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Mardi Gras floods New Orleans in plastic beads. One scientist has a gooey fix.

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A herd of dragons, followed by a brass band, and a float full of Star Wars characters rolled down St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans earlier this week, pelting onlookers with shiny beads. When it was over, misthrown necklaces dangled from tree branches and pooled in streetcar tracks.

It’s a scene that played out dozens of times across greater New Orleans over recent weeks. And boy does it make a mess. The Mardi Gras season came to a close on Tuesday, but beads remain scattered everywhere, clogging the city’s sewers. Last year, New Orleans vacuumed 93,000 pounds of plastic beads out of its storm drains.

Someday, historians may look back on our current fossil-fueled plastic era — the geological layer peppered with K-cups, water bottles, and straws — as one particularly bad Fat Tuesday binge.

But at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, molecular biologist Naohiro Kato is working to fix the local version of the plastic problem: Kato has figured out how to fashion biodegradable beads and doubloons out of algae.

Naohiro KatoPaige Jarreau, LSU

Kato isn’t exactly into plastics — his research is all about finding medicines in algae. But back in 2013, a student forgot to put a test tube of algae back in a freezer. The next morning, they found a layer of oil had separated from the warm scum and floated to the top of the tube. You need oil, usually pumped out of the ground, to make plastic beads. But the algae in the test tube had pumped this oil out of the air — weaving together carbon-dioxide and water to make the hydrocarbons.

Starting with algae grown in a kiddie pool, Kato then managed to make a few doubloons and beads.

Plastic beads and doubloons made from algae oil will break down over time, rather than clogging sewers for decades.Paige Jarreau, LSU.

This is just one example of an ongoing revolution to replace petroleum-based chemistry with biology. In the 1950s, scientists broke open the secrets of polymers and, in a frenzy of discovery, figured out how to turn oil into hundreds of different kinds of plastics. Plastics to insulate wires, package food, grease engines, form medical devices, and of course, to shape into a trillion colorful party novelties that drunk tourists would drop in the French Quarter. Now scientists have begun unlocking a new treasure of secrets — working with living cells this time, rather than organic chemistry.

“How big of a deal could bioplastics be? Yeah, I think it could be huge,” said John Cumbers, the founder of SynBioBeta, a network of researchers and inventors involved in this new frenzy of discovery.

Cumbers noted that one startup, Mango Materials, has been capturing methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) and feeding it to bacteria. The bacteria then transform it into bio-polymer molecules, which can be made into plastics.

This isn’t just an exciting frontier for startups. Big companies have already demonstrated that biomaterials make sense. In the 1990s, DuPont began a moonshot effort to get yeast to build 1-3 propanediol, a molecule that’s incredibly difficult to make from petroleum. They succeeded, and soon it was replacing petro-chemicals in cosmetics, soaps, and fabrics. It won a presidential green chemistry award in 2003. Most of this propanediol goes to make a fabric called Sorona, which is woven into denim, carpets, wrinkle-free suits, and underwear. Compared to similar textiles, Sonora produces 60 percent less greenhouse gases over its life cycle, according to DuPont.

This biomaterial performs better and is cheaper than the alternatives, and so “we’ve been growing like gangbusters,” said Mike Saltzberg, who directs DuPont’s biomaterials efforts.

But that’s not always the case. The more environmentally responsible option is often more expensive. “When people say, ‘I’m not just looking at performance and cost, I’m also looking at the environment,’ that really gives bioproducts the advantage,” Saltzberg said.

Take Kato’s bio-beads. Right now they’d cost about a dollar per necklace to mass produce, which is a lot more that the competition (a dollar can buy you a dozen). But if you captured the byproducts of the algal supplements he’s working on, you might be able to make it much more cheaply. For example, you can sell algal fucoxanthin, a compound with potential medical properties for $50,000 a pound. And after you take out the fucoxanthin, you still have 98 percent of the algae you started with.

“That means, we can produce biodegradable Mardi Gras beds from almost all of the microalgae we cultivate,” Kato said. “A football-field size of pond can produce 130,000 pounds of biodegradable Mardi Gras beads, which is more amount than that clogged in catch basins in New Orleans last year.”

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Mardi Gras floods New Orleans in plastic beads. One scientist has a gooey fix.

