Fog nets from Chile to Morocco. And soon California?
Fog nets are screens of overlapping horizontal and vertical mesh that catch moisture from fog and collect it once gravity brings the droplets down. In remote villages in drought-stricken Morocco, these devices not only bring drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people but also let them Read More...
World’s oldest tree may actually live in Chile after all, not California
The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine in California is currently considered the oldest living tree in the world, at 4,853 years old. A cypress tree in Chile, however, now challenges that record. Dr. Jonathan Barichivich, a researcher in Chile, believes that a Patagonian cypress, locally known as the Read More...
Chile’s president moves to, and improves, run-down part of Santiago
A country’s head of state can seem far removed from the boots-on-the-ground work that has a tangible and visible effect on average citizens’ lives. For most of us, the gradual progress of policy changes can seem invisible, and we can feel a great disconnect between our lives and the legislative Read More...
A treasure trove of dinosaur fossils discovered in Chile
Dinosaurs pervade the human imagination. More than that, their fossils give us an understanding of our planet and life’s early history. A recently discovered fossil of thescelosaurus neglectus gave paleontologists a look into dinosaurs’ last moments before the asteroid struck, the fossil having Read More...
Chile joins the legislation green wave
A beautiful thing about democracy is that it is inherently self-correcting. Democratic constitutions survive because they change with the times. They adapt to new environments. That’s why they’re called “amendments” to the constitution. Chile is joining a wave of constitutional change in Read More...
Ancient comet solves puzzle of scattered glass in Chilean desert
Across a 75 kilometer stretch of the Atacama Desert in Chile, huge rocks of black and green glass can be found lying around. Researchers picked up on this unusual phenomenon around a decade ago, but they were stumped by this mystery with no reasonable explanation to be found, until now. A team Read More...
Chile legalizes same-sex marriage
After a decade-long legal battle, Chile’s Congress has officially passed a law to legalize same-sex marriage. Passed on Tuesday, the bill is expected to be signed into law soon by President Sebastian Pinera. The road to marriage equality has been long and arduous in the conservative South Read More...
Brilliant invention provides light and drinking water at almost no cost
Amongst the cream of the crop of the Lexus Design Award 2021 is Henry Glogau’s ingenious contraption: a skylight that uses free sources of energy to light homes at night and distill seawater into safe drinking water. This no-cost, clean energy solution can provide basic services for Read More...
High levels of vitamin D in first year may protect children from obesity
A new study out of the University of Michigan School of Public Health suggests higher levels of vitamin D in the first year of life can help protect children against obesity in adolescence. The study, which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, used data from more than 300 Read More...
Startup unveils brilliant system to cut plastic from cleaning products
Cleaning products often come in disposable plastic packagings, such as little soap bottles or window sprays. Other than the massive amounts of waste this creates, the problem is that the packaging itself jacks up the price of the product. In fact, packaging can make up as much as 40 percent of Read More...