Plastics in Bird's stomach

The albatross chicks lives in the central Pacific which is 1000 miles from human civilization consumes plastics .The most shocking report is that, the birds stomach looks like garbage dumps consisting of bottle caps,tooth brushes and even golf balls.Nearly 40% of the albatross chicks die because of plastics being consumed.This news has made the researchers to understand the sources of far-flung pollution.A recent report says that the amount of debris colllected from beach sites is said to have come from land sources and fishing related debris.It has been estimated that this bird collectively consumed more than four tons of plastics at Midway last year.The problem of pollution on high seas extends far beyond Midway.The long term solution is to stop the flow of plastics in to the ocean.I hope this news will bring some changes in the society to become aware of the need of recycle of plastics.

BIOPLASTICS MADE FROM PLANTS WASTE

We have read the article 'Plastics made from corn' in one of my recent postings http://informationdisc.blogspot.com/2010/07/do-plastics-can-be-made-from-corn.html.

The researchers in NEC are hoping to create better plastic which are to be made from 70% plant waste such as stems and cashew nut shells. The cellulose and cardanol used in plastics comes from stems and nutshells which are discarded as byproducts from agricultural Industry.

The plastics made from plants is twice as strong as PLA ,a corn based plastic. It is twice as beat resistant and it consumes less time in molding process. The company is confident that they would bring this product by 2013.

DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH ENERGY IS LOST IN TRASH?

Recently I read an article which is quiet interesting. I never think about it whenever I waste the food. This article makes me to think twice whenever I cook food. Do you ever thought about how much of energy has been wasted by the wastage of food. In a report it says nearly five percent of population in US consumes nearly one fifth of world’s energy. Each item of food makes an average trip of over 2400 km by transportation. Nearly 15% of energy used in US is taken by food production and distribution.

In our everyday life we can see how much food is dumped in the trashes due to various reasons. Sometimes we cook more food and we might not eat it .You may think that it is unavoidable but everything is in our hand to avoid wastage. Have you ever calculated the amount of food we are throwing in the trash as waste? If you have calculated you would be shocked. Approximately 2% of total US energy budget is thrown in trash.

Global energy consumption is increasing day by day thereby reducing our dependency on fossil fuels is more challenging. The sad thing is one part of the world is starving for food and another part of world is wasting food. The public need to be educated about proper storage of foods. Steps must be taken to save and store food. Parents, teachers should teach the upcoming generation about the importance of food and the wastage of energy.

HAYABUSA 2 -GETTING READY FOR ITS LAUNCH

HAYABUSA 2 -GETTING READY FOR ITS LAUNCH
Hayabusa 2 will be launched soon as 2014 and it is expected to return in 2020, bearing clues to origin of life on earth. Last week the Japanese Aerospace exploration Agency got the go-ahead from government to begin development of Hayabusa which is estimated to cost around 164 billion yen.It is expected to visit an asteroid to collect dust samples.Hayabusa 2 will visit a kilometer sized space rock called 1999 JU3 in search of organic molecules that might seeded life on earth.
Hayabusa 2 will carry 30 centimetre wide bomb known as an impactor and it will release the bomb when it is 500 metres from asteroid and the bomb explodes.Hayabusa 2 will scoop up dust from this crater.It uses 2 different methods for its performance.It will have a pellet to fire in to the asteroid thereby kicking up dust for collection by a cone shaped device.Hayabusa 2 has better back up orientation control systems, a better antenna and a redesigned engine. It is expected that the hayabusa 2 will eradicate most of the problems faced by the previous Hayabusa.

Internet will make (place-based) colleges less important in future - Bill Gates prediction

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has predicted that the traditional system of higher education at colleges and universities will dramatically change over the next five years and soon place-based learning will be less important. In a recent presentation at Technonomy conference in CA Gates said that "College, except for the parties, needs to be less place-based". Gates also stated that "Five years from now on the web for free you'll be able to find the best lectures in the world and it will be better than any single university." He has also predicted that technology will bring down the sky-rocketing college tuition costs.


These days’ self-motivated learners can learn many new things on the internet on their own. We can see that more and more universities are offering on-line courses. With things like youtube, slide share we can access many great lectures. It is no wonder that Gates has predicted that traditional university system will become obsolete.

Few more quotes from gates at the conference:
“The hardest thing in education is motivation.”
“Math textbooks for every grade are now over 300 pages long, (they are) systematically three times longer than their Asia equivalents.”

“Why not give students a chance to show what parts they know, and learn the parts they don’t?”
“Over 60% of kids in community college go into remedial math. 80% of them pile up debt and don’t graduate. They’re told, ‘you’re a moron,’ and forced to relearn the whole thing. And those books are 400 pages long.”

