Is Green Really The New Black For Big Oil Companies?

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There is news of green investments being announced by the oil companies, and this will cover wind farms, carbon capture, and electric battery storage facilities. This comes at the same time that Saudi Arabia is planning to sell some of its oil company and diversify. Shell and Exxon Mobile have AGMS due and calls will be made to help with climate change. The question is – “is this genuine concern or “greenwash”?” There are fears it is just down to low oil prices, and it will soon change back.

French company Total is investing 1 billion Euro in Saft with chairperson Patrick Pouyanne claiming that they were looking to grow renewable energy. He believes that electricity is the power of the future and funding had been found to convert a refinery to a biofuel plant, and $500m was there for renewables.

Shell are also getting involved and have an annual budget of $200m and are bidding to build two wind farms in Holland and they could provide electricity for 825,000 houses. Statoil is planning a large floating wind farm close to Scotland, and an arm of the company has $200m to be used up in the next seven years. Executive VP Irene Rummelhoff blames global warming for the need to chance our ways when it comes to fuel.

Total are being taken seriously and have been praised for their long- term involvement in solar energy. The CE of SolarPower Europe, James Watson believes that they are instrumental in getting the French government to be the same.

Artificial Intelligent Art May Soon be on the Cards for Google

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Mehmet Hatipoglu

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Google’s new project, Magenta is due to be released on June 1 and is set to take the world of art by storm. The project is part of the Google Brain group, which is a deep learning project that has been operating since 2011 and is focused on solving the problems scientist face with artificial intelligence.

The Magenta project has been created to explore the exciting possibilities of artificial intelligence being able to create beautiful works of art, music, video and a host of many other visual arts. Douglas Eck, who is one of the teams researchers has explained that their main goal is to produce a range of open-source tool and models that are available to everyone bring many creative capabilities together on one platform.

Artificial Intelligent Art May Soon be on the Cards for Google — The produce of an artificial neural network being asked to amplify and pull patterns out of white noise.

The deep learning models that will be built as part of the Magenta will be done on top of TensorFlow (Google’s open-source artificial intelligence platform) in the hopes that others with the right skills and expertise might want to delve in and take Google’s work and see if they can contribute to its development.

A possible app could also be on the cards for Magenta, which would allow users to display their music and art that they have created. Currently listed on GitHub, the project is soon to spark interest and may be developed faster than Google expected. So, if you think you have what it takes to enhance this development further, what are you waiting for, check it out now!

Can Electric Cars Really Make a 250 Mile Journey Without Recharging? Well, Hyundai seem to think so!

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Mehmet Hatipoglu

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Can Electric Cars Really Make a 250 Mile Journey Without Recharging? Well, Hyundai seem to think so!

Hyundai could be set to be the next big name in the world of electric vehicles if they can deliver what they are proposing. Their mega plan is to introduce a whole range of green models including plug-ins, hybrids, and hydrogen fuel celled cars (26 different in total) by 2020. The South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer is also planning to unveil a revolutionary electric vehicle that could travel up to 250 miles on one single charge. That is a pretty amazing feat by anyone’s standards!

Rival manufacturers Chevy and Tesla are both competing in the same race as Hyundai, but both of those are reaching for the 200-mile mark opposed to the 250 milestones. But, Hyundai is already on par with them on this level also as they are set to market a 200-mile electric vehicle for 2018, which was recently revealed by ‘top boss,’ Hyundai’s director, Byung Ki Ahn.

Can Electric Cars Really Make a 250 Mile Journey Without Recharging? Well, Hyundai seem to think so!

So, the automotive world as we know it could all be set to change in the next few years. Will Hyundai revolutionize the electric vehicle market and could we see diesel and petrol cars become a thing of the past? Many people will be adamant that this could only be a good thing as there will be less noise, less pollution, and running costs will be much lower. However, there is also the other side of the coin, where people who enjoy driving for different reasons may miss the sound, smell, and feel of an ‘old school’ engine. What will happen in the future is yet to be determined, so watch this space!

