globalbriefs
Tech Trash Recycle All Electronic Products
With the average American household owning 24 electronic devices, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) estimates we are annually producing nearly 3 million tons of e-waste. Tube-type TVs and computer monitors contain lead, while cell phones harbor toxic mercury, cadmium, arsenic and brominated fl ame retardants, all of which can leach from landfi lls into groundwater. Alternatives include selling old phones or trading them in at a store, and buying a new phone only when necessary. For $10, Staples will recycle any brand of computer monitor, desktop and laptop computer, fax machine, printer or scanner. Dell products are accepted at no charge. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers information about local e-waste recycling and regulations regarding handling of electronic equipment at
Tinyurl.com/EPAeWasteTips. For a global perspective, see the United Nations Environment Programme 2010 update at
Tinyurl.com/UNeWasteReport.
Hot Stuff New Technology Increases Solar Effi ciency
There is huge potential in solar power, but our current methods of capturing the sun’s energy are limited as widely used silicon solar cells approach their theoretical limit of 33.7 percent effi ciency. Now a Princeton University research team has applied nanotechnology principles to incorporate a design that signifi cantly increases their effi cacy. Led by Stephen Chou, the team has made two dramatic improvements: reducing
refl ectivity and more effectively capturing the light that isn’t refl ected. The new solar cell is much thinner and less refl ective, capturing many more light waves via a minute mesh and bouncing off only about 4 percent of direct sunlight. The new design is capable of capturing a large amount of sunlight even when it’s cloudy, producing an 81 percent increase in effi ciency even under indirect lighting conditions.
Source:
OpticsInfoBase.org
Lost Ecosystem Hawaiian Coral Reef Under Siege
In the tropical paradise of Hawaiian waters, a milky growth has been spreading rapidly across the coral reefs along Kauai’s north shore. Marine biologist Terry Lilley, the foremost expert on the outbreak, says it now affects up to 40 percent of the coral in Anini Bay, and conditions in nearby areas are as bad or worse.
The growth, identifi ed by U.S. Geological Survey scientists as both a bacteria that grows through photosynthesis and a fungus, is killing all the coral it strikes and is spreading its infection at the rate of one to three inches a week. “This bacteria has been killing some of these 50-to-100-year-old corals in less than eight weeks,” Lilley told the Los Angeles Times, noting that the entire reef system appears to be losing its immune system. Some feel the cause is high levels of fecal and related bacteria from the town of Hanalei,
which has no sewer system and where homes are connected to cesspools and septic systems. Because no defi nitive link has been shown, government action has been limited.
18 Central Florida natural awakenings
Moon Fuel Two New Sources of Sustainable Energy
A new compound of lead telluride— a semiconductor fi rst used in the Apollo moon landings to provide astronauts with a renewable, thermoelectric power source—can transform the heat emitted from car tailpipes and the chimneys of power stations and factories into a power source. According to the scientists engineering the innovation at Northwestern University, in Evanston, Illinois, as much as 15 to 20 percent of the heat currently being lost could be recovered as electricity. Another team of researchers at Utah State University, in Logan, has created a yeast biodiesel fuel that can be made using the watery waste from the mass production of cheese. One cheese plant’s daily byproduct of up to 1 million gallons of liquid cheese waste can produce 66,000 gallons of fuel.
Thanks, Dad Norway Recognizes Fatherhood
Norway’s liberal paternity leave policy places equal responsibilities on men and women, which in turn progressively redefi nes traditional gender roles. Pappapermisjon, or paternity leave, is often combined with a mother’s maternity leave to provide seamless childcare at home without overtaxing parents’ work life. The Norwegian government has socially engineered a society in which men and women are expected to have equal domestic and economic responsibilities. Some specifi cs of the country’s “fathers’ rights” philosophy include leaving the workplace by 5:30 p.m.; being able to adjust offi ce hours around daycare drop-offs and pickups; and allowing time to organize family dinners and help with housework.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor
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