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Florida’s toxic algae gets the Daily Show treatment

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Algae, commonly found in health food stores or clustered along the side of pool, might not appear dangerous. But don’t be fooled. South Florida is currently suffering from a massive algae crisis. The nasty sludge turns tourists away, provokes asthma attacks, and kills manatees. It’s such a mess that algae has turned into a campaign issue in the race for the U.S. Senate.

The Daily Show went full-on Miami Vice to get to the bottom of it. Comedians Roy Wood Jr. and Michael Kosta suited up like Crockett and Tubbs, learning along the way that the toxic fumes from algae can cause liver damage and make it hard for beachgoers to breathe.

As the faux-detectives sip sugary cocktails, Miami Herald environmental reporter Jenny Staletovich tells them that the sugar industry’s farming practices are partly to blame for the algae issues.

“Has anyone ever reached out to the sugar industry and just said, ‘Stop doing that’?” asks Wood Jr.

“Stop doing that, sugar,” Kosta adds.

It’s not just the sugar industry, though. There’s also our old pal climate change: Warmer waters tend to breed larger algae blooms. As if Florida didn’t have enough climate worries already.

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Florida’s toxic algae gets the Daily Show treatment

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5 Ways to Save a Lake

There has been a lot of bad news lately about Lake Winnipeg. Algae blooms occur regularly, and zebra mussels are settling into their new home. Lake Winnipeg was named the world?s most threatened lake in 2013 by Global Nature Fund, and some scientists have even declared that Lake Winnipeg is a lost cause.

Despite the current state of Lake Winnipeg and Manitoba?s other large lakes, there is both reason and evidence for hope. The current issues we are facing have occurred in other regions of Canada, including Ontario?s Great Lakes, and Manitoba?s large lakes have avoided problems, such as industrial pollution, that have degraded other large lakes. There are immense benefits that these lakes continue to provide to people, and they remain places of spectacular nature. Most importantly, there is still an opportunity to protect and restore the health of Lake Winnipeg.

Five ways to save a lake (Infographic by NCC)

1. Stop the establishment of new invasive species

Yes, zebra mussels are in Lake Winnipeg. And so are other aquatic invasive species, including common carp, rainbow smelt, white bass and Asian tapeworm. But these are still a small fraction of the species in the lake, which remains dominated by native species.

Management actions are limited once invasive species become established. The ideal scenario is to prevent these species from entering the lake and the watershed, and monitor our lands and waters so they can be detected early and eradicated. This is the opportunity we still have in Lake Winnipeg, in particular with quagga mussels and European common reed (phragmites).

2. Keep native fish populations healthy, particularly bottom feeders

Invasive species often spread rapidly because there are no natural predators to control them. In the Great Lakes, many native fishes, particularly bottom feeders, eat zebra mussels. Many of these same fish species are also found in Lake Winnipeg, such as lake sturgeon, freshwater drum and lake whitefish. The recent shift in the lake whitefish range to the southern basin of Lake Winnipeg may even be a response to the rapidly growing number of zebra mussels. Keeping populations of these fishes healthy may be our best defense in keeping zebra mussel populations in check.

3. Protect and restore shorelines

Lake Winnipeg and Manitoba?s other large lakes still have vast stretches of natural shorelines, such as coastal wetlands and sand beaches. These shorelines include areas designated as Important Bird Areas, such as Netley-Libau Marsh. In addition to providing important habitat for birds, and spawning and nursery habitat for fishes, shoreline vegetation plays a critical role in filtering lake waters. Lake Winnipeg still has many important coastal habitats. Protecting and restoring them is critical to the health of the lake. In urban and rural areas, including parks and waterfront communities, there are many opportunities to restore shorelines with native vegetation while maintaining access to the waterfront.

4. Find innovative ways to keep water on the land

This is a tough one. For over 100 years, we have been trying to get water off the land as quickly as possible. In some watersheds that are dominated by urban areas and farms, this can mean that the sponge that nature?s wetlands, grasslands and forests once provided to store and filter water has been replaced with hardened surfaces and drains. When water flows quickly from land to lake, it often carries nutrients. These nutrients, and in particular phosphorus, provide fertilizer for algae.

