The RepRap universal constructor made a successful copy of itself on May 29, 2008. Follow the link for more information.
The RepRap is a 3D printer. If I understood correctly, self replication means it can produce all the parts from which one can create another RepRap. This means that if you have one, you can give copies to your friends at low cost, and soon there may be RepRaps everywhere. This is good, because the RepRap can also make useful objects from raw materials. If you need some item, you won't be dependent on some company being willing to make it for you. Also, you can share your designs with others. Last but not least, it would eliminate a lot of shipping - good for the environment.
Of course the technology of self reproducing 3D printers is still in its infancy, so don't expect a revolution just yet. But this IS a historic event.
As the importance of recycling becomes more apparent, questions about it linger. Is it worth the effort? How does it work? Is recycling waste just going into a landfill in China? Here are some answers read more »
very interesting article about the current state and the history of recycling, as well as the future of recycling. This last part I consider even more interesting, since dealing with the problem at the source is often a good idea, in this case: produce less rubbish or better recyclable rubbish....
I worked in a supermarket for some time (and this one went to some effort to prevent useless packaging etc, so it may be even worse in others), and the amount of packaging on a product is really enormous: products arive in boxes on carts. In these boxes, products are packaged 1, 2, 3 or more products inside one bigger package (this bundling makes people buy more stuff), while each of these packages has a "shell" of it's own. In each individual packages, there are sometimes smaller packages with eg 2 or 3 biscuits (for "freshness"), sometimes even going to the extend of packaging the indicvidual biscuits in these 2-3 biscuit packages... This means some products have up to 6 layers of packaging (and I was counting mostly cardboard, sometimes there are some extra plastic wrappers etc).... I don't think this is really necessary....
A Joint Effort of the Discordian Society
Post Office Liberation Front
THIS IS A CHAIN LETTER.
WITHIN THE NEXT FIFTY-FIVE DAYS YOU WILL RECEIVE THIRTY-ELEVEN HUNDRED POUNDS OF CHAINS!
In the meantime - plant your seeds.
If a lot of people who receive this letter plant a few seeds and a lot of people receive this letter, then a lot of seeds will get planted. Plant your seeds. read more »
After my previous post I was reminded of this. I hope you enjoy it. And if I turn out to be wrong, and planting trees does help the climate, then perhaps disasters may happen if you don't do what the chain letter asks you to.
Plant your seeds.
Nebraska City, Neb. – Much of the United States has been warmer in recent years, and that affects which trees are right for planting.
Based on the latest comprehensive weather station data, The National Arbor Day Foundation has just released a new 2006 arborday.org Hardiness Zone Map which separates the country into ten different temperature zones to help people select the right trees to plant where they live. read more »
Be sure to have a look at the animated map of changes.
Planting trees is not a very effective way to take CO2 out of the air, since it will eventually be released when the tree dies and rots. Most of the carbon "stored" in leaves will be released very soon, when those leaves are composted. I'm getting a bit tired of the misconception that planting trees can save the climate. Besides, we have cut down lots of trees in the past, and continue to do so... Their wood was either burned immediately or used in buildings that will eventually be demolished (if they haven't been already) and then the wood will be... burned. So forget about planting trees to compensate for CO2 emissions, if that even works. We have a lot of tree planting for compensation of deforestation to do, actually we still have to stop deforestation in tropical areas.
All that said, it is true that trees make cities more energy-efficient. Less need for airconditioning in summer, less need for heating in winter.
And looking at the map of changes in climate zones is scary. Climate change is happening, and it's happening fast.
Nature 448:136, 2007
July 12, 2007
Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet
by Mark Lynas
Fourth Estate: 2007. 384 pp. £12.99 read more »
A new scientific study concludes that changes in the Sun's output cannot be causing modern-day climate change. It shows that for the last 20 years, the Sun's output has declined, yet temperatures on Earth have risen. It also shows that modern temperatures are not determined by the Sun's effect on cosmic rays, as has been claimed.
US scientists believe they may have found a way to stop the growing problem of bacteria becoming resistant to current drug treatments.
They have found drugs called bisphosphonates block an enzyme used by bacteria to swap genes, and acquire or spread resistance to antibiotic drugs.They also showed that interfering with the enzyme could destroy drug resistant bacteria cultured in the lab. The study appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Lead researcher Professor Matt Redinbo, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said: "Our discoveries may lead to the ability to selectively kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria in patients, and to halt the spread of resistance in clinical settings." read more »
While in Australia for the International Agrichar Initiative conference in April, I got a chance to visit Djanbung Gardens, a farm and learning center founded by permaculture expert Robyn Francis in the alternative community of Nimbin, New South Wales. After a wonderful hour touring the garden with students from Canada, South Africa and France, I sat down with Robyn for a chat about permaculture and the future of Australia's and the world's agricultural systems.
KW: Robyn, please tell me - what got you interested in permaculture? read more »
BERLIN: The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, Tuesday announced an ambitious plan to reduce greenhouse emissions by up to 40 percent by 2020, an initiative welcomed by environmentalists but harshly criticized by the energy industry, a powerful lobby.
