Electric Car Sharing In London

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Vincent Bollore, CEO of investment group Bollore, poses by an electric car following a news conference in London March 12, 2014. CREDIT: REUTERS/OLIVIA HARRIS

Vincent Bollore, CEO of investment group Bollore, poses by an electric car following a news conference in London March 12, 2014. CREDIT: REUTERS/OLIVIA HARRIS

Various reports in the last year or so of sharing means of transportation focused on bicycles, which itself seemed remarkable; now reports of car-sharing schemes make it seem almost impossible to believe. Whether it is altruism, rational economics, or something else at work here we will soon find out:

First it was pedal power; now Londoners are being offered electric transport to dodge their way around the city.

French billionaire Vincent Bollore on Wednesday unveiled plans to park 3,000 electric cars on London streets by 2016, as part of a car share project that emulates the popular bike hire scheme started in 2010 under Mayor Boris Johnson.

Bollore, chief executive of the group bearing his name which set up the Autolib electric car-sharing program in Paris in 2011, said electric car hire could help cut congestion and reduce pollution in the British capital. Continue reading →

Not For Vegetarians, Nor For Kids In Some Cultures, But Worthy Of Consideration

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The New York Times Dining section has this video to ponder “another” white meat for those so inclined:

Roasted Rabbit

Rabbit is no harder to cook at home than chicken. Melissa Clark shows how to enhance this lean meat with olives, lemon and feta cheese.

Sharavathi Railway Bridge – Karnataka

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Photo Credits : Renjith

Photo Credits: Renjith

Sharavathi Railway Bridge is the longest railway bridge in the state of Karnataka. The Konkan railway crosses the Sharavathi river over this picturesque route. Continue reading →

Holi, 2014 Edition

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Each year, we in the south of India wish to be in the north of India for this celebration that marks the end of winter. We have linked to some great photo spreads in other publications, and this year choose the Reuters photojournalists’ snapshots to mark this year’s Holi.

Slender Loris – Loris tardigradus

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Photo credits : Sanjayan

Photo credits: Sanjayan

The Slender loris is commonly found in the tropical rainforests of Southern India and Sri Lanka. This small animal with a vestigial tail and extremely thin arms and legs is primarily known by the huge round eyes that dominate their face, which give it excellent night vision. Continue reading →

Science, Private Interests, Troubling Trend

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Béatrice de Géa for The New York Times. Wendy Schmidt and her husband are advancing ocean studies.

Click the image at left to go to the story, in the Science section of the New York Times, about what seems a troubling trend. There is something unsettling about science being increasingly influenced by individuals’ private interests rather than society as a whole. It has nothing to do with their being billionaires, but with the fact that science historically has advanced Continue reading →

Reclaimed Rainforest Wood, In The Interest Of Art

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From the New York Times Sunday HOME AND GARDEN section, a short video we appreciate:

Studio Visit With Hugo França

The Brazilian designer Hugo França reclaims felled wood from the rainforest to create sculptural furniture.

10 Years Of Thought Factory Design, Essential Member Of Raxa Collective’s Collaborative Community

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We are thinking of the awesome folks at Thought Factory Design today as we review stationary for Spice Harbour, menu layouts for 51, and the logo for a new property we have recently accepted responsibility for (more on which when that logo is ready). They are members of our community with whom we collaborate more than just about anybody. They definitely get our commitment to conservation, and strengthen our ability to creatively pursue solutions. Continue reading →

Papanasini – Wayanad

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Photo credits : Surus

Photo credits: Surus

Papanasini is a spring fed stream that originates in the Brahmagiri Hills, which later joins the River Kalindi. Located about a kilometer from the Thirunelli Vishnu Temple, devotees believe that the cool waters have the ability to wipe away a lifetime of sins.   Continue reading →

Ocean Ownership And Caveat Emptor

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The U.S. has laid claim to 2.5 billion acres of coastal seas, but that vast area produces very little seafood for Americans. Therein lies a dilemma: should the U.S. cultivate giant offshore fish farms in its piece of the sea or keep taking most of the fish we eat from foreign waters?