There are many examples of how this can be solved. Septic systems can be inspected and maintained to ensure that no nutrients are seeping into the lake. Protecting natural habitats that help hold water on the land, such as the Nature Conservancy of Canada?s work in the Interlake Region, is also part of the solution.

5. Celebrate what we have

Despite zebra mussels and algae, Lake Winnipeg remains an extraordinary place. From one of the world?s most productive freshwater fisheries, to white pelicans, to some of Canada?s largest freshwater wetlands, Lake Winnipeg is a unique and special ecosystem. We need to celebrate this lake and focus on the solutions, not the problems. As stewards of one of the planet?s greatest freshwater resources, we have the opportunity to demonstrate success to the rest of the world. These waters are a foundation of Manitoba and support our economy, lifestyle and identity. It is not a lost cause because options remain to protect and restore Lake Winnipeg.

This article was written by Dan Kraus and originally appeared in The Cottager magazine and is reposted with permission.

Post photo: Lake Winnipeg (Photo by Christine Chilton/NCC staff)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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5 Ways to Save a Lake

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11 Things to Declutter From Your Yard

“Declutter,” “tidy up,” and “get rid of stuff” are mantras that many modern homeowners live by. But in your passion to organize your house (and your life), don’t neglect that large expanse of outdoor real estate ? your yard. Make it beautiful, livable, and safe with these yard cleanup tips.

Prepare For Your Yard Clean Up

Find out facts. Check out essential information about yard waste removal, including municipal pickup dates and times, local recycling center location, and bylaws related to burning garden debris.

Schedule. Choose a time slot when you’ll be able to devote a stretch of several hours to your yard work, like a weekend morning (not too early ? you don’t want to disturb your neighbors or risk the wrath of your HOA).

Gather equipment. Here’s a recommended list, depending on the size and condition of your property. Some tools can be rented.

Work gloves for handling broken glass and prickly plants
Wheelbarrow
Extra-large trash bags
Garden tools, such as a mulching mower, leaf blower, rake, branch lopper, pruning shears, shovel, trowel.

Now Get Rid Of These 11 Things

  1. Trash. Clearing out obvious trash like food wrappers and dog poop as your first yard clean up task will give you a pleasant sense of accomplishment.
  2. Dangerous trees or branches. An unsound tree or limb ? whether dead, damaged, diseased, or infested ? poses a danger to people, animals, plants, and property. Trimming branches is often a feasible DIY project, but large jobs like tree removal should be tackled by a landscape professional.
  3. Weeds. Weeds are unsightly and a major curb appeal killer. In addition, these unwanted plants tend to be incredibly hardy, fast growing, and space hogging. Stop them before they choke out your grass, flowers, or vegetable garden.
  4. Stuff that attracts bugs. Pick up rotting fruit and vegetables from your garden. Eliminate potential mosquito breeding grounds by emptying standing water — from roof gutters and disused birdbaths. Stack firewood (a favorite hiding place for pests) up off the ground, away from trees or your house.
  5. Fallen leaves. Go over fallen leaves with a mulching mower; use the mulch you produce to protect your tree trunks, lawn, and garden beds. If you’ve got more than you can reasonably handle, rake them to the curb and pack them for pickup.
  6. Garden clutter. Tidy your garden beds. Remove any plant that didn’t work — or that you just dislike — to make space for new plantings. Give live plants to neighbors or members of your garden club. Compost dead plants, unless they’re diseased. In that case, burn or bag so they won’t infect future plantings.
  7. That mess of tools. Repair or recycle broken implements. Keep usable tools in good shape by cleaning (disinfecting, too, if they’ve been in contact with sick plants) and oiling. Then put them away neatly in your garden shed ? that’s what it’s there for!
  8. Extra plant pots. Scoop up any clay pots you’re not currently using and get them inside before they’re cracked by winter’s cold. Are you saving the thin plastic pots that nursery plants came in, hoping you’ll find a use for them? Cut the clutter by freecycling or, in some locations, recycling.
  9. Outgrown toys. Once your kids have grown taller than you, hang on to a few cast-off Legos or teddy bears if you must ? but outdoor swing sets, climbing frames, and water slides take up substantial space in your yard. If they’re in good enough shape, sell or donate.
  10. Unsafe fence or railing. As part of your yard cleanup, check fences and railings. A decayed or shaky rail or post is an accident waiting to happen, especially on an elevated deck or around a swimming pool. Get any of these safety hazards replaced pronto.
  11. Algae. On the side of your deck, it’s just ugly, but on a garden path or steps, algae growth can be slippery and downright dangerous. Remove by scrubbing small spots or pressure washing larger ones (and consider improving drainage in this area, to control the problem in future).

