It’s a sustainability success story: San Francisco food scraps help fertilize Northern California grapes, which are used to make wine of which many Americans partake.
Archive for the 'Innovation' Category
California compostin’ leads to mighty fine wine
Published April 23rd, 2008 in Science, Innovation, Sustainability and Human World. 0 CommentsBig step forward for ‘green gasoline’
Published April 10th, 2008 in Plants, Science, Innovation, Sustainability, Global Warming and Human World. 1 CommentOne day the gasoline in your car might come from plants — and no, I’m not talking ethanol. I’m talking actual gasoline made from a plant.
‘Earth: The Sequel’ touts clean-energy inventors
Published March 31st, 2008 in Innovation, Science, Earth, Sustainability, Global Warming and Human World. 1 CommentThis new book tells the stories of the scientists who are blazing trails on the clean-energy frontier, using everything from solar nanotechnology to algae and viruses to create power in new ways.
M.I.T. president envisions sustainable energy future
Published February 27th, 2008 in Innovation, Science, Earth, Sustainability, Global Warming and Human World. 0 CommentsRecently I heard M.I.T. President Susan Hockfield speak at a scientific conference about what may be the biggest challenge facing the world: How can the global community meet the needs of people who aspire to better lives — and do it without irreparably harming the planet?
Top 14 engineering challenges of the century
Published February 25th, 2008 in Science, Innovation, Earth, Sustainability and Human World. 5 CommentsA panel of top scientists and engineers from around the globe recently released a list of the top 14 grand engineering challenges of the 21st century. It contains what the group feels needs to be done to help all people and the planet thrive.
State of the world: Shifting to sustainability?
Published January 12th, 2008 in Innovation, Earth, Sustainability and Human World. 4 CommentsInnovations from around the globe have environmentalists optimistic that we’re on the path to sustainability. A sustainable global economy would create both wealth and well being for rich and poor alike, while maintaining the global ecosystem that underlies (and makes possible) the global economy.
Which biofuel is best?
Published January 8th, 2008 in Plants, Science, Innovation, Earth, Sustainability and Global Warming. 6 CommentsTwo stories from the last few days address biofuels and their prospects for replacing more of the gasoline we use to power our vehicles. One provides evidence for what could be a biofuel champion; the other compares 26 contenders in search of an environmental winner.
Architects turn to green design
Published December 28th, 2007 in Science, Innovation, Sustainability, Global Warming and Human World. 3 CommentsClimate change has led architects to focus their craft on sustainable design, to create buildings that use less energy (thus saving money on energy costs) and reduce climate impacts.
Two approaches to saving coral reefs
Published December 8th, 2007 in Oceans, Science, Innovation, Earth, Animals and Global Warming. 2 CommentsIn Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, people are taking different approaches to preserving – and in one case re-growing – coral reefs. Global warming and rising sea temperatures have been “bleaching” and killing reefs worldwide, making reef conservation an important issue.
New human-centric map of the world
Published November 27th, 2007 in Science, Innovation, Earth and Human World. 2 CommentsTwo scientists have proposed a new way to map ecosystems that takes people into account. The new method divides the globe into anthropogenic biomes, or anthromes, to better describe the human-altered landscape.