Garbage in, clean water & electricity out

Two things the developing world needs: clean water & electricity.

Not quite so obvious is sanitation. In the developing world, toilets are typically pits, which cause groundwater contamination. Pump out is expensive.

Solution: Kanicki Omni Processor


That's Bill Gates checking the water

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/futuretense/waste/6494606

http://janickibioenergy.com/ / humans wasteful lot recycling industry discard repurpose wasteful our own waste sewage problem unpleasant by-product of life disposed of rich source of fuel energy fertilizer drinking water projects turn human waste economic resource mounting waste problem rapid urbanisation Bill Gates access to safe sanitation brilliant engineers solve problem solution waste valuable Janicki Omni Processor sewer sludge nasty clean drinking water electricity ash pathogen free sludge enters the machine conveyor belt large tubes drier boil the sludge Antony Funnell billionaire philanthropist promotional video new waste treatment machine Omni Processor human waste problem future resource Aaron Janicki energy in the sewage additional energy from garbage waste streams power burns firebox boils water steam engine powers the plant Aaron Janicki Janicki Bioenergy developed machine energy steam engine dry the sewage boils vapour recovered filtered cleaned aerated extremely high quality drinking water five minutes process start to finish prototype deployed into the field commercialising the technology rank ordering priority most impact receive financing business model Omni Processor sanitation industry cost centre government profit centre running owning technology innovative owner of the technology work financially running technically benefit financially Omni Processor produces 70,000 litres per day service 35,000 people drinking water every day turning human waste into water electricity converting sewage into fertiliser /

YotaPhone 2 — a phone with 2 screens

Credit: YotaPhone/Indiegogo

Medium to high-end smartphones have brilliant, sharp, colourful screens. Most users place a high value on the quality of the screen. But such brilliance is not without cost: battery consumption & poor visibility in direct sunlight.

In contrast to the screen technologies used in smart phones, there are black-&-white displays which consume much less power, require no backlight & are not compromised by direct sunlight.

popSLATE is a case for the iPhone which contains a monochrome E-Ink screen. E-Ink is superior for specific purposes, such as:
● decorative — protective phone cases often have a decorative image — popSLATE can have one that can be changed as often as desired, & the display only consumes power when it changes
● any other display which is required for an extended period — speaking notes, lists, directions, e-reader — can be displayed without the battery drain of the main screen
● any display which must be viewed in direct sunlight

popSLATE is compromised because, as an add-on, it’s functionality is limited.

YotaPhone released its first dual screen phone last year. Having been designed with the two screens in mind , it made better use of the second screen than an add-on device could hope to do, but was still limited.

As a second generation device, YotaPhone 2 makes all the functions of its Android operating system available on both screens. It's available via Indiegogo:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/yotaphone-2-world-s-first-dual-screen-smartphone#/story

Android Authority


http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/5/7338753/yotaphone-2-hands-on-preview

http://www.engadget.com/2014/12/03/yotaphone-2-review/ / world's first dual-screen always-on smartphone customizable always-on screen hands-free messaging notifications electronic book E-reading up to 100 hours on a single charge Android functionality both screens first dual-screen mobile in the world features OS Android smartphone benefits Electronic Paper Display E-Ink screen consumers EPD Electronic Paper Display always consumes less energy readable even in the brightest sunshine Facebook Twitter news RSS-feeds blogs email messaging one device smartphone e-reader Yotaphone 2 measures battery life Five days reading on a single charge 2 days of basic smartphone functions YotaEnergy app YotaPhone2 EPD customize touch screen full-touch EPD display create multiple dashboards widgets bumper case wireless charger /

Solar Impulse Pacific crossing — take off 18:00 UTC today

Credit: Solar Impulse/Inhabitat

Solar Impulse II is attempting an around-the-world flight.

After waiting in Nanjing, since 21 April, for the right weather window, the plan is for Solar Impulse II to take off at 18:00 UTC today, 30 May. Next stop Hawaii. Expected flight time: 120 hours (5 days, & nights), non-stop. Auto pilot is fitted, but the single pilot is allowed only 20 minutes sleep at a time.

