Sachs vs. Murdoch on Climate Change
Jeffery Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute, takes media mogul Rupert Murdoch to task for climate change denial.
Category Archives: Environment
The World’s Thinnest Insulation
The Panasonic Corporation has unveiled a new product which their developers describe as the world’s thinnest insulation. They call it the NASBIS high-performance thermal insulation sheet. The key to this technology is a material called aerogel, which is a synthetic porous material derived from a gel, but in which the normal liquid component of the gel has been replaced with gas.
Constructing the Eco-Homes of the Future
Energy conservation has become a major topic in Japan over the past few years, not only because of the suspension of nuclear reactors after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, but also because of the higher energy bills that came with it. New technology might help in that struggle.
JAXA Looks to Space for Energy Production
The loss of public faith in nuclear energy since the March 11, 2011, triple disaster has once again put the Japanese nation on the hunt for new solutions to its vast energy needs. Many voices have called for the dramatic expansion of renewable energy systems such as solar, wind, and hydro as the medium- to long-term answer to reduce the contemporary dependency on nuclear, as well as on CO2-producing forms of energy like oil and gas.
The Limits of Japan’s Solar Energy “Gold Rush”
More than two years after the Fukushima disaster, the effects of the government’s first efforts to reduce the nation’s dependency on nuclear power are clearly visible to the citizens of Anpachi in Gifu Prefecture, where Sanyo, now Panasonic, constructed its 315-meter-wide Solar Ark consisting of over 5,000 solar panels. Besides generating 530,000 kilowatt hours annually, the site also features a museum and several outdoor exhibitions.
Asteroid Defense Presents Heavenly Opportunity
Threats to humankind do not only come from within, and while it may still sound like science fiction to many, the possibility of a sizable asteroid impacting Earth remains a major concern for the space and national security communities. Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi recently reminded the public of this fact, and furthermore called for an international effort to detect and deflect incoming celestial bodies. Given the advanced capabilities of the Russian space program, Moscow would be a much welcome partner in such an enterprise.
