Lifeboat Foundation

Whether or not Blue Origin puts a lander on the Moon, it might play a key role in sustaining lunar operations. Jeff Bezos’ spaceflight company has revealed that it can produce solar cells and transmission wire using simulated Moon regolith. The firm’s Blue Alchemist technique uses molten electrolysis to separate the lunar soil’s aluminum, iron and silicon from bound oxygen to extract key materials. The process can build solar cells, cover glass and aluminum wire using only sunlight and the reactor’s silicon.

This approach would not only save explorers the trouble of importing material, but would be kinder to both the Moon and Earth. There are no carbon-based emissions, no chemicals and no need for water. The resulting solar cells can operate on the Moon for over a decade despite a “harsh” environment, Blue Origin claims.

As Ars Technica explains, Blue Origin is pitching this as a solution for NASA’s Artemis program and missions to Mars. The space agency could establish bases or other long-term installations while minimizing the environmental impact. While the concept of using regolith to build outposts isn’t new, earlier efforts have largely focused on habitats rather than the power supplying those off-world facilities.

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Researchers have created a solar-powered device that can pull water from the air to create hydrogen.

That’s the premise of Yi Zheng’s new invention. The associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern has created a sustainable material that can be used to make buildings or other objects able to keep cool without relying on conventional cooling systems.

Circa: 2021

MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng developed a “cooling paper” that could help cool the air in homes and businesses without the use of electricity.

Continue reading “Using Recycled Paper to Cool the Air” »

Scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science found that some reefs in the tropical Pacific Ocean could maintain high coral cover into the second half of this century by shuffling the symbiotic algae they host. The findings offer a ray of hope in an often-dire picture of the future of coral reefs worldwide.

While global warming is causing the loss of coral reefs globally, scientists believe that some corals are increasing their tolerance to heat by changing the symbiotic algae communities they host, which through photosynthesis provide them with the energy they need to live.

“Our results suggest that some reefs in the eastern tropical Pacific, which includes the Pacific coasts of Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Colombia, might be able to maintain high coral cover through the 2060s,” said coral biologist Ana Palacio-Castro, lead author of the study, alumna of the Rosenstiel School, and a postdoctoral associate at the school’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies. “However, while this may be seen as good news for these reefs, their survival may not continue past that date unless we reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and curtail global warming on a larger scale.”

Electric buses could help solve the problem. Today Bhattacharya is the CEO and co-founder of BasiGo, a mobility startup racing to electrify the city’s buses. The company is not alone. Swedish-Kenyan electric vehicle manufacturer Roam also has its eyes set on Nairobi’s mass transport sector. Both are rolling out fleets of buses this year that could mark the start of a new chapter for city’s famous matatu culture.

During the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in Nairobi, Kenya, something improbable happened: a mountain appeared. To curb the transmission of the virus, authorities called on the city’s thousands of private bus operators to cease trading. “Within three days, the air completely cleared,” recalls entrepreneur Jit Bhattacharya. “You could see Mount Kenya … crystal clear,” some 90 miles away.

Bhattacharya also saw an opportunity. Kenya produces 90% of its electricity from renewable sources – mostly geothermal and hydropower – and has surplus grid capacity, yet it imports nearly all its petroleum fuels. What if clean energy could be channeled into the transport sector? Maybe it could help the city clean up its act. Maybe Mount Kenya could become a permanent feature for Nairobi once more.

Continue reading “Electric buses are driving a silent revolution in Nairobi” »

Well that’s one way to make good use of the space.

If we have vertical farms then why not vertical pig farms.

High-rise hog farms have sprung up nationwide as part of Beijing’s drive to enhance its agricultural competitiveness and reduce its dependence on imports.

Continue reading “China’s Bid to Improve Food Production? Giant Towers of Pigs” »

Exxon’s green energy stories on the website are gaslighting, REM Tec creates agrivoltaics for farms and Canada builds a mass storage site.

The architecture of the new building is meant to convey the “timeless human need for connection to human and plant-life alike.”

Beijing-based MAD architects announced on Instagram on Tuesday that they won the contract to build the first large-scale air transportation junction for the new terminal of Changchun airport. The firm will now aim to create a green and sustainable structure that can accommodate all passenger needs.

The new site consists of 177.6 hectares with a building area of nearly 270,000 square meters and is located in Changchun, a city well-known as the international, regional hub in Northeast Asia with a population of 23 million.