Republicans Are Changing Their Politics About Global Warming

There are many elected officials determined to solve the climate change issue, and this is for the same reasons as activists. Our children will suffer as a result of global warming, and the economy will suffer, as will the natural world. There is also an issue for politicians of winning the seats to allow them to pass the laws needed.

It may surprise some to know that the areas providing clean energy jobs such as solar facilities and wind power are situated in Republican areas. The reason for this is that the areas’ best suited to provide these services tend to return Republicans rather than Democrats. Texas, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Kansas have the wind and sun needed as well as having the free land to place the facilities.

Jobs in the clean energy sector are no longer just in the one place all though it is debatable that they ever were. There are more wind-related jobs in Texas, and Nevada and North Carolina are the best places to provide solar energy. The jobs of constituents are of vital importance to politicians and job growth keeps them happy. James Baker, a former Secretary of State, even tried to promote the first Gulf War by saying that it would be good for jobs.

Solar jobs have grown 20% across the nation, and there are now more than in coal mining. Renewable energy is also coming to the fore, and again republican areas are benefitting.

Read More; Edf.org

Sun Powered ” SunGlacier Sculpture ” Uses Air and The Sunshine to Produce Water

News

Andrew Thomas

For the last six years, Ap Verheggen has been trying to use air and the sunshine to produce water. The Hague is the location of the water fountain that is the result of his work. The 8-metre sculpture is made from everyday items that are easy to obtain and are mainly metal and wood. Solar energy is used to run the dehumidifier and according to Verheggen, the invention will be important in areas that do not have much water.

Up to 8 million people die each day as a result of water-related illnesses and this is not expected to drop with climate change being the problem. The idea of Inhabitat is to inspire others to help provide clean water.

Sun Powered " SunGlacier sculpture " Uses Air and The Sunshine to Produce Water

The metal stand topped with cedar wood has a rechargeable battery pack and the water that is produced is sent out of the upper part of the structure. It has been determined that sunny days see the best production. Veheggan hopes to increase the 2 litres of water per SQ.meter of solar to 8 litres. For anyone who wants to see the sculpture that is hoping to be the start of making water available, they will have to visit the Museum of the Sculptures before October 2016.

It is known that solar water will need to go through a process of filtration as well as having minerals added to it before it can be classed as drinking water. The good news is that off-the-shelf products can lead to the production of clean water.

Read More; Sunglacier.nl

Harvard Students Are Working Hard to Find Solutions To Climate Change

News

Andrew Thomas

Undergraduate students at Harvard have been creating a calorimeter with just an empty soda can and an already used styrofoam cup. Just a week earlier, they had extracted biodiesel from the oil fryer that was located in the Annenberg Dining Hall. Their hope was to work out the efficiency and energy density of the biodiesel.

Students are working hard to try and find solutions to climate change, and institutional action along with scholarship is being factored in. Working with James Stock of the Harvard Kennedy School faculty, they have benefited from the grant he has for research into climate change from the Climate Change Solutions Fund. This is to allow him to carry out research into the markets level of impediment when it comes to biofuel penetration.

The students are investigating the decision made by the University in 2004 to use biodiesel to fuel its shuttles as it was seen as an alternative source of fuel for cars as there are fewer greenhouse gases and fewer emissions released which meant less pollution.

Victor Agbafe stated that the lesson made the manner of using fuel on campus more personal, and as Harvard was always looking for ways to save energy, it was not always the case that the results were tangible and could be seen in action on a regular basis. The area around Harvard is often used as a living laboratory and as a result there has been an increase in the level of resources provided by the Office of Sustainability.

Story Via; News.Harvard.Edu

Is Organic farming Best Choice For Our Earth?

News

Mehmet Hatipoglu

There are still being questions asked regarding the idea that organic farming is the best idea for the world as well as the environment. If you go to a farmers’ market, you are bound to be told that this is the best way to shop as products will be locally grown and although this will be true in some cases, results will vary from area to area. There will have to be many different schemes in order to ensure there is enough wholesome food to go around a population that could have reached 9 billion inhabitants as soon as 2050.

