discuss Science & Technology news & discussion

Cal2 said:

I think Craig might've taken me too literally in some ways. When it comes to using a thinking provocation - like Bezos comment could be used, to potentially get some useable ideas - some things need to be done that we most often don't do, because we haven't been trained in it (or in my case, trained in it, but 'lazy' about applying it): "One can move from a provocation to a new idea through the following methods: extract a principle, focus on the difference, moment to moment, positive aspects or special circumstances."

There could be value in making some things in space and bringing them back here, though. Whether there would be a lot of 'heavy industry' that would fit that bill...

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Well, it's certainly something that needs to be put out in the public forum for further brainstorming, and I'm sure that there will be unforeseen long-term benefits from those discussions and the lateral thinkers involved .

One of the most important cultural movements to be unintentionally generated by the space program was born from one unplanned spur-of-the-moment photograph.



Earthrise is a photograph of Earth and some of the Moon's surface that was taken from lunar orbit by astronaut William Anders on December 24, 1968, during the Apollo 8 mission.

In Life's 100 Photographs that Changed the World, wilderness photographer Galen Rowell called Earthrise "the most influential environmental photograph ever taken". Another author called its appearance the beginning of the environmental movement. Fifty years to the day after taking the photo, William Anders observed, "We set out to explore the moon and instead discovered the Earth."

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthrise

Edited.

US life expectancy in 2020 saw biggest one-year drop since WWII, mainly due to coronavirus pandemic

Life expectancy in the United States fell by 18 months in 2020 to 77.3 years, the lowest level since 2003, primarily due to the deaths caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is the biggest one-year decline since World War II, when life expectancy fell 2.9 years between 1942 and 1943, and is six months shorter than its February 2021 estimate, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

"Life expectancy has been increasing gradually every year for the past several decades," Elizabeth Arias, a CDC researcher who worked on the report, said.

"The decline between 2019 and 2020 was so large that it took us back to the levels we were in 2003. Sort of like we lost a decade."

Deaths from COVID-19 contributed to nearly three-quarters, or 74 per cent, of the decline.

Drug overdoses were also a major contributor, the CDC said, with interim data showing that deaths attributed to this rose nearly 30 per cent in 2020.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07...in-2020-saw-biggest-drop-since-wwii/100313330

CraigD said:

I realise it sounds like science fiction, but who knows where we will be in 50 years time. There have been some amazing innovations over the last twenty years.

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Very true. And I like the concept @Cal2 presented of lateral thinking. Interesting stuff to ponder.

J Sokol said:

Very true. And I like the concept @Cal2 presented of lateral thinking. Interesting stuff to ponder.

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Might have to try and convince you and Craig to be my innovation project's 'brain trust'.

See 2:35

Battery startup claims long-duration breakthrough

The startup Form Energy says it has developed cost-effective battery chemistry for long-duration storage using abundantly available iron.

"Form Energy’s first commercial product is a rechargeable iron-air battery capable of delivering electricity for 100 hours at system costs competitive with conventional power plants and at less than 1/10th the cost of lithium-ion," Form said.

https://www.google.com/search?q=for...46i175i199.8598j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

I have some bad new and some good news. The bad news is that asteroid 99942 Apophis may hit the Earth on Friday the 13th on April 2029. The asteroid is 1200 feet in diameter. The good news is that it would hit Russia.

dna said:

I have some bad new and some good news. The bad news is that asteroid 99942 Apophis may hit the Earth on Friday the 13th on April 2029. The asteroid is 1200 feet in diameter. The good news is that it would hit Russia.

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Scientists Planning Now for Asteroid Flyby a Decade Away (nasa.gov)

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/scientists-planning-now-for-asteroid-flyby-a-decade-away

If the US government says that we are safe from the Asteroid, it must be true. The US government would never lie to us. And woops...I said Russia...I thought the Caspian Sea was in Russia. My Bad.

dna said:

If the US government says that we are safe from the Asteroid, it must be true. The US government would never lie to us. And woops...I said Russia...I thought the Caspian Sea was in Russia. My Bad.

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I'm pretty confident that other nation's scientists have also confirmed this. I know that Japanese observations in 2020 refined the orbit, and JPL further refined it just a few months ago.

The Caspian Sea is bound by Russia from mid-north to mid-west.
You got that bit right, sort of.

The article is more hopeful than the headline suggests.

