Eco Techno

Ray Kurzweil - More on the singularity

2009-05-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

More, today, from Ray Kurzweil - and how we'll all be immortal by 2045.

Ray Kurzweil: A singular view of the future

I'm interested to hear him put an actual date on it - I couldn't glean the date form the earlier material I saw.

This is one of the better summaries I've heard of Kurzweil's "exponential" calculations... from Kurweil himself of course:

"In the mid-1980s, I predicted the emergence of the World Wide Web for the mid-1990s. It seemed ridiculous then, when the entire US defence budget could only link up a few thousand scientists. But I saw it doubling every year and it happened right on schedule. It is quite remarkable how predictable these measures of the power of information technology are. Even so, millions of innovators are going to come up with unexpected ideas. Who would have anticipated social networks and blogs? If 10 years ago I had said we're going to create an encyclopedia and anybody can write and edit it, you'd have thought, my god, it's going to be full of graffiti and completely worthless. It's amazing how good it is if we harness the collective wisdom."

I suppose I was excited by this article, partly because my original reason for starting this blog was Kurzweil's own theories - and the exciting prospects that they encompass.

For more on my original reasons for starting this blog and Kurzweil's other recent writing, see this original post: The Big Bang.

Batteries Included

2009-05-11T02:55:00.000-07:00

One of the great drags on the implementation of many green technologies has been the parlous state of battery technology - preventing the storage and retrieval of energy created by ecology friendly means.

Recently however, it seems we're getting much closer to many technological milestones we need to reach, in order to use batteries efficiently.

For example: this article, form the New Scientist outlines a new technology that could us to make cleaner batteries - which off-sets much of the damage potentially created by hybrid cars.

Staying with the New Scientist for a moment, we also see another innovation that allows much faster charging times. While it doesn't seem that these technologies are in any way compatible (i.e. they wouldn't allow for both advances to be installed in the same battery) it is encouraging to see two of the major problems with batteries being so conclusively dealt with.

Now I was suspicious when I found this next article, which claims to have knowledge of a "half biological and half technological" battery that "feeds on blood". But as it turns out, the story is actually backed up by a similar article - again, in the New Scientist. So apparently we can "have bio-batteries implanted in our bodies" - maybe we are "well on the road to becoming cyborgs".

Here's hoping.

Some advancements in battery technology must already be making their mark, as Renewable Energy World dot com reports that a wind farm on far West Ireland is using them to store power for later redistribution - a trick that was deemed far too inefficient to be worthwhile, only a short time ago.

And finally, in summary, Technology Review dot com reports on the same topic - with its own list of recent battery designs and innovations.

Removal and Reduction - the only way forward

2009-05-09T07:11:00.000-07:00

Some 10 or 15 years ago, scientists began to agree amongst themselves that climate change was a problem. They stopped arguing, in peer-reviewed publications at least, about whether climate change was occurring and started discussing just how bad it was.

I believe that a similar transition point is being reached now, amongst climate change researchers.

It is becoming clear, in some recent research, referred to, for example, in this article, and this one, on the Arctic meltdown, that we may have already passed one or more tipping points in the process of warming the the planet, and that we might have already caused runaway positive feedbacks in the ecology.

So - what can we do about it?

If we've already triggered the problem - the solution can't be found reducing emissions alone - we need to start reducing the damage we've already caused, and the sooner the better.

How can we do it?

By cleaning the air... that's right - cleaning it. While the general public is now just starting to catch on to the idea of reducing emissions, what we probably need to concentrate on is removing emissions. And the sooner we realise it, the easier it will be...

Unfortunately, if the experience of emissions reduction is anything to go by, we'll be arguing about emissions removal well past 2020 before actually doing anything about it.

Choosing the best eco-friendly car

2009-05-09T06:48:00.000-07:00

This is an oldie but a goody...

While this article from the US ABC News was written in 2006, most of the information is still up-to-date... and interestingly enough, the problems they were writing about, for US readers, in 2006, are now much more likely to be in the front of the mind of Australian readers - and I thought it might be a good time to pull them out again.

