Bill Kemp – Lifeboat News: The Blog https://lifeboat.com/blog Safeguarding Humanity Sun, 21 Oct 2018 01:18:28 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 Asteroid mining might actually be better for the environment https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/asteroid-mining-might-actually-be-better-for-the-environment Sun, 21 Oct 2018 01:18:28 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/asteroid-mining-might-actually-be-better-for-the-environment

The first study of its environmental impact suggests that extracting resources such as platinum from asteroids might be cleaner than doing so on Earth.

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Construction using concrete reinforced with renewable materials https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/construction-using-concrete-reinforced-with-renewable-materials Fri, 19 Oct 2018 14:03:58 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/construction-using-concrete-reinforced-with-renewable-materials

A new tool using data and AI is hoping to better predict famine and help millions experiencing food insecurity.

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A new cermet that could provide a better heat exchange for solar power plants https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/a-new-cermet-that-could-provide-a-better-heat-exchange-for-solar-power-plants Fri, 19 Oct 2018 14:03:43 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/a-new-cermet-that-could-provide-a-better-heat-exchange-for-solar-power-plants

Six-hundred million people in Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity. To meet these power needs, a mix of large public-run utility grids and standalone systems will be necessary for universal access in the region. Governments, aid organizations, and scientists are working to understand which electricity grid solution would be most cost-effective and reliable across urban, peri-urban, and rural areas.

Standalone, or “decentralized” electricity systems—most often solar power with battery storage—are usually thought to be too expensive compared to large state-run grids in all but the most remote locations. However, declining costs of solar and new battery technologies are changing the best pathways to deliver reliable power to people that currently lack access to electricity. New UC Berkeley research published today in Nature Energy finds that decentralized electricity systems in sub-saharan Africa can be designed for extremely high reliability, and that this may come at remarkably low costs in the future.

Jonathan Lee, a Ph.D. candidate in the Energy and Resources Group (ERG) and Associate Professor Duncan Callaway worked with more than 10 years of solar data from NASA and developed an optimization that determines the lowest cost way to build a standalone system given component costs and a target reliability. At current costs, their model indicates that most regions in Sub-Saharan Africa can get 95% reliable power—meaning customers can use electricity from some combination of solar panels and batteries 95% of the time—for roughly USD$0.40 per kWh. Though that cost is high relative to current costs, their model indicates that with aggressive but plausible future cost declines in decentralized system costs, largely in batteries, these costs would drop to levels competitive with the grid in many parts of the continent in less than a decade.

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Tesla aims for new neural net computer in production in 6 months, results in 500‑2000% increase in ops/sec, says Elon Musk https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/tesla-aims-for-new-neural-net-computer-in-production-in-6-months-results-in-500-2000-increase-in-ops-sec-says-elon-musk Tue, 16 Oct 2018 15:03:04 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/tesla-aims-for-new-neural-net-computer-in-production-in-6-months-results-in-500-2000-increase-in-ops-sec-says-elon-musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk updated the timeline to release the company’s new neural net computer, which they claimed will be the ‘world’s most advanced computer for autonomous driving’.

They are now aiming for the new computer to be in production in about 6 months and it could result in a 500‑2000% increase in operation per second, according to Musk.

The release of this new computer with Tesla’s own AI chip would be the culmination of a long project that Tesla started about 3 years ago as it anticipated a need for more computing power in its vehicles.

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Printable solar materials could soon turn many parts of a house into solar panels https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/printable-solar-materials-could-soon-turn-many-parts-of-a-house-into-solar-panels Tue, 16 Oct 2018 14:03:18 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/printable-solar-materials-could-soon-turn-many-parts-of-a-house-into-solar-panels

New houses could soon deliver on a long-awaited promise and incorporate windows or roof tiles that harvest solar energy, research conducted at KAUST suggests.

Derya Baran, at the KAUST Solar Center, and her colleagues have developed a photovoltaic organic material that captures light efficiently and that potentially could be coated on building .

