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Are Dutch Docklands’ Floating Islands a Sustainable Alternative to Dubai’s Sinking World Islands?

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This is not the first time that floating islands have been proposed as a solution to the struggling “World” islands project, in which hundreds of little islands collectively shaped like the world are being developed in the Arabian/Persian Gulf (depending on who you talk to). Earlier a Dubai-based firm submitted the Ome project.

Dutch Docklands also worked on The Floating Proverb – a curious collection of 89 floating islands that spell out an Arab proverb when viewed from above – for the Nakheel development company. Dutch Docklands CEO Paul van de Camp told the paper that the concept is still alive. When (not if) it takes off, the self-supportable floating islands will be constructed with existing landmasses, saving investors a considerable amount of money and trouble. For examples of what these floating islands might look like, check out these pics of Dutch Docklands’ Floating Golf Course in the Maldives!

Via Emirates 24/7

Stanford researchers harvest electricity from algae, unkempt pools become gold mines

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Green energy, from underwater turbines to the Bloom Box, we’re always up for another. Running along the same lines as Uppsala University’s algae-based batteries, researchers at Stanford are generating electrical current by tapping into the electron activity of individual algae cells. The team designed a gold electrode that can be pushed through a cell membrane, which then seals around it. The cell, still alive, does what it does best (photosynthesis), at which point scientists harvest chemical energy in the form of electrons. According to Stanford University News, this results in “electricity production that doesn’t release carbon into the atmosphere. The only byproducts of photosynthesis are protons and oxygen.” Of course, the team has a long way to go before this is economically feasible, but who knows? Maybe there’s an algae-powered OPhone in your future…

Artificial Leaf Can Make Oxygen in Space with Water and Light

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It seems like we are constantly getting a little bit closer to being able to live in outer space, but one teeny-tiny little detail keeps holding us back: oxygen. Plants just don’t like zero gravity environments, and toting around an indefinite oxygen supply isn’t really feasible. Enter the Silk Leaf: a manmade “plant” that can actually create endless oxygen using light and water.

Julian Melchiorri wanted to create a way to produce oxygen in space that could handle the harsh environment of interstellar travel. What he created is an artificial leaf that has the chloroplast from the plants we know and love actually suspended inside. Melchiorri used a silk fiber to suspend the chloroplast in place so that it can still act like a plant but with a sort of super-structure to make it extra durable.

Related: NASA to Launch New Ultra-Light Inflatable Habitats for the International Space Station

“I extracted chloroplasts from plant cells and placed them inside this silk protein. As an outcome I have the first photosynthetic material that is living and breathing as a leaf does, “Melchiorri told Dezeen. He also says that he wanted to build off of nature’s own system to take advantage of a proven method and the leaves won’t just be handy for exploring the far reaches of the galaxy. Back here on Earth, they can be used as biological air filters or oxygen producers.

Images via Dezeen/Julian Melchiorri

Polytunnel Repairs

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Our advice when your polytunnel is due to be recovered use a specialist, they will get your cover set at the right tension the cost of this service out ways the cost of new covers because they dont last long enougth when trying to do urself, this goes for domestic gardeners and commercial business’s alike your time and your staffs time is better spent Doing what you do best and let the proffessionals look after your polytunnels Especially if your polytunnels are gutter linked multispans.

If you would like a list of great installers in your region please reply to this blog.

Find Out How Committed Your State Is to Local Foods || EcoWatch

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For the fourth year, Strolling of the Heifers, a Vermont-based local food advocacy group, has ranked the 50 states (and DC) in terms of their commitment to local foods. The winners are in for the 2015 Locavore Index: the top four are Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Oregon. These states also topped the list in 2014. Massachusetts moved into fifth place (from 11th in 2014). Rounding out the top 10 were Wisconsin, Montana, Hawaii, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

locavore
“The purpose of the Index is to stimulate efforts across the country to use more local food in homes, restaurants, schools and institutions,”said Orly Munzing, of Strolling of the Heifers. Photo credit: Shutterstock

 

The index looks at the number of farmers’ markets, the number of CSAs, the number of food hubs-all compared on a per-capita basis-and the percentage of each state’s school districts with active Farm-to-School programs.This year’s index includes new information from the Census of Agriculture, which “provides a direct measurement of the per-capita dollar value of food products sold directly by farms to consumers through farm stands, farmers’ markets and CSAs,” says Strolling of the Heifers.

The index shows that “the various policies at the national and state levels that encourage local food programs are having measurable results,” says Orly Munzing, founder and executive director of Strolling of the Heifers. “At the Federal level, there’s the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food program which helps promote farmers markets and provides grants for farm-to-school and farm-to-institution programs. Many states also have active programs to encourage local food consumption, and Vermont’s Farm-to-Plate network is a national leader in this respect. All these programs are good for farmers, good for consumers and they help to build stronger communities.”

Find out how your state ranks:

locavoreindex
Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Oregon topped the list for the second year in a row. Photo credit: Strolling of the Heifers

 

What Americans Think About Climate Change in Seven Maps

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Researchers at Yale have unveiled a new interactive map that estimates public opinion on global warming right down to the county level.

As a nation, 63 percent of Americans believe that the globe is warming. (Note: It is.) But that single statistic reveals little about what people in different states, local communities, and congressional districts think. The research, which was published today in the journal Nature Climate Change, makes estimates for those geographies and asks:

  • Whether people believe humans are causing most of the warming (Note: They are.)
  • If people are aware that scientists understand the world is warming.
  • What implications of the warming may be: Are people afraid? For themselves? For people in developing countries? For the future? Should we fund renewables, regulate carbon, or do something else?