By Laura Firszt,?Networx.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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11 Things to Declutter From Your Yard

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The Heartbreaking Reason Plastic Kills So Many Birds

Plastic waste is slowly taking over our oceans.

For years environmentalists have been warning us about “garbage patches,” swirling gyres of floating plastic bigger than entire countries.

Scientists estimate that millions of plastic trash end up in the ocean each year, a number that’s to increase tenfold in the next decade.

Related: The Dangers Of Plastic

The effects of our plastic addiction and refusal to dispose of it responsibly are worse than just the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, however. There’s also the direct impact that marinewaste has on the creatures who depend on the ocean for their sustenance.

Mistaking bits of floating plastic waste for food, sea creatures consume these items, often with fatal results. But it’s not just how plastic looks that confuses wildlife. Scientists at UC Davis recently discovered that birds are also choked and poisoned by marine wastebecause of how it smells.

“Marine plastic debris emits the scent of a sulfurous compound that some seabirds have relied upon for thousands of years to tell them where to find food, reportsKat Kerlinfor UC Davis. “This olfactory cue essentially tricks the birds into confusing marine plastic with food.”

The culprit is dimethyl sulfide, or DMS. This smelly compound is releasedwhen algae is eaten by animals like krill, one of the birds favorite meals. Unfortunately, it’s also released by the algae that coats floating plastic. When they smell DMS, birds assume it’s time to eat, and they swoop in on what they thing is the source. But instead of krill, it’s a plastic twist tie, bottle cap, bead or straw.

Many seabirds, like this Tristrams storm-petrel, mistake tiny plastic particles for food, and the effects can be fatal. Credit: Sarah Youngren/ Regents of the University of California, Davis campus.

The study also found that the DMS phenomenon affects certain birds disproportionately.

“…species that dont receive lot of attention, like petrels and some species of shearwaters, are likely to be impacted by plastic ingestion, Nevitt said. These species nest in underground burrows, which are hard to study, so they are often overlooked. Yet, based on their foraging strategy, this study shows theyre actually consuming a lot of plastic and are particularly vulnerable to marine debris.

TheEllen Macarthur Foundationprojects that there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050.

Related:7 Tips For Reducing Plastic Pollution and Saving Our Marine Species

Image Credit: Thinkstock

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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The Heartbreaking Reason Plastic Kills So Many Birds

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Rubio skips RNC to inadequately address Florida’s algae problem

Rubio skips RNC to inadequately address Florida’s algae problem

By on Jul 19, 2016Share

More than a few prominent Republicans will be noticeably absent from the party’s national convention this week, including Marco Rubio, who will be in Florida pursuing his Senate reelection bid instead. Campaigning in the same state he once lost to Donald Trump, Rubio is expected to concern himself with local problems again, including toxic algae.

In parts of Florida, enormous blooms have coated lagoons and rivers with thick, green-brown sludge. This sludge sucks oxygen from the water and releases toxins that kill wildlife and sicken residents. The water looks rancid and smells even worse, which is not a small issue in a state that brings in $67 billion a year from tourists.

The algae blooms are the result of decades of bad land management. For over a century, the state permitted business interests to drain Florida’s wetlands to make way for commercial and residential development. Now seasonal rains wash phosphorus- and nitrogen-laden waste into waterways, producing massive blooms that spring up in the hot summer months.

Rubio, however, would prefer to ignore one tiny complication: Climate change makes this all the worse by warming up waters, which create ideal conditions for algae to thrive and reproduce. Rubio once argued that no law would help climate change’s impacts, and he has also said that passing those laws would just “destroy our economy.”

But, hey, if doing something about climate change doesn’t destroy Florida’s economy, there’s always toxic algae to do the job.