So, if you've ever wondered what the environmental effects of batteries from hybrids might be, or whether or not you can get your SUV in Bio Diesel form... here's an article with all the answers to all the questions you never knew you needed to ask.

Avoid giant spiders tracking you down, trade-in your old car

2009-05-09T06:15:00.000-07:00

President Obama has cleared the way for the, so-called "cash for clunkers" legislation. While senators are still finding it difficult to come to agreement on some of the other, more difficult, details - the money for trade-ins seems more likely - as reported by the New York Times in their article on the subject.

In less technologically based ecological news, global warming appears to be creating giant arachnids.

So apparently, to avoid the world being taken over by giant arachnids, we should all go out and get a new car... from America.

And for more form the NY Times, on the US economy and fuel efficiency - see here.

Car Steals Light at Climate Change Conference

2008-12-07T04:14:00.000-08:00

The Climate change Conference in Poland started this week. But stealing the limelight was Louis Palmer who arrived at the Conference in a solar powered car he had just driven "around the world" to be at the conference.

While the trip was augmented by some charging from the grid - the designers of the car claim that it could be mass produced for as little as 14,000 euros (including the panels, which may soon get cheaper).

Next year, Palmer plans to extend the cars range of sources by using, possibly, hydro, geothermal and wind energy. To showcase these extensions he is planning a follow up trip involving 5 more cars, traveling around the world in 80 days.

From the sublime to the ridiculous

2008-12-02T04:11:00.000-08:00

Everyone wants to be an eco-warrior these days.

This story from the Sun in England (so it must be true) outlines one man's plans to create a modern day Noah's Ark.

At the other end of the scale, a student has managed to charge his iPod using an onion soaked in Lucozade... apparently.

So, assuming there's enough room to grow onions and manufacture Lucozade on the Eco Island, we'll still be able to listen to our music - if you're lucky enough to be one of the 50,000 on the island, I guess.

Worst floods in 22 years

2008-12-01T16:35:00.000-08:00

I read a comment at the bottom of an article the other day that said "none of the predictions, not a single one, of impending doom, from climate scientists, has come true".

Now, putting aside the argument that once they do come true, it's too late for all of us...

I can't really be bothered going back to find the article in question - but it was an article referencing some of the mistakes recently made regarding monthly world average temperatures, and claiming that these mistakes were proof that climate scientist's other claims were all bunkum...

To the writer of the original article, and the writer of the comments below it - I would simply like to send this.

New Wind Turbine for Cities

2008-12-01T04:06:00.000-08:00

For more details see their presentation PDF - Contact Mike Hess - or see the official web site.

Hot for Solar

2008-12-01T03:10:00.000-08:00

Well it's all about Solar today.

For an interesting coverage of some of the common energy myths that need busting The Guardian has released an interesting article - with their top 10 list.

In it they quote the statistic that "solar panels capture only 10% or so of the sun's energy" - however Reuters would beg to differ. Not only do they claim that "Current solar panels ... absorb only about two-thirds of available sunlight" but, more importantly they are also reporting that "surfaces treated with a coating developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, can harvest 96.2 percent of sunlight".

Whatever the truth about today's panels - hopefully the news regarding the coating is reliable.

Find the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy - or visit their web site.

Water out of the air?

2008-11-30T02:08:00.000-08:00

A new invention, called the WaterMill, is promising to allow households to supply their own water by condensing it our of the air. The company producing it, Element Four, is, obviously, very positive on its potential.

For more details on how it works, see The Observer article.

The US currently goes through 30bn litres of water a year, at a cost of approximately US$11bn - while using 1.5m barrels of oil and twice as much water as is actually delivered in the bottles, in the process. If those US consumers could be convinced that the output from the WaterMill was worth swapping for their addiction to bottled water, the ecological benefits are obvious.

What did worry me, though, was this: if the WaterMill was widely used and most houses manage to extract the water they need directly from the air - could this, in effect, reduce the moisture in the air, even further, and therefore reduce rainfall in the areas where it's used? Could the WaterMill actully reduce the likelihood of rain, locally, in the regions in which it is used... thereby reducing the total rainfall in the catchment areas of those regions?