Companies Start Building Habitat Prototypes For Future Mars Missions

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Linda Johnson

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As stated by Washington, technology, and engine construction is a challenging endeavor. Even more challenging is the concept of maintaining the health and livelihood of humans on a mission aimed at lasting 1,000 days.

NASA is busy perfecting the technicalities of propulsion systems and rocket specifications, while specialty engineers are given the job of dealing with the daily habitat of the people that will be on board. This valuable crew needs to be protected from space radiation and needs to have a safe anti-gravity environment. These astronauts must live long-term in an environment that is not normally suitable for human life. Their habitation goes far beyond simple survival in the area. They must also be able to conduct experiments and carry out other professional tasks.

Congress has set the spending requirement at a minimum of $55 million in consideration of the living habitat for these crew members. Some expansion plans are aimed at making adequate living space better to accommodate astronauts for a mission to Mars. This journey, named Orion, will require extremely sound structures for placement on the Red Planet. These structures will be used for both living and work.

Rep. Brian Babin is the chairperson of the House, Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Space. He has explained the necessity of excellent habitats to ensure the safety of astronauts sent on long-term space missions. The understanding is that the only way to conduct studies in space is to house the humans properly in the “inhospitable environment”. Without these astronauts, there will be no experiments. They must be kept safe.

Depiction of the EM 7 mission to the Lunar L2 Lagrangian point where astronauts explore a recently captured asteroid sampe — Lockheed Martin’s approach to cis-lunar habitats is both modular and flexible, adding elements over time. Orion is capable of transporting habitat elements to an orbiting outpost around the moon.

Babin was a part of a panel that also included the author Andy Weir, as well as several companies taking the initiative to construct space habitats. Weir is the author of the book “The Martian” that follows the struggles of an astronaut stranded on Mars. His book was eventually made into a successful movie, as well.

NASA began petitioning for prototype proposals in April. The goal is to have a working prototype by the year 2018. The amount of $65 million will be used to fund contracts in continuation of this study. There are already some experiments in action. These are listed under the name NextSTEP.

One idea that is in testing involves the use of an inflatable habitat. This was delivered to the International Space Station last month. Bigelow Aerospace can be credited with its production. The habitat will be inflated and tested in space later this month. The shape is similar to a giant turkey baster bulb. Studies like this enable new equipment to be tested in a similar environment to where they will be used.

The mission to Mars is still many years away. The goal is to have a crew sent in the 2030’s. The date will be more secure once proper testing of equipment has been initiated and completed. The habitats must first be tested at the International Space Station, followed by lunar space and then sent to Mars.

Many necessities must be present in the habitat equipment. These include environmental control, life support systems, docking capability, logistics management, radiation mitigation and monitoring, crew health skills, and fire safety technologies. Jason Crusan is the head of Advanced Exploration Systems for NASA’s human space exploration division. He has mentioned these necessities as a part of the many needs attributed to space habitats.

At present, seven companies have been awarded contracts to be a part of the NextSTEP program. These companies are Begelow, Boeing, Dynetics, Inc., Lockheed Martin, UTC Aerospace Systems, Orbital ATK, and Orbital Technologies Inc.

Audi’s Self-Driving Software is Aimed at Integrating a More Human Like Performance

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Linda Johnson

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The Audi test vehicles have undergone thorough updates to achieve auctions that mimic human driving habits. One situation where humans exhibit specific traits is when they are planning to make a turn. These actions can be hard to copy with computer technology due to the many small instinctual actions that take place leading up to the maneuver. The self-driving Audi must anticipate like a human. The actions that indicate a turn is coming are signaling and slightly moving to the edge of the current lane.

Proper anticipation allows for safer interaction by alerting other drivers on the road as to the car’s intentions. The Audi will be able to make allowances for larger vehicles, such as trucks. The space needed for an oncoming truck to move into the lane is much larger. The Audi will be able to understand whether it needs to speed up or slow down, to make room for the merging vehicle.

