Archive for the 'Economy' Category
First Road-Legal Big Rig That Can Drive Itself
May 6th, 2015Via: The Verge: Last night, atop the Hoover Dam, Freightliner unveiled the Inspiration Truck — a partially autonomous big rig that could save lives, mitigate driver fatigue and stress, and reduce CO2 emissions up to 5 percent. Daimler, which owns Freightliner, says it has done more than 10,000 miles of testing on the truck. And […]
Fracking Chemicals Contaminated Drinking Water in Pennsylvania
May 6th, 2015Via: The Verge: Traces of a chemical compound used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, have been found in drinking water at three homes in Pennsylvania, according to a study published this week. The findings of the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, add to growing concerns over the public health […]
New GPS Technology Identifies Locations within Centimeters
May 5th, 2015Via: Independent: New GPS technology that can identify locations accurate to within centimetres could open the way for huge advances in virtual reality and mobile mapping, scientists believe. Researchers at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas said the centimetre-accurate GPS-based positioning system could allow unmanned aerial vehicles to deliver packages to […]
Whatever Tesla Announces Today… Wait
April 30th, 2015Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in NZ. — Tesla Powerwall Press Kit Leaks Before Presentation The Powerwall Home Battery increases the capacity for a household’s solar consumption, while also offering backup functionality during grid outages. The Powerwall is available in 10kWh, optimized for backup applications or 7kWh optimized for daily use applications. Both can […]
Chipotle Removes All GMO Ingredients From Its Menu
April 28th, 2015Via: Guardian: Chipotle will no longer use genetically modified food in its stores, the company announced on Monday. The fast-growing Mexican restaurant chain will be the first US company to use only non-GM ingredients. “There is a lot of debate about genetically modified foods,” Steve Ells, the founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle, said. “Though […]
Like Shale Oil, Solar Power Is Shaking Up Global Energy
April 27th, 2015Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in NZ. — Unlike shale oil, however, solar power isn’t an unmitigated environmental disaster. Via: Reuters: One by one, Japan is turning off the lights at the giant oil-fired power plants that propelled it to the ranks of the world’s top industrialized nations. With nuclear power in the doldrums […]
China: Social Credit System
April 27th, 2015Via: de Volkskrant: The Chinese government is currently implementing a nationwide electronic system, called the Social Credit System, attributing to each of its 1,3 billion citizens a score for his or her behavior. The system will be based on various criteria, ranging from financial credibility and criminal record to social media behavior. From 2020 onwards […]
Company Wants to Plant One Billion Trees a Year Using Drones
April 27th, 2015Terraforming… Our own planet. Via: Independent: A drone start-up is going to counter industrial scale deforestation using industrial scale reforestation. BioCarbon Engineering wants to use drones for good, using the technology to seed up to one billion trees a year, all without having to set foot on the ground. 26 billion trees are currently being […]
Audi “E-Diesel”
April 27th, 2015It probably costs more per litre than I make in a month, but still interesting. By the way, aren’t we do for another trillion dollar oil war? Via: IB Times: German car manufacturer Audi says it has created the “fuel of the future” made solely from water, carbon dioxide and renewable sources. The synthetic “e-diesel” […]
Tesla Batteries Already Deployed in 11 California Wal-Mart Stores
April 23rd, 2015Via: Bloomberg: As part of a pilot program with sister company SolarCity, Tesla has installed batteries at about 300 California homes equipped with solar panels. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has a relationship with SolarCity, has Tesla batteries installed at 11 California stores; Cargill Inc. plans a one-megawatt system for its animal-processing plant in Fresno.
