Author: Adam Clare

Sausage-Shaped Power Generator

waves Ocean Power Delivery is putting a sausage-shaped device that will generate electricity by floating on waves off the coast of Portugal.

“OPD will deliver three wave power generation units with capacity of 2.25 megawatts to Portuguese renewable energy group Enersis for $10 million, but the project could be expanded significantly, Norsk Hydro said.”

OPD is banking on making more of these generators because by 2010 the European Union requires 22 percent of electricity consumption to come from renewable energy sources.

I wonder if the technology behind this wave turbine is similar to what is being done in San Francisco.

Thanks to mkb for finding this good news!

Eat Like a Greek and Remember

A Mediterranean diet can help to fend off Alzheimer’s, according to a well-researched study. The diet is low in red meat and high in oils and lots of fruits and vegetables.

“In accordance with our previous results,” the authors wrote,” the associations between Mediterranean diet and Alzheimer’s disease remain unchanged and significant even when simultaneously adjusting for the most commonly considered potential confounders for Alzheimer’s disease, such as age, sex, ethnicity, education, APOE genotype, caloric intake, and BMI. Higher adherence to Mediterranean diet reduced risk for probable Alzheimer’s disease either with or without coexisting stroke.”

Water from Air

A company has created a way to extract water from plain old air. This is a great tool to help people in areas where water is scarce or hard to make potable. It can be a great help in areas hit by a disaster too.

“We figured out how to tap it in a very unique and proprietary way,” Sher said. “We figured out how to mimic nature, using natural salt to extract water and act as a natural decontamination.

“Think of the Dead Sea, where nothing grows around it because the salt dehydrates everything. It’s kind of like that.”

The 20-foot machine can churn out 600 gallons of water a day without using or producing toxic materials and byproducts. The machine was displayed on Capitol Hill last week where a half-dozen lawmakers and some staffers stopped by for a drink.

“It was very interesting to see the technology in action and learn about its possible implementation in natural disasters,” said Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr., a Republican from Florida whose hurricane-prone district includes Fort Lauderdale.

The research and development into this technology was need-driven by the US Army wanting a way to keep soldiers fueled to fight. It’s unfortunate that this device is created out of a need to kill than a need to help live. That being said, this technology has lots of potential to help many people in need around the world.

Secret Rooms Gain Popularity

shhhhThe New York Times is running a story about the growing popularity of installing a
secret room into houses. I’ve always wanted a secret hideaway room that has the bat computer and a map printed on the floor.

““Most people don’t even recognize that it’s there,” said her father, Eric Beghou, who owns a consulting company with his wife, Beth. “When the home inspector came by to examine the house, our builder shut the bookcase, hiding the room. The inspector went up and down the stairs a couple times — he knew that something was unusual — but he couldn’t figure out what was there.”

Soon, however, inspectors and other guests may get wise to hidden rooms like the Beghous’. Although hard data is not available, architects report an increase over the last five years in the number of clients installing concealed rooms.”