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Attention innovators: the era of graphene is here
Graphene is the thinnest and strongest material known to man. The pure carbon substance is 200 times stronger than steel, harder than diamond and thin enough that an ounce could cover twenty-eight football fields. It's also transparent, more conductive than silicon, flexible like rubber and cheap Read More...
Portland bans insecticides containing compounds harmful to bees
Over seventy out of the top 100 human food crops, which supply about 90 percent of the world's nutrition, are pollinated by bees. The steep decline in honey bees population has been fueling fear regarding food security, and spurring a flurry of research activity into the cause of their demise. Read More...
4 simple steps to forge new habits
We all wish we could make changes in our lives. The good news is, we can! We are in control of so much, and yet we behave like we don’t have a choice. We make excuses. We beat ourselves up or complain that we eat poorly, don’t exercise enough, don’t crack open that French textbook. Or we Read More...
MIT develops an algorithm to solve traffic jams, saving time and carbon
Traffic congestion wastes time, gas and money. According to the most recent Urban Mobility Report by the Texas Transportation Institute, it cost US commuters 5.5 billion hours and 2.9 billion gallons of fuel in 2011 (all $121 billion worth), as well as an additional 56 billion pounds of carbon Read More...
Global investment in renewable energy grew 17% last year
Developing countries led the trend with a 36% surge at $131.3 billion, followed by China with $83.3 billion, according to a new study by the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance. Solar and wind still dominate the field, although geothermal enjoyed Read More...
First peaceful democratic transition brings Nigeria a "peace dividend"
This week’s presidential elections in Nigeria were historic. This was the first peaceful transition of power since the country declared its independence from British rule in 1960. Observers generally praised the election as being fair. And the incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat Read More...
3D printing with food waste provides a truly sustainable alternative to plastic
For all its promise of unleashed creativity, 3D printing raises one major issue of sustainability. The technology uses, and creates objects out of, unrecyclable plastic filament wrapped around plastic spools. Ingenious minds are beginning to come up with diverse solutions to remedy the problem, but Read More...
The monk who ran 1,000 marathons has nothing on us—except he knows it
“All humans are asking the question: Why are we alive?” says the monk of Mount Hiei in Japan who endured 1,000 days of long-distance running as a rigorous quest for enlightenment. “The constant movement for 1,000 days gives you lots of time to think about this, to reflect on your life. It is Read More...
Small-business lending: local community's involvement makes banks obsolete
Community Sourced Capital, a startup based in Seattle, WA, connects small businesses with members of the community who are eager to support their local economy. Loans are repaid with no interest, while CSC takes fees. The goal is to step into the space that banks have left vacant since the Read More...
The planet is becoming greener, according to satellite data
While deforestation is going unabated in tropical areas of the globe, it turns out that forests have been gaining grounds over the past decade in former Soviet countries, in China—where an ambitious reforestation policy has been in place for a long time—and even in arid areas of Africa, Read More...