REVOLUTION OF LEDS

The LED light sources are the future of modern lighting. Saving energy by providing alternative, innovative light sources will help to ensure a better world for tomorrow. The Giant companies of light manufacturers are shifting their production from incandescent bulbs to LEDs.These bulbs offer exceptional value for money.Todays LED’s are about 10 times more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs and about 2 times more efficient than compact fluorescent bulbs. LED technology has advanced so rapidly over the past few years. LED light are not fragile and require zero maintenance and don’t contain harmful or hazardous chemicals.

The best LED bulbs have a lifespan of about 20 years assuming 3 hours of usage a day. The currently available incandescent bulbs will start being phased out in US by 2012 but it begun in Australia and parts of Europe and South America. The cost of LED light is more than other lights but LED can save money over life time. Energy companies are working out to make the consumers to switch over to LEDs. By the end of the decade analyst predict LEDS will be the dominant source for commercial and residential lighting.

Is Energy saved by turning off the appliances

Do you know that turning off appliances alone will not help in saving power? The power consumed when the appliances are not in use may be negligible but over the long haul it adds up. The DVD player, fax machine, iron box, microwave and even cell phone chargers which are plugged in but not used may also consume power. There is a report saying at least 5% to 10 % of residential electricity use can be attributed to standby power.

Start saving power! Save money on utility bills! Don’t forget to remove the plugs.

Plastic containers in microwave

The second myth is regarding the plastic containers used in the microwaves.

Is that ok to use plastic containers in microwave

Now in this modern world most of the houses are equipped with microwaves. People are not aware of the effects of plastics used in the microwaves. The plastic used in the microwaves has labeled as safe for use in the microwave but it may not be.” The claim on the boxes doesn’t mean the plastic wont crack or melt or leak,” says Wendy Gordon of the Natural Resources Defense Council. A substance used to make polycarbonate plastic-bisphenol A known as BPA could leach in to your food and it may disrupt the hormonal system.
http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.0901819

Plastic container manufacturers insist their products meet government safety standards. Regardless the NRDC’s Gordon recommends that you don’t microwave leftovers in plastic dishes. A ceramic one can help out better than plastics.

Nowadays in most of the houses both the parents are working.Childrens are staying at home sometimes and when they handle glasses or ceramics at home they tend to drop it. so most of the people are using microwave plastics for storing food in the fridge. They might find it difficult to use ceramics but they have to think about their health.

Health is Wealth

Is tap water better than bottled water

I read an article relating “The truth about green” in Fortune. The fortune clears up 25 common misconceptions about the food we eat, products we buy, the way we travel and the energy we use. one of the myth is,

Is tap water safer than bottled water?

In U.S the tap water is subjected to stricter government standards than bottled water. The EPA requires large municipalities to test water for bacteria in an independent lab a number of times a day. But the FDA mandates that water used in bottles is analyzed only once in a week for bacteria.

But this case is not the same for all the countries. Recently I visited India and noticed bottled water is better than tap water. Nowadays in India people are buying drinking water in cans. Sometimes I find this too is unhygienic. People are affected by throat infections even after drinking the can waters. But the people didn’t stop buying the can water, instead of that they are buying and heating it.

Effect of plastic ingredients

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a well studied chemical that is known to leach out of plastic bottles. A recent study from a Japanese group has identified a fluorinated form of BPA known as Bisphenol AF (BPAF) which might be a largely ignored contaminant.

Findings in Japan indicate that this chemical (BPAF) is more potent in altering the effects of hormones such as estrogen. This toxic compound which is an ingredient in many plastics, electronic devices and optical fibres, is now identified as a potential endocrine disruptor. Estrogen hormones turn on genes that control activities such as ovulation in young woman. BPAF is found to show strong affinity to estrogen receptors alpha and beta. The research paper from Matsushima is published in open access journal and can be found here:
http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.0901819


It should also be noted that BPAF is in news for sometime. In 2008, US National Institute of Environmental Sciences nominated BPAF for a comprehensive toxicological characterization. National Toxicology program has previously noted ‘some concern’ for the BPAF’s potential effect on brain, behaviour and reproduction. The recent finding raises more concern and shows the need for more detailed study in these environmental contaminants.

India releases world's cheapest laptop @ $35

India unveiled the world’s cheapest laptop for just $35. It is a touchscreen device and it will become available to students in higher education. The Minister of human resources, Mr. Kapil Sibal said that the mother board, its chip, processing, memory, displays and connectivity will cost around $ 35.

This tablet computer, developed by researchers at IIT in Delhi and Indian institute of science in Bengalooru (previously known Banglore) will be made available in production by 2011.

It will run on open source Linux operating system with open office software and can be powered by solar panel or batteries.

It will use 2GB of memory and a video conferencing facility and internet browsing.

More than 100m PCs are expected to be sold by 2013 in India.

Indian Rupee gets a new symbol

The Indian government announced a contest to create a symbol for the rupee on march , 2009.There were a total of 3331 designs received by the Indian government and out of which five designs were shortlisted.

