Netherlands passes net neutrality law, first among EU nations. Ritz-Carlton Launches iPhone App. Hotel chain Ritz-Carlton has launched a mobile app that incorporates QR codes and location-based services, designed to provide users with special in-hotel offers and experiences.
Expanding upon basic hotel search and reservation functionality, the new app integrates with other social platform, such as Foursquare and World Concierge, and provides location based recommendations. Organic Farming Isn't Always Sustainable; Another Threat to Bees. The Top Five Anti-Environment Objectives of ALEC. Connecticut Fears Monsanto - Bill to Label GM Ingredients Dead Due to Lawsuit Worries. Top 10 Tech Stories This Week: DIY solar lawn mower, Pinterest and the cloud, hydropower for kids and more! Solar Stella Cigar Box Amp Is An Awesome Project for Musicians. 100,000 Solar Charged LEDs Mimic Floating Fireflies in Tokyo Festival. Iron-Eating Magnetized Bacteria Could Make Faster Computers. Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH/Public Domain We write a lot about biomimicry, technology that mimics nature.
This British-Japanese research project takes things a step further: it has made technology from nature itself. A newly created type of bacteria ingests iron, creating magnets inside itself, the BBC reported. New Study Predicts Frack Fluids Can Migrate to Aquifers Within Years. A new study has raised fresh concerns about the safety of gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale, concluding that fracking chemicals injected into the ground could migrate toward drinking water supplies far more quickly than experts have previously predicted.
A Cabot Oil and Gas hydraulic fracturing site on Jan. 17, 2012, in Springville, Pa. Gasification & Pyrolysis the Answer for U.S. Waste Plastics? SPI Solar to Build 6.4 Megawatts of Solar at Mountain Creek Resort. ROSEVILLE, Calif.
–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SPI Solar (“SPI”) (OTCBB:SOPW) a leading vertically integrated photovoltaic (“PV”) solar developer, today announced that it has entered into an engineering, procurement and construction (“EPC”) agreement with a subsidiary of KDC Solar (“KDC Solar”) to design and build multiple solar energy facilities (“SEF”) for KDC Solar at the Mountain Creek Resort and Grand Cascades Golf Resort in Vernon, New Jersey. BP Oil Spill Photos Posted By Greenpeace Following Freedom Of Information Request. Over two years after the disastrous BP oil spill wreaked havoc on the Gulf, Greenpeace has received photos of the destruction inflicted on marine life in the area.
According to a Greenpeace press release, the environmental group filed a Freedom of Information request in 2010 for the photos -- their request was one of over 50 FOIA requests submitted by Greenpeace to various agencies regarding the oil spill. The spill occurred after an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig killed 11 workers on April 20, 2010. Far surpassing BP's initial estimates, about 50,000 barrels per day flowed from the well over the course of three months, according to a government-organized scientific team. Orangutans Use IPads To Communicate At Miami Zoo Jungle Island (VIDEO, PHOTOS) An orangutan works with an IPAD at Jungle Island in Miami.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch: Plastic Debris In Ocean Impacting Marine Life. SAN DIEGO (AP) — An increase in plastic debris floating in a zone between Hawaii and California is changing the environment of at least one marine critter, scientists reported.
Over the past four decades, the amount of broken-down plastic has grown significantly in a region dubbed the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch. " Most of the plastic pieces are the size of a fingernail. During a seagoing expedition, researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography found that a marine insect that skims the ocean surface is laying its eggs on top of plastic bits instead of natural flotsam like wood and seashells. Though plastic debris is giving the insects places to lay eggs, scientists are concerned about the manmade material establishing a role in their habitat. Mowing down the competition: Supermileage Team aims to break fuel barriers. (Phys.org) -- Can a car really get 3,300 miles to the gallon?
The University of Michigan's Supermileage Team is on its way to proving it can—with a lawnmower engine. "We are taking something that is in your backyard and turning it into something that's sleek, modern and high-performance," said mechanical engineering senior Laura Pillari, project manager and co-founder of the team. The new student team will compete in its first competition this summer, the SAE International Supermileage Challenge, in Marshall, Mich. The competition challenges student teams to design and construct a single-person, fuel-efficient vehicle with a small four-stroke engine. w00t w0000t...Hybrid Train - Next Year. Solar Energy in South Africa - Cleantech Solutions. South Africa is endowed with abundant renewable resources in the form of solar and wind energy.
The Government’s White Paper on Renewable Energy Policy, released in 2003, supports the development of alternative energy systems with an ambitious target of generating 10,000GWh green electricity by 2013. The growing climate change concerns related to burning fossil fuels is also providing an impetus to renewable energy initiatives in South Africa. Not surprisingly, Eskom is financing 100MW solar and 100MW wind energy projects to jumpstart the renewable energy market in South Africa. Cleantech investments soared to US$ 125 million in 2009, a welcome sign for fast-paced developments in South African clean energy sector.
The renewable resource with the greatest potential in South Africa is solar energy. The high level of solar radiation enables solar water heating technology to be the least-cost means of meeting the national renewable energy target. Share! Related Articles: Homemade Chicken Coop with Beer Can Shingles Was Built in 10 Hours for $40. Solar iPad Case Extends Battery Life to 10 Days. © Wireless NRG In what is starting to be a competitive field, Wireless NRG has released a solar-powered iPad case called the KudoCase that offers protection and extra juice for your battery from the sun.
The case is made of a hard, biodegradable corn-based plastic and features solar panels on the front cover that generate energy from indoor and outdoor light sources.