Motorola has invested in a micro-fuel cell developer called Tekion. Banking on their ability to produce a fuel cell to power portable devices such as laptops, cell phones and music players, Motorola has taken a big step towards reducing the amount of batteries that hit landfills (and thus the water cycle) everyday.
Environment
Wild Salmon Find A Voice
Well not the salmon themselves per say, but in the hit series Boston Public where over 15 million viewers recently watched an episode which spoke about the issues of salmon farming and its effects on wild salmon populations. Using humour and drama, the hit series had three clear messages including how sea lice from salmon farms are threatening BC’s wild salmon, solutions to the problem and how to learn if you are in fact eating farmed salmon at a restaurant or from a fish market.
From the show…….
Alan Shore: Oh my God. This book! The Stain Upon the Sea. It’s all about these sea lice.
Denny Crane: Interesting.
Alan Shore: They call them cling-ons.
Denny Crane: Did you say Klingons?
Alan Shore: They really could wipe out salmon if something isn’t done.
It’s nice to see television making statements that can help spread awareness on important issues such as these. To learn more about the impacts of salmon farms on the natural environment you can check out this site.
Hello Mars!
The planet Mars made it’s closest pass by Earth in 60,000 years in late August this year. The red planet will be taking another close swing by Earth this week-end so those with telescopes might want to take a look. This week-end Mars will be closer to Earth by about 3 times it’s average distance to us.
Mars is the planet in the sky that is most similar to Earth and many scientists believe it is possible that life once flourished there. Many astrologists believe that Mars’ force encourages fierce compassion, aggression, heat, feistiness, courage, and passion, which happen to be some pretty interesting characteristics for days that fall on this years Halloween week-end.
So if you get the chance this week-end maybe you could look up! And fantasize about martians. Who knows. One may even come to your door.
To see more pix of the planet you can go HERE.
Zero-Energy Homes Become Practical for Rich
Previously shunned by the vast majority of people in the developed world, zero-energy housing is gaining in popularity. California (of course) is on the forefront of this trend. Newsweek has more to say about lowering the energy cost in new houses.
“Aside from the bright patch of solar modules on the roof, Premier Gardens looks like a community of conventional homes. But inside, it’s clear why they save energy.”
The zero-energy home is also making headway in Canada has a housing developer recently announced a new green development in the Toronto area.
Standard Offer Contracts for Renewable Energy
The Ontario Government funded the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) to review the impacts and benefits of adopting a Standard Offer Contract (SOC) system similar to many countries in the European Union. Germany, Denmark and Spain have phenomenal sucess with this system, as evident by these countries high percentage of electricity from renewable energy sources and growth in renewable energy investment.
Currently Ontario uses a very complex and very competative tender system that discourages any but the larger corporations, scaring away many potential investors. Furthermore, the government has to fairly weigh and analyze all submission, at significant cost.
The OSEA report demonstrates that SOC’s eliminate these difficulties by granting approval to any project from any investor (go farmers!) while gauranting a higher than market price for the energy from these renewable energy projects. The application process is significantly streamlined and there are not limits on the number of renewable energy projects, giving renewable energy technologies one advantage over their fossil fuel counterparts.