The research is primarily based on data from 12 surveys conducted between 2008 and 2013 by the Yale Project on Climate Communication and the George Mason Center for Climate Change Communication. The results were analyzed using a relatively new statistical technique developed by political scientists that allowed the team to project public opinion on climate change from demographic and geographic data. The results were then compared with independent state and local surveys to make sure they held up.

The map built by the Yale center  is accessible to the public, and it may be useful to anyone from government managers who work on climate adaptation, to political campaigners, even to businesses selling climate-friendly products. “I could foresee some commercial purposes,” said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale center. “That’s not why we did this.”

Below are seven maps, each of which looks at how estimates of U.S. public opinion change in response to various climate-related questions and is organised by congressional district.

Americans understand that the world is warming. Virtually every district is tan — which represents 50 percent of public opinion — or a darker shade of orange or red:

The country shows more of a split on whether humans are driving global warming. The most authoritative body of scientists, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, affirmed last year that humans “have been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.”

Fewer Americans in general are aware of the scientific consensus about climate change, perhaps a sign of the intense politicization of the topic in the U.S.:

Americans are in strongest agreement about funding research into renewable energy. Solar and wind energy have already matured enough in several states that they are competitive with or cheaper than conventional electricity:

About 63 percent of the country supports the regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, which is good, because the White House is expected to finalize its rules this summer:

The nation is cool on the idea of a carbon tax, even if the proceeds are disseminated back to the public:

The new mapping tool’s county-level data show how diverse even the electorally “reddest” or “bluest” of states are.

Driving public opinion data in the long-run is climate change itself. Since 1991, temperatures across the U.S. have risen on average between 1 degree and 1.5 degree Fahrenheit, slightly less so in the Southeast, according to the latest National Climate Assessment:

The colors on the map show temperature changes between 1991 and 2012, from the 1901-1960 average (from the 1951-1980 average for Alaska and Hawaii). The period from 2001 to 2012 was warmer than any previous decade in every region.

 

Copyright 2015 Bloomberg

Introducing the All-Wheel Drive Model S 70D | Tesla Motors

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Today (April 8th 2015) we are introducing the Model S 70D, an all-wheel drive electric car with a 0-60 time of 5.2 seconds and a 240 mile range at 65 mph.

Even at a starting price of $75k, the Model S 70D offers a broad and compelling set of features. Moreover, when one factors in the cost advantages over an internal combustion engine vehicle, including fuel savings and incentives, the actual cost of owning Model S 70D comes to about $55k over five years (the average length of new car ownership).

In addition to having independently operational front and rear motors, the 70D includes Supercharging to enable free long-distance travel, Autopilot hardware, navigation, blind spot detection and many other features. As with every Model S, the 70D will receive free over-the-air updates that add functionality and improve the driving experience for years to come.

Starting today, you can also order any Model S in three new colors: Ocean Blue, Obsidian Black, and Warm Silver.

10 Things People With An Abundance Mindset Do Differently

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From my observations over the years as a life coach who specializes on women’s health and success, there are 10 things that people who live abundantly do differently from those who live in scarcity, feeling like they never have enough.

Here is what I have observed about individuals who attract and foster abundance in their life successfully:

1. They see abundance in their surroundings.

This doesn’t mean they simply see an abundance of trees and delicious lattés; they also notice an abundance of loving people and unique opportunities. They don’t chalk their success up to random luck, but they know that if they keep their eyes and hearts open, it’s just a matter of time until success will come.

2. They don’t take things personally.

Abundant people don’t interpret other people’s actions and random circumstances as a personal offense to them. Their energy doesn’t get drained and their motivation doesn’t get discouraged when something unexpected happens. This makes it easy for them to turn into a different direction, course-correct and see even better solutions quickly.

3. They believe that what they desire is possible for them.

Instead of living in the world of wishful thinking and “wouldn’t-it-be-nice-if,” abundant people see something they desire and think “this could happen to me.” Their desires don’t remain tucked away in the distant category of longing for something unachievable. Instead, their desires become embedded into rich imagination, in which they see themselves having exactly what they want. In other words, abundant people are masters of the art of manifestation.

4. They don’t feel guilty about what they have.

So many of my clients quietly admit that they want to be beautiful, successful or wealthy, but in the same breath they say that they feel guilty about wanting these things, because they seem superficial. Even feeling proud about something they’ve already accomplished can trigger feelings of guilt. Attracting abundance is impossible if what you desire is accompanied by feelings of guilt. There’s a value conflict that needs to be resolved.

5. They don’t judge other people.

The soil for an abundant life cannot be filled with jealousy, envy and negativity. If you can’t be happy for someone else’s abundance, you won’t ever attract it yourself. Releasing this negativity is fundamental in setting yourself free and creating the abundance you want.

6. They are not afraid of failing.

Instead of seeing a mistake as failure, they see their missteps as necessary milestones toward achieving their greater goal. This allows them to move forward quickly, think creatively and find the motivation to forge forward.

7. They take great care of themselves.

Something all of us can initiate and take charge of right now is how we take care of ourselves. This includes how we speak to ourselves, how we nourish our bodies, how we prioritize our schedules, and how we set boundaries with people and situations that drain our energy. Taking great care of yourself is key in order to create a fruitful, flourishing foundation.

8. They see playfulness as an essential way of living life.

Abundance can’t be forced into your life. Sure, you have to put in the work, but if you apply too much pressure you will inevitably lose flexibility and creativity and won’t feel or see the abundance once it actually comes. Leaving space for playfulness is key in order to dance with abundance.

9. They follow their intuition.

Reason lives in your brain, intuition lives in your body. In order to create wholeness, the dualities inside you – your brain and your intuition, your masculine and your feminine sides – have to be involved in the creation of your life. Feelings of wholeness are essential in order to create abundantly and with your whole self on board. Navigating life from a brain perspective only will always keep you overthinking and over-analyzing, thus continuing the cycle of fear that what you have today may be gone tomorrow. Staying deeply connected with your intuition will create trust and groundedness.