The new system runs on satellite and is equipped to plan out a route ahead of time. This route will be the most time efficient, make good use of the time the Audi spends in self-driving mode.

One notable trip made by an Audi in self-driving mode was from California to Nevada. The Audi made the majority of this trip entirely on its own. The version used for this trip was an early model called the CES 2015. The new improvements in software will make these types of trips near flawless. After this expedition, Daniel Lipinski was interviewed in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was representing Audi at the car show. Lipinski is handling Audi’s automated driver developments as the project leader. He took the time to elaborate on some of the methods that have been incorporated into the self-driving software. The goal has been to increase the comfort level of passengers by mimicking natural driving abilities.

Audi originates in the town of Ingolstadt. This city is implementing certain plans to integrate self-driving vehicles better into the mainstream. The city will be installing items, such as sensors, at their public intersections.

Audi has also taken the mission to the government to work together on public signs and roadside posts. The strategic placement of these items will help self-driving cars to recognize the environment and location better. These efforts are mostly aimed at the famous A9 Autobahn roadway.

Scientists Created The Most Efficient Solar Cells Ever

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Andrew Thomas

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The conversion of sunlight to electricity has been studied in depth for many years. Engineers in Australia, however, have brought into their research many convincing theoretical limits. Once such introduction is the construction of photovoltaic cells. These are believed to have the ability to harvest 34.5 percent of energy from the Sun. This is an extreme amount of power that can be used. This accomplishment has taken place without the use of concentrators. The event has caused a new world record to be set.

An earlier world record topped out at 28,8 percent of the Sun’s energy. This record was set by the United States built a solar cell that reached the size of 800-square centimeters. While this was an amazing accomplishment, the photovoltaic cells are smaller and act more efficiently. This will contribute to the cost-effectiveness of solar energy.

To save money on solar power, Mark Keevers of the University of New South Wales, states that “Extracting more energy from every beam of sunlight is critical to reducing the cost of electricity generated by solar cells as it lowers the investment needed, and delivering payback faster.”

There were other studies, one by this same UNSW team in 2014. This record was set with the use of mirrors. The mirrors were used to concentrate sunlight. The experiment yielded 40 percent efficiency rates. However, the new method is more efficient, as it does not require any type of concentration. The task was accomplished far earlier than ever expected by professional engineers.

Scientists Created The Most Efficient Solar Cells Ever — Each layer of the four-junction cell extracts energy at its most efficient wavelength, while unused light passes through to the next layer.

The cell in question is sized at a mere 28 centimeters (11 square inches). The sunlight that comes in is broken up into four brands with this method. The band that identifies as infrared is purposely directed back to a silicon solar cell. The remaining three bands are sent to a three-layer solar cell that is new in construction. It consists of indium-gallium-phosphide, germanium, and indium-gallium-arsenide.

Each of these layers receives the sunlight and extracts as much energy as possible. The light that fails to be used passes through to the next layer. This raises the efficiency level by making the effort to harvest as much as possible in each layer.

While this is great news for the future of energy use. These cells are not to be expected to appear in homes anytime soon. The maintenance and cost are fares more than the common single-junction solar cells. Work will have to be done to make them more cost efficient and more widely accessible by the population.

These new cells, however, are perfect for solar towers. Towers use mirrors to increase the concentration to a series of cells. This is then converted into electricity. Heat is often used to accomplish this task. Well-known plants that actively use this system are located in Morocco, Sweden, and Australia.

The next step taking place is to raise the size up to 800 square centimeters and research the energy results. This could mean significant changes for energy availability. The theory, at present, revolves around a 53 percent expectation for the four-junction system. The team at UNSW considers this only 2/3 of the way to the ultimate goal. When the size is expanded there is expected to be a marginal loss from the interconnection.

This new technology will bring costs down in the future for solar power. The goal is to put it to use in large solar plants. Peer reviews are now underway. The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory has already confirmed the 34.5 percent efficiency record.

