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Total number of posts: 23756
This personal solar desalinator delivers fresh water to people who need it
It's simple technology that can produce up to a gallon of water a day, which could be useful in disaster recovery. Put Mike Wofsey’s Water Wasp out in the sun, fill it with filthy seawater, and wait. A day later you can enjoy fresh, clean and non-salty water. Desalination is expensive, but Read More...
Uber debuts a commuter service in China
Uber launched a long-distance carpooling option for commuters in Chengdu, China. Now that China's leading ride-hailing company, Didi Kuaidi, has forged a partnership with Lyft, Uber is facing pressure to step up its game in the region. Though Uber has already invested about $1 billion in the Read More...
Bitcoin and sharing economy pave the way for new 'digital state'
The sharing economy and the blockchain are technological innovations that could pave the way for a new digital state, according to Cabinet Office minister Matthew Hancock MP. Services like Airbnb and Uber, which epitomise the so-called "sharing economy" by allowing users to cut out the middle men Read More...
Pope Francis and the case for climate change optimism
These days, climate change momentum is everywhere. It’s in U.S. politics, as the Clean Power Plan promises to significantly curb U.S. emissions by 2030. It’s in the clean energy industry, as a solar and wind boom couldn’t possibly arrive at a more opportune time. It’s in the international Read More...
New technology to capture, convert carbon dioxide
Novel molecular structures are a first step toward economical carbon capture at a wide scale. A viable technology for economical carbon capture would be a huge step in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The intricate, highly porous structure of covalent organic frameworks makes them uniquely suited Read More...
What clean-energy innovators can learn from Apple
We noted in an earlier piece that Bill Gates’s “moonshot” investments to stop climate change, while well intentioned, are misdirected. We do need an Apollo Project for clean energy but it should be an effort that focuses on global deployment of technologies we already Read More...
Labour's vegan farming minister's idea: Treat meat eaters like smokers
Appointing a vegan as Labour’s farming spokesman was always going to ruffle feathers. But even Kerry McCarthy’s critics must have been surprised by her pronouncement that meat should be treated like tobacco, with public campaigns to stop people eating it. Her appointment has alarmed Read More...
British food recycling cafes go global in fight against waste
When former chef Adam Smith opened a small cafe in Britain's post-industrial North two years ago, serving up dishes with food destined for the scrap heap, he had big aspirations -- to fight global food waste. "From day one I set out to feed the world and I intend to do that," the Yorkshireman said Read More...
Bosch invents new electric car battery to double mileage
German electronics firm Bosch says it will have a solid state battery on the market by 2020 that will double the range of electric cars at half the cost of today’s batteries. Today the cheapest electric cars, which cost around $30,000, typically have a range of less than 100 miles. Once Read More...
Rescuing ancient seeds from a war-torn city
One of the world’s most important seed banks has left Syria, and it won’t be returning. Aleppo, Syria, has as good a claim as any to the title of “world’s oldest city.” It is certainly among the longest to be continuously inhabited. There are hints that nomads camped Read More...