Solar Impulse web site
http://www.solarimpulse.com/

Live cockpit display
http://www.solarimpulse.com/widget-aircraft / solar cell photovoltaic photo-voltaic photo voltaic PV battery LiIon lithium ion adventure Solar Impulse solar power sun-powered airplane night flight in 2010 intercontinental journey cross-country trip Swiss André Borschberg Bertrand Piccard Solar Impulse 2 aircraft solar airplane journey five consecutive days nights continent fuel prototype broke world records solar-powered flight Borschberg Piccard next big challenge world around entire planet bigger Solar Impulse difficulties arduous trip across America USA design complex simulations test flights first prototype new technologies electrolytes energy density batteries nanotechnologies carbon fibers lighter in weight Solar Impulse website altitude energy storage store /

How much coffee do you drink? How much caffeine?

Caffeine content of coffee is not a standard unit. Variables include:
• instant generally contains less caffeine than fresh
• type of coffee bean
• grinding
• how the coffee was made e.g. filter verses percolated
• where it was made

Where it was made? In 2005, a university study measured the caffeine content of 97 short blacks from restaurants on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The strongest sample contained nearly nine times as much caffeine as the weakest.

Ben Desbrow et al: "An examination of consumer exposure to caffeine from retail coffee outlets": http://www.academia.edu/1879395/An_examination_of_consumer_exposure_to_caffeine_from_retail_coffee_outlets / caffeine coffee variability consumer exposure objective analyse distribution caffeine doses obtainable espresso coffee sold sample commercial coffee vendors Gold Coast Qld Australia design espresso short black coffee samples purchased analysed caffeine content micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography MEKC coffees systematic cluster sampling five major retail centres centers results ninety-seven espresso samples analysed considerable variation caffeine content range per serve concentration range contained 120 mg caffeine samples exceeded 167 mg per serve conclusions implications heavily caffeinated samples findings frequently cited caffeine values similar data recently collected accuracy previous intake modelling regarding caffeine use Australian population probability consumer exposure high caffeine doses greater sample numbers variability variance within retail ground coffees caffe latte caffè caffé lattè latté mocha cappuccino ground coffee beans brewing dripfilter French press cafetière percolator /

Meet the man who steals your Instagram photos & sells them for $90,000

Credit: Richard Prince/Gagosian Gallery/Boy Genius Report

Recipe for success as an artist:

● capture photographs from Instagram
● make some minor adjustments to the image (optional)
● add a comment in the style of Instagram
● print as in the image above
● sell for ~$90,000

http://bgr.com/2015/05/26/instagram-prints-photos-richard-prince-art/ / pretentious nonsense posts online permanently etched on the Internet tweet photo digital existence sharing items photos friends concerns about privacy profiting from your personal photos dynamics Richard Prince “artist” skill set photographing other people’s photographs adjusting them slightly selling enormous profit Prince’s most recent exhibit New York City Gagosian Gallery lifted without permission notice Instagram “art” finding photos of women on Instagram blowing photos up 6 ft tall prints 48×65 selling them for a hefty profit adjustment photos photograph fake Instagram comment username richardprince1234 emoji talent Instagram photos random individuals $90,000 sale sold 90 large comically comical Instagram user sued before copyright infringement photographer Patrick Cariou sued Prince stole Cariou’s photos most minor adjustments gallery displayed $10 million settling suit Federal Appeals Court in 2013 constituted fair use subtle undercurrent of pretentious nonsense rationalize Prince’s work as art Guggenheim curator Nancy Spector /

Waste heat can be recovered as relatively green energy

“Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we've been ignorant of their value.” — R. Buckminster Fuller — http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rbuckmins101926.html

Not normally considered a “pollutant”, but data centres spend a great deal of money on infrastructure, energy & other running costs to remove the heat produced by servers. In accordance with the advice of Buckminster Fuller, above, heat in data centres is coming to be seen as a resource:

http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2011/03/18/energy-efficiency-guide-heat-recycling/

A startup in the Netherlands has plans to move servers to homes for heating:

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098438_computers-to-heat-your-home-startup-nerdalize-distributes-server-farms-to-dutch-residences

