A man wearing a mask rides a bicycle along the Han river in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. South Korean President Moon Jae-in has proposed a joint project with China to use artificial rain to clean the air in Seoul, where an acute increase in pollution has caused alarm.
Continue reading… “S. Korea proposes rain project with China to clean Seoul air”
New submersible “tent” lets divers nap, eat, and decompress beneath the waves
SINCE THE DAWN of the modern SCUBA age ushered in by Jacques Cousteau in the early 1940s, ocean explorers have been seeking new ways to stay under the sea for longer stretches. Restricted by tank size and human physiology under pressure, SCUBA divers must periodically come up for air, sometimes within just minutes of hitting bottom.
Enter the Ocean Space Habitat, conceived of as sort of underwater “basecamp.”
Designed and recently patented by National Geographic explorer Michael Lombardi and Winslow Burleson, an associate professor at New York University, the inflatable Ocean Space Habitat is a portable life-support system for divers who want to go deeper and stay longer than conventional SCUBA allows.
Continue reading… “Undersea basecamp for ocean explorers”
For the first time in more than a decade, palladium is rivaling gold in value. A key component in pollution-control devices for cars and trucks, the metal’s price has surged as much as 50 percent in about four months, making it at times more expensive than gold. The rally shows few signs of fizzling.
Continue reading… “Why Palladium’s suddenly an especially precious metal”
Scientists say the underground ecosystems are a “subterranean Galapagos” just waiting to be studied.
This unidentified nematode from the Kopanang gold mine in South Africa lives 1.4 kilometers below the surface.Gaetan Borgonie / Extreme Life Isyensya, Belgium
Life on Earth takes billions of shapes, but to see most of them you’ll have to dig deep below the planet’s surface.
Continue reading… “Earth’s mysterious ‘deep biosphere’ may harbor millions of undiscovered species”
Scientists have created micron-sized spheres built to catch and destroy bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic chemical used to make plastics.
BPA is commonly used to coat the insides of food cans, bottle tops, and water supply lines, and was once a component of baby bottles. While BPA that seeps into food and drink is considered safe in low doses, scientists suspect prolonged exposure affects the health of children and contributes to high blood pressure.
Continue reading… “’Venus Flytrap’ spheres catch and destroy BPA”
From a quarter to half of Earth’s vegetated lands has shown significant greening over the last 35 years largely due to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change on April 25.
An international team of 32 authors from 24 institutions in eight countries led the effort, which involved using satellite data from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer instruments to help determine the leaf area index, or amount of leaf cover, over the planet’s vegetated regions. The greening represents an increase in leaves on plants and trees equivalent in area to two times the continental United States.
Continue reading… “Carbon dioxide fertilization greening earth, study finds”
It’s all about stopping the flow of plastic into the marine environment.
Plastic Bank uses blockchain and cryptocurrency technology to give people living in impoverished areas an incentive to recycle.
The world’s oceans are awash in plastic, and the problem is only getting worse. Each year, 8 million metric tons of plastic debris ends up in the oceans, and that’s on top of the 150 million metric tons already in marine environments. The debris ensnares seabirds, starves whales and infiltrates the entire marine food chain — including humans, too, when we eat seafood.
Continue reading… “Ocean plastic is a huge problem. Blockchain could be part of the solution.”
“There’s no doubt that we not only cover the costs, but also come out with a surplus.”
Estonia made waves in 2014 for becoming the first country to offer digital citizenship and for using blockchain technology to transform civic life.
Now the country is improving the physical experience of being a citizen by offering free public transportation.
After providing free public transportation for five years in the capital city of Tallinn, the Estonian government is ready to expand the service to the entire country, according to Pop-Up City.
Once that happens, anyone who has a “green card” can ride buses, trains, and ferries whenever and wherever — without charge.
The announcement makes Estonia the first country in the world to offer the service.
Continue reading… “This country is the first in the world to offer free public transit”
FinalStraw is the world’s first collapsible, reusable straw. The product’s website boasts a mission to “reduce plastic straws use by giving you a convenient, collapsible, reusable alternative.”
The product comes in a small and keychain-friendly container that allows you to bring FinalStraw with you wherever you go. It is also available in five different colors: suck-ulent green, shark-butt grey, healthy coral, artic-melt blue, and sea tur-teal.
Continue reading… “FinalStraw on’Shark Tank’: A look inside the first reusable straw”
Scientists are looking into ways to weaken hurricanes early on.
Hurricane Michael is expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to Florida’s Gulf Coast.
As heavy winds from Hurricane Michael begin to lash Florida’s Gulf Coast, forecasters are urging residents of the panhandle, Big Bend, and Nature Coast to prepare for life-threatening storm surge and flooding.
With so much potential devastation, one may wonder whether anything can be done to stop Michael in its tracks.
It’s quite a daunting challenge, given that the average hurricane’s wind energy equals about half of the world’s electricity production in a year. The energy it releases as it forms clouds is 200 times the world’s annual electricity use.
Continue reading… “2 gonzo ideas for slowing down a hurricane that might actually work”
We need this right now!
Everybody knows the world’s got a serious carbon dioxide problem, but an ingenious and potentially cost-effective way of dealing with our surplus CO2 could provide the means of tomorrow’s battery technology.
For years scientists have looked at ways of capturing carbon and storing it underground or even potentially in the ocean. But a new system might offer a powerful advantage over these efforts.
Continue reading… “This new Lithium battery tech can simply suck up CO2 to power itself”
Researchers have developed a new software tool that predicts the boundaries of where landslides will occur two weeks before they happen.
Landslides—masses of rock, earth, or debris moving down a slope—happen everywhere. The effect on communities, the economy, and most importantly, lives, can be devastating. A recent landslide at a jade mine in Myanmar, for example, claimed at least 27 lives.
In open pit mines, landslides are particularly common. In 2013 a 20 meter towering wall of dirt and rocks, deep enough to bury New York City’s Central Park, came crashing down when Bingham Canyon, one of the largest copper producing mines in the United States, gave way. Astonishingly no one was hurt, thanks to advance warnings.
Continue reading… “Software predicts landslides in weeks, not hours, in advance”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.