sh0rtstak

Vivace is a new energy technology that gets its name from a phenomenon that engineers have been battling for 25 years. VIV (vortex induced vibrations) destroyed the Narrows Bridge in Washington State in 1940, and the Ferrybridge power station cooling towers in England in 1965. Ironically it is also the same phenomenon that allows schools of fish to swim as fast as they do. Now Dr. Michael M. Bernitsas and researchers at the University of Michigan are turning this `threat' into a resource. Rather than suppressing VIV, Vivace actually creates and then harvests energy from VIV, and it does it all using slow water currents, a previously untapped source of sustainable energy.

You don't know this, but your life is empty and missing something important. You need a woolly mammoth in the living room, and on a leash to take shopping. There will be a range of sizes to choose from, mammoths to order from miniatures for condos to 17 ft tall behemoths that will live on your ranch. In November 2008, a team of scientists at the University of Pennsylvania reported they had sequenced a large fraction of the mammoth genome. The genome of any living species is the DNA genes which make up the chromosomes that reside in the nucleus of every cell and if we have that, then we might be able recreate the entire beast. We are on the road that leads to cloning a woolly mammoth.

The tiny locale of Longyearbyen on the Svalbard archipelago of Norway is one of the world's most northerly towns. In this land above the Arctic Circle, the sun shines 24-seven in summer, then leaves inhabitants in perpetual darkness in winter. University students learn to shoot polar bears in self-defense while kindergarten kids see physiotherapists to check on mobility issues caused by heavy snowsuits. And residents worry about the effects of global warming on their Icefjord, which doesn't actually ice up in winter anymore.

But if life in Longyearbyen is unusual, it's nothing compared to the prospect of death: the town rule is, if you die here, you will not be buried.

In 1988, Lawrence and Sharon Tarantino bought a run-down house in the Millstone borough of New Jersey. A house that was designed by none other than Frank Lloyd Wright. Turns out, that Wright had been thinking of the environment back then. The home, along with about 100 others, was designed in his "Usonian" style- a style that utilized admirable green building principles, including smaller footprints, lower cost, passive solar and radiant heating. The couple, principals of architecture and design firm, Tarantino Studio, renovated it, which won an award from the New Jersey chapter of the American Institute of Architecture.

We have heard of cars and planes using biofuels, but we must admit that we never thought we'd hear of a bio-diesel powered flying car! Designed by Gilo Cardozo, the Skycar is a vehicle that has been attached to a paramotor that can actually fly! To prove its capabilities the vehicle will be chartering a voyage from London all the way to the Sahara!

Tim's a great environmental writer and has nice finds here and on other social media sites.

Friends with Erin on lots of social media sites. Shes got great finds and is a good friend to have.

From November 2008 the London Science Museum will be celebrating the work of graphic designer Kenya Hara and architect Shigeru Ban and their eminence in car design. The `Japan Car' exhibition will run until next April and will be exhibiting cars that reflect `the soul and spirit of Japan', and give us a few more ideas in alternative transportation.