Yep, it’s bleak, says expert who tested 1970s end-of-the-world prediction

At a UN sustainability meeting several years ago, an economic policy officer came up to Gaya Herrington and introduced himself. Taking her name for a riff on James Lovelock’s earth-as-an-organism Gaia hypothesis, he remarked: “Gaya – that’s not a name, it’s responsibility.”

Herrington, a Dutch sustainability researcher and adviser to the Club of Rome, a Swiss thinktank, has made headlines in recent days after she authored a report that appeared to show a controversial 1970s study predicting the collapse of civilization was – apparently – right on time.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/25/gaya-herrington-mit-study-the-limits-to-growth

If you can't wait for for April 13, 2029...you can at least see the movie.

Montana issues air quality warning due to wildfire smoke

(CNN)Smoke from the Western wildfires has prompted officials in Montana to issue air quality warnings in a dozen counties.

"Air quality across the state ranges from MODERATE to UNHEALTHY, with the worst air quality concentrations occurring in the southern half of the state, south of the I-90 corridor. Air quality has worsened this morning, and will likely continue to worsen through Tuesday," Montana Department of Environmental Quality announced in a news release.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/26/weather/us-western-wildfires-monday/index.html

3D-printed concrete Fibonacci House built by the numbers

"It has inspired yachts, cars, and countless buildings, and now the Fibonacci number sequence has served as muse to 3D-printing firm Twente Additive Manufacturing (TAM), which has created what it calls Canada's first 3D-printed home. Named the Fibonacci House, it's a non-towable concrete tiny house that sleeps up to two adults and two children, and is available for rent on Airbnb."

https://newatlas.com/tiny-houses/tw...ail&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-6fb1a338c3-90628689

Video better showing Fibonacci based design:

Africa's most populous city is battling floods and rising seas. It may soon be unlivable, experts warn

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN)Cars and houses submerged in water, commuters wading through buses knee-high in floods, and homeowners counting the cost of destroyed properties.

Welcome to Lagos during rainy season.

Residents of Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, are used to the yearly floods that engulf the coastal city during the months of March to November. In mid-July, however, the major business district of Lagos Island experienced one of its worst floods in recent years.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/01/africa/lagos-sinking-floods-climate-change-intl-cmd/index.html

Baked barnacles, scorched cherries: the disastrous impact of heatwaves on plants and animals

When forecasts foreshadowed the Pacific north-west’s devastating heatwave at the end of June, marine biologist Christopher Harley was alarmed and intrigued.

Then came the smell, and his feelings somberly shifted.

“It was this putrid smell of decay,” Harley said. Across hundreds of miles of coastline the extreme heat baked the barnacles, seaweed, and small sea creatures exposed to the elements along the shore. Starfish that failed to crawl to shadier spots were cooked alive. Mussels laid agape along the rocks, the tissue crisped between their shells.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/31/global-heating-climate-crisis-animals-water-crops

Climate crisis has cost Colorado billions – now it wants oil firms to pick up the bill

More than a decade after the Fourmile Canyon blaze drove even the firefighters out of Gold Hill, blackened hillsides and scorched trees attest to the Colorado mountain town’s close shave with destruction.

“Because of the wind and the dryness, it took off,” said Chris Finn, who volunteers as the town’s fire chief when he’s not running the local inn. “That day in 2010, I felt that my business and my house might not be here any more.”

Gold Hill’s few hundred residents fled as the fire moved along the ridge above a town that began life as a mining camp during the 1859 gold rush. The firefighters followed when they could not stop the flames swallowing scores of homes.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...is-boulder-colorado-lawsuit-exxonmobil-suncor

Thanks for all the positive climate news @J Sokol

I'm dreading the coming summer in Australia.

I may move to Canada and pay @Cannuk a visit.

CraigD said:

Thanks for all the positive climate news @J Sokol

I'm dreading the coming summer in Australia.

I may move to Canada and pay @Cannuk a visit.

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If you're going to visit @Cannuck

Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Cannabis in Canada

https://cleoconnect.ca/resource/you...gs-you-need-to-know-about-cannabis-in-canada/



How goes the lockdown?

Cal2 said:

If you're going to visit @Cannuck

Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Cannabis in Canada

https://cleoconnect.ca/resource/you...gs-you-need-to-know-about-cannabis-in-canada/



How goes the lockdown?

