| 2005: The Year of the Natural Disaster? |
[Jan. 4th, 2006|07:18 am] |
WARNING: Sobering year in review ahead:
A few days ago, the World Health Organization asked the question "will 2005 be remembered as the year of the natural disaster?"
They explain how 2005 began with the aftermath of the 26 December 2004 tsunami, hurricanes in central and north America, notably Katrina (but also notable for running through the alphabet of names and going greek), the 8 October earthquake in Pakistan and India, and famine after crops were destroyed by locusts in Niger. Then, virtually unnoticed by the outside world, El Salvador's highest volcano, Ilamatepec, erupted on 1 October, displacing more than 7500 people. A few days later Hurricane Stan swept through the same locale and killed about 70 people with floods and mudslides. From January to October 2005, an estimated 97,490 people were killed in disasters globally and 88,117 of them in natural disasters, according to the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), a WHO Collaborating Centre that operates a global disaster database in Belgium. According to CRED, the number of natural disasters — floods, windstorms, droughts and geological disasters — recorded since 1900 have increased and the number of people affected by such disasters has also increased since 1975. About 75 disasters were reported globally in 1975, according to CRED. In 2000 the figure peaked at 525 and dropped to just under 400 in 2004.
The WHO goes on explaining the delicate mix of climate change, population, poverty, all the multi-causal factors that play in and help exacerbate an already stressed system. But they also end on a positive note, explaining how microfinancing and emergency preparedness can go a long way to avoid huge tolls from these extreme weather events. Ending ger report on a positive note, WHO's Theresa Braine reoprts that in their "World disasters report 2005" the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies notes that a simple phone call saved thousands of lives when the giant tsunami waves hit India in 2004. A fisherman’s son named Vijayakumar Gunasekaran, who lives in Singapore, heard about the tsunami early on the radio and phoned relatives living on the east coast of India. Following his warning, all 3630 residents evacuated their village there before the waves arrived. Thank heavens for small mercies. |
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| next week @ the C.E.S. (part 1) |
[Jan. 4th, 2006|08:12 am] |
Folsom California's niche fuel cell maker JABOO will be pleased as punch next week-- premiering its line of fuel cell products for prosumers at next week's ShowStoppers event at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2006 in Las Vegas.
They'll be introducing their NABII power unit(pictured), the N-Stor(TM) fuel canister, and FillPoint(TM) refill station for a variety of new applications, including field-ready laptops, emergency response radios and other equipment used in "off-grid" power situations, as well as professional broadcast cameras. The NABII is being hyped as a way for camera-people to never have to shut down the camera... keep it rolling forever, if they want, and it fits all standard camera battery mounts! They also offer unique ways to refill the spent fuel cells and something called "hot swap capability" which allows you to switch fuel cells while everything is still running. No downtime at all.... |
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| next week @ the C.E.S. (part 2) |
[Jan. 4th, 2006|08:34 am] |
Ok it's still for a car, which imnsho is not nearly as cool as a bike, but i still can't resist: Solar-powered LEDs are cool, no matter what they're stuck on.
Another group of excited booth bunnies will be busy at the CES hawking this cute little gizmo. Ok, so it's not going to reduce emissions, but it will probably lead to a few less car accidents (so there will be a reduction in car-footprint because of reductions in spare parts, dents, smashed cars....). So at CES lookout for AutoCare's TurnSmart Mirror-mods made to fit every car-mirror, they do two things: 1) have a convex mirror that lets the driver see what were previously the "blind spots" and 2) use LEDs to signal lane changes (visible to motorists who have already past the tail of the vehicle...). Why do I like them? Well they have little solar cells on top of the LEDs, that's how they get their juice (daytime anyway). It may not reduce emissions, but it doesn't suck more gas from the tank, and besides, the more people see solar working for them, the more they will want them on their roofs. It won't be alien, it will be something associated with security and safety (which it has always really been, but now the mainstream is getting in on it!!) |
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| next week @ the C.E.S. (part 3) |
[Jan. 4th, 2006|08:46 am] |
I saved the best for last!! FreePlay's brand new toy
Freeplay will be introducing their new gizmo, the foot-powered FreeCharge Weza at CES. And this one is a winner fo' sho.... You can use it as a traditional battery pack (plug solar or wind into this baby and keep for a rainy day....). But using FreePlay's patented dynamo system, they have taken it a step further.. say for example you have a band practise in the woods, and there you are with a 40 Watt amp and a guitar, but no where to plug in. Well, fret no more, just use the foot pedal,pump away and voila! 40W at your command! This is a very versatile contraption, you can put AC or DC into it (DC from soalr, wind.. nd/or AC from a 120 or 240 wall outlet... you can even plug it into your car lighter for 'in' or 'out' power (so if you need some juice for the woods, or say your car battery is dead), it goes either way. I like!! |
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| Silicon Batteries, anyone? |
[Jan. 4th, 2006|10:41 am] |
Move over Lead Acid Battery, here's a new and powerful performer from China!
