When - The Kalin Twins

Add onto this the ever increasing demand in the east coupled with the finite reserves, unless a great new energy technology is discovered relatively soon oil will soon become a luxury resource.

See below:

This unassuming photo of pedestrians in a German town can be analyzed for faces and the following is generated:

This technology is surely already being implemented by security and espionage services worldwide – the only difference being the scale is much grander, with cameras in traffic lights and crowded streets that are surely checked against a database to try to find troublemakers in the system. See below for more examples:

And just remember, as time goes on this will only become more prevalent – and if you look up it will not be hard to imagine you will be recognized immediately.

solar shingles

These panels are being announced and researched and by Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) codename “Powerhouse” and the company claims after 10 years that they will pay for themselves with government subsidies factored in. This is quite ridiculous indeed as if this was the case (and I doubt it is) than one would probably profit more and help the environment more by investing in oil futures – thereby doing their part in increasing the price hence decreasing the consumption utility of oil than buying a product that is covered in plastic (an oil product) that saps money from the government and is less cost efficient energy-wise than wisely insulating ones home.

Dow is not the inventor of solar shingles, there is a company called Uni-Solar which already makes the product but uses an older amorphous silicon technology for homes and who’s website claims to be “the only flexible photovoltaic product produced in commercially viable volumes”. Dow is utilizing ‘Copper indium gallium selenide‘ (CIGS) technology which has better efficiency (up to 19%) and generously applying its ample knowledge of plastics to increase the defenses of this otherwise extremely vulnerable photovoltaic cell. I sincerely hope that this drives solar technology to a new level, one in which solar can become cost effective and boast a longer lifetime. In fact, a good way to capitalize or encourage Dow Chemical’s ventures into this realm is to invest in it! However, there are other areas of Dow Chemical and its history of environmental ‘clashes’ that makes me wonder whether this venture is in a way an atonement for those other incidents. The Political Economy Research Institute ranks Dow Chemical third among corporations emitting airborne pollutants in the United States, an unavoidable figure as one of the world’s largest chemical companies. On a side note, Dow Chemical acquired Rohm and Haas company April 1st, 2009.

P.S. Much research has apparently been done on the beautification of the shingles, as many homeowners associations besmirch notions of acquiring applying such technology by passing rules against the installation of solar shingles, along with coloring the house green and the construction of giant garden gnomes.

Much if not all of this population growth is due to increases in science, and the migration of populations to urban centers. The largest city proper in the world is Mumbai, India which boasts a population of 14 million and a density of 23,000 per square kilometer. Shanghai comes in second with 13.9 million and Karachi Pakistan comes in third with almost 13 million. If we count the suburbs, which can spread for several miles, Tokyo comes in first with around 35 million. Seoul has around 23 million and New York has almost 22 million.

At first it sounds absurd that social networking sites will lead to suicide, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense. Less real relationships, more prone to superficial judgment, and lots of sad people looking for online friends. I could only imagine what it would be like to be someone on one of these sites, be it Facebook, Myspace, or even XiaoNei (the Chinese Facebook) and care about how many comments I get on my photos etc.

Personally, I find social networking sites to be a tool to “add” people you get to know so you don’t forget them. However I do find their “apps” distracting and a waste of time. Thankfully, my premiere summer destination forbids Facebook so I an disinclined to visit there anyways.

yum

It is a proved fact that phytoplankon (plankton) thrive of a substance known as urea. Urea, which is nitrogen-rich, is also the main non-water component of urine. The phytoplankon, which live near the surface of well-lit water, can also thrive on phosphate and silicic acid.  Some parts of the ocean do not have enough iron for the phytoplankton to thrive, which also leads some to suggest pumping the water in those areas full of iron in the form of iron sulphate. Such actions, however, have cause the opposition by those claiming the practice ruins the ocean’s ecosystem [1].

The most important fact to remember is that phytoplankton already account for half of all photosynthetic oxygen production on the planet. However, according to Ken Buesseler, senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, plankton also emit carbon dioxide when they decompose or are eaten. What he says is a better gauge of their effectiveness is how much mass of planton sinks to the sea bed [2].

[1] Monastersky, R.: “Iron versus the greenhouse.” Science News, 30 September 1995, p. 220.

[2]http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/01/business/01plankton.html?ref=science

Photo credits:
plankton: Australian Institute of Marine Science