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Rubio skips RNC to inadequately address Florida’s algae problem

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Watermelon Snow: Not Edible but Important for Climate Change

A study called for better understanding of potential effects on the climate of red algae that grows on snow in warmer months. Link –  Watermelon Snow: Not Edible but Important for Climate Change ; ; ;

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Watermelon Snow: Not Edible but Important for Climate Change

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Carnivorous plants benefit from meatless Mondays

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Shield of Baal: Exterminatus (Interactive Edition) – Games Workshop

From the radiation washed plains of Tartoros to the ruined cityscapes of Asphodex and the cloud mines of Aeros, the Tyranids are winning their war of annihilation. The arrival of the Blood Angels and their Flesh Tearers allies carves a bloody rent in the xenos invasion, but are the Emperor’s finest too late to save […]

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White Dwarf Issue 47: 20 December 2014 – White Dwarf

A fantastic issue 47 of White Dwarf brings more than a little reason for seasonal cheer. We’ve got an exclusive minigame featuring Smaug the Dragon and Bilbo Baggins, a new entrant to the Hall of Fame, the latest from Forge World, Codex: Apocrypha, four exclusive datasheets for some of the forces engaged in the bloody […]

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant […]

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The Drunken Botanist – Amy Stewart

Sake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley, tequila from agave, rum from sugarcane, bourbon from corn. Thirsty yet?  In The Drunken Botanist , Amy Stewart explores the dizzying array of herbs, flowers, trees, fruits, and fungi that humans have, through ingenuity, inspiration, and sheer desperation, contrived to transform into alcohol over […]

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Secrets of an Organized Mom – Barbara Reich

Mom’s Choice Awards Gold Award Recipient Professional organizer Barbara Reich offers a life-changing program—focused on decluttering and streamlining your home—that helps families live simpler, less chaotic lives: “Everyone should Barbarafy,” raves The New York Times . Mothers can feel like life is one never-ending loop. Just when one problem or responsibility is overcome, another one […]

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Codex: Blood Angels (Enhanced Edition) – Games Workshop

Forged in the flames of the Horus Heresy, the Blood Angels are among the greatest of the Emperor’s warriors. Revered on a million worlds and feared by Mankind’s myriad foes, for over ten thousand years they have fought in the Emperor’s name, earning countless honours and vanquishing his enemies. Yet for all their nobility and […]

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War Dogs – Rebecca Frankel & Thomas E. Ricks

Under the cover of night, deep in the desert of Afghanistan, a US Army handler led a Special Forces patrol with his military working dog. Without warning an insurgent popped up, his weapon raised. At the handler’s command, the dog charged their attacker. There was the flash of steel, the blur of fur, and the […]

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White Dwarf Issue 46: 13 December 2014 – White Dwarf

The Blood Angels go to war in this issue’s epic Battle Report, to coincide with Shield of Baal: Exterminatus, the concluding chapter of the Shield of Baal campaign – can Mephiston defend Phodia from the predations of the Swarmlord? Plus: How to paint the Necrons of the Mephrit Dynasty and the Flesh Tearers. About the […]

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How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, […]

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Mephiston: Lord of Death – David Annandale

The Blood Angel once known as Calistarius is no more. In his stead lingers a remnant of that proud scion of Sanguinius. He is a wraith, a dark tale to chill blood, an inscrutable enigma. He is Mephiston, Lord of Death. As Chief Librarian of the Blood Angels Chapter, his powers are formidable, his legend […]

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Carnivorous plants benefit from meatless Mondays

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The five ways to stop climate change. Oh, wait, make that one way

The five ways to stop climate change. Oh, wait, make that one way

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Scientists confirm what we already know, but may not want to hear: there’s no magic method to stop climate change. A new study that analyzed the five leading strategies to prevent global warming found that, really, it all comes down to reducing global carbon emissions.

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology in the Environment, ranks the strategies according to factors such as feasibility, risk, and cost. It suggests that, if we want to keep the planet closest to how we know it now, we should focus on No. 1. If, however, all you want is inspiration for your next cli-fi piece, No. 5 might be where it’s at.