Traditional roof-mounted solar panels are made from slabs of silicon, but can also capture energy from sunlight. These molecules could be formulated as inexpensive printable inks that are applied to regular building components such as windows. Turning sunlight into electricity is a multistep process, and the key to developing high-performance has been to find organic molecules that are good at every step, Baran explains.

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Independent solar power could offer reliable electricity to sub-saharan Africa https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/independent-solar-power-could-offer-reliable-electricity-to-sub-saharan-africa Tue, 16 Oct 2018 14:03:04 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/independent-solar-power-could-offer-reliable-electricity-to-sub-saharan-africa

Six-hundred million people in Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity. To meet these power needs, a mix of large public-run utility grids and standalone systems will be necessary for universal access in the region. Governments, aid organizations, and scientists are working to understand which electricity grid solution would be most cost-effective and reliable across urban, peri-urban, and rural areas.

Standalone, or “decentralized” electricity systems—most often solar power with battery storage—are usually thought to be too expensive compared to large state-run grids in all but the most remote locations. However, declining costs of solar and new battery technologies are changing the best pathways to deliver reliable power to people that currently lack access to electricity. New UC Berkeley research published today in Nature Energy finds that decentralized electricity systems in sub-saharan Africa can be designed for extremely high reliability, and that this may come at remarkably low costs in the future.

Jonathan Lee, a Ph.D. candidate in the Energy and Resources Group (ERG) and Associate Professor Duncan Callaway worked with more than 10 years of solar data from NASA and developed an optimization that determines the lowest cost way to build a standalone system given component costs and a target reliability. At current costs, their model indicates that most regions in Sub-Saharan Africa can get 95% reliable power—meaning customers can use electricity from some combination of solar panels and batteries 95% of the time—for roughly USD$0.40 per kWh. Though that cost is high relative to current costs, their model indicates that with aggressive but plausible future cost declines in decentralized system costs, largely in batteries, these costs would drop to levels competitive with the grid in many parts of the continent in less than a decade.

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Geoengineering will happen, China controlling rain across Tibet https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/geoengineering-will-happen-china-controlling-rain-across-tibet Mon, 15 Oct 2018 17:23:46 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/geoengineering-will-happen-china-controlling-rain-across-tibet

The initiation of geoengineering will not involve a global public debate or vote.

Do not bother having debates about if or will we use geoengineering. The best thing is to work out the best combination of approaches to make it work the best way possible and minimize side effects. We will probably end up learning a fair bit after we start implementing.

China controls weather and will not blink before starting geoengineering when they think it is needed.

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Mercedes-Benz breaks ground on new battery factory for electric vehicles in the US https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/mercedes-benz-breaks-ground-on-new-battery-factory-for-electric-vehicles-in-the-us Mon, 08 Oct 2018 15:42:41 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/mercedes-benz-breaks-ground-on-new-battery-factory-for-electric-vehicles-in-the-us

Mercedes-Benz makes good on its previously announced $1 billion investment to bring electric vehicle manufacturing in the US – starting with breaking ground on a new battery factory in Alabama.

Last week, the German automaker held a ceremony to launch the construction of the factory, which is located seven miles from the Mercedes-Benz Cars vehicle production site in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Markus Schäfer, Member of the Divisional Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain, attended the ceremony:

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Automation doesn’t always mean job cuts https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/automation-doesnt-always-mean-job-cuts Mon, 08 Oct 2018 15:42:26 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/automation-doesnt-always-mean-job-cuts

Artificial intelligence and robots are helping Swiss industry to shape up.

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Company that sucks CO2 from air announces a new methane-producing plant https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/company-that-sucks-co2-from-air-announces-a-new-methane-producing-plant Fri, 05 Oct 2018 14:42:56 +0000 https://lifeboat.com/blog/2018/10/company-that-sucks-co2-from-air-announces-a-new-methane-producing-plant

Company says net negative emissions need to start now to limit global warming.

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