Carbon Trust grants £1m to boost low carbon technologies

The seven projects to receive funding from the Carbon Trust are: * Aluminium smelting technology with the potential to reduce energy consumption by up to 20% – Coventry University* Technology to explode paint into moulds, eliminating the need for paint shops in the manufacture of plastic components – Warwick Manufacturing Group* Energy efficient kilns, which … Read more

HOW MANY POLITICIANS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?

On April 12 the Ellsworth (Maine) American reported that an Ellsworth housewife, Brandy Bridges, dropped and shattered a fluorescent tube-bulb on the carpeted floor in her daughter’s bedroom. Aware that compact fluorescent light bulbs [CFLs) are potentially hazardous, Bridges called the local Home Depot store to ask for advise. Home Depot told her that the … Read more

Disintrested Architects

Fewer than one percent of architects in the latest survey of the American Institute of Architects (500 of 58,000 members) listed affordable housing as a primary interest. It takes vision, innovation, and dedication to reconcile good environmental practices with cost-consciousness. Knitting person-centered and earth-conscious values together with affordability and universal access is not unattainable or … Read more

Easing the Carbon Wing-Print

The UK government is forecasting that aviation could account for around 21 per cent of Britain’s total carbon emissions by 2050. As demand for air travel soars so will the carbon ‘wing-print.’ Thankfully, the aviation industry is starkly aware of its responsibilities and major players in the East of England are piloting initiatives designed to … Read more

Demand-Side Irrigation

Current irrigation practices are based on supply-side public water principles. Irrigation systems are designed by engineers to supply water to irrigate fields at a scheduled frequency to support plant growth. By disregarding the demand of the crops this model often over-irrigates and frequently causes water logging and groundwater contamination. The principle of the demand-side crop … Read more

Simulated Crops Provide Answers to Irrigation Problems

Scientists at Oklahoma State University, the Punjab Agricultural University, and Texas A&M have investigated the use of alternative cropping systems to reduce irrigation water use and improve environmental conditions in a study funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). A simulation model was used (CropMan) to assess the biological structures, processes and economic practicality … Read more

Water: Waste Not, Want Not

The water shortage is becoming an increasingly worrying crisis. As the situation grows ever more acute, it is feared that water will once again become a cause of disputes and that there could even be wars over water resources. Even before the State of Israel was founded, its leaders realized that in order to ensure … Read more

The Entrepreneur: Bringing Innovation to Life

As the global economy continues to evolve, scientific discovery, technological invention and commercial innovation are fast becoming the hallmarks of our socioeconomic well-being. Although, transforming science into technology can be fraught with intimidating doses of hard work and hard thinking, the hard truth of the matter is that bringing technology to the marketplace is just … Read more