Posted by davidwfox on 24 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: personal comments, transport
If you live in the San Francisco bay area, check out a recent addition to Google Maps - bus times - right on the map. This is just the kind of innovation needed to move people from personal cars to public transport, and with record high gas prices the timing couldn’t be better. Spread the word!
Update: Google adding help for bikers and pedestrians, via BusinessWeek.
Posted by davidwfox on 21 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: financial
Cnet News reports on two recent fundings:
Software company Carbonetworks on Monday is expected to announce it has secured $5 million series in A financing, led by clean-tech venture firm NGEN Partners. Continued at Cnet…
CarbonFlow has raised $2.9 million in its first round of venture funding from Clean Pacific Ventures, OVP Venture Partners, and Meridian Energy Limited, a New Zealand renewable energy supplier, which is a strategic partner. Continued at Cnet…
Posted by davidwfox on 13 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: books, climate change
One of the key things that attracted me to the field of biomimicry was that it showed in very clear terms the value of protecting biodiversity. I just heard the authors of “Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity” interviewed on PRI’s Living on Earth and thought it well worth sharing:
Variety isn’t just the spice of life…it’s essential for life. According to the new book “Sustaining Life, How Human Health Depends upon Biodiversity,” we need birds, bugs, and bacteria a lot more than they need us. We use them for medicines, biomedical and agricultural research, and new materials.
And from the book’s publisher: The Earth’s biodiversity-the rich variety of life on our planet-is disappearing at an alarming rate. And while many books have focused on the expected ecological consequences, or on the aesthetic, ethical, sociological, or economic dimensions of this loss, Sustaining Life is the first book to examine the full range of potential threats that diminishing biodiversity poses to human health.
Check it out now at Oxford University Press, Amazon or your favorite book seller.
Posted by davidwfox on 13 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: biomimicry
Fascinating program this morning from one of my favorite radio shows/podcasts:
In Baltimore, Maryland, there’s an octopus that likes to play with toys. In Vienna, Austria, there’s a border collie with a vocabulary of 340 words - more than many toddlers. Southeast Asia is home to dozens of elephants who like to paint. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, re-thinking animal intelligence. Not only are they smarter than we thought – in some cases they’re smarter than us.
You can listen to the program here, but note you’ll need Real Audio player installed.
Posted by davidwfox on 10 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: books
I’m feeling inspired after catching an interview on KPFA (starts at 96:25) with author and long-time activist Frances Moore Lappé. I recommend taking a look at her latest book “Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity, and Courage in a World Gone Mad”
“My book’s intent is to enable us to see what is happening all around us, but is still invisible to most of us. It is about people in all walks of life who are penetrating the spiral of despair and reversing it with new ideas, ingenious innovation - and courage.” Continued at http://www.gettingagrip.net/look-inside/
Posted by davidwfox on 09 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: energy efficiency, water
Here’s another ’smart’ product company: VentureBeat reports that Cyber-Rain, maker of wireless sprinkler control systems, an has raised $1.5 million in first round funding.
Cyber-Rain claims its technology can save customers 30 to 70 percent on their watering bills. While smart networks are nothing new in the utility sector, Cyber-Rain is one of the few startups we’ve seen that offers wireless control systems for water management. Continued at VentureBeat…
Posted by davidwfox on 07 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: biomimicry
If you happen to be in Marseille, France tomorrow (Tuesday, July 8th) stop by the Society for Experimental Biology’s Annual Meeting at the Parc Chanot to learn about “Hydrodynamic flow control in marine mammals”.
Sea creatures have evolved over millions of years to maximize efficiency of movement through water; humans have been trying to perfect streamlined designs for barely a century. So shouldn’t we be taking more notice of the experts?
The shape of whale flippers with one bumpy edge has inspired the creation of a completely novel design for wind turbine blades. This design has been shown to be more efficient and also quieter, but defies traditional engineering theories. “Engineers have previously tried to ensure steady flow patterns on rigid and simple lifting surfaces, such as wings. The lesson from biomimicry is that unsteady flow and complex shapes can increase lift, reduce drag and delay ’stall’, a dramatic and abrupt loss of lift, beyond what existing engineered systems can accomplish,”
Posted by davidwfox on 05 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: video
My friend Mark Feenstra copied me this video last week. With all the daily distractions I find it useful to see reminders like this…
Posted by davidwfox on 05 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: financial
This is actually news from early June but I’m just catching up on reading - isn’t that what holidays are for?
RockPort Capital Partners recently announced the close of its third venture capital fund with commitments of over $450 million, making it one of the largest venture funds focused on clean technology investments. Continued at CleanEdge.
Posted by davidwfox on 04 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: biomimicry
In a series titled “Just Imagine“, CNN seeks answers to the question “What will life be like in 2020?”. Here’s one from biomimicry pioneer, Janine Benyus:
I think that if we really pay attention and we become nature’s apprentice, if we begin to learn from these designs and recipes and strategies in the natural world and we recreate our technologies in that image.
I believe that every organism that I can see is sweetening this place. I think if we were to learn from their strategies, we too might be participants in that process, not depleting this place that sustains us, but actually enhancing it to the point where it becomes more and more conducive to life. Continued at CNN…
Another in this series looks at learning from humpback whales that could impact the way heart pacemakers are designed.
And one more - a great photo series. Thanks CNN!
Greenr - Accelerate the Change!
Ideas, information and actions for the new industrial revolution.
There are 142 posts and 34 comments so far.
