Large-scale cultivation of sea lettuce can help reduce acidification of the oceans. And help solve the global food supply problem to boot. Ocean acidification is an effect of having too much carbon dioxide. The other effect of too much carbon dioxide is global warming. Growing 180,000 square kilometres of sea lettuce (ulva lactuca) could be …
Hi, this is Joseph Friedlander with a guest post for Next Big Future. This article will discuss setting up an industrial village on the Moon. And on import substitution and Jane Jacobs economics (transactions of decline and transactions of ascent). Note- This is a lengthy discussion of a plan for bootstrapping civilization into space. In …
I made a set of public predictions for the Honeywell Canada Futurist Essay competition of 1985. One of the predictions in the essay was that there would be movies in 2010 where the audience could choose aspects of the plot. This has been technically achieved and a movie with this capability has been screened by …
This is the second part of my new review of predictions that I made in 2006 The predictions were published at nanotech-now. Prediction – 80-200mpg cars – mainstream, batteries, ultracapacitors 5-10 times better 2008-2012 There are several diesel cars with mileage in the 75 mpg range based on UK fuel economy ratings. The UK fuel …
Currently the world economy is $74 trillion on a purchasing power parity basis. the IMF is forecasting about 6% per year growth through 2015 for a world economy of $99 trillion. Goldman Sachs has projected a world economy of over $200 trillion in 2050 Robert Fogel, nobel prize winning economist has projected China to have …
Megan McArdle tries to put a positive spin on America’s failure and bleak future in regards to high speed rail. Viewed from a purely technological perspective, America’s high speed rail is an embarrassment compared to China’s: shaky, slow, and not particularly sleek. But viewed in another way, our slow rail network is the price for …
Labnol has a list of devices for watching internet videos on TV Here is an updated list of pricing and updated descriptions. There are definitely good options for ditching your cable and satellite TV subscription to watch internet TV instead. Then the choices are if the freely available internet content is enough or if you …
“We will see nuclear ships on specific trade routes sooner than many people currently anticipate,” said Lloyd’s Register CEO Richard Sadler. The organisation has been an independent service provider to the shipping industry for 250 years. There is the potential for market-based measures for controlling carbon dioxide emissions, while the entry into force of strict …
PHD Thesis – The Microwave Thermal Thruster and its Application to The Launch Problem by Kevin Parkin (2006) The full pdf is here (38.5 Megabytes) Nuclear thermal thrusters long ago bypassed the 50-year-old specific impulse (Isp) limitation of conventional thrusters, using nuclear powered heat exchangers in place of conventional combustion to heat a hydrogen propellant. …
Joseph Friedlander asked David LeBlanc about the starting fissile requirement for Thorium nuclear reactors. David Le Blanc, Physics Dept, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada and Ottawa Valley Research Associates Ltd A 12 page paper by David LeBlanc , Denatured Molten Salt Reactors (DMSR): An Idea Whose Time Has Finally Come? Take 1970s technology, add perhaps $3 …
Of the more than 80,000 dams in the U.S., about a third pose a “high” or “significant” hazard to life and property if a failure occurs, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The dam safety community has made a giant leap in its efficiency and effectiveness, with the implementation of Potential Failure Mode …