Researchers at the Global Challenges Foundation released earlier this month a thorough and unsettling look at what threatens human civilization. Continue reading… “Top 12 threats to human civilization”
Stanford Engineers Invent High Tech Mirrors that Beam Light into Space
Illustration of reflective panel on building
A new ultrathin multilayered material can cool buildings without air conditioning by radiating warmth from inside the buildings into space while also reflecting sunlight to reduce incoming heat.
Fan Lab
Stanford engineers have invented a material designed to help cool buildings. The material reflects incoming sunlight, and it sends heat from inside the structure directly into space as infrared radiation (represented by reddish rays).
Stanford engineers have invented a revolutionary coating material that can help cool buildings, even on sunny days, by radiating heat away from the buildings and sending it directly into space.
Continue reading… “Stanford Engineers Invent High Tech Mirrors that Beam Light into Space”
Living off the Grid is now Illegal in the State of Florida
Robin Speronis lives off the grid in Florida, completely independent of the city’s water and electric system. A few weeks ago, officials ruled her off-grid home illegal. Officials cited the International Property Maintenance Code, which mandates that homes be connected to an electricity grid and a running water source.
Continue reading… “Living off the Grid is now Illegal in the State of Florida”
Nissan’s New Electric Car has Range
For many more people than realize it, electric cars are already adequate for their needs and better than a gasmobile for their bank account and quality of life. However, it often isn’t good enough for disruptive technology to be better than the incumbents. It has to be much better. The target for electric cars, in order to meet that challenge, is a very long-range and affordable electric car. That would bring electric car convenience to another level, and leave gasmobiles with not a single actual advantage over electric cars, compared to nearly 10 for electric cars.
Continue reading… “Nissan’s New Electric Car has Range”
Meteorite fragments help explain why living things only use molecules with specific orientations
This is an artist’s concept of excess left-hand aspartic acid created in asteroids and delivered to Earth via meteorite impacts. The line at the bottom is a chromatogram showing that left-hand aspartic acid (tall peak in the center, with diagram of left-hand aspartic acid molecule on top) was four times more abundant in the meteorite sample than right-hand aspartic acid (smaller peak to the left, with right-handed aspartic acid molecule on top).
Researchers analyzing meteorite fragments that fell on a frozen lake in Canada have developed an explanation for the origin of life’s handedness — why living things only use molecules with specific orientations. The work also gave the strongest evidence to date that liquid water inside an asteroid leads to a strong preference of left-handed over right-handed forms of some common protein amino acids in meteorites. The result makes the search for extraterrestrial life more challenging…
Scientists see solution to critical barrier to fusion
From left: physicists Luis Delgado-Aparicio and David Gates.
Physicists have discovered a possible solution to a mystery that has long baffled researchers working to harness fusion. If confirmed by experiment, the finding could help scientists eliminate a major impediment to the development of fusion as a clean and abundant source of energy for producing electric power…
Continue reading… “Scientists see solution to critical barrier to fusion”
To envision sustainable business, We must reimagine our economy
From senior executives identifying the profit motive as an obstacle to sustainability to corporations questioning the very nature of capitalism as we know it, the plus side of the recent financial crisis and ongoing slow recovery has been that tough questions are finally being asked about how our economy functions and whose interests it serves.
On May 2nd Forum for the Future—whose work on system innovation aims to create change across entire sectors of our economy—are hosting an event in New York which will explore better ways of doing business in a post-Great Recession world…
Continue reading… “To envision sustainable business, We must reimagine our economy”
Dual-Action wind turbine generates power and water
Wind can create both power and water?
Throughout the developing world, millions of people struggle with a shortage of clean water and steady electricity. This wind turbine could solve both problems in one shot by pulling both power and water straight from the wind.
The WMS1000 Wind Turbine was invented by Marc Parent and is built by the French start-up Eole Water. Sitting atop a 24-meter mast, the machine generates electricity with a conventional 30kW direct-drive turbine in a 12-ton nacelle with a 13-meter blade diameter. The WMS1000 can self-regulate the energy it produces, allowing it to provide a steady stream of power even in gusty or choppy winds. Installing an array of the turbines, which each have a service life of 30 years, creates a small-scale, decentralized power grid perfect for remote areas…
Continue reading… “Dual-Action wind turbine generates power and water”
Pennsylvania Law gags doctors from telling patients which Fracking chemical is making them sick
What if oil company executives were only allowed to drink fracked water?
Toxic fracking chemicals that leached into the ground making you sick? Why that’s bad press for the oil industry!
That’s why they came up with this ingenious (in an evil way) to deal with the problem: “gag” doctors from telling their patients what is making them sick. See, problem solved!
Chevron execs to face charges of environmental crimes in Brazil
It’s been less than a week since news went public of Chevron’s latest oil spill off the coast of Brazil, its second in less than 6 months, but troubles for the oil company and the environment are clearly escalating. Although early reports from Chevron sought to downplay the severity of the deepwater leak as an infrequent drip, a recent flyover of site by the Brazilian officials shows that the oil slick has already reached about 1 kilometer in length…
Continue reading… “Chevron execs to face charges of environmental crimes in Brazil”
Inventor proposes levitating buildings on air cushions during earthquakes
Those of us who merely watched the devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake on screens got to witness something amazing: the resiliency and resourcefulness of the Japanese people. And we’re still seeing it as Japan prepares for future earthquakes. Here’s one example. Youichi Sakamoto invented a foundation structure that raises buildings on air pockets as soon as an earthquake starts…
Continue reading… “Inventor proposes levitating buildings on air cushions during earthquakes”
How to start your own hybrid car rental company
Ali Salman of Simply Hybrids
In 2007, Ali Salman was a Vice President of Marketing at Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car in LA. He was becoming dismayed at how dirty the beaches were and how smoggy the skyline was near his home in Orange County. He began to get upset and thought someone should do something to improve the water and air quality in southern California. He then remembered the Chinese proverb: “it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”
He took that message to heart and decided to open up his own green business, a car rental company called Simply Hybrids. Five years later, business is booming and growing at an annual rate of 26%. TreeHugger spoke with Mr. Salman about his hybrid car rental business and how he got to where he is today…
Continue reading… “How to start your own hybrid car rental company”