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LOL, not my scene. I'm more interested in keeping cool

How goes the lockdown?

We're five weeks into lockdown and going nowhere, so it's not looking good. I think we have lost the battle to contain Delta. It's a shame because we have all made a lot of sacrifices re personal freedoms to keep this out of our society.

CraigD said:

LOL, not my scene. I'm more interested in keeping cool

How goes the lockdown?

We're five weeks into lockdown and going nowhere, so it's not looking good. I think we have lost the battle to contain Delta. It's a shame because we have all made a lot of sacrifices re personal freedoms to keep this out of our society.

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Cannuck will probably sell you on cannabis being cool for 'medicinal purposes'.

On the covid containment and lockdown, not much to say, other than I hope things come through okay enough for you folks.

J Sokol said:

The article is more hopeful than the headline suggests.

Yep, it’s bleak, says expert who tested 1970s end-of-the-world prediction

At a UN sustainability meeting several years ago, an economic policy officer came up to Gaya Herrington and introduced himself. Taking her name for a riff on James Lovelock’s earth-as-an-organism Gaia hypothesis, he remarked: “Gaya – that’s not a name, it’s responsibility.”

Herrington, a Dutch sustainability researcher and adviser to the Club of Rome, a Swiss thinktank, has made headlines in recent days after she authored a report that appeared to show a controversial 1970s study predicting the collapse of civilization was – apparently – right on time.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/25/gaya-herrington-mit-study-the-limits-to-growth

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An interesting read!

At the end of the article, Gaya states “We’re totally capable of making huge changes, and we’ve seen with the pandemic, but we have to act now if we’re to avoid costs much greater than we’re seeing”.

The problem here will be getting everyone on board to achieve one goal, and to be quite frank, what I have learnt during this pandemic is that we will divide ourselves and only act begrudgingly at the eleventh hour, while some will simply ignore the science and pray for the problem to go away.

That mindset needs to change if we have any chance.

Sorry to go bleak again

Cal2 said:

On the covid containment and lockdown, not much to say, other than I hope things come through okay enough for you folks.

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Thanks.

I hope we will avoid the mass deaths we have seen in many other countries.

Fingers crossed!

On climate change, I'm thinking 'algae'. Something I came across a bit ago:

Hypergiant Is Using AI And Algae To Take on Climate Change

https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognit...iant-ai-algae-climate-change/?sh=2cee1e3a28c3

Lots of interesting points mentioned. Eg:

"Hypergiant believes that algae offers the strongest potential for impact. Algae’s unique qualities make it a prime candidate for scalability, such as its ability to survive in extreme temperatures, the fact that it does not need farmland to be cultivated, and that it can be grown in significantly higher quantities per square foot than land crops."

"The bio-reactor then creates algae outputs in the form of “carbon hockey pucks”, which can be used as fuel, food, bio-plastic products and more. The bioreactor has a small and modular design that can be used to connect bio-reactors together creating bio-reactor farms that could be hooked up to large polluters, taking their dirty emissions and converting existing pollution into ecologically useful products such as sneakers!"

"While Hypergiant does plan to commercialize the bioreactor and sell installations to interested customers, it also has plans to outsource the design and release it to the maker community.

A problem as big as climate change needs a concerted and global effort on multiple fronts. We decided to open-source the algae bioreactor technology as a means of accelerating its innovation and scale."

"Expanding on the idea, Lamm continues “We want to encourage as many use cases as possible, from the hobbyist 3-D printing their own parts in their garage all the way through to commercial construction, where we can put reactors on the tops of big skyscrapers.”

"In democratizing the technology, Hypergiant hopes to inspire a whole new crop of algae-preneurs who will take the designs and run with them. These algae-preneurs could build models small enough to sit on your counter to feed your daily smoothie habit or they could decide to develop the algae supply chain by taking the outputs and converting them into other types of commercially viable products. The beauty of algae is its versatility and ability to convert into products ranging from biofuels to bioplastics to food and beauty products. Hypergiant wants to release that potential out into the market at large - with the power of collaboration fueling innovation and entrepreneurship."

The 1st article I came across on the bioreactor. I want one if only because it looks pretty 'cool'.

Algae-fueled bioreactor soaks up CO2 400x more effectively than trees

https://newatlas.com/environment/algae-fueled-bioreactor-carbon-sequestration/