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Archive for the ‘sustainability’ category: Page 337

Jun 3, 2021

[Video] Inside Asia’s first underground seed vault

Posted by in categories: climatology, sustainability

https://youtube.com/watch?v=vgGi3a84fwM

But the above-ground structure of the Baekdu-daegan Seed Vault belies the true size of this sprawling underground structure.

The idea of building a Seed Vault in South Korea initially began with the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing in 2010. Officially launched in 2016 and designated a national security facility since 2019, the Baekdu-daegan Seed Vault’s main purpose is to secure biodiversity from threats such as natural disasters, climate change and war, to support sustainable life for human beings.

Continue reading “[Video] Inside Asia’s first underground seed vault” »

Jun 3, 2021

Chinese fusion reactor sets world record

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, physics, sustainability

China has announced a milestone in the development of clean, sustainable energy by setting a new world record for the longest duration of temperatures needed for fusion to occur.

The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) located in Hefei, Anhui Province, is the successor to HT-7, China’s first superconducting tokamak, which retired in 2013. The Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HIPS) is conducting the experiment for the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Professor Gong Xianzu, a researcher at the CAS Institute of Plasma Physics (IPP) who is leading the project, announced the breakthrough. The reactor achieved not one but two milestones. Firstly it reached a plasma temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius for 101 seconds. This is 20% hotter and five times longer than last year, when EAST managed 100 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds. Secondly, it reached an even higher peak temperature of 160 million degrees Celsius, lasting for 20 seconds.

Jun 3, 2021

Elon Musk Files Trademark Papers For Tesla Restaurant: Report

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, food, law, sustainability

The applications are for trademarks for the company’s ‘T’ logo design “and two other iterations of ‘Tesla’ stylised logo for use in the food industry”, the report said.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

As per the report, the three applications are for “restaurant services, pop-up restaurant services, self-service restaurant services, take-out restaurant services” and are filed under a trademark law provision indicating that Tesla intends to use, but has not done so yet.

Jun 3, 2021

Tesla Model S Plaid achieves new quarter-mile world record in 9.2 seconds

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

Family sedan breaks speed record.


The new Tesla Model S Plaid has reportedly achieved a new quarter-mile world record with a 9.2-second run, according to Jay Leno, who was at the racetrack for the record attempt.

After several months of delays, Tesla is apparently finally going to start deliveries of the new and updated Model S next week, including the new top performance Plaid version.

Continue reading “Tesla Model S Plaid achieves new quarter-mile world record in 9.2 seconds” »

Jun 1, 2021

Hands-free farming just a robotic arm’s length away

Posted by in categories: food, robotics/AI, sustainability

Robots and artificial intelligence will replace workers on Australia’s first fully automated farm created at a cost of $20 million.

Jun 1, 2021

BYD Wins Major Order For 79 Electric Buses In Sweden

Posted by in category: sustainability

BYD has received this month a new, major order for a total of 79 electric buses from Bergkvarabuss in Sweden.

Jun 1, 2021

Instacart Bets on Robots to Shrink Ranks of 500,000 Gig Shoppers

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, sustainability

Instacart wants to replace army of gig shoppers with robots.


(Bloomberg) — Instacart Inc. has an audacious plan to replace its army of gig shoppers with robots—part of a long-term strategy to cut costs and put its relationship with supermarket chains on a sustainable footing.

Jun 1, 2021

Tesla files trademark for restaurant services

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, food, sustainability

Tesla has filed a new trademark for its brand under restaurant services as the automaker is expected to expand amenities around its charging infrastructure, including actual restaurants.

At face value, Tesla doesn’t seem to have much to do with the restaurant industry, but the automaker has actually been talking about going into the food industry for a while.

In 2018, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla plans to open an “old-school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in Los Angeles.”

May 30, 2021

New state of matter unlocks a secret of perovskite solar cells

Posted by in categories: chemistry, solar power, sustainability

Perovskite solar cells are advancing at a rapid rate, and is drawing interest from scientists working to not just boost their performance but better understand how they offer such incredible, ever-increasing efficiencies. By turning their tools to perovskite crystals scientists have discovered unexpected behavior that represents an entirely new state of matter, which they say can help drive the development of advanced solar cells and other optical and electronic devices.

One of the reasons there is such interest around perovskite solar cells is the counter-intuitive way they are able to offer such excellent performance in spite of defects in their crystal structure. While much research focuses on fixing these defects to boost their efficiency, through chemical treatments, molecular glue or even sprinklings of chili compounds, the fact remains that the material is a far more effective semiconductor than it should be.

“Historically, people have been using bulk semiconductors that are perfect crystals,” says senior author Patanjali Kambhampati, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at McGill University. “And now, all of a sudden, this imperfect, soft crystal starts to work for semiconductor applications, from photovoltaics to LEDs. That’s the starting point for our research: how can something that’s defective work in a perfect way?”

May 30, 2021

Trillions of pounds of trash: New technology tries to solve an old garbage problem

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, sustainability

The recycling industry has struggled with a trillion-pound global landfill issue, but breakthrough plastic package replacements and recycling robots are here.