The Inventor of The TOR Browser Has Managed To Elude the FBI

Internet

Andrew Thomas

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The inventor of the mysterious TOR software has managed to elude the FBI and escape the US according to New York sources on May 17. TOR has been engineered to hide your actual location. The FBI has been focusing on hacking this software in attempts to find criminals. CNNMoney has learned that the FBI is attempting a subpoena of one of the software developers. The case is a part of an illegal hacking scheme.

The developer in question is known as Isis Agora Lovecruft. She is concerned about the FBI’s intentions to undermine the TOR system with her help. This would result in an exposure of those who are using the TOR system all around the world. This discovery could leave unsuspecting users prey to spying. Lovecruft made her way to Germany immediately after an inquiry that happened on Thanksgiving break of the previous year.

She has been plagued by the responsibility of protecting the many users of the program. “I was worried they’d ask me to do something that hurts innocent people—and prevents me from telling people it’s happening.” This was her statement in a CNNMoney exclusive interview. The FBI declined to respond to these allegations, as they are required to remain silent on possible ongoing investigations.

Lovecruft is thought by some knowledgeable FBI agents in other parts of the country to be “connected” to the hacking case in question. Her case has now been accepted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. This group is focused on preserving internet freedoms. The goal is to secure her safe return to the United States, erasing concerns about further subpoenas.

Concerns were brought to Lovecruft’s attention by the appearance of an FBI special agent card left at the family residence while they were away on vacation. Special Agent Mark W. Burnett left instructions for her to call him. Lovecruft’s mother had the foresight to all an attorney first. She chose Ben Rosenfeld, who practices in San Francisco. His specialty is technology and surveillance law.

He announced his position as Lovecruft’s lawyer in a phone call on Dec. 2 made to Agent Burnett. Lovecruft was willing to meet the agent with her attorney present. This offer was declined with threats to approach her freely. The reasons behind the desired contact were unknown at the time. The lawyer, however, did have certain clues to go on.

There was some evidence in the later part of 2015 of the FBI attempting to discover the anonymity protection of TOR. This attempt had been aggressively pursued. TOR works by bouncing computer signals throughout the global network. This accomplishes the task of hiding a physical location of the user. This program is backed by a US government-supported non-profit organization aimed at protecting free speech. The concern is that this software is also used by criminals, such as drug traffickers, hackers, and child pornographers.

The FBI has had some past success hacking users of TOR. It solicited the service of places like Carnegie Mellon University to help with the accomplishment. Lovecruft was concerned with being pressured to contribute, as well. Her knowledge of the intricate workings of the system is well-known.

“That would undermine all the work that we do to protect human rights activists, women researching birth control…all these people need privacy. They need what TOR provides”, she said. “I would not undermine that.”

Lovecruft has seen what FBI involvement can do to people. Aaron Swartz committed suicide when presented with federal charges in the year 2013. He fell prey to the FBI’s perceived battle against hackers. Lovecruft hid out in her San Francisco apartment for a full week, fearing the worst. She was terrified to go outside at all, thinking she may be picked up by agents. She was determined to stay hidden and not answer her door to anyone.

Berlin, Germany became the next best option. She had hoped to move there at some point, anyway. She booked a round trip flight but had no intention of returning without the incident settled. Lovecruft nervously put on a pair of sunglasses and took a cab to the airport. She was unsure of her actions but felt compelled to protect herself. She was unable to say safely “goodbye” to family and friends, only alerting them once she was airborne.

Her lawyer was still contacted by another agent, FBI Special Agent Kelvin Porter based in Atlanta. He sought information on where to send a subpoena requiring her to testify in a hacking case.

The EFF is confident that Lovecruft is completely within her rights in avoiding the FBI. This has been stated by EFF member Cardozo. The FBI might have a valid reason to ask for Lovecruft’s help. However, their determination to their reasons secret has caused quite a bit of alarm.

Lovecruft is still very concerned about the possibilities and her freedom if she chooses to return to the U.S. She relayed this information on an encrypted phone call from Berlin.