10. They hang out with people who also have the abundance mindset.

I can’t stress this enough. Your environment influences you more than you think. If you surround yourself with people who are constantly complaining about not having enough, how hard life is, and that they’re just doomed or unlucky, it will be really difficult for you to step out of that cycle and believe in your own capacities to create abundance. Surround yourself with people who are positive and who believe life wants to be rich, wonderful and joyful.

Which of these points resonate the most with you? Which one point do you want to start working on to help YOU create more abundance in YOUR life?

I bet your iPhone can’t do this

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I often take the bus around Charlottesville, when it’s raining or I’m too lazy to bike. I’ve noticed something on the bus, and actually, just about everywhere. You’ve probably noticed too. The phones. Everywhere. People are constantly looking down at their phones. I would guess around 8 out of 10 people sit and look at their phones while they’re involved in some other activity, whether that is riding the bus, walking, having dinner, or waiting in line. It’s pretty much an endless list. So many opportunities for genuine connection with others are lost this way. I’m guilty of this habit as well, but it is one I am working on Small Acts to manage.

I didn’t get my first cell phone until I got my first car. There wasn’t a real need prior to that, even though I wanted one because I thought it was “cool.” It was one of those blocky Nokia’s with the infamous snake game on it. Oh, how the technology has changed. I resisted getting an iPhone for several years because I didn’t want to be so absorbed by the virtual world. That too has changed, but I don’t upgrade every time a new option is available. I’m proudly sporting a 4S and will until I literally cannot use it anymore.

My sister is fourteen and she probably got her first phone at age ten. Smart phones, mini-computers basically, are so ubiquitous now, especially in the “developed” world, that young children are already addicted to them. I have seen very young kids, maybe around age two or three, throw tantrums when daddy takes his phone back. Kids will get them at younger and younger ages.

Let’s stop for a second

What is this doing to us? Why are we so addicted to our phones? I know there are countless studies, articles, and opinions already out there on this, but media is my passion and media is at the root of this behavior. We’re addicted to ourselves and to each other. We’re addicted to information, memes, selfies, and basically spending a lot of time judging each other and ourselves based others’ “approval” of our posts, photos, or videos.

We need approval. I believe we are trying to use social media as a way to feel loved, included, and connected to each other, but at what expense, and does it actually measure up to the real thing? We have dinner with a spouse, but we don’t talk, we just sit silently, each in our own digital world. Is being on your phone really that much more enjoyable than having a conversation with your partner, or does it say something about our attention spans for each other and relationships?

A missing piece

The world has changed. What is socially acceptable has changed. Technology has made communicating much much easier, but what are we really communicating? Where is the value in all this noise? Communicating via social sites, text, and email lacks an essential piece of communication: non-verbal communication. Only with facial expressions, gestures, verbal characteristics, such as tone of voice, (which we all know isn’t conveyed through text very well), and even touch can we truly engage with each other on a human level. What messages are we sending, and what do they convey about our values as humans? What messages do we want future generations to look back on and learn? If there is no real value in it, then why do we do it?

What it comes down to is consumption. We’re consuming social media via our phones and tablets at an astonishing rate. In less than 10 years the percentage of all internet users who also use social media went from 8% in 1995 to 74% in 2014. New social sites are popping up every year. As we continue to produce and consume more media, the cycle continues and grows. We are addicted. Our kids see us stuck in these virtual worlds so they think they need to be there too, and they will be. They already are.

Consumer culture

I think it also perpetuates the cycle of consumption in the real world, or maybe it’s the other way around, and is perpetuated BY our real world consumption. It’s just a habit we’ve, almost unconsciously, grown into and adopted. If everyone consumed natural resources at U.S rates, we would need three to five planets to sustain ourselves (and this is a statistic from 2007). Something goes viral, then it’s over, on to the next one. The same mentality goes with fashion, phones, computers, and cars. There’s the latest and the greatest, and then there’s something newer and better.

I’m not proposing that we continue to share the “Charlie bit my finger” video forever and cease expressing our creative abilities. Social media is one of the most powerful tools man has created and can really catalyze powerful change in cultures and revolutions. It is a great way to share information and show support for causes. It’s a great tool to communicate with people from your past or old friends that live in different towns. However, most of our consumption is without limit or purpose. Why do we care so much about the latest cat meme? Are we really that bored with our real lives and the people in them that we feel we must escape it with silly nonsense on the Internet? Perhaps it is the desire that maybe, just maybe, our next “home video” will go viral, and we will get our fifteen minutes of Internet fame? Are we afraid of other people or afraid of being alone? It’s time to get out of our comfort zones. Only then do we truly flourish and nurture the true spirit of growth and humanity.

Boundaries

Our media habits are mutating into something I think we will look back on and regret, but how do we stop that beast, and is it even possible? If you care, then yes, it is. All it takes is a couple Small Acts. Boundaries and choice. The same applies with all other obsessions. A boundary to resist the urge to check Facebook, reject someone on Tinder, or post a new vine while we’re at dinner with our family is a Small Act that slows down this cycle and can help ease our addiction to media and technology. Our resources are not limitless. Eventually the rare minerals required to produce an iPhone or laptop will run out. We might find more at the expense of habitats and forests, but those will run out too.

Boundaries can be a challenge to set and uphold, but they are key in making real change in habits and behavior. More than likely, our social media use has decreased our ability or desire to do so, which is all the more reason to practice this Small Act.