Here they are, in order from best to worst:

  1. Reduce carbon emissions through improving energy efficiency, conserving usage, and adopting renewable energy sources. The study suggests that this is, by far, the top thing we need to do to stop global warming.
  1. Sequester more carbon by letting plants do their thing. Promote forest regrowth and stop clearcutting the Amazon, and trees will suck up more CO2 for us. Also, simple agricultural practices such as leaving leftover plant waste after harvest and allowing it to break back down into the soil will bury some more of that carbon back in the ground.
  1. Sequester carbon through capture and storage. One method is to capture CO2 before it’s released into the atmosphere and pump it underground. Problem is, this is expensive, and it could lead to dangerous leaks. “No one wants to live next to a huge underground pool of carbon dioxide that might suffocate them or their children — no matter how small the risk,” says the study’s lead author, Daniela Cusack, a professor of geography at UCLA.
  1. Sequester carbon by fertilizing the ocean. This would give phytoplankton a boost, which take in CO2 through photosynthesis, and then carry it to the bottom of the ocean when they die. But letting the algae run amuck would likely drive out other marine life, which could then create ugly worldwide impacts.
  1. Geoengineer to keep out some of that dang sunlight, by creating artificial clouds, or putting solar reflectors in outer space to keep the rays from getting down here. Because, if we reach a point where we’re this far down the list, we’re probably all sun-phobic zombies, anyway

The good news is, it sounds like we know what we need to do! The bad news is, we’re still not doing enough of it.


Source
No way around it: Reducing emissions will be the primary way to fight climate change, UCLA study finds, UCLA Newsroom
Here are the five best ways to fight climate change, ranked by scientists, Smithsonian.com

Samantha Larson is a science nerd, adventure enthusiast, and fellow at Grist. Follow her on Twitter.

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The five ways to stop climate change. Oh, wait, make that one way

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Carbon-Sucking Golf Balls And Other Crazy Climate Patents