Poultry & pig farmers can reduce energy bills by 65% by capturing waste heat:

http://www.worldpoultry.net/Broilers/Housing/2014/10/Re-using-heat-reduces-energy-bill-by-65-1621821W/

Refineries & incinerators:

http://www.howwegettonext.com/Article/VMJq9ysAAJBS0upw/gothenburgs-heating-grid-transforms-garbage-into-warmth#.VWQuyzY4bTY

Even heat from the water in your shower:

http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/save-dollars-planet-with-ecodrain-video.html / Swedish city Gothenburg electrical grid heat pipes warm water refineries incinerators apartment buildings city cheap green heating winter temperatures drop below freezing several months of the year Nordic countries Manhattan’s iconic steam system district heating Sheffield Southampton Nottingham Britain warm parts city center waste incinerators connected hot water networks scope expansion industry London wastes enough heat to supply 70 percent calefaction needs heat energy energy waste wasted circulating Jonas Cognell Göteborg Energi municipally owned company network pipes Sweden major industrial areas oil refinery port Finnish energy giant ST1 waste incinerator operated local recycling company Renova extracts heat city’s sewer system Renova’s plant incinerates household trash recycled burning 535,000 tonnes plant maze of piping cleaning waste burned treat the waste energy recovered heating electricity fossil fuels Christian Löwhagen Renova positive for the environment landfill plant productive Gothenburg waste combustible waste extra capacity good business positive effect environment British landfill Löwhagen 1,778,000 megawatt-hours megaWatt hours MWh Gothenburg’s district heating system waste-to-energy incineration recycling Sweden recycles waste network of pipes network system interconnected harvesting heat from heavy industry waste heat district heating network renewable biomass burning gas-fired cogeneration plant produces power electricity fossil fuels high proportion industrial waste heat far lower prices distribution systems Sweden more expensive Europe European waste heat reuse energy wasted improving study visits plant technology /

Dumbing down Australia — the view from Bloomberg

“Having this reliance on the bottom end of the economy, like small businesses, is a short-term fix,” said Andrew Hughes, a lecturer at the College of Business and Economics at Australian National University. “Cutting back on research is insanity.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-25/australia-dumbs-down-as-government-bets-on-baristas-over-brains / ANU Australia betting on plumbers coffee-shop owners scientists researchers drive nation’s next wave of economic growth refrigerators black-box flight recorders bionic ears Wi-Fi cut research budget tax cuts write-offs this year’s budget small firms buy equipment espresso machines lawnmowers plan build stronger more prosperous Australia government reducing spending budget shortfalls 30 percent drop in commodity prices end mining investment boom small businesses lifted consumer confidence boosted shares of retailers Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. JB Hi-Fi Ltd. reliance on the bottom end of the economy small businesses short-term fix Andrew Hughes lecturer College of Business and Economics at Australian National University Cutting back on research is insanity counting on Calculators Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD Australia scientific enterprise transition into technology innovation and development Chief Scientist Ian Chubb declining levels of participation science mathematics students calculators jobs equire an understanding of science Australian school students underperform science mathematics tests high-income economy in Asia New Zealand 34-nation OECD power brains market China India Japan South Korea spend so much more research development think long-term global Innovation Industry and Science Minister Ian Macfarlane ranked 81st out of 143 global innovation efficiency measure, putting it close to average turning ideas to our advantage spending A$9 billion ($7 billion) a year on science budget shortfall predicted tax revenue collapse in iron ore prices low wage growth researcher Danielle Edwards A$385,000 research grant in Australia little prospect of further employment in her native country losing talent through lack of investment left science country government needs reverse job cuts to its national science agency CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation better investment in science help future productivity James Harrison built the world’s first practical commercial refrigerator 1854 1990s of Wi-Fi John O’Sullivan’s radio-astronomy team CSIRO, Australia turning inventions into commercial successes bottom seven countries government spending research and development proportion of gross domestic product GDP OECD scoreboard lower-skilled careers employment Singapore South Korea students skipping university Singapore increasing R&D spending manufacturing shutdown stimulating economic renewal invest wealth-generating activities higher education research innovation /