Conservation magazine raises the following question, and goes a long way to answering it in their current issue:

NATIONS HAVE CARVED UP THE OCEAN. NOW WHAT?

…In the minds of most consumers, there is a clear dividing line between which fish are wild and which are farmed. But the truth is that this line is increasingly a blurry one.  Continue reading →

Scientists Working On Infrared-Based Renewable Energy

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Harvard physicists Federico Capasso (left), Steven J. Byrnes (right), and Romain Blanchard propose a new way to harvest renewable energy. (Photo by Eliza Grinnell, SEAS Communications.)

Harvard physicists Federico Capasso (left), Steven J. Byrnes (right), and Romain Blanchard propose a new way to harvest renewable energy. (Photo by Eliza Grinnell, SEAS Communications.)

Thanks to the Harvard School of Engineering And Applied Sciences for this press release of important renewable energy scientific news:

Infrared: A new renewable energy source?

HARVARD PHYSICISTS PROPOSE A DEVICE TO CAPTURE ENERGY FROM EARTH’S INFRARED EMISSIONS TO OUTER SPACE

By Caroline Perry

When the sun sets on a remote desert outpost and solar panels shut down, what energy source will provide power through the night? A battery, perhaps, or an old diesel generator? Perhaps something strange and new.

Physicists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) envision a device that would harvest energy from Earth’s infrared emissions into outer space.

Heated by the sun, our planet is warm compared to the frigid vacuum beyond. Thanks to recent technological advances, the researchers say, that heat imbalance could soon be transformed into direct-current (DC) power, taking advantage of a vast and untapped energy source. Continue reading →

Dudhsagar Waterfall

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Photo credits : Ramesh

Photo credits: Ramesh

Dudhsagar Waterfall is located in the South Goa region of the Western Ghats in the Bhagavan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary. The train bridge that passes over over the Dudhsagar falls is one of the highlights of crossing this area of the boarder between Goa and Karnataka states . Continue reading →

Rock, Water, Science, News

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A diamond from Juína, Brazil, containing a water-rich inclusion of the olivine mineral ringwoodite. Richard Siemens/University of Alberta

A diamond from Juína, Brazil, containing a water-rich inclusion of the olivine mineral ringwoodite. Richard Siemens/University of Alberta

What makes scientific information newsworthy? One possibility is when the information conveyed may have profound implications for life on earth. This Scientific American article about a rock is really about water, and about a kind of water that many of us had never been aware of:

…”It’s actually the confirmation that there is a very, very large amount of water that’s trapped in a really distinct layer in the deep Earth,” said Graham Pearson, lead study author and a geochemist at the University of Alberta in Canada. The findings were published today (March 12) in the journal Nature.

The worthless-looking diamond encloses a tiny piece of an olivine mineral called ringwoodite, and it’s the first time the mineral has been found on Earth’s surface in anything other than meteorites or laboratories. Ringwoodite only forms under extreme pressure, such as the crushing load about 320 miles (515 kilometers) deep in the mantle. Continue reading →

UK Organics Back In Black

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The nation's appetite for organic food is growing. Photograph: Nick Turner/Alamy

The nation’s appetite for organic food is growing. Photograph: Nick Turner/Alamy

Thanks to the Guardian‘s ongoing coverage of environmental issues, this story about sales of organics in their home market:

Sales of organic food and drink rose by 2.8% last year after successive years of decline, fuelled by strong growth among independent retailers and healthy online sales. Continue reading →

Yellow-footed Green Pigeon

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Photo credit : Faisal Magnet

Photo credit: Faisal Magnet

The Yellow-footed Green Pigeon is the Maharashtra state bird, called Hariyal in Marathi, the language of the state. It is a resident of most of India and neighboring countries. Continue reading →