Technology

Apps for Climate Action

- Adam Clare

The provincial government of British Columbia intimated a contest that had people submit their software programs that could help protect the environment. Some of these apps are really great and it’s great to see BC researching this sort of thing!

The Apps for Climate Action Contest challenged Canadian software developers to raise awareness of climate change and inspire action to reduce carbon pollution by using data in new applications for the web and mobile devices.

A leader in climate action, the Government of B.C. created a catalogue of its best climate and greenhouse gas emission data.

Developers used this data to design fun and innovative climate action apps.

Check it out there official Apps for Climate Change site.

Here’s an example of an app listed on the site:

Data Set(s) used: 1. Impacts & Environmental Change, Weather and Climate,Climate BC, UBC 2. Annual & seasonal precipitation (Wet Years) Canadian Atmospheric Hazards Network 3. Ground Water Wells – GeoBC
Summary: One way to prepare for the effects of global warming on water supply is to capture and save rain water running off of our roofs. This app allows you to calculate how much rainfall you can capture in a year by calculating the area of your roof.
Close
Description: Lack of water due to global warming, especially on areas that rely on well water.
What types of people and/or organizations do you expect to use the App?
The general public.
How does the App help address climate change or promote climate action?
The app raises awareness of the potential rainwater harvesting can have on preparing for the impacts of climate change

Sustainable Plastics Made From Algae

- Dan Harrison 1 Comment

Green plastics? Yes please! Bioplastics manufacturer Cereplast has developed a way to produce plastics with algae. By using dehydrated algae who’s natural oils have been extracted for fuel, Cereplast has managed to develop plastic products with properties very similar to traditional polymers.

While developing the plastic, Cereplast is also determining how this plastic mix could be recycled effectively.

Using algae wouldn’t affect food crops the way other bioplastics made from corn and starches could if they were massively scaled up. The process complements algae fuel production instead of competing with it.

[Cereplast founder and CEO Frederic Scheer] said that artificially-grown high-yield algae crops can be harvested after two months.

This would mean that even in small batches, the cost per pound of algae plastic is expected to beat out traditional plastics, too.

Read the whole article here.

Soldiers to Use Virtual Reality

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

Canadian soldiers returning from the war in Afghanistan will soon be using virtual reality to help recover from the survivable wounds of war. It should only be a matter of time before others are able to access this advanced technology too.

People learning to use an artificial limb or recovering from a stroke will be able to walk, drive or even swim through a variety of virtual environments without leaving the safety of the hospital — almost like on the holodeck of the fictional Starship Enterprise.
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“With [post-traumatic stress disorder], the therapy is often on reintroduction of the scenarios that caused it in the first place,” he said.

“With this, you can virtually create the scenario that caused it in the first place — whether it’s on the battlefield, a car accident — and gently re-introduce the individual. That’s what allows a person to get back into their real life without the fear of constant flashbacks.

Read more at the CBC.

Maybe in the future soldiers can use virtual reality to fight their wars in.

Using Trees To Provide Clean Water.

- Dan Harrison

It turns out that trees can do more than just provide power! The Moringa tree, which grows in Africa, India, South East Asia, and Central and South America, is drought resistant and capable of producing cooking and lighting oil, soil fertilizer, and nutritious food.  In addition, it has be recently publicized that the seeds can reduce the bacteria count in previously untreated water by 90.00 – 99.99%! Although the process can be quite involved, it still has the potential to allow people to have unrestrained access to clean water.

Read a bit more at Gizmag.com, or read the entire article as published in Current Protocols in Microbiology.

Renewable Energy in China is Booming

- Adam Clare 12 Comments

When most people think of China and energy coal generally comes to mind, indeed China is the world’s biggest user of coal for energy. That may not change anytime soon but what the Chinese government is doing now is expanding their renewable power and becoming the world’s largest exporter of renewable technology. We can all benefit from increased use of renewable energy even if it just offsets new coal power plants from being built.

China has also leapfrogged the West in the last two years to emerge as the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels. And the country is pushing equally hard to build nuclear reactors and the most efficient types of coal power plants.

These efforts to dominate renewable energy technologies raise the prospect that the West may someday trade its dependence on oil from the Mideast for a reliance on solar panels, wind turbines and other gear manufactured in China.
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China’s top leaders are intensely focused on energy policy: on Wednesday, the government announced the creation of a National Energy Commission composed of cabinet ministers as a “superministry” led by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao himself.

Regulators have set mandates for power generation companies to use more renewable energy. Generous subsidies for consumers to install their own solar panels or solar water heaters have produced flurries of activity on rooftops across China.

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