Green Options » high-tech

Hoarding The Rare Earth Wealth: China May Limit Export Of Rare Elements

Christopher DeMorro — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:20:47 +0000

The big scare about oil is that it’s a dirty and diminishing resource. We are running low on supplies while polluting our environment. While we do consume oil at a ghastly rate, there are plenty of other materials that go into the cars, computers, and cell phones that we have all grown very accustomed to. Rare metals not easily accessible. China currently controls 95% of the rare-metal market, having flooded the market last decade with cheaper metals and wiping out most of the competition.

Whether sensing a precarious position or a powerful one, China is now considering a partial or total ban on certain rare earth elements. Some of these elements are directly related to the future of fuel. What will hybrids do without their Lanthanum?

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Factor 32 - Calculating the Rate of Consumption

Michael Ricciardi — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 21:36:23 +0000

World Fertility Rate Map

The current world population is approximately 6.5 billion people and growing. By or before 2050, that number will grow by almost 50% to 9 billion. With the availability of birth control and better education rates for women being higher in developed (industrial or post-industrial) nations, most of this increase is projected to come from the developing world–those nations that are just now making significant progress away from exclusively agrarian societies, and towards full industrialization.

And despite the prevalence of fatal diseases, civil wars, and high infant mortality rates (note: the US has the highest infant mortality rate of any developed country), most of these developing countries continue to show population increases–especially as more effective medicines and health education (via government and private sector programs) become available.

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Why Blackberries are Bad for Your Taxes

Birgitte Rasine — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:45:56 +0000

I went to Northern California recently on a business trip. I got too much done. Meetings, work sessions, proposals, emails, conference calls, and a few very memorable dinners. Four cities in just as many days. Before returning to San Francisco, I stayed with a friend in a small town up north. One sunny morning I decided to explore the area, so I asked her what there is to do. Knowing me, she told me there’s a nice walking trail. I could walk there or drive. Well that was a no-brainer, of course I’d walk.

But I got thrown totally off track. What I expected to be a calm, relaxing, reflective stroll beneath California oaks, turned into a passionate, ecstatic, breathless plunge into excesses the likes of which I hadn’t experienced in years. It took my breath away, melted all self-control, and spun my world halfway round.

Oh, shame on you for thinking naughty thoughts. It wasn’t the Adonis of the Litoral I encountered on the path (sorry gals… !) It was an unassuming blackberry sprig. Peeking out from the dried grasses along the edge of the path. Winking at me in the sun. I winked back, then looked around. Is it legal to pick a blackberry here? I walked past it, choosing planetary well-being over my own base desires. That’s probably the only blackberry sprig on this trail, and how awful would it be if I picked it rather than leave it for the birds or animals trying to earn an honest local living.

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Aerogel Insulation Advances

Philip Proefrock — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:00:07 +0000

Aerogel is almost a product out of science fiction.

Nicknamed “frozen smoke,” aerogel is extremely lightweight material, with a density only 3 times that of air. Only a small fraction of a volume of aerogel is the material itself. Most of the volume is filled with air. This makes aerogel an excellent insulator. (Aerogel provides nearly 40 times the insulation of fiberglass insulation.)

Aerogel can withstand great pressures and is also an excellent sound insulator. Aerogels can also be used to absorb airborne pollutants and have been used to clean up oil spills. NASA also used a section of aerogel as part of its Stardust probe to collect samples of material from the tail of a comet.

Aerogel is available for some high-performance applications, but due to its high cost, it has not been widely used. However, new research from a Malaysian scientist offers the potential to drastically reduce the cost of producing aerogel, and could lead to new possibilities for its use as a building and insulation material.

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