I have a huge crush on kimchi. If I see it on the menu, chances are you can find it in my mouth several minutes later. The spicy cultured treat is a Korean staple – it is served at almost every meal and Koreans are known to pack in 40 pounds of kimchi per person, each year!
Environmental engineer John Feighery always wanted to be an astronaut, but instead he ended up designing the bathroom for the International Space Station. That project gave him a unique perspective on managing water, sanitation and health, and since leaving NASA in 2003 he has devoted his time to creating innovative solutions to these issues on Earth. One such solution is mWater, an Android app that identifies safe water sources, checks on water quality data, and adds new test results.
Ever wondered why paper beats rock in a game of roshambo? It turns out that cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) derived from wood pulp extract can be used to create one of the strongest materials known to man. Out-toughing even Kevlar and carbon fiber, the material is lightweight, cheap, and abundant. Found in forest by-products such as sawdust and wood chips, CNC could be used to create materials with applications in military defense, engineering, medicine, and consumer products.
Landfill gas doesn’t get the love of, say, solar or wind power – rotting trash just doesn’t have the sex appeal of a well-designed solar array. It’s an energy source that’s readily available, though, and being utilized in more and more places. That includes right here in St. Louis: local utility Ameren Missouri opened it Maryland Height Renewable Energy Center earlier in the Summer. This small plant is producing enough energy from landfill gas to power 10,000 homes, making it the largest facility of its kind in the state.
If you send your child to school with a packed lunch each day, you know what a challenge it can be to pack a lunch that is organic, and nutritious. As a parent, finding a lunch solution that is easy to put together each morning, friendly on the environment and your budget is also a major bonus. However, it doesn’t matter how healthy and nutritious the lunch that you pack every day is or how organized you are in packing a whole balanced lunch, if your child doesn’t eat it. The key is to make the meal so delicious that nothing but an empty lunch box comes home each afternoon.
The above is a map that shows India’s solar resources. As you can see at a glance, almost the whole country is getting large quantities of sunlight, making it ideal for solar power. If you combine this gift from nature with what humans have been doing, and you get a perfect storm for a solar power boom; on one side you have a dirty and unreliable power grid that is getting more expensive by the year, and on the other side you have solar panels that are rapidly getting cheaper.