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California deploys free solar panels in disadvantaged neighborhoods
For all its efforts with rooftop solar deployment, California has yet to show that decentralized renewable energy is not just a luxury that only the middle-class and high-income residents can afford. A new program run by nonprofit Grid Alternatives aims to install solar systems in disadvantaged Read More...
Toilet-to-tap-water policy inching closer to a realistic plan in parched California
California’s aquifers and reservoirs are being drained as the state suffers through its fourth year of drought. Regulators recently started working on the permitting framework for seawater desalination projects. Simultaneously, California water managers and environmentalists are urging adoption Read More...
Brits and Turks happiest Europeans before recession, according to map on Internet
Here is a map to ponder. Its origins are unclear, and the data is, well, dated (2008.) Nevertheless, it offers a fascinating window into a reality that seemingly goes against many preconceived ideas. Who would have thought that the French are the not grumpiest Europeans around, that Italians and Read More...
Robots’ duality in question: Technology saves lives despite potential for evil
The potential for robots to cause evil is a stark reality. At the same time, researchers and companies around the world are already demonstrating the power of robotics and AI technologies to save lives, including in the operating room and in areas hit by natural disasters. There, in a nutshell, are Read More...
Summer reading suggestion: The Monk and the Philosopher
Some books are worth bringing up time and time again. This thoughtful essay about The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life provides us with a great opportunity to revisit what remains a most compelling, intelligent—some would say enlightening—dialogue about Read More...
Graphene-based supercapacitors point to breakthrough for electric cars
Better batteries are seemingly the only missing link between today’s fossil-fuel intensive transportation and the expected advent of the electric car. Batteries need to be cheaper, quickly rechargeable, provide better range, while demonstrating a sustainable lifecycle. A supercapacitor developed Read More...
Putting learning before grades to prevent cheating among students
Cheating is endemic among students, and is sometimes rampant even among teachers. Two decades of research show that this behavior is very dependent on goals. Short-term extrinsic goals such as getting good grades to avoid punishment or to obtain a reward provide a breeding ground for cheating. Read More...
How architects mitigate the Ecological Footprint of a growing population
It is a well-established fact that mankind consumes more than 1.5 as much renewable natural resources as the planet can generate. In fact, if everyone lived like the average American, we would need the equivalent of five planets. With already more than half of the world’s population living in Read More...
Growing food security in Argentina, one school garden at the time
Up to 35 percent of children in Argentina live in households with “unmet basic needs.” Only 53 percent receive of those receive food assistance. Here is the inspiring story of the Huerta Niño Foundation, an organization founded in 1999 to build agroecological school gardens in low-income areas Read More...
The power of thought shapes our physical world, including our bodies
Water constitutes about three quarters of the human body mass. Science shows that water is significantly impacted by thoughts, as observed in the varying shapes of frozen water crystals. The idea that science will soon be able to demonstrate that our bodies are deeply affected by our state of mind Read More...