Yesterday, on the anniversary of his death in the 12th Century, we celebrated the life and accomplishments of Saint Francis of Assisi. Born into wealth, he walked away from it all when he heard the voice of Christ tell him three times: “Francis, rebuild my house which you see is falling into ruins.” (more…)
This might very well be the busiest year of the Atlantic hurricane season, and with two months left the Americas shudder at the thought of what next, who’s next, and when. Three major hurricanes—Harvey, Irma, and most recently Maria—made landfall roughly one week apart, and caused widespread devastation across several U.S. cities and total obliteration in some Caribbean islands. One of those Caribbean islands gathering the fragments and trying to return to some semblance of life is the unincorporated U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. (more…)
When considering to generate your own energy, solar panels are a popular choice due to the ease of installation, maintenance and you save money whilst reducing your carbon footprint (you can check your carbon footprint here). But before installation, there’s a few things that need to be considered, and we’ll run you through them quickly to ensure you get maximum efficiency. (more…)
If you’re mindful of your household costs, you’re probably aware of the economic benefits of LED lighting over halogen bulbs. With energy prices on the rise, it’s more important than ever to keep an eye on your expenditures and try to curb your electricity use. (more…)
We’re approaching the reality of vehicle to grid, aka “V2G,” the two-way flow of power between electric vehicles and the utilities. This means that EV drivers can be paid to allow the power companies to use the energy in their batteries to deal with urgent demands. As discusses in this article, this will mean that EV owners can drive for free, i.e., receive free power, in exchange for making this deal. (more…)
In this short and compelling video, Kip Thorne, American theoretical physicist (picture here with Stephen Hawking), suggests that our descendants 300 years from now will look back on the work we’re doing today and thank us for providing an understanding of the universe and the way it behaves the way it does. “In that sense,” he says, “the scientific enterprise is a cultural enterprise,” much like the Renaissance gave our culture today things like great art, music, architecture, and the scientific method.
But there’s a fly in the ointment. (more…)
A pest infestation is something that every household has to deal with sooner or later. However, in these modern times, not everyone feels right about using toxic methods to take care of this problem. This goes for families that have children, pets, or simply care about their environment. It is the reason why DIY eco-friendly pest control remedies are becoming increasingly popular. What’s great about them is that they are cost-effective, easy to concoct, and friendly to the environment. No one likes critters roaming through their house, so here are 5 green pest control remedies that you can use. (more…)
We Facebook users have all seen posts written by “God,” who attempts to straighten out His flock when it may have gone astray on this issue or that. Here’s one you may have seen on gun control in the wake of the tragedy in Las Vegas, flowed by a conversation on the subject:
God: Stop sending “thoughts and prayers,” and instead pass gun control legislation, you amoral bastards. (more…)
When it comes to offshore wind, there are a number of important ideas afloat, if you’ll pardon the pun. Most of the concepts that will be implemented in the near-term are based on seabed mounting, and likely, most of them 20 years from now will be floating. As it turns out, France is vying for world leadership in this arena; Dietswell, a French company specializing in engineering for the energy industry, is investing EUR 2.4 million in a semi-submersible platform for large offshore wind turbines. (more…)
Since the free-speech movement that began at Berkeley in 1967, academia has been beset by the complexities of free expression, namely, the limits past which free speech has no place in a civilization society. This topic, of course, has come to a head recently, with campus uprisings at unlikley places like Middlebury College in Vermont, as well as the white supremacists’ march in Charlottesville. (more…)