The way that farms perform can be more important than which system is best. There are times when organic farming will not lead to larger yields or have the least impact on the environment. Both forms of agriculture should be allowed to work side by side and in certain areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa there is little help available, and food can be scarce.

We need to change the conversation about sustainable agriculture to talk about performance – rather than focusing on which production systems are good or bad.

Organic farming here will be good as chemical products will not be available, so animal manure is pretty much all there is. Production will be entirely different in Africa and South America than it is in the States or Europe.

Performance has to be the way in which farming systems are judged, and size should not be the main issue. Now is the time to help farmers across the world to protect their land while still increasing output. Everyone needs to be involved.

Read More: Edf.org

California Hopes To Save some Solar Energy With This New Strategy

News

Mehmet Hatipoglu

The current grid system is not able to handle the amount of solar energy that being produced and as a result some of the energy is being wasted. This is the problem being faced in California and David Roberts of Vox states that it will be a good time to expand the grid. He also says that as a result, there are some other methods that can be brought into this issue. It is not enough just to have connected grids and other things have to come into play. One such thing is the time of use pricing, and this will encourage the energy usage to be shifted some of the power consumption to particular times of day when it is known that clean energy is cheaper and abundant.

Time-of-use pricing will help California stretch the capacity of its grid.

The pilot for this strategy – time-of-use pricing – will be held in California, and the end results are hoped to show that the demand for energy during the peak periods will go down. Rooftop storage will work alongside the pricing strategy, and any Californians who are prepared to sign up for the program will find that their electricity bills will be lowered. It is a scheme that is allowing people to learn more about saving energy and saving money.

As the change over from dirty fuels to clean fuels continues, there need to be planned in place to make sure it is a smooth transfer. Having all grids connected will be a start, and there are a variety of clean energies that need to work alongside the projects in California to ensure an economy built on clean energy.

Story Via; Edf.org

SolarCity is Ready to Become an Utility Service Provider

News

Mehmet Hatipoglu

The sun could soon be shining at night thanks to Elon Musk and Tesla/SolarCity. Tesla Energy will store it – and the SolarCity Utilities Services will deliver it to you even at night. Tesla is going to put in place more storage than the USA did in 2015 and this is just via SolarCity. According to the press releases – one which detailed the Utility and Grid services, the other was about solar power systems and storage for electricity alongside the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative.

It is now clear that SolarCity is in a great position to go the extra mile and carry out work that involved more than solar power kits that are meant for use in residential properties. The project is an incredibly large one and shows the commitment that Elon Musk towards batteries and leading the campaign against the companies providing fossil fuels.

SolarCity is Ready to Become an Utility Services Provider — Featured image: Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative and SolarCity have announced the development of 13 megawatts (AC) of solar power systems and at least 1.5 megawatts (6.0-megawatt hours) of energy storage systems located in southern Connecticut. (sample rendering) Source:PR Newswire

Dispatchable Storage solutions on a large scale are now being offered by SolarCity. Energy storage is being combined with solar storage and can access low-cost solar power when it is most needed. Capacity charges can be a thing of the past for utilities, and leak loads can be managed at a lower cost than fossil fuel companies will charge.

Microgrids are also provided by SolarCity, and when it is considered that around 500,000 vehicles per year will be produced by Tesla, it is clear why there is the need to expand the Gigafactory by 40%. This will be particularly useful when a million cars a year are leaving the Freemont factory.

How Twitter’s Algorithm Detect Important Actions in a Stream?

Apps

Mehmet Hatipoglu

Twitter has been working on technology that will recognize the activities in a live video. As someone streams an item, Twitter could allow you to find it right away. Meerkat and Periscope tend not to tag as well as they could but thanks to the AI team at Twitter – Cortex – has an algorithm that detects the action in a stream and as content regularly changes on live videos, it is a great thing that they can now be tagged.

It is impressive progress that has been made recently as identifying video content is harder than identifying items in pictures. It takes a lot of skill to do it right away A computer has been built specifically or this and according to Peter Brusilorvsky from the University of Pittsburgh videos are not usually easy to skim, and processing power is important.

