Over at Short Flip there is a nice article on hybrid technologies used in cars.
If you’ve ever wondered what the technology is behind the cars then you should give the article a read.
Environment
Kyoto of Conservation
Internalizing all environment costs into financial terms and developing markets akin to Kyoto is not the preffered solution for many people; but for business its the preffered if not only acceptable option. All future trends point towards this practice increasing. The next major sector after Kyoto is conservation and biodiversity.
Biodiversity conservation markets are still at the conceptual stage and International Finance Corp. officials met industry leaders in Brazil this week to brainstorm on how to make the leap from direct project financing to market-driven incentives.
Knowledge Is Power
An organization called the Environmental Working Group and its group of scientists, engineers, policy experts, lawyers and computer programmers are raising awareness and helping protect the public from hazards in our daily lives. Since 1993 the group has exposed health concerns faced by millions of people through leading investigations and involving the mainstream media. Their site is an amazing database of information and a great way to find out more about the daily products, foods and environmental elements that may be harmful to our health.
For shopping tips, news on recent issues and access to the database you can visit their site.
I Sing the Tree Electric
A company is looking to extract electric power from trees. The company, MagCap Engineering, is actually quite credible, especially if you look at their list of pervious clients which includes British Aerospace.
The engineering company “expects to find investors to help pay for the research needed to figure a way to increase the tree power from less than 2 volts to 12 volts sometime this year, creating an alternative to fossil fuels.” Early “prototypes” are going to be functioning late in 2006.
Tasty New Lobster
A new crustacean discovered in South Pacific waters 7,540 feet deep, 900 miles south of Easter Island resembles a lobster covered with what looks like silky, blond fur, researchers said Tuesday. The animal is white and just shy of 6 inches long — about the size of a salad plate. It has as a “surprising characteristic,” its blind and the animal’s pincers are covered with sinuous, hair-like strands, possibly the animals sensory organ.
Scientists said the animal, which they named Kiwa hirsuta, was so distinct from other species that they created a new family and genus for it. The family was named Kiwaida, from Kiwa, the goddess of crustaceans in Polynesian mythology. The researchers said that while legions of new ocean species are discovered each year, it is quite rare to find one that merits a new family.
The diving expedition was organized by Robert Vrijenhoek of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California.