The design by Mr Udaya Kumar ,a student of Industrial Design centre at IIT Bombay has been selected for the symbol and it has been announced on July 5th 2010. He will get an award of rupees 2.5 lakh from Finance Ministry.

The design is based on tri colour of Indian Flag with 2 lines at the top and white space in between. It is a blend of Devanagri and roman ‘R’ without the stem.

According to Indian government this symbol will be adopted within 6 months in India and within 18 to 24 month it will have the feature on computer keyboards and software as well as in print and electronics media.

The Indian currency symbol will not be printed or embossed on paper notes or coins. It would be included in the ‘Unicode Standard’ and major scripts of world.

200 years old ship under world trade center site

Photo source : NYTimes14 July,2010

Finding a ship hidden for 200 years may remind you the plot of the movie “National Tresure” and “Sahara”. But that’s what has happened at the World trade center site. Workers carrying out the excavation for the future world trade center site were surprised to find the remnants of a 200 year old ship buried deep under the site.

David W. Dunlap writes in the NYTimes “On Tuesday morning, workers excavating the site of the underground vehicle security center for the future World Trade Center hit a row of sturdy, upright wood timbers, regularly spaced, sticking out of a briny gray muck flecked with oyster shells.

By Wednesday, the outlines made it plain: a 30-foot length of a wood-hulled vessel had been discovered about 20 to 30 feet below street level on the World Trade Center site, the first such large-scale archaeological find since 1982, when an 18th-century cargo ship came to light at 175 Water Street. “They were so perfectly contoured that they were clearly part of a ship,” said A. Michael Pappalardo, an archaeologist with the firm AKRF, which is working for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to document historical material uncovered during construction. The vessel, presumably dating from the mid- to late 1700s, was evidently undisturbed more than 200 years.”

This area which is located between Liberty and Cedar Street was somehow not touched at the time of previous world trade center construction. Quick search of maps makes us wonder how this ship came to this site. In olden days the docks and wooden cribbing seems to extend along the stretch of that side of shoreline. The bird’s eye view of NY in 1874 is shown below:

Photo source : http://www.learn.columbia.edu/newyork/html/nyseminar_resource.html

The NYTimes article also say that the hull was deliberately truncated and could be used as land fill. Not only that, it notes further that “A 1797 map shows that the excavation site is close to where Lindsey’s Wharf and Lake’s Wharf once projected into the Hudson.”

For the NYTimes article check here .

key words: archealogy, new archealogical finding in new york, discovery of ancient ship in new york world trade center site, archealogiologists excited

Plastics can be made from corn

Recently I read an article from Fortune which is quite interesting. There is a big trash of plastic garbage floating on the coast of California.Only 7% of the plastic the Americans consume are recycled and the remaining plastics are thrown into rivers ,lakes and oceans where the fishes consume the toxin present in plastic and produce dangerous effects to humans.

Mr Richard Eno,the CEO of Metabolix which is a small public company has brought a solution to this problem.His idea of making plastic out of plants is appreciable.Till now no one has made a 100% bioplastic that is durable and biodegradable.

Metabolix has genetically engineered a microbe that eats sugar from corn and generates a plastic like molecule called PHA.This plastic is decomposable in water or soil.

As Bioplastics grow in popularity, there would be natural demand for corn and the price of corn rises naturally.So it seems Metabolix are also working on next generation plastics made from non food materials such as switch grass which grows on the prairie.

If everything goes out well the great Pacific Garbage patch will start vanishing.

Japanese spacecraft returns from asteroid mission

The Hayabusa mission was launched in 2003 by the Japanese space mission to reach the asteroid ,Itokawa.It is an irregularly-shaped rock between Earth and Mars.Hyabusa used chemical-fueled rocket engine and additional ion engines.It uses microwave technology which moves the spacecraft by heating xenon gas.
The hayabusa nearly traveled 1.25 billion miles to reach Itokawa.
Itokawa is compared to an inflated baked potato about a 3rd of a mile long which has no gravitational pull.
The goal of the spaceship, Hayabusa is to touch the Itokawa thereby picking up a sample and flying off.But the asteroid was spinning which made it difficult for the Hayabusa to perform its work.
The spacecraft,Hayabusa carried an instrument akin to a pellet gun which has been designed to fire in to the asteroids silicon and iron based rocks.Then the Hyabusa has to snag some of the flakes from the rock that has been produced due to firing.
The Hayabusa landed on Itokawa and stayed there for 30 minutes but unfortunately the pellet gun did not fire.
But researchers believe that some asteroid dust was pulled in to the sample box.But due to technical fault in the Hyabusa ,the researches lost its signal and after 16 months, they got the full control of the spacecraft.
Now Hayabusa is back on the earth and scientist are ready for examining the debris collected by it.They will need to use a powerful scanning electron microscope to determine whether any dust particles were collected and the good news is that the new Prime Minister of Japan Mr Naoto Kan has announced funds to raise another Hayabusa