Lifeboat Foundation

Jobs in the solar field in the United States grew at a rate 17 times faster than the overall economy. This was part of a larger trend towards jobs in renewable energy and away from more dangerous, less sustainable jobs in fossil fuels.

A new report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reveals that solar jobs in the U.S. (and other nations) are expanding quickly. As of November 2016, the American solar industry employed 260,077 workers. This is an increase of 24.5% from 2015, with a growth rate that is 17 times faster than the United States economy as a whole.

China is also planning to use the initiative to flex its scientific and engineering muscles, officials made clear at a 2-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that ended yesterday in Beijing. “Innovation is an important force powering development,” Xi said in a speech to the opening session of the forum. And so the initiative will include technical cooperation in fields including artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, quantum computing, and smart cities. He also mentioned the need to pursue economic growth that is in line with sustainable development goals, and that rests on environmentally friendly approaches.

Investment also planned in artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and other fields.

Still, the seed vault is supposed to function without humans having to get involved with maintenance. The Norwegian government is studying the situation and plans to fix the leak.

It was a story that was too good to pass up. The Svalbard ‘doomsday’ seed vault had flooded because of global warming-induced high temperatures melting the surrounding permafrost. But according to one of the vault’s creators, the reports are pretty overblown and everything’s fine. Well, the vault’s fine. The apocalypse is still ticking along nicely.

No seeds were lost but the ability of the rock vault to provide failsafe protection against all disasters is now threatened by climate change.

A planned coal fired mega power plant in India has been scrapped because the government wants to focus on green energy.

Gujarati state officials had planned a 4,000-Megawatt ultra-mega power project (UMPP).

It would have been the state of Gujarat’s second UMPP.

Continue reading “India cancelling huge coal power station because it wants to focus on renewable energy” »

• Second Livestock is a unique application of virtual reality (VR) that could change animal husbandry and livestock farming.
• Developed by design professor Austin Stewart, this VR free-range farm world is a safe haven for chickens.

Free-range livestock is going to the next level, thanks to a unique, if seemingly silly idea that has recently gone viral. Second Livestock is a free range world for chickens in virtual reality (VR). And yes, just like most of VR’s current applications, it actually works like a game — a massively-multiplayer one full of chickens and with no AI bots.

FlashBattery promises to make charging your car a quick and easy affair.

EVE and NOMI will change the way you drive.

NSERC/Tesla Canada Industrial Research Chair Jeff Dahn has claimed that the cells developed by his research team could double the life of Tesla’s batteries, a milestone not expected for another four years.

For the procrastinators of the world, simply hitting a deadline is often an achievement worthy of celebration. Clearly, battery researcher Jeff Dahn is not one of those people. Less than one year into a research partnership with Tesla, his team has created and lab-tested cells capable of doubling the lifetime of the company’s batteries — a milestone they weren’t expected to hit for another four years.

Continue reading “Tesla Just Doubled the Lifetime of Its Batteries Four Years Ahead of Schedule” »