Month: April 2012

Warmest March Ever

According to climate data from NOAA, our country just experienced its warmest March ever.  The average temperature was 8.6F above the average for the last century.  Precipitation was slightly above average nationwide, though concentrated in the northwest and the southern plains, with much of the rest of the country experiencing drier than average conditions and helping to contribute to ~37% of this country being in drought conditions.  Alaska, not included in these results, experienced its 10th coolest winter on record (~5F below average).

What does this mean?  Global warming is real, people.  I don’t have complete confidence in any of the models that attempt to predict how weather patterns will change, I feel it’s still too complex a system for us to analyze, but there’s no escaping the FACT that our global climate IS changing due to global warming.  In spite of that, we continue to not make serious efforts to reduce our CO2 emissions.  There are those who continue to deny the link between CO2 and global warming, and I don’t see that ever changing, unfortunately.  We’ll continue to march down this path and ruin this beautiful planet for future generations.  They’ll adapt and survive, but will live in a much different world than what we enjoy.

What can we as individuals do?  Educate those around you.  Speak up.  Reduce your own CO2 emissions and lead by example.

(via Treehugger)

Recycling – from bottles to sweatshirts

We’ve always taught my daughter to recycle, but for kids, it’s hard to picture just what that means.  The bottles go into a different trash can, but so what?  What happens then?  Well, if it’s plastic bottles, they may end up recycled into clothing, and that’s what I loved about the video here – it allowed me to show my daughter what it means to recycle.  She was a bit puzzled when I first told her that I was wearing a sweatshirt made from water bottles, but showing her this video really helped her visualize how that’s possible.  If you have kids, or are just curious, it’s worth checking out:

Specialized Turbo e-bike

Specialized Bicycles has unveiled a new electric-assist bicycle, the Turbo.  Like other e-bikes, it uses an electric motor to supplement normal pedaling, offering both higher top speed and increased range.  In this case though, it’s that top speed that’s a bit of a problem.  It seems the aptly-named Turbo is just too fast to be legal in many places (like the US), topping out around 28mph.  So for now, availability is limited to some areas of Europe, but it also seems that a simple design tweak could reduce its top speed to a more legal level for broader appeal.

More pictures can be found here, or check out the video below.

Centimeter-level location determination for portable electronics

Broadcom has unveiled a new chip (the BCM4752) that can receive data from all four satellite navigation systems in orbit (GPS, GLONASS, SBAS, QZSS) to provide faster, more accurate results.  Not only that, but it can also reference other radio signals, like wi-fi and Bluetooth, for example.  Combine that with additional inputs from accelerometers, compasses, gyroscopes, and altimeters, and the result is an unprecedented ability to locate one’s exact position with potentially centimeter-level accuracy, even indoors.

Some people freak out about this ‘big brother’ like capability, but the reality is that this is providing incredible information to the user.  It’s how that information ends up being used that may or may not be Orwellian;  I see so much potential is this level of detail that I remain optimistic that developers can find a way to provide this service to users in a way that protects privacy.

The PowerPot

Here’s a cool gadget that’s a bit counter to the ‘keep it simple’ philosophy.  It’s a thermoelectric device buried under a pot, designed for backpacking use to charge your iPhone and other gadgets (you’re not really keeping it simple if you’re depending on those while backpacking!).  So if you really can’t leave those gadgets behind when backpacking, this is the perfect solution to ensure they’re always fully charged.  The alternative would be solar panels, though if you assume that you’ll be making a campfire regardless, then this might be more reliable than counting on sunshine.  The inventors are currently seeking funding at Kickstarter; cost is $125.

Sequence a human genome in 24 hours!

The first human genome to be sequenced took about thirteen years, and cost a few billion dollars.  A new product from Life Technologies has dramatically improved upon that, offering sequencing of an entire human genome sequence in under a day and at a cost under $1000!  The machine itself costs around $150k, so would pay for itself pretty quickly (current costs for sequencing a genome are around $10k+).  We’re entering a new era of medical care enabled by information like this, and it’ll be exciting to watch how these technologies are used (such as in preventative care, also with targeting medications).

(via Core77)

An alternate possibility for Google AR glasses

Yesterday I (and about a million other websites) posted a video of Google’s concept Augmented Reality (AR) glasses.  It was pretty similar to other AR systems (here and here, for example) so in that respect was nothing new.  I found it interesting how much more publicity that video gained, perhaps because of its source?  Well no matter.  I really had to share an funny video that someone made to show a possible downside of this AR glasses technology.  Hilarious, yet so true…and it shows some of the real challenges that designers of these AR systems will be facing.

Self-sustaining solar-powered Hydrogen generator

Engineers at the University of Delaware have developed a prototype hydrogen generator that has the potential to revolutionize solar energy production.  Solar thermal energy is used to vaporize zinc oxide powder.  This gas is then reacted with water to produce hydrogen gas and zinc powder (which can then be fed back into the system).  The shortcoming of any solar energy system is energy storage, and a system that produces hydrogen gas solves that as the gas can be stored for later conversion to electrical power in a fuel cell.

The system requires further testing but it’s off to a promising start!  Read more at Physorg.

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