p>Benton agreed it's "perfectly reasonable" for people to ask the question.</p><p>"Oceanographers drag all sorts of amazing things out of the deep oceans. Think about the <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-04/fu-fto041619.php">coelacanth</a>, long thought to be extinct, but found alive for the first time in 1938," he said.</p><p>But he and Pimiento both said that if a megalodon was out still out there, researchers probably would have found it already.</p><p>"Most sharks live in shallow, coastal waters — not deep ocean, like the coelacanth," Benton said. "It was a big beast, so I'd be amazed if we had missed it." </p>

Megalodons may have grown to the size of school buses by eating their shark siblings in the womb, new research suggests

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/539b3f27ecad04f8663123a1-2400/alaska-19.jpg" border="0" alt="Alaska" data-mce-source="Meg Doolittle/Flickr" data-link="http://www.flickr.com/photos/blmoregon/14187131305/in/photolist-nBEKSa-bojJKy-25JqHL-8xHENG-2E6Rou-8a4Usu-25DWXe-25Jr4S-aG7pG6-5gjc75-5gjbk7-5geY5T-5gjcLY-5gjdkC-5geTTX-dfuvnF-5giDmY-5geRon-5geP2X-5givr7-5geE6P-5geFKn-dfuyvJ-dfuwhZ-5giX17-5gja2u-5giUou-5gezAH-5giCs3-5gehTR-dfuykj-5giVEJ-5gejFB-5gevAX-dfutJf-5giPfs-dfuyGu-dfuty1-5giAAj-dfuw82-dfurzF-5gj4MA-5giBa1-5gixQA-5gjayd-5gebdX-5geuoM-5geaGk-5geyXB-5giVHu" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/blmoregon/14187131305/in/photolist-nBEKSa-bojJKy-25JqHL-8xHENG-2E6Rou-8a4Usu-25DWXe-25Jr4S-aG7pG6-5gjc75-5gjbk7-5geY5T-5gjcLY-5gjdkC-5geTTX-dfuvnF-5giDmY-5geRon-5geP2X-5givr7-5geE6P-5geFKn-dfuyvJ-dfuwhZ-5giX17-5gja2u-5giUou-5gezAH-5giCs3-5gehTR-dfuykj-5giVEJ-5gejFB-5gevAX-dfutJf-5giPfs-dfuyGu-dfuty1-5giAAj-dfuw82-dfurzF-5gj4MA-5giBa1-5gixQA-5gjayd-5gebdX-5geuoM-5geaGk-5geyXB-5giVHu">Meg Doolittle/Flickr</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>The US just proposed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/offshore-oil-drilling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opening federal waters</a> off Alaska's coast for drilling.</strong></li><li><strong>If the deal goes through, Hilcorp Energy would build a gravel drilling island less than 30 miles from the coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.</strong></li><li><strong>No one knows exactly how much oil Alaska really has.</strong></li></ul><p>It's a first: federal waters off the north coast of Alaska are now <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-offshore-energy-oil-gas-leasing-strategy-2018-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open for drilling</a>.</p><p>On Wednesday, the Trump Administration proposed creating a new gas-drilling island 30 miles from the coast of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). <span>The move is the latest in the Trump Administration's plan to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-offshore-energy-oil-gas-leasing-strategy-2018-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open up and auction off nearly all US waters for offshore</a> drilling. The deal would reverse <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-obamas-arctic-drilling-ban-means-2016-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Obama's Arctic drilling ban</a>. </span></p><p><span>"Today we're announcing approval of the Hilcorp Liberty Project, which if completed, will be the first production facility ever located in federal waters off Alaska," Secretary Ryan Zinke <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-approves-long-awaited-first-oil-production-facility-federal-waters-offshore" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said in a statement</a> announcing the deal. </span></p><p><span>The drilling plan is contingent on Hilcorp Energy Company, the private oil and gas company behind the project, securing other necessary federal and state permits. Drilling would then be done from a yet-to-be-built artificial island that Hilcorp would construct offshore. The island would be made of gravel and have a surface area about as big as seven football fields. </span></p><p><span>The island would sit "in the shallow waters of the Beaufort Sea, about 20 miles east of Prudhoe Bay and about 5 miles off the coast," the release from the US Department of the Interior said.</span><span></span></p><p><span>The offshore plan would restrict Hilcorp's drilling season to "times of solid ice conditions," according to the release, and would limit boat traffic during native whaling season. </span></p><p>Here's where the company's island would sit:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5bd1d88ccd6f3816555542eb-913/alaska drilling proposal oct 2018.png" border="0" alt="alaska drilling proposal oct 2018" data-mce-source="Google Maps" /><p class="source"><span>Google Maps</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span>The spot is close to ANWR, another hotly contested potential drilling site.</span></p><p><span>But nobody knows exactly how much oil is in ANWR, since the results of the only drilling ever done there were kept secret by BP and Chevron. A 1998 <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-0028-01/fs-0028-01.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United States Geological Survey (USGS) assessment</a> suggested there could be 4.3 to 11.8 billion barrels of oil in ANWR, but environmental groups say investigating the reserves is too risky in a wildlife refuge, and that any spill would spell <a href="https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/significant-incidents/exxon-valdez-oil-spill/timeline-ecological-recovery-infographic.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disaster for decades</a>. </span></p><p><span>"An oil spill in the Arctic would be impossible to clean up and the region is already stressed by climate change," Kristen Monsell, ocean legal director for the Center for Biological Diversity, told the <a href="https://www.apnews.com/73e0b2c8f8854c5482f34af9f889b3dc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a>. </span></p><p><span>In general, only <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/oil-spill-cleanup-illusion-180959783/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">about 10-15% of an oil spill</a> ever gets cleaned up. </span><span>Oil from Alaska's Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 <a href="https://news.agu.org/press-release/still-fresh-remnants-of-exxon-valdez-oil-protected-by-boulders/">still sits on the beaches</a> of the Prince William Sound, and <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/news/wildlife-recovery-following-exxon-valdez-oil-spill-was-highly-variable-across-species?qt-news_science_products=4#qt-news_science_products" target="_blank" rel="noopener">orca populations</a> in that area haven't returned to their pre-spill numbers, according to the USGS. </span><span></span></p><p><span>US oil production has been <a href="https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/production/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climbing since 2016</a>, but oil drilling has remained relatively flat in Alaska. The state produces around 450,000 barrels a day - far less than what's drilled offshore in the Gulf of Mexico or in North Dakota. Demand for fuel doesn't seem to be faltering, though, since battery-powered cars still account for less than <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=36312" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1% of total vehicle sales</a> in the US.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/14-year-old-new-approach-cleaning-up-oil-spills-2017-7">This 14-year-old discovered a new approach to cleaning up oil spills</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/y10fiNDJ-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