If I am with people, whether I know them or not, I try to stay off my phone. I try to resist the urge to even check the time. Sometimes I end up talking to those people on the bus and making new friends. Sometimes I just observe. Whatever I’m doing, I try to practice mindfulness and appreciation for the present moment. I am alive, I’m participating in this moment, I’m not trying to escape it, and that’s okay, that’s enough. There is a profound beauty in this stillness. I work on approving of myself. More importantly, what I do share when I choose to spend time on the Internet, has purpose, meaning, and value toward instigating positive change, in my opinion.

What about the next generation?

How will our future generations see themselves and treat our planet if their current example emphasizes the importance “look at me, I’m always on my new best phone, check out what this cat is doing” over “here’s how I’ve helped someone today or showed compassion?”

“Real generosity toward the future consists in giving all to what is present”

— Albert Camus

The biggest source of plastic trash you’ve never heard of

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This post originally appeared at Ensia.

“Seed trays, drip tape, mulch film, water pipes, hoop house covers, twine, hose, fertilizer bags, totes, tool handles and everything we use to keep ourselves dry.” On a rainy March afternoon, Kara Gilbert, co-owner of Vibrant Valley Farm, rattles off how plastics are used on the farm as she stamps mud off her boots.

On a visit to the four-acre farm on lush Sauvie Island at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers near Portland, Oregon, Gilbert gives me a tour de farm plastics. The fields are just being readied for the season, but black plastic is already laid out under a hoop house. PVC water pipes are being set into place and drip irrigation tape is ready to be deployed, as are plastic sacks of fertilizer. Out in the greening field, little orange-pink plastic plant tags on ankle-high stakes flap in the wet breeze to mark rows of just-sprouted peas.

By farming standards, this is a tiny operation. It sells organic produce to 15 or so local restaurants and through community-supported-agriculture shares, and grows flowers it sells wholesale. But even this small farm, Gilbert says, spends between $4,000 and $6,000 on plastic every year. Maybe more. It’s an environmental trade-off, she explains: Using plastic means saving water.

“In our very fickle climate, if we want to have a local food movement and want to compete with California and Mexico, it’s almost imperative that we have the black plastic,” Gilbert says. “Plastic film or road cloth is a weed suppressant,” explains farm co-owner Elaine Walker. “Black plastic can retain heat and moisture so you don’t need to water as much and you can grow things in the off season.”

Whether it’s this small organic farm coaxing an impressive yield out of a few acres in Oregon or a large conventional operation somewhere else in the world, plastic is a huge part of modern agriculture-a multi-billion-dollar worldwide industry, according to Penn State Extension. Billions of pounds are used around the world each year, with much of the plastic designed for one season’s use.

There’s a growing recognition by farmers and others in the agricultural community of the need for environmentally responsible disposal solutions for these materials. The question, though, is how to do that with materials that are designed to not break down in rain, sun and heat, and that can-if burned or left to degrade-pose environmental health hazards.

Big numbers

Really good numbers on the amount of plastic used in agriculture are hard to come by, but experts in the field, including Gene Jones of the Southern Waste Information eXchange, estimate that US agriculture alone uses about a billion pounds annually. This includes films-used for mulch, greenhouse covers, and to wrap bales, tubing, and pipes. It also includes nursery containers, pesticide containers, silage bags, storage covers, twine, and more.

Specialized products figure into the mix as well. Farmers in cooler regions use plastic to enhance warmth, for example, while in the southern US farmers use plastic to cool soil and plants. “There’s some reflective, some colored plastic, but all deal with the sun at different times of year,” says Jeremy Nipper, sales representative for Kennco Manufacturing, a Florida-based farm machinery company whose products include equipment to deploy agricultural plastics and collect and dispose of used field plastics. Plastic films laid down on planting rows also helps keep fertilizer from running off fields when it rains. And, as Walker explains, plastic mulch films helps suppress weeds.

Worldwide, the agricultural plastic film market alone was estimated to be worth $5.87 billion in 2012. That year’s global demand, according to one market analyst, was more than 9.7 million lbs., with about 40% of this being used in mulching. China is estimated to be the world’s largest consumer of agricultural plastic films, using about 60% of all such plastic.

“Horticulture and vegetables use an astonishing amount,” says Nate Leonard, field coordinator for Cornell University’s Recycling Agricultural Plastics Program.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

What to do with all this plastic when it’s no longer useful is the ongoing challenge.

“There [is] lots of interest in reducing the impacts,” says Scott Coleman, vice president of strategic development for Delta Plastics, an Arkansas-based company that specializes in agricultural irrigation tubing.

Historically, discarded agricultural waste has been taken to landfills or been burned or buried, often on farm property. But most states have now enacted rules against outdoor plastics burning, and this has spurred interest in other options.

One is trying to use less plastic in the first place-often by extending use through more than one growing season. For example, Nipper explains that some growers can get two seasons out of one set of plastic mulch films by reusing with a different crop.

Currently only about 10% of farm plastics are recycled.Walker notes that instead of thin film that’s hard to reuse, Vibrant Valley Farms has been using sturdier road cloth that will last for several seasons for weed suppression and to retain moisture and heat. Similarly, while Florida watermelon growers use thin single-use plastics, strawberry growers get two seasons out of plastic not quite twice as thick.

By far the biggest opportunity to reduce farm plastic waste, however, is through recycling. Currently only about 10% of farm plastics are recycled. Increasing that number will depend on making drop-off more convenient and expanding options for giving plastic a second life.

In New York, where a statewide ban on backyard or farm burning of plastics was passed in 2009, the Cornell program worked with the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation to pioneer agricultural plastics recycling and do educational outreach about recycling options through extension programs and local soil and water conservation districts.

While collection for recycling is one challenge, preparing and processing agricultural plastics so they can be recycled and finding a market for the many different kinds of agricultural plastics add even more complexity.