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An afternoon searching recent US patents pulls up some curious climate solutions. Forget YouTube as your go-to 3:00 pm internet distraction. For me, it’s the US patent office website. There is some seriously wild stuff being invented by your fellow citizens, not least in the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Here are a few of my favorite climate-related patents issued recently by the office. (I’ve added a little color to the design sketches): Golf courses are hardly known for being paragons of environmentally friendly land use. They use a massive amount of water and have been found to be net carbon emitters, mainly due to land-clearing. But—phew!—there could soon be a way to shuck that green guilt and keep on swinging. These carbon dioxide-absorbing golf balls, invented by the golf team at Nike, are intended to “reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels to aid in alleviating global warming,” by enabling the ”golf ball itself to play a role in the fight against global warming.” (You can’t make this stuff up). Additionally, the Nike inventors claim this is the first time a golf ball itself has attempted to off-set carbon consumed during its manufacture. Here’s how it works: When you hit the ball, little bits of its surface layer deform and set off a chemical chain reaction that absorbs carbon dioxide as the ball flies through the air. The more times you swing, the greater the surface area exposed to the internal reactions. So, if you’re anything like me, and you need to hit the ball an embarrassing number of times, comfort yourself with the knowledge you’re doing more to save the world more than your pro golf buddies (except all my balls end up in the water). At the end of the game, according to the patent, you’ll be able to see how much carbon you’ve sequestered using a visual indicator on the side of the ball. Golfing sure beats hammering out a broad international agreement to reduce carbon. But sorry to spike your high: The inventors admit the golf ball could “at best be only carbon neutral, and is not capable of reducing the total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.” Damn. Really? (After several attempts to organize an interview with the Portland-based inventor Chia-Chyi Cheng, Nike told me the company doesn’t talk to the media about their numerous inventions or patents). Verdict: Cool science! But don’t expect President Obama to start arguing his golf days are saving the planet. We learned last month that average summer temperatures in parts of the Arctic during the past 100 years are hotter than they have been for possibly as long as 120,000 years. And the Arctic recently registered the sixth lowest summer sea ice minimum on record. Why don’t we just replace all that melting ice? That’s the idea behind this recently published patent for artificial ice. According to the filing, an ”ice” substrate would be dropped onto the surface of an ocean or a lake and left there to reflect sunlight back into the atmosphere using a 3-corner retro reflector surface (the same technology used by street signs). Meanwhile, nutrients sown on the underside would encourage algae to grow for biofuel production. Algae is a proven energy source. In February 2012, President Obama announced the Department of Energy would allocate $14 million in new funding to develop transportation fuels from algae. “It seemed like a two-fer to me,” says inventor and engineer Phillip Langhorst from St. Louis, Missouri. ”In order to solve global warming we’re going to have to do something on an insanely huge scale. And this is the only thing I’ve seen that’s big enough.” A few weeks after putting the ice on the water, a ship would come along, scrape the algae off and reapply the necessary nutrients. “I need help, obviously, to see if this is a viable scheme,” he says, although he admits most companies he approaches balk at the idea. But he argues that facing the realities and costs of big geo-engineering projects like this is becoming increasingly necessary, in lieu of putting a price on carbon: ”Pick your poison, you know,” he says. ”My goal is not so much to patent this and make a billion dollars off of it; it’s to solve the global warming issue so we all don’t have to move to Saskatchewan​.” Verdict: Please, can’t we stop the real ice from melting? Imagine this scenario in the not-too-distant future: Your car has iced over in one of the many more extreme storms of a climate-changed world. It takes too long—and too much gas—to de-ice the car. Moreover, the engines in energy-efficient and electric cars mean there is less “waste heat” in the system that’s available for the purpose of traditional defrosting techniques. A new defrosting system may just become the must-have for winter drivers, according to this patent for a “windshield washer fluid heater and system,” which attempts to defrost within seconds, not minutes. It may even, according to the language of the patent, reduce “energy dependence on foreign oil.” That actually isn’t too lofty a claim when you look at the auto industry roaring back to life. Since 2009, car production has nearly doubled; in July, US car and light-truck sales ran at an annualized pace of 15.8 million, up more than a million from the previous year. Any fuel savings count. The invention passes engine heat that already exists through a new heat exchanger. Upon flicking the washer/wiper switch, washer fluid heats in a special new heater in a matter of seconds, and finally sprays out nozzles integrated into the wiper blades of the car, delivering a “continuous on-demand heated fluid deicing and cleaning action to the windshield and wiper blades.” “This is so much more effective in clearing the windshield, because a traditional system needs to warm up 30-40 pounds of windshield glass before it can get to the outside ice,” which requires a lot of energy, says Jere Lansinger, a 74-year-old retired automotive engineer and inventor. A 40-year veteran of the industry in Detroit, Lansinger used to test defrosting systems to ensure they met the federal standard for safe driving: around 30 minutes for a clear windshield. “And 30 minutes is a terribly long time when you want to get moving in the morning.” So for the last 20 years he’s been tinkering on this invention in his garage. Now the defrost time is under a minute, he says. Lansinger has commercial interest already. The invention has been bought by TSM Corporation, Michigan, and is being developed as a product called QuikTherm, which the company says is currently being tested at several North American automotive parts manufacturers. And that’s enormously gratifying for Lansinger. “Frankly it makes me feel better than any big royalties I’ll get.” Verdict: ​A neat fuel-efficiency measure I’ve never thought about. And nothing’s worse than de-icing your car. This might be my favorite for its simplicity: A portable power station that can be off-loaded from a trailer, unfolded, put up anywhere there’s sun or wind, and switched on. In the picture here, it’s being used to charge a car. But it can power anything it likes. “I was tickled to death,” says Lynn Miller, the inventor from Crossville, Tennessee, about the day he was granted the patent, which he’s been working on for over three years. He’s now spent over $20,000 on the idea and is looking forward to getting a prototype up and running in the new year. For Miller, it’s all about simplicity and reducing costs for the consumer. ”We’d bring it out in the morning, and in the afternoon it’s working. It’s a plug-and play-system,” he says. He also likes the idea that having one of these in the company parking lot, or by the side of the road, gives ultimate green bragging rights: ”It’s very visible, it reminds people day-in, day-out that you’re environmental.” Miller’s plan is to also set up the portable power stations at schools and colleges to demonstrate the benefits of renewable energy. ”It’s not just book knowledge, this can be turned into a classroom.” Verdict: I want one.

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Carbon-Sucking Golf Balls And Other Crazy Climate Patents

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Carbon-Sucking Golf Balls And Other Crazy Climate Patents

Posted in alo, aquaponics, Bragg, Bunn, Citadel, Citizen, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, LAI, LG, Monterey, ONA, oven, OXO, Pines, PUR, Ringer, solar, solar power, Uncategorized, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Carbon-Sucking Golf Balls And Other Crazy Climate Patents