The construction industry may become a little more pleasant to be around thanks to Volvo Group, which demonstrated a prototype of the world’s first electric excavator at its “Innovation Summit” in London on Tuesday.
Volvo Construction Equipment says the EX2 model – which is still a research project – has zero emissions, is 10 times more efficient and 10 times quieter than a conventional unit, and also has lower lifecycle costs.
The EX2 is powered by two lithium ion batteries with an energy output of 38KWh, enough to carry out a demanding task such as digging compact ground for eight hours. The hydraulic system has also been replaced with electromechanical linear actuators that Volvo says helps to optimise the transmission chain.
The School of the New Spirituality is a non-profit educational organization founded by the author of Conversations with God, Neale Donald Walsch.
Our intention is (1) to share the messages of CwG with like-minded people, (2) create a global community through which parents can derive support and share experiences, (3) increase our children’s understandings of the CwG Core Messages.
We also seek to create a safe space in which older children (“tweens” and teens) may come together to share ideas, ask each other questions, and form a community — all without fear of bullying, mistreatment or discrimination, or any inappropriate interactions.
We are an international organization, with members of our Board of Directors being natives of nations around the world, and with our website being visited and its tools and resources being used by people across the globe.
Zaha Hadid Architects recently broke ground on the Guangzhou Infinitus Plaza, a modern mixed-use campus that combines intelligent technologies with environmental sustainability. Designed with the sweeping curvaceous lines and futuristic appearance that the architecture firm is so well known for, the project is one of the final works architect Zaha Hadid worked on before her death early this year. The eight-story complex features a layout inspired by the symbol for infinity “∞” and integrates many green building systems, including rainwater collection and smart energy monitors.
Located in Baiyun New Town of Guangzhou, the 167,000-square-meter Guangzhou Infinitus Plaza will serve as the new headquarters of Infinitus (China) Company Ltd. The campus will comprise a collection of modern facilities that include a new global R&D center, a Chinese herbal medicine research and safety assessment center, as well as a corporate exhibition center and gallery. The buildings are arranged in a series of “infinite rings” wrapping around the central atria and courtyards to emphasize open communication, connection, and collaboration…
Read the rest of the article by Lucy Wang in Inhabitat.
A basic income is a periodic cash payment unconditionally delivered to all on an individual basis, without means-test or work requirement.
That is, a basic income has the five following characteristics:
Periodic: it is paid at regular intervals (for example every month), not as a one-off grant.
Cash payment: it is paid in an appropriate medium of exchange, allowing those who receive it to decide what they spend it on. It is not, therefore, paid either in kind (such as food or services) or in vouchers dedicated to a specific use.
Individual: it is paid on an individual basis—and not, for instance, to households.
Universal: it is paid to all, without means test.
Unconditional: it is paid without a requirement to work or to demonstrate willingness-to-work.
A wide variety of Basic Income proposals are circulating today. They differ along many other dimensions, including in the amounts of the Basic Income, the source of funding, the nature and size of reductions in other transfers that might accompany it, and so on.
Although BIEN has not endorsed any particular proposal, and it is open to people who favor very different proposals, BIEN’s 2016 General Assembly endorsed a very broad description of a proposal in the following resolution:
A majority of members attending BIEN’s General Assembly meeting in Seoul on July 9, 2016, agreed to support Basic Income that is stable in size and frequency and high enough to be, in combination with other social services, part of a policy strategy to eliminate material poverty and enable the social and cultural participation of every individual. We oppose the replacement of social services or entitlements, if that replacement worsens the situation of relatively disadvantaged, vulnerable, or lower-income people…
All human beings are born creators. If you don’t believe me, I urge you to recall when you were a child. Didn’t you love to paint and dance and sing? Didn’t you love to indulge in imaginary worlds you conjured up in your head? Children are naturally creative. It’s one of the things that makes us human. The problem is we’ve been cultured out of our creativity as we’ve grown older. The problem is we have been educated.