“The solid waste [management] people thought we were crazy to get involved because there were no markets for this plastic,” says Leonard. “It was an exciting breakthrough when we found someone who would take this,” he says. One of the first companies Cornell’s recycling program found that could use this plastic was a manufacturer of plastic sidewalk and paving materials.

Another big issue in recycling agricultural plastics is dirt and debris. “The problem with high dirt content is that it’s really hard on machinery,” says Coleman. There can also be concerns about transporting contaminants such as pathogens with that debris.

Agri-Plas, an agricultural plastics recycler in Brooks, Oregon, handles most kinds of plastics, from bale wrapping and fertilizer bags to hard plastics and drip tape. Enormous piles of sorted plastics stand at the Agri-Plas facility, located in the midst of Willamette Valley farm country: colorful cubes of twine, clusters of black drip tape and seed trays, white mounds of plastic wrap and bags, and, in a special area, blue and white pesticide buckets that have been triple rinsed before collection.

Agri-Plas is also one of the nine or so facilities around the country that are working with Ag-Container Recycling Council a take-back and recycling program for used pesticide containers started by 20 major agricultural chemical manufacturers in 1992. The member companies help support the program financially and designated contractors process the collected material into plastic products the program has approved as safe for “post-pesticide” use. These are typically things people won’t touch on a regular basis, like outdoor drain tile, says Mary Sue Gilliland, vice president of operations and business development. This precaution is taken even though according to ACRC tests, virtually no pesticide residues remain after proper cleaning and processing. The program is considered successful with a recycling rate of about 33%, says ACRC executive director Ron Perkins.

As complicated as pesticide container recycling sounds, plastic twine seems to pose even greater challenges. The material, Gilliland says, “is very abrasive and beats the heck out of machinery.” In one outdoor bay at Agri-Plas, workers are busy removing hay from plastic twine, by hand. “There’s no other way to do this,” says Gilliland.

Finding a use

Agri-Plas does some processing on site, shredding and grinding. But that’s the comparatively easy part of plastics recycling, says Gilliland and others in this industry. The real challenge is finding a company that can use the recycled plastic.

A company called Encore in Salinas, California, is now making reusable grocery bags from recycled agricultural plastics. Delta Plastics is using ag plastics to make EPA-compliant trash-can liner bags and exploring ways to put used plastics into new drip tape.

“Twenty years ago, as we were producing [agricultural irrigation] pipe and saw the waste created from it, our founder saw there was a need to figure out a solution,” says Coleman. “Finally, we came up with a proprietary method for processing dirty pipe.” Delta Plastics uses much of this material itself, but it also sells it in pellet form to other manufacturers who mainly use it to make new plastic sheets and film.

Meanwhile, other companies are making products that include plastic pavers, outdoor building materials and other items that are less technically finicky than plastic sheeting.

Finding a company that can process any of this plastic domestically also remains a challenge, says Gilliland. She estimates that about 40% or more of the agricultural plastic collected for recycling goes to export, typically to China or elsewhere in Asia.

Another solution some companies-including one called Agilyx, which lists venture capital firms and Richard Branson among its investors-have been experimenting with is turning waste agricultural plastic into fuel oil. But this has proved problematic for a number of reasons, among them how federal and local governments regulate such processes, says Gilliland. Still she thinks this solution, if done properly, might pencil out as an environmentally preferable option given the logistical difficulties of repurposing the vast quantities of soiled, used agricultural plastics.

Out on Sauvie Island, a cloudburst has passed and a bald eagle and several honking geese have flown by. Kara Gilbert kneels down in the muddy spring ground next to a small orange plastic flag and picks a pea sprout. A few yards away, plastic sacks of soil amendments and last season’s black plastic road cloth is waiting to be laid out for 2015 planting-testimony to the complexity of inputs that need to be managed today to produce even the simplest of foods. “You have to taste this,” she says handing over the tiny leafy greens, “they’re awesome.”

How do you plant 1 billion trees a year? With drones, of course

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Instead of doing surveillance or carrying out military missions, the drones from BioCarbon Engineering are taking on a decidedly more progressive task: planting trees and reversing deforestation.Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have taken off in popularity recently, with hobbyists and professionals alike using these small remotely-guided devices for everything from delivering packages to surveying wildlife populations, but one startup has a very ambitious plan for their drones, and one that could have a huge positive impact on global deforestation.

“We are going to counter industrial scale deforestation using industrial scale reforestation. Destruction of global forests from lumber, mining, agriculture, and urban expansion destroys 26 billion trees each year. We believe that this industrial scale deforestation is best combated using the latest automation technologies.” – BioCarbon Engineering

© BioCarbon Engineering
BioCarbon Engineering, based in the UK, has developed a system of planting trees with drones, at just a fraction of the cost (15%) of traditional reforestation methods, and at a speed that manual planting can’t match – up to 10s of thousands of trees planted per day – and aims to plant 1 billion trees per year using this technology.

This approach, using an industrial-scale reforestation method, isn’t quite ready for prime-time, but its prototype, which won £20k in funding from the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship last year, is expected to be built into a fully functioning platform by the end of the year.

The BioCarbon Engineering drone tree planting system doesn’t just send out quadcopters full of tree seeds to disperse them over the land, but instead first uses detailed terrain data to build high resolution 3D maps of the areas to be reforested. The planting drones then fly out and perform “precision planting activities” in those areas, by firing a pregerminated seed pod into the soil with pressurized air, with the pod being encapsulated in a nutrient-rich hydrogel for “high up-take rates.” After planting, the drones will also be used to audit and monitor the reforested sections to assess the recovery of the areas.

“There are a variety of tree-planting techniques, including planting by hand and delivering dry seeds by air. However, hand-planting is slow and expensive, and spreading dry seeds results in low uptake rates.

