Environment

We’ve all heard a lot about Elon Musk and the future plans of his companies, particularly that of SpaceX, in recent times. For example, SpaceX’s next generation is reportedly going to bring extraterrestrial travel – and maybe even colonisation – to the masses in the next decade. Tesla, on the other hand, may have more down-to-earth goals.

The high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) found in the Earth’s atmosphere is a consistent environmental and socioeconomic problem. Many scientists assert that it is a major contributing factor to overall global temperature trends. Even if this was not the case, it is also a prominent air pollutant, which affects the quality of life and respiratory health of millions worldwide.

When disaster hits, whether it be man-made or natural, the speed at which first responders are able to attend to the scene is often crucial in terms of survival rates. There will often also be many people trying to access the network at the same time: individuals calling home to let loved ones know they’re safe, many people phoning emergency services or sending information to authorities.

Solar energy involves using highly-specialised and engineered power cells to harvest the energy of sunlight and convert it into electricity that can be used by conventional appliances. Over the last 20 years, this concept has morphed from an unlikely pipe dream into a nearly-standard component of energy use in new buildings. Installations of sunlight-collecting panels in large numbers have become part of the everyday electricity grid in several countries, including China and Spain.

Most of us now realise that fish stocks in the world’s oceans are at an all-time low. But what many people fail to understand is that the age of the remaining fish within those stocks also has an important impact on the health of these marine communities, which we rely on as an important source of food.

Imagine driving your electric car on a long road trip across the country, without ever having to worry about checking your route for charging stations. Scientists and researchers are working hard to turn this scenario into reality and here, we take a closer and more detailed look at the technology behind the concept of being able to wirelessly charge electric cars.

Not just adults but also infants and people with chronic heart and lung diseases are hospitalized and sometimes even die from excessive exposure (above 35 ppm) to the toxic gas, carbon monoxide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it has caused more than 400 deaths per year in America alone because of what is called carbon monoxide poisoning.

It’s suggested that Hurricane Harvey is the largest flooding rainstorm to ever hit the United States. The intense rainfall and speed with which the storm intensified caused widespread devastation and a “1,000 year flood” that will take years for the affected communities to recover from.

The threat of deforestation is real. The biodiverse forests that cover more than 30% of our planet are at risk due to climate change, human interference and natural disasters. This in turn is endangering the lives of the many species who depend on them for survival. The World Resources Institute (WRI) has noted the decline in farmland, which ultimately affects basic necessities like food and drinking water even for the high-income nations of the world.

Coral reefs are incredible habitats, teeming with life and estimated to support an amazing 35 percent of all known marine species in the areas surrounding them. So, despite covering less than 0.2 percent of the ocean, they are extremely vital ecosystems for the health of the species that rely on them for survival.

It’s been a busy week for the Hyperloop One transport system. First, a student competition resulted in the winning entrant reaching seriously impressive speeds, a Space X/Tesla test pods then broke that record.

Anyone who has seen an octopus, squid or cuttlefish up close can’t deny that their other-worldly appearance and impressive shape-shifting abilities makes them truly fascinating creatures. As well as being fiercely intelligent, capable of solving complex problems, escaping through the tiniest of spaces and using tools, it seems as though their genetic makeup is also a step apart from many other animals.