The old saying “step on a crack, break your mother’s back” may not apply to sidewalks for much longer now that MIT researchers have figured out why concrete breaks down. As a result of the discovery, structures like buildings, bridges, and yes, sidewalks, could last for hundreds of years longer … [continued]
Energy efficiency in transportation is now in the national spotlight. Washington is acknowledging an “energy crisis,” and as part of a solution to this problem, passenger rail in the United States is set for an upgrade. With the inauguration of President Obama, new impetus has been given to constructing a … [continued]
San Francisco created the “EcoFinder” iPhone App to help residents recycle and dispose of materials. The open data philosophy behind the app is Government 2.0 at work. With the release today of San Francisco’s first iPhone app based on a City data feed, recycling just got much easier for our … [continued]
Could the next war be powered by potatoes? The U.S. military is exploring bio-batteries and fuel cells as part of its overall commitment to transformational energy, particularly portable power. To help kick-start the effort, the Department of Defense is soliciting bids for cutting edge bio-battery and fuel cell development through … [continued]
The UK is on target to double its 2010 Kyoto goal!
The UK’s Kyoto target was 12.5 percent by 2010. 23 percent is nearly twice that.
Now Britain is on course to cut its greenhouse gas by about 23 percent by 2010 from the 1990 level — nearly double its target under the Kyoto agreement, the Department of Energy and Climate Change said on Friday.
This 23 percent reduction puts the UK well on the road to its 2020 goal, which is the next target. To meet 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, Britain had to reduce its emissions by 34 percent.
Skins vs. shirts, Army vs. Navy, Spy vs. Spy: now you can add San Francisco vs. Food Scraps to the all-star list of classic matchups. Not satisfied with its stunning recycling rate of 70%, the city of the future is on its way to requiring all residential and commercial building … [continued]
15 year old Javier Fernández-Han invented a truly innovative solution to meeting the basic needs of many of the world’s poor, and won Ashoka’s Invent Your World Challenge with his algae energy system, called VERSATILE. His holistic approach uses an efficient, modular system to meet multiple needs. “An invention that … [continued]
Sometimes the solution to a complicated problem arrives in a simple form, and that’s the case with Hydro International’s Hydro Stormbloc system. The Stormbloc modules look like nothing more than oversized milk crates but they could help some communities finally resolve chronic stormwater flooding problems that have bedeviled them for … [continued]
The Green Mountain Boys are the stuff of legend: Ethan Allen’s rough-and-tumble Revolutionary War volunteers who came down from the mountains of Vermont to capture Fort Ticonderoga and went on to play a central role in the American victory over tyranny. To this day, Vermont’s National Guard carries the Green … [continued]
Where is the grid going, big or small?