Our solution balances these two methods. First, by planting germinated seeds using precision agriculture techniques, we increase uptake rates. Second, our scalable, automated technology significantly reduces the manpower requirements and costs. Finally, our mapping UAVs will also provide invaluable intelligence on planting patterns, landscape design and appropriate timing.” – BioCarbon Engineering

As great as the BioCarbon drone tree-planting program looks at first glance, there are a number of questions that come to mind for me, including the long-term viability of UAV-planted seeds, based on the limited usefulness of other aerial seed broadcasting systems that have already been trialled. Hand planting of tree seedlings by trained foresters has a fairly high rate of success, as it allows for humans to make the call as to exactly where and how deep to plant the baby trees, whereas shooting tree seeds into the soil seems like it would be prone to high failure rates. And if this system will be used to plant monoculture forests, as is often the case when replanting clear cuts, then is it any better for the ecosystem in the long run than traditional reforestation efforts?

For now, don’t wait for the drone tree planters to do all the work, because it may be years before we see this system adopted. And even if you can’t plant thousands of seedlings per day, you certainly can plant and nurture at least a few appropriate trees in your yard or neighborhood each year, and with much more precision and care than any flying robot can.

Leonardo DiCaprio Unveils Groundbreaking Eco-Resort in Belize

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When Leonardo DiCaprio isn’t starring in award-winning movies, he’s working to save the planet. He sits on the boards of several environmental nonprofits, is well known for his generous contributions to environmental causes, lends his voice as narration in powerful environmental films and was recently appointed as UN Messenger for Peace by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon who called DiCaprio a “new voice for climate advocacy.” Now, DiCaprio is launching a new project: Blackadore Caye, a Restorative Island.

When the island resort in Belize opens in 2018, which is owned in part by DiCaprio, it will be replete with all of the standard features of a luxury resort-“sprawling villas, infinity pools and stunning sunset views,” says The New York Times. But the resort will be wholly different than most. The “restorative” aspect doesn’t only refer to its hopefully healing effect on visitors, but also on the island itself. Overfishing, an eroding coastline and deforestation of the island’s mangrove trees have taken their toll. DiCaprio has teamed up with Paul Scialla, of Delos, a New York City-based developer, to restore the island’s natural environment.

“The villas for guests on Blackadore Caye will be built atop a massive platform that stretches in an arc over the water, with artificial reefs and fish shelters underneath,” says The New York Times. “A nursery on the island will grow indigenous marine grass to support a manatee conservation area, and mangrove trees will be replanted, replacing invasive species.” A team of researchers will monitor the resort’s impact on its surroundings.

“The main focus is to do something that will change the world,” DiCaprio told The New York Times. “I couldn’t have gone to Belize and built on an island and done something like this, if it weren’t for the idea that it could be groundbreaking in the environmental movement.” DiCaprio fell in love with Belize on a scuba diving trip in 2005, and soon purchased Blackadore Caye for $1.75 million with Jeff Gram, the owner of another island resort in Belize.

“Belize is truly unique,” says DiCaprio. “It has the second largest coral reef system in the world, and it has some of the most biodiverse marine life, like the manatee population and almost every species of fish you can imagine. Then there are the Mayan temples and the culture.”

Ecotourism has become a booming industry in recent years with 8 billion ecotourist visits a year worldwide. But Scialla and DiCaprio don’t want this to be like some resorts that pay a lot of lip service to environmental stewardship but have little to show for it. “The idea at Blackadore Caye is to push the envelope for what sustainability means-moving the idea beyond environmental awareness into restoration,” Scialla said. “We don’t want to just do less harm or even have zero impact, but to actually help heal the island, to make it better than before.”

And DiCaprio realizes the stakes are high, which is why he has a bold vision for the island. “With the onset of climate change, there are huge challenges, so we want the structure to not only enhance and improve the environment, but to be a model for the future.”

The Rich in Beverly Hills Seem Oblivious to California’s Water Shortage

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With California facing one of its most severe droughts in memory, and the state gearing up for the first mandatory water restrictions in history, much attention is being paid to California’s farmers who aren’t being asked to cut back as much as the rest of the state’s citizens.

At the opposite end of the economic scale, however, little attention is being paid to the Golden State’s other water-guzzling citizens: the rich folks who live in wealthy enclaves like Beverly Hills, Malibu, and other desirable zip codes.

According to the LA Times, Beverly Hills and other affluent cities use far more water per capita than less-wealthy communities, prompting concerns that threats of fines for not observing mandatory restrictions may have little effect on those who can easily pay them without missing a beat.

In 2011, when lower income communities like Santa Ana in Orange County used approximately 38 gallons a day per capita, residents in wealthier areas like Palos Verdes Estates and Newport Beach were using more than 150 gallons, or almost four times the amount per day.

According to George Murdoch, general manager of utilities in Newport Beach, “Some people – believe it or not – don’t know we are in a drought. We have people that own a home here but aren’t around a lot, so they could miss a leak.”

Stephanie Pincetl, who worked on a UCLA water-use study, has another theory: wealthy Californians are “lacking a sense that we are all in this together.”

“The problem lies, in part, in the social isolation of the rich, the moral isolation of the rich,” Pincetl said.

Beverly Hills officials explain that they have focused on water saving education so far, instituting an emergency water conservation plan that calls for voluntary limits on use of fountains that don’t use recycled water, eliminating pavement washing, and cutting back on lawn watering by 10 percent.

But officials are concerned that the governor’s call to reduce water consumption by 25 percent may fall on the deaf ears of people unaccustomed to having to listen to things they don’t want to hear.

An entertainment industry worker who identified himself only as Eric said he has cut back on water usage, but admits he has a fountain, a jacuzzi, and lemon and orange trees to consider.

“This is America. You gotta live it up a little bit, right?” he said.

