One Per Cent: Green Machine: solar street lamp feeds energy to the grid Helen Knight, technology reporter (Image: Adam Mørk/SunMast) The humble street light is joining the ranks of wind turbines and solar power plants in supplying renewable energy to the electricity grid. A street lamp covered in photovoltaic cells, which can generate more energy from sunlight than it consumes to light the street, is being tested in the UK. The SunMast, developed by Scotia, based in Aarhus, Denmark, generates electricity from sunlight during the day, which it supplies to the grid. If the trial in South Mimms in the UK is successful, the lamps could reduce the emissions produced by streetlights by 120 per cent, the company claims. The photovoltaic solar cells, which are designed to generate electricity even on cloudy days, are fitted down the length of the mast, to increase their surface area.
EcoCradle Packaging Human Footprint Interactive Geographers study the Earth and its physical features, inhabitants, and cultural phenomenon. They examine the physical and human characteristics of a region, ranging in scale from local to global, to explain an event or solve a problem. While many geographers have at least a bachelor’s degree in geography, many professionals, such as teachers, traffic consultants, and doctors, must also use geography in their jobs when examining specific challenges and solutions to issues. This geo-story introduces you to some of these folks who use geography. Cheaper, Spray-On Solar Panels Could Appear in Three Years | Business AUSTIN, TX — Researchers at the University of Texas have developed a method to create photovoltaic panels at one-tenth the cost of existing technologies using nanoparticle "inks" to generate electricity from the sun. The group, lead by Brian Korgel in the University's chemical engineering department, predicts that the technology, which would allow solar panels to be painted on rooftops or the sides of buildings, could be market-ready in three to five years. "The sun provides a nearly unlimited energy resource," Korgel said in a statement, "but existing solar energy harvesting technologies are prohibitively expensive and cannot compete with fossil fuels." The technology has been in development for the past two years, with Korgel collaborating with professors Al Bard and Paul Barbara, both of the University of Texas's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Professor Ananth Dodabalapur of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.
Home - OptiOpia, Inc Google Fights to Save 3,054 Languages Will you be any worse off the moment humans cease to speak in Aragonese? How about Navajo or Ojibwa? Or Koro, a language only just discovered in a tiny corner of northeast India? No, you probably wouldn't, not in that moment. But humanity would be. If there is hope, it lies in the world's centers of information — such as Google. The site, launched early Thursday, features videos and an interactive map. You can hear the heartbreaking, beautiful sound of Koro being sung, or read 18th century manuscripts written in a nearly-dead Native American tongue. The idea is to unite a lot of smaller preservation efforts under the Google.org banner. Check out the project's video below, and let us know in the comments: how else can 21st century technology help save ancient languages?
Men: Pee And Wash In The Same Fixture! Lenny Bruce would have had such fun with this, but this just makes so much sense, a sink built on top of a urinal! And designer Yeongwoo Kim has made it look good, too. The theoretical sequence is that you use the urinal, then wash your hands and the washwater rinses the urinal, saving water. Since of course, everybody washes their hands after peeing, right? It makes even more sense in multiple units in mens rooms, saving both space and water. The designer writes on his website: To save water, Eco Urinal is designed to use the water that was used for washing hands to flush the urine. This in some ways makes more sense than a waterless toilet and probably saves as much water. More on urinals:No Splash, No Flush Urinals from KohlerWaterless Urinals Introduced for Home UseUrinals Disguised as Trash Cans: Everyday Objects vs Anti-Social BehaviorPee in Style and Save WaterPopup Pissoir Solves Wee Problem
Architecture for Humanity Vanishing Cultures Photography Arcosanti Coordinates: Arcosanti is an experimental town and molten bronze bell casting community that has been developed by the Italian-American architect, Paolo Soleri, who began construction in 1970 in central Arizona, 70 mi (110 km) north of Phoenix, at an elevation of 3,732 feet (1,130 meters). Using a concept he called arcology, he started the town to demonstrate how urban conditions could be improved while minimizing the destructive impact on the earth. He taught and influenced generations of architects and urban designers who studied and worked with him there to build the town. Overview[edit] The goal of Arcosanti is to explore the concept of arcology, which combines architecture and ecology. An Arcosanti apse Construction broke ground at the site in 1970, and has continued at a varying pace through the present. Many features are particular to the design and construction of Arcosanti. Visitors' center and residence The Arcosanti site has a camp area built for the original construction crew.
Schwarmintelligenz: Gemeinsam sind wir dümmer - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - Wissenschaft Die Welt wird immer komplizierter, wie soll man da als Einzelner noch den Überblick behalten? Auf sich allein gestellt erscheint das unmöglich - aber wenn Hunderte oder Tausende Menschen sich zusammentun, sieht die Sache schon anders aus. Der Mensch profitiert von der sogenannten Schwarmintelligenz, der Weisheit der Vielen. Der Nachrichtendienst Twitter gilt als Musterbeispiel für erfolgreiche Schwarmintelligenz. Aber es gibt auch immer wieder Zweifel an der Weisheit der Vielen. Vertrauen in eigene Schätzung immer größer Dirk Helbing und seine Kollegen stellten 144 Studenten der ETH Zürich sechs verschiedene Fragen. Die Weisheit der Vielen wurde auf zwei verschiedene Arten berücksichtigt. Bei fast allen Fragen zeigte sich, dass die zuerst gegebenen Antworten im Durchschnitt die besten waren. Grundlage der repräsentativen Demokratie "Wenn Menschen sehen, wie andere Menschen denken und entscheiden, konvergieren die Meinungen", sagt Helbing.
PriceStats ® Pond-Powered Biofuels: Turning Algae into America's New Energy Just three years ago, Colorado-based inventor Jim Sears shuttered himself in his garage and began tinkering with a design to mass-produce biofuel. His reactor (plastic bags) and his feedstock (algae) may have struck soybean farmers as a laughable gamble. But the experiment worked, and today, Sears' company, Solix Biofuels in Fort Collins, is among several startups betting their futures on the photosynthetic powers of unicellular green goo. The science is simple: Algae need water, sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow. The reality is more complex. Solix addresses these problems by containing the algae in closed "photobioreactors"—triangular chambers made from sheets of polyethylene plastic (similar to a painter's dropcloth)—and bubbling supplemental carbon dioxide through the system. Given the right conditions, algae can double its volume overnight. Solix plans to complete its second prototype by the end of April and to begin building a pilot plant this fall.
Investor Falk Strascheg über Selbständigkeit - Typische Anfängerfehler - Job & Karriere Anzeige SZ: Welche Tipps haben Sie? Strascheg: Es gibt meist nur ein kurzes Zeitfenster für jede Geschäftsidee, indem man unbehelligt von der Konkurrenz an der Vermarktung arbeiten kann. Hier sollten sich Gründer auf das Wesentliche konzentrieren und einen ordentlichen Business-Plan entwickeln - nicht nur für Geldgeber, sondern auch als Kontrolle für sich selbst. Dinge, die man aufschreibt, muss man zu Ende denken. SZ: Wir überbeanspruchen den Planeten seit Jahren. Strascheg: Sie können mit niedrigeren Renditegrößen planen, wenn das Ertragspotenzial nicht so gut ist, dafür aber die ökologischen oder sozialen Aspekte im Vordergrund stehen. SZ: Mit Bon-Venture haben Sie eine Firma gegründet, die sich auf die Unterstützung sozialer Unternehmungen spezialisiert hat.