Merkel also ruled out any change to the government's nuclear policy before the next election, scheduled for 2009, that calls for the industry to be phased out in the next 14 years. As part of the emissions-cutting plan, Merkel said she intended to require energy producers to increase efficiency by 3 percent each year and improve conservation. read more »
[From The Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria, M. Jastrow, 1915] read more »
This week, i have talked with someone about black holes, lands of no return and rebirth. About the eternal return and alterlife. I promised this text, so, here it is.
Also, how we have to leave the seven veils before faced the queen of memories. as we enter to the land of no return, as we are born to the world of the life, .
under my point of view, it´s all the same
beautiful !
For full text of agreements see the link
ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE read more »
Global Warming And Climate Change: Are Mass Media Reporting True Scientific Facts or Are They Spinning a Panic Wheel Again To Favour a Hidden Economic Agenda?
Global warming and climate change are suddenly very hot topics in the global mass media. According to the UN Framework Convention On Climate Change, national governments, mass media broadcasters and even advertisers, we all need to be doing our bit to prevent a climatic cataclysm. read more »
Source: University of Utah
Date: June 4, 2007
Science Daily - University of Utah physicists developed small devices that turn heat into sound and then into electricity. The technology holds promise for changing waste heat into electricity, harnessing solar energy and cooling computers and radars.
University of Utah physicist Orest Symko demonstrates how heat can be converted into sound by using a blowtorch to heat a metallic screen inside a plastic tube, which then produces a loud tone, similar to when air is blown into a flute. Symko and his students are developing much smaller devices that not only convert heat to sound, but then use the sound to generate electricity. The devices may be used to cool electronics, harness solar energy in a new way, and conserve energy by changing waste heat into electric power. Credit: (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Utah) read more »
fascinating technology....
International Herald Tribune
Monday, June 4, 2007
UNITED NATIONS, New York:
So, the lines are drawn. As the industrialized
nations of the Group of 8 gather in Heiligendamm,
the forces mustered to fight global warming have read more »
Are wind turbines benign carbon-free power sources or avian death traps that blight the landscape? New numbers have been tossed into the fray, yet we're no closer to achieving common ground. (No surprise there.) read more »
while not conclusive this articles at least sheds some light on the rumor that windturbines kill the birds, providing more or less "hard" data...
A question I ask myself: isn't there a way to make these turbines more visible to birds?
In an overgrown corner of Moolchand Sethia's plantation, runty and unloved, stands what could be the next revolution in the world's search for renewable fuel. read more »
Allthough biodiesel certainly isn't the answer to all problems, it's always nice to see some development in greener energy, especially when it also sparks some economical interest... I think greener energy wil become a reality much sooner when the force of economy is backing it up...
Tackling global warming need not cost the Earth, a panel of UN scientists said today.
In the third in a series of reports, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said that keeping the rise in temperatures to within 2C would cost only 0.12 per cent of annual gross domestic product if governments exploited new technologies to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
“It’s a low premium to pay to reduce the risk of major climate damage,” Bill Hare, a Greenpeace adviser who co-authored the report, told Reuters news agency after the culmination of marathon negotiations which ran over their four-day schedule.
“If we continue to do what we are doing now, we are in deep trouble,” added Ogunlade Davidson, co-chair of the IPCC, which includes experts from some 120 nations. read more »
Once more, it is clear that much can be done about the global warming/emission problems, even without having to change our behaviour very much... If only people would start acting upon it (or more)....
Author: Ed Iglehart
It's far from certain it will get that much warmer uniformly, or that
more crops will grow better. The advice to local farmers was that the
autumn (planting time not currently safe due to wet) will be longer
before the winter rains begins and severely limit access to the land -
equipment bogs down and seriously disturbs the soil structure. Winter
wet seems likely to extend further into the Spring, so early cultivation
and planting is curtailed.
I have to admit my observations locally are different, extending some 35
years (in arrears). I have noticed more frequent earlier ends to rain,
sometimes with no significant rainfall between February and late April
or even early May.
The advisors also indicated a frequent very dry period between July and
August, at times so severe as to dessicate the roots of many
shallow-rooted crops. I have observed this quite often, notably 75 and
76, but on several more summers and more frequently of late.
It's not simple, and full of uncertainty, and many large adjustments
will be needed. A certain amount of Anthropogenic (human-caused)
climate disruption is already bought in an irrevocable contract for
which our payment received was the 'benefits' of the industrial
revolution, which has nearly destroyed the work of the Neolithic
(Agrarian) revolution. read more »
28 April 2007 - After 15 years of discussions and negotiations on a global approach to protect the world's forests, countries meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York have adopted a landmark agreement on international forest policy and cooperation following two weeks of intense negotiations.
The final agreement was reached after delegates to the UN Forum on Forests worked through the night, concluding just after dawn this morning. Exhausted delegates nevertheless called the agreement a milestone, noting it was the first time States have agreed to an international instrument for sustainable forest management."