Could this be a zero-sum game, or at least a solution that suffers under a law of diminishing returns?

Perhaps somone more knowlegable on these matters of meteorology than myself could speak to the possibility of such a negative feedback loop being an issue.

Just a great picture

2008-11-29T18:23:00.000-08:00

Nothing "Eco"... nothing "Techno"...

Just a cool photo - that I wanted to share.

Thieves stealing panels soon to be worth nothng

2008-11-29T05:20:00.000-08:00

The New Scientist reported recently that Solar Panels are set to drop in price, dramatically, as new production comes on-line and supply outstrips demand, over the next couple of years.

But apparently that memo didn't get delivered to the thieves across America, who seem intent on making the Solar Panels the big thing in theft statistics.

The New York times reports an alarmingly fast growth in Solar Panel theft in many areas across America.

Never fear though - as the price of photovoltaic cells plummets so will the incidence of taking them illegally.

Fantastic! Now we can make an argument to the Liberal / Republican / Conservative parties that reducing the cost of solar energy isn't a "Green" issue - it's a matter of crime prevention and civil unrest.

Today's headlines

2008-11-26T04:45:00.001-08:00

I won't always be as off-hand and brief as this... but I've got a lot of material to cover in my first headline list... and, hell, it's getting late :-). So here is:

It may not be innovation, but it is a breakthrough... the Vatican announces, today, it's supporting green technology. Imagine solar panels on every Catholic church in the word!
Dumplonians lead charge in Energy Independence - eccentric sounding inventor and island owner, Dean Kamen, showcases ways to reach energy independence.
US Mayors sign up to Climate Protection en masse, in anticipation of the new administration in the White House.
And in more solar news... LA tries to trump California for Green Status
Greenpeace helps to "name and shame" companies for heir green credentials (or lack thereof) with their Green List
And finally - for a real feel-good video experience, see uncultured.com's piece on technology that turns Cow Dung into Water

Happy eco-viewing.

The big bang

2008-11-26T02:45:00.000-08:00

A couple of recent events has inspired a new blog - and here it is.

In the beginning there was light... at the end of the tunnel

A recent article in the New Scientist (The Greening of Silicon Valley) brought a glimmer of hope in this dark and dirty world. It describes the way in which recent trends in Silicon Valley indicate greater and more focused funding for green technologies. Growth in seed capital for "Eco Tech" could, quite literally, be the worlds engine for a green revolution - and any indication that momentum is growing, in this area, must be good for all us.

And in the end, we live happily ever after

Coupled with this is Ray Kurzweil's recent writings on the "Biotechnology Singularity". For those of you who don't know, Ray Kurzweil is an inventor and futurist. He is famous, amongst other things for his calculations (using exponential graphing techniques) to predict the future time by which certain technological achievements will be reached.

For example, he predicted a number of years in advance, when the first Teraflop chip would be produced. He also, more famously, predicted, a decade in advance, when the a computer would beat a human at chess. The interesting thing about that particular prediction is that he was about a year out... on the conservative side. A computer beat a human at chess a whole year earlier than Kurzweil predicted - so if anything, he can be accused of being too conservative...

Not an accusation that his predictions usually inspire... at least not before they come true, anyway.

So... anyway... Kurzweil has a new prediction: that within 15 years biotechnology will have started to increase the average human lifespan by more than 1 year per year... in other words - anyone alive then, with a high enough quality of life to achieve the average life span will, theoretically, be able to live forever.

So what's point of it all anyway?

All of this, to me, points towards a revolution in human advancement and technological ability. A revolution that I would like to log - right here.

The inventions are coming thick and fast. The innovation is relentless - and I, for one, would like a central place to find all the most important Eco News around.

As often as I can can, I will pull together the most important, relevant and worthwhile news and current affairs relating to Green Technology and Environmentally Friendly Innovation.

Come back, sign-up and keep up to date with all things Eco Techno.

Welcome.

Related links:
Listen to Ray Kurzweil: Life in the Future
Building the Cortex in Silicon
Excerpt: The Age of Spiritual Machines, Chapter 6, by Ray Kurzweil
Environmental Technology