City officials in Newport Beach and Beverly Hills, have seen a steady drop in water use over the last few months, but remain concerned how much people in their upscale communities will cut back despite the threat of fines.

“In this part of town, everyone is just too important to see outside themselves,” explained Kay Dangaard, a longtime Beverly Hills resident. “Where are these people going to go with all their money when the water is gone?”

Protesters Try to Stop Nestle Water Bottling Plant in South Sacramento

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SOUTH SACRAMENTO –

In the darkness of the early morning hours protesters gathered at the driveway of the Nestlé water bottling plant.

Armed with signs and props like torches and pitch forks they made their position known.

Environmental and water rights activists blockaded all truck entrances to the plant.

This is a similar scene to a protest back in October of last year. The plan this morning was to shut down the company’s operations.

At issue: the amount of water the company uses to sell for profit, especially during a drought.

But Nestle says they are in compliance, and pay the same rate for water as any other metered business or manufacturer in the city of Sacramento.

Nestlé’s spokesperson went on to say the company believes in people’s right to protest and that like all businesses in California they are looking at ways to conserve.

In 2014 Nestlé says it used 50 million gallons from the Sacramento Municipal Water Supply, which they say is a fraction of one percent of total water demand within the city of Sacramento.

Brazil to Build World’s Largest Floating Solar Farm Amidst Devastating Drought

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With Brazil’s historic drought drying up its hydroelectric plants, the South American country is turning to solar power to help relieve its foreboding energy crisis.

The nation announced that within four months, it will commence pilot tests of a gigantic floating solar farm located atop the Balbina hydroelectric plant in the Amazon. It’s currently unclear how physically large the floating farm will be, but the enormous reservoir it will sit on covers 2,360 square kilometers.

At 350 megawatts, Brazil’s ambitious project would easily trump Japan’s currently largest 13.4 megawatt floating solar power plant in terms of power output. To put that in another perspective, the largest solar farm in the world is the 550 megawatt Desert Sunlight Solar Farm in California.

Diversifying energy sources is clearly a necessity for the notoriously parched country. Brazil is experiencing its worst drought in four decades, causing electricity blackouts in many regions. Below-average rainfall in the last few years have depleted its reservoirs, thus gutting its formerly plentiful supply of hydropower, which supplies more than three-quarters of the country’s electricity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

As Climate News Network reported, “the reservoirs in the drought-affected region could fall to as little as 10 percent of their capacity, which … Mines and Energy Minister Eduardo Braga admits would be ‘catastrophic’ for energy security.”

While the sunny country has tremendous potential for solar power, Brazil has been slow to embrace this form of renewable energy. It was only in October 2014, when Brazil made its first foray into this sector with the construction of 31 solar parks, its first large-scale solar project with a combined capacity of 1,048 megawatts.

A shift to solar energy might be fitting, as the Balbina Dam (where the proposed solar farm will eventually sit) has been criticized for emitting more greenhouse gases than a coal-fired power plant.

“We are adding technological innovation, more transmission lines, diversifying our energy generation source, introducing solar energy in a more vigorous manner and combining solar energy with hydroelectric energy,” Braga told reporters about the solar farm project.

“We are preparing ourselves to win the challenge in 2015 and be able to deliver a model and an electric system starting in 2016 which will be cheaper, more secure and with greater technological innovation,” Braga said. Electricity produced at the farm is expected to cost between $69 and $77 per megawatt hour, reports say.

84-Year-Old Refused a Million Dollars and Forced a Shopping Mall to Build Around Her House

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In 2006, developers wanted to build a shopping mall in Seattle, Washington, over Edith Macefield’s house, but she wasn’t going to give it up. After she refused a million dollar offer the developers decided to build around her house; the picture tells it all.

After news of her defiance hit the internet, her house because a symbol of struggle against the growth of corporatism, even inspiring the film “Up,” in which Pixar modeled its house after Macefield’s home.

In 2008, Edith died and left the home to Barry Martin, the construction chief at an adjacent building site who had befriended her and helped her through her final days. The future of the house was unknown, although Martin said he would like to turn it into a memorial of some kind.

The house was gutted and remodeling began, but was cut short and the house went up for auction. In March of 2015, the house failed to sell at auction because the $170,000 price tag came with $300,000 in lien taxes. After the failed auction, the house was re-listed without any tax lien and will be sold to the highest bidder.

Here’s a video tour of the house in its current condition, with some cheesy music:

Sources:

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/after-failed-auction-edith-macefield-home-sale-san/nkjMZ/

Principle goes deep in this example. They can bribe you, yell at you, scare and beat you and they can even kill you, but you have all the power, because your obedience is something they can never physically take from you. 

20-Year-Olds Turn Van Into A Mobile Laundromat To Wash Clothes For The Homeless

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Realizing not enough is being done to meet homeless peoples’ hygienic needs, these two friends put an ingenious idea to work and are now helping many people in Australia.

Sometimes the best thing you can do to help others is to assist them with the little things, which – believe it or not – make a great deal of difference.

Imagine being homeless and trying to get back on your feet – yet feeling extremely self-conscious of the state of your clothes when seeking out new opportunities. The two definitely don’t mix, which is why two good-Samaritan friends created a brilliant way to help the homeless re-gain confidence and also feel more optimistic about their situation. They did this by turning their van into a mobile laundromat to give those without an opportunity to wash their clothes safely.

The two creators of the Orange Sky Laundry project, Lucas Patchett and Nicholas Marchesi, began with an old van and a generator. With the support of donations, they were able to secure two washing machines and driers, and now their van can process 20 kg of laundry an hour.

Launched in July, the project is now in its trial period, during which the van will operate 5 days per week in Brisbane, Australia. If all goes well, the organization will likely spread across Australia.