Forum on Forest Chair Hans Hoogeveen, hailed the agreement as an "outstanding achievement" and said it ushered in "a new chapter" in forest management. Mr. Hoogeveen earlier told the delegates that the livelihoods of over a billion of the world's poor are at stake. "We have only one planet to share, and we must ensure its health and sustainability."
The new agreement, although not legally binding, sets a standard in forest management that is expected to have a major impact on international cooperation and national action to reduce deforestation, prevent forest degradation, promote sustainable livelihoods and reduce poverty for all forest-dependent peoples.
More than 1.6 billion people, according to World Bank estimates, depend on forests for their livelihoods. The forest product industry is a source of economic growth and employment, with global forest products traded internationally in the order of $270 billion. read more »
I have been today working on tree hugging for some humans, once i arrived home, i read this.
Its main aim is fight against poverty, and secondarily on "green" topics. But one feeling came immediately to me: the complete harmony we could reach if our aim would be happiness, love, solidarity, respect, creation, etc. As opposite to the stress that comes from power, control, monitoring, ownership, etc.
Forests help, trees help. For some people, trees may help for keeping passion alive (passion for life and passion for one lover help each other). For other people, forests help against starvation. For some people, trees provide wisdom and peace. For all of us, forests fight against pollution.
All forms of life are related and are needed. Even human beings are needed for maintenance and development of life over this planet, at least this is my belief according to the Enuma Elish. Of course, if we don't work fine we would be fired as maintenance and development chief, unfortunately also our assistants (dogs, dolphins, etc.) could be fired.
Both civilizations, both ways of life are here and now. We must survive here and now. We live here and now. We can reach happiness, love, solidarity, respect, creation, etc. here and now. We can reach more power, control, monitoring, ownership, etc., here and now if others allow us or if we defeat others.
I feel more and more how the first one gains little pieces of space and the second one loses space. Inside most of us and in our world.
The Bush Administration's campaign for regulatory reform has now taken aim at guidance documents, a potpourri of messages from federal agencies that tell businesses how to implement regulations. A new directive from President Bush orders agencies to submit significant guidance documents for review by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It's uncertain how broadly OMB will interpret its new authority. Yet the directive set off a firestorm of alarm among environmental and public-health advocates, who say that an aggressive White House could impede or change agency guidance.
Executive Order 13422, issued by President Bush on January 18, 2007, is accompanied by OMB's Final Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices. These two documents boost White House control over a wide range of regulatory activities.
During the Bush Administration, OMB has often operated under the public radar by issuing documents that attack environmental science; it appears to be the White House's favorite approach toward weakening environmental and public-health regulations, says David Michaels, an epidemiologist at George Washington University. "This was clearly written to target risk assessments by the EPA," Michaels says. read more »
Sadley for the world this administration believes, "where there is a will there is a way" and these SOB's definitely have the WILL. Hopefully we can get this overturned when Congress reconvenes Monday. dawn 
By Bryan Bender
The Boston Globe
Monday 09 April 2007
Seeks assessments by CIA, Pentagon.
Washington - The CIA and Pentagon would for the first time be required to assess the national security implications of climate change under proposed legislation intended to elevate global warming to a national defense issue.
The bipartisan proposal, which its sponsors expect to pass the Congress with wide support, calls for the director of national intelligence to conduct the first-ever "national intelligence estimate" on global warming.
The effort would include pinpointing the regions at highest risk of humanitarian suffering and assessing the likelihood of wars erupting over diminishing water and other resources. read more »
Hey guys we are far behind the rest of the world but there are a few of us trying. As usual with us it is security driven.
WHAT, me cynical?? 
Hello!
THIS NOTE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!
IF YOU HAVE UPDATES PLEASE SEND THEM TO ME...
Because i got a lot of question's about "earth rotation" at chat sessions i have made some notes of some items.
* It is is hobby of my to read books and search at internet about climate, earth etc.
I am not an expert in this subject!
* Interesting books are: Erich von Daniken, Nostradamus, Fingerprints of the Gods (Graham Hancock).
* Interesting sites are: Graham Hancock site, http://www.exitmundi.nl
* About "Fingerprints of the Gods"
One of the most interesting things in this book is the rotation of the earth that happenend about 10.000 years BC.
The earth is rotating in more than one direction:
- it rotates around every 24 hours (1670 km/h)
- it rotates around the sun every year (108.000 km/h)
- it rotates about 2 degrees every 41.000 years (variation of the axe of the earth).
In the book you can read about partly rotating of the earth (last time 30 degrees) because the earth is out of balance.
The earth can be out of balance because ice is melting OR growing at the poles.
Nowadays the ice is melting at the North Pole, and some say it is growing at antarctica...
A lot of weight is moving then, the earth can be out of balance, and it is possible the outer part of the world rotates a few degrees... (the inner part, magma, is not rotating then).
In the book it is said the rotation happened in just a few hours! After that the climate will be terrible for a long time.
Volcunous, tsnumami, rain, cold, heat, everything will change.
And a lot of people will not survive...
There is some proof this is a real story:
- Under the ice layer at Antarctica they found parts of trees and plants. read more »