The Arctic is open for business: the Trump administration will allow drilling in federal waters off the coast of Alaska

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/543e9c4269bedddf267e8478-2400/man-reaching-for-flag-shirtless-out-of-reach-1.jpg" alt="man reaching for flag shirtless out of reach" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="A man reaches out to grab a flag as he slips off the &amp;quotgostra&quot;, a pole covered in grease, during the celebrations for the religious feast of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, outside Valletta August 31, 2014" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">A man reaches out to grab a flag as he slips off the "gostra", a pole covered in grease, during the celebrations for the religious feast of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, outside Valletta August 31, 2014</p></div><p></p></div></div>Stocks stuck solidly in the green as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed in on a major milestone in trading on Tuesday.</p><p>The Dow closed just shy of the 20,000 mark - getting within just 40 points of the record midday.</p><p>Both the S&amp;P 500 and Nasdaq composites also finished in the green the day before the Federal Reserve's big December interest rate announcement.</p><p>We've got today's headlines, but first, the scoreboard:</p><ul><li>Dow: 19.904.46, +108.83, (0.64%)</li><li>S&amp;P 500: 2,271.63, +14.67, (0.77%)</li><li>Nasdaq: 5,463.83, +51.29, (1.13%)</li><li>US 10-year yield: 2.481%, +0.002</li></ul><ol><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fed-preview-dot-plot-interest-rates-december-2016-2016-12">The Federal Reserve kicked off their December meeting.</a> The two-day meeting kicked off on Tuesday with the central bank's interest rate decision coming tomorrow.</li><li><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/BILL-GATES-Stocks-are-expensive-MSFT-1001592571">Bill Gates thinks stocks are 'expensive.'</a> The founder of Microsoft told CNBC that he believes low interest rates at the Fed have allowed investors to pile into the market and pushed stocks into lofty territory. He said it's "<span>kind of amazing that interest rates have stayed so low for so long."</span></li><li><span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/google-to-spin-out-self-driving-car-project-in-new-company-waymo-2016-12">Google is spinning out its self-driving car division.</a> The new company, called Waymo, will focus on the self-driving technology but not produce its own cars.</span></li><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebooks-oculus-ceo-brendan-iribe-steps-down-2016-12">The CEO of Facebook's virtual reality arm stepped down.</a> <span>Brendan Iribe, the CEO of Oculus, announced he was leaving the role of CEO, but would remain to lead up a new team developing high end VR for Pcs.</span></li><li><span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/seaworld-opening-first-park-without-signature-killer-whales-2016-12">SeaWorld is opening a park in Abu Dhabi without whales.</a> This will be the first park without the signature orca attraction. SeaWorld has been slowly moving away from the whales since the release of the documentary "Blackfish."</span></li></ol><p><strong>ADDITIONALLY:</strong></p><p><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/2-things-will-keep-the-Trump-rally-going-1001593467">Here are the two things that could keep stocks pushing towards all-time highs</a></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/small-business-owners-business-investment-plans-fall-2016-12">Businesses still aren't investing after Trump's win </a></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/zillow-on-impact-of-fed-rate-hike-on-mortgage-payments-in-us-cities-2016-12">A Fed rate hike's impact on 12 US housing markets</a></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-creating-live-tv-package-2016-12">Amazon is working on a live TV package</a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-spot-massive-hole-sun-coronal-hole-video-2016-12">NASA just spotted a massive hole growing on the sun -&#xa0;here's what it means</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="lubTIzODE6iXc3nbcYT2CdCleJsxNEwG" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'lubTIzODE6iXc3nbcYT2CdCleJsxNEwG',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

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