The next aim for the Cortex team is to develop a system that will filter content and share it based on the viewers previous viewing history. Tests are being carried out on Periscope, which is a Twitter mobile phone app.

Videos can be tagged in many ways and as a result, it can be hard to find good clips if they are not tagged as you would expect. As yet there is no advertising on Periscope, but that may have to change, and it will be easy to add the correct form off advertising once the content has been correctly catalogued.

Professor Ben Edelman of Harvard’s Berkman Centre believes it will be crucial when it comes to filtering out pornography.

American Mustang Winning The War In Germany

News

Mehmet Hatipoglu

Importers are sold out of the Ford Mustang in Germany, and other parts of Europe and grey importers could benefit despite their higher prices and no warranties. The questions being asked surround why the car is so popular and why do other American cars seem to fall short?

780 Mustangs were registered in Germany last year, and this was more than the Audi TT, sporty Porsche, and the Mercedes SLC. The Czech Republic also saw more registered than the A5 or 4 Series BMW. This is an amazing achievement, and there are a few reasons why it is so popular. Price is clearly one area, like less than $49,000 is a bargain.

American Mustang Winning The War In Germany

In Europe the purchase price given is final. Tax is included, and there are no further destination charges. The Mustang is up against the Ecoboost as well as the Civic R and Golf R. it is also not a great deal more expensive than the Ford Mondeo, or Skoda Superb.

Price, however, is not the only reason but the fact that official Ford dealerships are now supplying it. Receiving a warranty is important and in some cases there is just a general mistrust of dealers considered to be unofficial.

Official availability is making all the difference and the well-tuned suspension along with an elegant interior that has not always been present is helping as well. European drivers had an interest in the Mustang for some time and when it faded the first time the Capri replaced it, but that also left the scene.

BMW i Series Will Be Updated, But New Models Need More Time

News

Mehmet Hatipoglu

BMW are playing down the fact that some senior team members have left and are now employed by a Chinese electric company. An insider claimed that personnel move around all the time and those that have left would be replaced.

In conversations at the Geneva motor show, it was revealed that internal debates were taking place regarding the production of the next i product. One thing that was made clear was that the next release is some time away. It is likely to be the i5 and along with the i8 Spider will not be available for around three years.

According to Autocar, the i8 Coupe is going to be refreshed and as a result range and power will be increased due to the use of an electric motor and powerful battery pack. There will not be any new developments other than these for the foreseeable future.

Sales have been poor for the i3 and those that have been made have been won through hard work.

If there are no subsidies for the electric vehicles, then there are not as many sales, and understandably BMW doesn’t want to push themselves until they are sure they will be able to sell the cars. It also makes sense to hold back on future investment although there are stories circulating about the German government offering incentives to those selling electric or battery operated cars. As this progresses, there could be a new wave of investment and development, leading to more none petrol using vehicles for sale.

Story Via; Car and Driver

Zuckerberg believes that Facebook has been, and will continue to be a bold company

Internet

Mehmet Hatipoglu

Facebook has been through some changes but is determined that Mark Zuckerberg stays in charge. C shares have been released meaning that he can keep his voting power even tough stock is being offloaded for charity. It may not be the traditional way to do business, but in Silicon Valley founders tend to keep firm control. Google has gone a step further and now as three classes of shares so that founders stay in control.

Zuckerberg believes that Facebook has been, and will continue to be a bold company. Sales have risen 52% in the last year, and profits are expected to be 77 cents per share. The idea of third class shares started last year when directors – Susan Desmond-Hellman, Marc Andreessen, and Erskine Bowles looked at the capital structure. At the end of the year, Zuckerberg and his wife said they would create a limited liability company and give 99% of shares to charity.

The shares owed can be donated and yet voting power will not change. Class V Group founder Lise Buyer sees it as a sensible way to share wealth yet retain control. Decisions that seem strange short term will be successful long term.

C shares may trade lower than A shares, but there is little benefit from selling one over the other. As Facebook is doing so well, it will be easy to have the new shares accepted. Money is coming in from Instagram and Facebook Messenger now includes advertising, while WhatsApp could soon bring in advertising funds.

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