Do Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars Have a Future Next to Plug-in Cars?

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Mehmet Hatipoglu

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Tesla’s Co-Founder, Mark Tarpenning, has recently sparked a debate among the players in the automotive field in stating that hydrogen fuelled celled cars are simply not suitable for being used as a primary source of fuel as its efficiency is one of the worst out there. Before going down the ‘energy saving’ path, Tesla put much time and research into discovering what the most efficient system out there would be based on. As well as hydrogen fuel celled systems, they looked into various other fuel cells including biofuels and ethanol but still came to the conclusion that battery electric cars were no doubt the way to go in providing the most energy efficient system.

Tesla's Co-Founder, Mark Tarpenning, has recently sparked a debate among the players in the automotive field in stating that hydrogen fuelled celled cars are simply not suitable for being used as a primary source of fuel as its efficiency is one of the worst out there.

While hydrogen fuel celled cars sound ideal, offering zero emissions and just pure water coming out from the exhaust, the real problem lies in producing the liquid hydrogen ready for mass use. The gas may well be situated all around us, but is compounded in other components and to be used it must first be separated, and this is not such a simple task. The most common used method of doing this is by first using electrolysis to separate the hydrogen from the rest of the compound (which uses electric energy consumption). It then needs to be compressed into a liquid (this also uses energy consumption) and then it needs to be transported to the pumps for people to use (consuming more energy).

So, even though the result of hydrogen fuel celled cars are great, the getting there may not be quite so easy on the environment. If more time and research is put into reducing the cost of mass-producing the hydrogen, then maybe Tesla will come on board, but until then, I think it will be battery electric all the way for them.

Study Shows Eating Dinner After 8 pm Does not Cause Obesity in Children

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Andrew Thomas

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The British Journal of Nutrition has printed a paper claiming there is no link between obesity in children and eating a meal after 8 pm. Kings College London researchers were able to study the recorded eating patterns of 768 4-10-year-olds and 852 11-18-year-olds using data from 2008-2012 and known as the UKs National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling Programme. Parents kept a daily food record for four days and also recorded height and weight.

The data showed that it was as likely children would be obese if they ate between 2 pm and 8 pm or 8 pm and 10 pm and this was in both age groups. Dr. Gerde Pot based in Amsterdam’s Vrije Universiteit is the lead author said that the findings came as a surprise. There had been the expectation that the later in the evening a child ate, the more likely it would be that they were obese. There were concerns the figures may have been affected by the fact that few children ate late in the evening.

A higher amount of protein was eaten by boys aged 4-10 who ate later on, and when it came to carbohydrates, it was girls aged 11-18, who ate later on in the evening who took in less.

It could be that the records are not entirely accurate, and issues such as not eating breakfast, little exercise and the amount of sleep were not taken into account. It is being suggested that there is not enough evidence to say what or when children should eat.

For further information, please contact Hannah Pluthero [email protected]

Uber Knows When Your iPhone Battery Is Dying And Gives You Surge Prices

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Andrew Thomas

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There can be few things more worrying or frustrating than looking at your phone in the early hours of the morning and seeing the power drain out of the battery. It is easy to regret the amount of time you spent on it when you could have been doing something else and saving the power.

The Uber app is available and even though you are concerned about the surge price, you need to get home and to hail an Uber seems to be the best way to do it. It’s a pity your battery has brought you to have to end the night early. Uber’s Head of economic research Keith Chen promises that Uber or not going to take advantage of this, although they are fully aware that they could if they chose to.

Chen was interviewed by Shankar Vedantam the science correspondent at NPR and revealed that Uber app is aware of the level of the battery on a phone. The app is able to tell when you are near the end of the battery life and know that you would pay a higher fare to get home quickly. Once the battery is red, it is time for a cab as later there may not be the chance to call one.

Another finding of Chen’s is that telling someone that their fare will be twice what it normally is will get the reaction that it is unfair. But if they say 2.1 times it is considered that there is a reason to get this figure.

Story Via; Huffingtonpost.com.au

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