Photo via the New Republic It's a widely held notion that politicians have long been in the pocket of Big Oil. And there's good reason for that perception: oil companies' huge campaign donations, vast lobbying power, and close ties to politicians have ensured that their taxes remain low , that hidden subsidies are around to provide extra funding, and that they receive preferential treatment in US energy policy. But there could be a new, ... View original post here: The Next Big Oil: Big Smart Grid?
So there really isn't anything that deep to this image. It's just a (more or less) life-sized blue whale eye. And on the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society site you can educate yourself/be mesmerized/ waste some time for a while staring at it while the entire life-sized animal scrolls across your browser window. Believe me, it's way cooler than you might think:... Read more from the original source: Ever See a Blue Whale Life-Sized on Your Computer? Now You Can
published July 30, 2010 and has No Comments
Image via Dezeen The mantra of offshore wind turbine design seems to be "Bigger! Bigger!" in order to get more power out of single turbines. But going hand in hand with making turbines bigger is that they become heavier. British engineers are hoping that a new design that mimics the way sycamore seeds spin through the air will help ...
Read more...published July 29, 2010 and has No Comments
Photo by Anne Toal You're likely familiar with the way a caterpillar works its way up a stem or across a leaf -- that move-the-front-then-move-the-back process is one of their charms. But what you might not know is that a caterpillar actually moves its internal organs forward before moving its legs. A team of researchers at Massachusetts' Tufts University ...
Read more...published June 3, 2010 and has No Comments
Photo by author: Janine Benyus + InterfaceFLOR CEO Lindsey Parnell at Saf London Yesterday in a sunny corner of London, a select group of UK journalists, myself included, were treated to an enrapturing few hours in the company of biomimicry guru Janine Benyus . The group was brought together by sustainable business pioneers InterfaceFLOR , whose long standing... Read ...
Read more...published June 1, 2010 and has No Comments
Image via University of Exeter The iridescence of butterfly wings have been the source of inspiration for more energy efficient yet vivid displays , but their shine is proving useful for brightening up not just our gadgets, but the money we buy them with as well. Researchers are looking in to how biomimicry can foil the efforts of would-be ...
Read more...published May 24, 2010 and has No Comments
Photo by gleewaytee Biomimicry is a relatively new discipline in science and technology in which researchers look at the systems and organisms in the natural world to come up with solutions for problems. We've seen some Read the original post: Top 5 Areas Where Nature-Inspired Innovation Works
Read more...published May 22, 2010 and has No Comments
Credit: "Jaws" movie still via Flixster . We're gonna need a bigger wind turbine. Or maybe not. German researchers are using shark skin to make windmills spin more efficiently, and generate more electricity. Not real shark skin, thankfully. This is shark-line skin that can be painted onto wind turbines, airplanes and ships to reduce flow resistance, or drag. Does ...
Read more...published May 20, 2010 and has No Comments
Image via YouTube video While butterfly populations worldwide struggle to stay afloat as the global temperature rises and changes their migration patterns and food sources, scientists have been hard at work coming up with their replacement - the mechanical butterfly that can survive anything but perhaps an attack of rust. Researchers successfully built and flew a flapping-wing-powered swallowtail butterfly, ...
Read more...published May 20, 2010 and has No Comments
Image via Popular Science Back in January, we showed you a project that highlighted the intelligence of mold - er, it's efficiency at finding food, at least. This efficiency was used in an experiment to figure out the best routes for transportation in Tokyo . Turns out, the way slime moved across an agar-gel is surprisingly similar to the ...
Read more...published May 19, 2010 and has No Comments
Image via davitydave and Mariah Power Marine life has proved itself a rich source of inspiration for renewable energy innovation. Sharks and kelp have sparked ideas for harnessing wave and tidal power, and humpback whales have bumpy fins that turn out to be perfect for improving wind turbine blades . Now, researchers at the Original post: Fish Inspired Wind Farms ...
Read more...published May 17, 2010 and has No Comments
Photo by CRhyne Scientists have been investigating how to mimic spider silk for years. The seemingly delicate threads actually have a tensile strength five times greater than steel, and the possibilities for using a similar material in everything from buildings to bridges to cars and even clothing, are practically infinite. The only problem is, the stuff seems to be ...
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photo: Graham Racher via flickr Go chimps, go! An interesting new paper in the journal Primates documents how a group of chimpanzees in Bossou, Guinea have been successfully deactivating snares set by human bushmeat hunters. Though not always successful, ...
Image credit: MASONS via The Telegraph From police on Vectrix electric scooters to cycling proficiency courses for cops , the British police are clearly willing to think outside the box when it comes to more efficient, and effective, transportation. ...