The Chinese company Guineng, has developed a very interesting non-polluting battery based on an electrolyte of liquid low sodium silicate compound. Not only can the electrolites be used, they say, as fertilizer after being replaced, but the batteries pack a punch! Obviously superior to Lead Acid Batteries, they compare pretty much to NiCads as far as energy density (52Wh/Kg), but unlike NiCads, they can be recharged in 2-3 hours (witout fancy-pants pulse charging) as opposed to NiCad's 16 hours. According to Guineng, this brand new neutral electrolyte does not corrode the electrodes, which makes it possible to recycle the electrodes after the battery is properly disposed of. The disposed electrolyte, in the state of semi-solid grains, is a high quality fertilizer rather than soil pollutant. The factory is rated as Factory of Environment Friendliness by the relevant environment protection authority for its contribution to the commitment of green environment protection. And even cooler than that, you can already get one! See, that scooter up there, the e-max classic, is available NOW with these new silicon batteries! E-Max is pretty stoked about this! On their website, they have a great table that shows just how much better these batteries can be. Price, power, recyclability and less toxic materials makes em want an EMax more than ever before.... |
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| good news! |
[Jan. 4th, 2006|11:05 am] |
Sweden to kick fossil-fuel habit by 2020
Kudos to King Carl XVI and Queen Sylvia!
[full story] |
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| speculations on the green blogsphere.... |
[Jan. 4th, 2006|12:17 pm] |
has Justin left TH?? Will MetaEfficient Be all the better for it?
I used to wonder about this.. what the relationship was, because sometimes something that showed up in MetaEfficient (one of my favorite blogs) would inevitably show up on TreeHugger (no slouch). Then Justin cleared it up for me... He was writing for treehugger, but MetaEfficient is and was his baby... Then some neat things started to happen.... MetaEfficient turned into GoToReviews (ok maybe not quite as good a name, but not bad if you start callin' em GTR and maybe i'm just too snoopey, but I've noticed two things lately, one, that Justin just doesn't seem to be writing that many posts over at the Tree anymore... but also that GTR has kicked into 4th gear! They are pumping out reviews these days, and while the name may be a little different, the meta-efficient aspect is still there.... So Justin, if you did branch out (tree.. hugger.. branch.. out heh heh...) I wish you not only great success on your own,. but that you start cranking out the reviews like mad! Justin rocks! Everyone who enjoys my 'lil LJ, will LOOOOOOOVVE GTR! So what are you waiting for? Go To Reviews... |
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| ...to the moon Alice, right to the moon! |
[Jan. 4th, 2006|12:48 pm] |
Robots building robots on the moon, a novel way to um, stop global warming?
You know, way back when, I read a global-warming science fiction novel called Heat by Arthur Herzog (no Bruce Stirling, but hey, this was written in the 70's). I don't want to spoil the ending-- but oddly enough the solution his protagonist, the hero, ended up executing seems to be happening whether we like it or not. In the novel, the world ends up sending millions and millions of tiny mirrors into the upper atmosphere to reflect solar radiation away from the planet before it hits greenhouse gasses and starts to re-radiate. Kinda like what "they" say chemtrails are-- tiny particles of aluminum bouncing light away form those nasty GhGs.... In light of this catch-22 (whether we like it or not)I gotta say, I'm no longer thinking that the Brigadier General S. Peter Worden is crazy at all-- in fact I'm starting to think that what he wants to do might not only work, but compared to chemtrails, I love it. Well, kinda.
So what's the deal you ask? and why would i even think for a moment that the General is crazy? Well, he wants to set up robot colonies on the moon that will build billions (yeah, billions) of flying floating semi-opaque sun shades that would float 3 million miles away, between us and the sun. No, seriously, this is a picture of him delivering the speech (maybe one day called "the speech that launched a billion moon robots") back in October at the Space Frontier Conference in Los Angeles:
OK I'll be honest he is crazy-- but maybe just maybe crazy like a fox! He wants the private sector to run the show with the government sticking to what it does best, as he says, the "Roads and Commodes." He says that what we need is private ownership to really save the planet, private companies doing this sun-blocking (he uses the railroad robber barrons as an example of how private capital can work better-- see, he is crazy because he says nothing about their dirty dealings.)
((Ok, maybe you dont need my editorial here to see what this guy wants to do, so I'll leave the floor to the people who were in LA at the Space conference)):
( continue this way, young space cowboys ) |
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