The European comission is considering a rule which would essentially ban ne internal combustion engine cars from 2025, only 4 years away. The industry as obviously attacked this, in part by pointing out the rules demanding that all cars be practically clear of emissions by 2025 will rule out clean fuels such as liquid hydrogen.
Continue reading “Could the EU bring forward the end of new combustion engine cars to 2025?”The EU is bringing in laws that require products to last for a decade
At the current time, we have a highly inefficient system. There is no requirement as to how long technology is required to last. In the past, that has perhaps been less noticeable, as the advance in the capabilities has been so fast, that an upgrade generally became desired long before the product wore out.
However, there has been an alarming trend which has seen manufacturers removing manuals to allow products to be serviced, and or sealing parts of the product, so that batteries cannot be replaced or in some other way making DIY fixing hard or impossible.
Continue reading “The EU is bringing in laws that require products to last for a decade”Using sewage to heat homes?
Thames water in London UK is hoping to use excess heat from sewage treatment plants to provide the warmth needed for 2000 homes in Kingston-upon-Thames.
What normally happens, is that once the water has been fully treated, it is returned to the river. The problem with this, is that the water is at a higher temperature than the river, and this is not good for its ecosystem.
Continue reading “Using sewage to heat homes?”Life has been discovered living beneath the Antarctic ice sheet
Having drilled 900m through the ice this team of scientists found something incredible. Despite no light making its way through the ice, they found a boulder surrounded by sponges as well as 22 other species (including barnacles). Immobile life has not been found below the Antarctic ice before.
Continue reading “Life has been discovered living beneath the Antarctic ice sheet”What to do about the wild animal market in China
The Coronavirus is thought to have emerged in one of the wet markets of Wuhan, China. Much of what went on in these markets was never fully legal. Indeed this $13 billion a year trade has often operated in the grey areas of the law.
However, it has become clear that these are actually rather dangerous. It is one thing to enter a wild area to see the animals that live there. However it is something quite different to go in and kill animals to eat. These wild areas often harbour odd viruses or bacteria and by taking animals alive or dead out of these ecosystems you bring out these threats so that we can contract the illness.
Continue reading “What to do about the wild animal market in China”Could many hills in the UK become the batteries of tomorrow?
A new system can transform thousands of hills in the UK into large batteries. A team of engineers have developed a system which would allow Hydropower to store and release power within gently sloping hills and without the huge dams currently needed.
The idea of these small hydropower systems, is that we could build many of these tiny dams for far less than just a few large ones. More importantly, it would come with far less negative issues to those that come with historic large dams (for instance the proposed dam which threatens the future of 8th great ape species the Tapulani Orangutan).
Continue reading “Could many hills in the UK become the batteries of tomorrow?”There are now 5 embryos created to save the Northern white rhino
Until recently there were only 3 viable embryos, so it is encouraging that these two new ones have be able to be created. There are currently just 2 remaining northern white rhino left. The last two both live at Ol Pejeta conservancy in central Kenya.