The education system is due for a major paradigm shift. For too long, it has been stuck in the dark ages. Teachers still stand at the front of the classroom and deliver information, much of it meaningless in the whole scheme of things. Schools encourage competition, conformity, obedience and standardization, while also engaging in the suppression of our natural, creative impulses and critical thinking faculties. Children are moulded and conditioned via the factory model of education to be unquestioning worker bees in a system that does not care for human progress. As a result, our species is stagnating. In order to reach the next stage of our evolution, the education system must undergo a revolution of its own…
Read the rest of the article by Will Stanton in Shift.
Self-Discovery
The first of these six dimensions focuses on helping children connect with who they are, and aims to nurture each child’s passions and talents so that they may reach their highest potential as creators.
Inquiry
This dimension is about teaching children how to think instead of what to think, how to discern information critically, and how to conduct their own investigations to find the answers they’re looking for.
Sustainability
The Sustainability dimension is about reconnecting with the earth, immersing our children in nature, teaching them real life skills, and showing them how to look after their health and well-being.
Innovation
This fourth dimension is about encouraging students to think outside the box to come up with creative ideas and solutions, defying conventionality, and fostering collaboration instead of competition in the classroom.
Communication
This dimension looks at children’s overall social development, and aims to teach them how to cultivate healthy relationships, and how to manage their emotions in order to minimize conflict both internally and externally.
Empathy
The sixth dimension aims to show children the value of real human connection in their lives, by uniting students through a sense of community, encouraging acts of kindness, and adopting a holistic, planetary philosophy.
With Quantino electric vehicles, a Liechtenstein-based company want to prove that its nanoFlowcell® technology can free mobility from its dependence on fossil fuels and current battery systems. It doesn’t plug in to recharge the way electric vehicles do (which are not as green as you think). It runs on flow cell technology – a battery that uses salt water solutions to store electrolytes that can undergo reactions to produce electricity.
Able to travel 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) for 14 hours on a single tank and reach speeds of 200 km/h, Quantino cars are electrical, silent and give off zero harmful emissions – unleashing a new energy storage within the new field of electric mobility. Two ionic fluids generate electricity by means of a chemical process. One holds a positive charge and other, negative…
Cone shaped spinning solar cells generates 20 times more electricity than flat solar panels. Every now and then a design comes along that just turns he whole world upside down with a claim so fantastic it’s hard to believe. But yes, from everything we’ve been able to find on this device, this the real deal.
It’s a conical shaped collection of photovoltaic cells arranged in an angular array. The array is designed to be the most efficient way to capture the sun’s energy. In traditional solar arrays with flat panels, one must adjust the angle of the solar panels individually. This design takes advantage of a conical shape which is conducive to collecting maximum sunlight from any angle at any time of year.
On Friday evening as the sun descended over the old Hollywood set of “Desperate Housewives,” Elon Musk took to a stage and fired up his presentation about climate change. It was a strange scene, with hundreds of people crowded into the middle of a subtly artificial suburban neighborhood.
It wasn’t until about a minute into the speech that Musk casually let the crowd in on Tesla’s big secret. “The interesting thing is that the houses you see around you are all solar houses,” Musk said. “Did you notice?”
The answer, in short, was no. Like everyone else, I knew we were there to see Musk’s new “solar roof,” whatever that was supposed to mean. But try as I could as we walked in, I didn’t see anything that looked like it could carry an electric current. If anything, the slate and Spanish clay roofs looked a bit too nice for a television set. This is the future of solar, Musk proclaimed. “You’ll want to call your neighbors over and say ‘check out the sweet roof.’ It’s not a phrase you hear often.”
The roof tiles are actually made of textured glass. From most viewing angles, they look just like ordinary shingles, but they allow light to pass through from above onto a standard flat solar cell…
Read the rest of the article by Tom Randall in Bloomberg.