Two 20-year-old friends, Lucas Patchett and Nicholas Marchesi, noticed that not enough was being done to help the homeless or meet their hygienic needs. So they created Australia’s FIRST mobile laundry unit for the homeless. Now they spend 5 days a week helping others regain a bit more self confidence and live more comfortably by washing their clothes. [Clean clothes are] “a privilege that so many of us take for granted. This is the first time Mich has been able to wash his clothes and blankets. Born in Brisbane and living on the streets, Mick can’t afford to wash his clothes or transport them. Thanks for your continued support of our program.” And as shared on the Orange Sky Laundry website, “Meet Ricky. He wants to thank you all for your donations and support. He sleeps rough on the street with his dad and today they were able to wash all their clothes.” Lucas Pratchett poses in front of one of the vans. This organization runs off the generosity of others around the globe. You can help by donating online – $6 will cover the cost of a cycle of washing for one person. “Have a look, we really appreciate it along with your continued support.” Source: HuffingtonPost

Written by Amanda Froelich of www.trueactivist.com

DIY Solar Pocket Factory Machine Can Print a Solar Panel Every 15 Seconds!

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Inventors Shawn Frayne and Alex Hornstein are looking to revolutionize the business of small-scale solar panels with The Solar Pocket Factory, a backyard photovoltaic panel printing system. Successfully funded by a Kickstarter campaign, the two have placed themselves at the forefront of the micro solar movement, which aims to cheaply and quickly produce small PV panels.

Enthusiastic about all things solar, inventors Shawn Frayne and Alex Hornstein have built everything from lights to USB distribution grids. Through the process of designing and manufacturing their products, they found that the micro solar panels they used to power their devices were brittle, expensive, and poorly made. Taking matters into their own hands, they traveled the world and spent months researching current models. They found that half of the cost of conventional panels lay in their assembly, as many parts of the body are pieced and soldered by hand. They also observed that 15% of panels contained flaws from imperfect soldering, and in many cases, the materials used were cut-rate and disintegrated over the period of a few years.

They figured that if they could automate the production, they could eliminate 25% of the price tag and reducing the number of defects. By using higher quality materials, they could also create panels that are more efficient, gather more light, and last longer. The result of their labor is The Solar Pocket Factory, a small automated machine that can churn out panels on a smaller scale than a sprawling factory. The device resembles a desktop 3D printer, and the team hopes to have a full working model completed by April. When finished, the Solar Pocket Factory will be able to churn out a panel every 15 seconds – that means that just one machine could potentially power 1 million devices each year! Viva la revolucion!

+ The Solar Pocket Factory

Via NPR Science Friday

Iceland looks at ending boom and bust with radical money plan

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Mr Sigurjonsson said the problem each time arose from ballooning credit during a strong economic cycle.

Frosti Sigurjonsson’s report, entitled A Better Monetary System For Iceland

He argued the central bank was unable to contain the credit boom, allowing inflation to rise and sparking exaggerated risk-taking and speculation, the threat of bank collapse and costly state interventions.

In Iceland, as in other modern market economies, the central bank controls the creation of banknotes and coins but not the creation of all money, which occurs as soon as a commercial bank offers a line of credit.

The central bank can only try to influence the money supply with its monetary policy tools.

Under the so-called Sovereign Money proposal, the country’s central bank would become the only creator of money.

“Crucially, the power to create money is kept separate from the power to decide how that new money is used,” Mr Sigurjonsson wrote in the proposal.

“As with the state budget, the parliament will debate the government’s proposal for allocation of new money,” he wrote.

Iceland’s three largest banks collapsed

Banks would continue to manage accounts and payments, and would serve as intermediaries between savers and lenders.

Mr Sigurjonsson, a businessman and economist, was one of the masterminds behind Iceland’s household debt relief programme launched in May 2014 and aimed at helping the many Icelanders whose finances were strangled by inflation-indexed mortgages signed before the 2008 financial crisis.

The small Nordic country was hit hard as the crash of US investment bank Lehman Brothers caused the collapse of its three largest banks.

Iceland then became the first western European nation in 25 years to appeal to the International Monetary Fund to save its battered economy.

Its GDP fell by 5.1pc in 2009 and 3.1pc in 2010 before it started rising again.

Adoption Of 100% Renewables Targets Could Deliver $500 Billion In Savings To Major Economies

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The adoption of goals aiming for the achievement of 100% renewable energy (with regard to retail electricity) by the year 2050 could save the major economies of the world — the European Union, the United States, China — more than $500 billion a year (combined), according to a new study from the NewClimate Institute (commissioned by Climate Action Network).

As well as delivering huge savings in energy costs, the adoption of strong targets would result in the creation of millions of new jobs, according to the new work.

Also worth noting is that, according to the new work, if all countries adopted (and acted upon) such goals, then the anthropogenic temperature increase (global warming) could be limited to under the 2°C threshold that some researchers have marked as the point of no return as far as serious issues go.

(Author’s note: I’m not so convinced that the climate can be modelled to such a precise degree as to provide useful predictions in this regard. Yes, carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse gases, yes the planet is warming, and yes people are implicated in that, but…. The climate is a very complex system, one not easily modelled or predicted to any precise degree. While it would be prudent from a ‘rational’ perspective to curtail greenhouse gas emissions (on a global level), what’s going to happen exactly is something of an open question. We’ll find out soon enough though — I expect to see significant issues arising from anthropogenic climate change within my lifetime.)

The new report comes as many countries are beginning to create their climate offers for upcoming (in December) UN climate talks — where, presumably, a new international agreement will be signed.

According to the new report, if the steps outlined for the EU, the US, and China in the new report are followed to the T, then around 3 million new jobs will be created by 2030; the deaths of two million people by air pollution related diseases will be prevented; and huge savings (of around $520 billion a year) will be afforded, owing to reduced fossil fuel imports.

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