Alternative-energy firm starts testing its innovative airborne wind turbines
The Canadian startup Magenn Power has started testing its airship-based wind turbines. The Magenn Power Air Rotor System, or MARS, consists of a blimp-like device that is tethered to the ground, and rotates about its horizontal axis in the breeze. This action generates electrical energy, which is sent down the tether to a transformer, and eventually routed through to the grid.
Magenn says that it’s air-based turbine system will surpass all the other wild airborne wind-power schemes out there in terms of cost, efficiency and more. The advantage over ground or sea-based turbines is that the blimps, floating at high altitudes, should be able to tap into stronger, more consistent breezes. Depending upon the size of the model, it should produce between 10 kilowatts and several megawatts of power. Of course, that’s assuming that it works.
The company recently tested a scale version in a massive indoor facility, and plans to move outdoors for testing soon. The first working versions will probably be at industrial sites, with commercial versions to follow. More on how it works here.
Via MetaEfficient
Despite food shortages worldwide, a culture of waste pervade the U.S. and Britain
In the current climate of rising gas and food prices, it should stand to reason that people would find ways to change their most wasteful habits. According to new research from the UK, we need look no further than our own refrigerators. Fully 18 percent of all food purchased for household use in England and Wales is thrown away. The number is even higher for families with children at 27 percent. A now four year-old study of similar measure in the U.S. puts the American number around 14 percent, with nearly half of all food readied for harvest never making it to a dinner table. It is hard to imagine that just two generations ago these numbers would have been unthinkable.
While some measure of food will always be ruined due to environmental factors on its way into the market, much of the food wasted on tables in the UK and the U.S. is due to poor planning and over-purchasing on the part of consumers. The effects of all that waste reach far beyond a monetary loss on the consumer’s end; when the packaging, shipping, production, and waste management costs are factored in, the overall financial consequence skyrockets. What was most illuminating to the researchers was that ultimately the problem is a cultural one. We have grown accustomed to an uninterrupted bounty and the economic impact has not yet grown severe enough to change peoples’ habits significantly.
Via BBC
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- Tags: Environment, Food, Food Shortage, Growing, Trash, Waste
Think blooms lure bugs just by smelling good and looking pretty? Not so, new research shows
Flowers are known to attract pollinating insects through a variety of means, from alluring fragrances and nectar to vibrant colors and shapes. According to a new study in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, scientists can now add an unlikely mechanism to the list: movement. Researchers from the University of Aberystwyth in Wales observed 300 specific coastal flowers, noting stem lengths, the range of swaying distance, how often and how long they were visited by insects, and how many seeds were ultimately produced.
Those flowers with long and thin stems proved to be the most attractive to insects and produced the most seeds. The scientists concluded their swaying motions made them most visible among others. There are practical limits, however. Those flowers with terribly long stems moved too much to allow insects to make a stable landing and so were generally avoided. Similarly, the flowers with shorter stems were less visited since they were hard to differentiate from the crowd.
