Environment

Bill Gates On Vehicles

#226
Bill Gates published a blog post about his thoughts on the future of transport, in particularly vehicle transport. Electric vehicles are great for short haul, provided the efficiency of battery weight to range is improved. He sees the future of long-haul transport in biofuels, that can take CO2 from the atmosphere and combine with water to create hydrogen without any waste. These biofuels power vehicles and extract CO2 from the air, a win win!
Environment
Innovation
Tech

Rock Dust CO2 Absorption

#220
A nation by nation assessment published in Nature shows that adding crushed rock (finely crushed basalt) to farmland could absorb up to two billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air per year. The technique is called enhanced rock weathering and by-products of iron and stell manufacturing, and construction, could be processed to produce the rock dust needed.  (H/T to Jenn for sharing this.)
Environment
Innovation

Water Filled Glass Windows

#219
Dr. Matyas Gutai of Loughborough University has developed and tested a new energy efficient building option, Water Filled Glass (WFG) windows. The WFG system holds water between layers of glass windows, allowing the sun to heat the water, providing insulation and sound proofing. The hot water is then pumped out, replaced, and stored in a water tank. When the temperature drops, the hot water is circulated around pipes to heat the building.
Environment
Innovation

Thermoelectric Stoves

#213
Low Tech Magazine published an interesting article on equipping a stove with a thermoelectrical generator (TEG). A TEG is about 5% efficient at generating electricity, however if the heat from the stove is being generated anyway for other reasons (heating, cooking etc), then adding a TEG would be a more reliable way to generate electricity than installing solar panels.
Environment
Innovation
Science

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