Citizens of the World Want A Climate Treaty

November 20, 2009
 | by spectraz
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According to  a recent article in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, the citizens of the world want a climate treaty, which is very interesting since the citizens have actually participated in this consultation.

Back in september, 4000 people from 38 different countries participated in a citizen consultation connected to the climate meeting in Copenhagen. The citizens were chosen with particular interest in order to reflect different geopolitical areas as well as sociocultural backgrounds. Economic factors were also considered in the consultation.

The Swedish citizen consultation took place in a town called Borlänge and the consultation was conducted at the same time throughout all the 38 different countries. The results from the consultations were then published in real time and lead to the report ”World Wide Views on Global Warming” which you can find at World Wide Views on Global Warming.

The consultation was concluded with a sort of excerise where the participants formulated recommendations to the negotiators in Copenhagen. Some of the comments read: “Be brave!”, “Take far reaching and binding actions now” …

Design Pattern: How to Build An Artificial Reef

August 28, 2009
 | by spectraz
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If you are into the sea or vast oceans and its biosphere, then this is an instruction for you on how to hack nature. I will try and describe what an artificial reef is and then I am going to try and make a design pattern that you can use if you want to build your own local reef. You can copy the instructions and re-post them or improve them. If you were to improve this design pattern then let me know and I can post the better version. Kopimi!

Artificial Reefs

“For a structure to be given the true title “Artificial Reef” it must conform to the four following requirements:
1. Stability
2. Durability
3. Compatibility
4. Function”

Natural reefs evolve over long periods of time and are very fragile and sensitive when it comes to toxic waste, biosphere ruptures as well as other threats towards the seaside related ecology. Artificial reefs are normally constructed by man and are usually different big or small structures of good sturdy materials. Even shipwrecks can be used in …

Mesquite: A Modular System for Evolutionary Analysis

August 17, 2009
 | by spectraz
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Mesquite is software for evolutionary biology, designed to help biologists analyze comparative data about organisms. Its emphasis is on phylogenetic analysis, but some of its modules concern population genetics, while others do non-phylogenetic multivariate analysis. Because it is modular, the analyses available depend on the modules installed. Analyses include:

  • Reconstruction of ancestral states (parsimony, likelihood)
  • Tests of process of character evolution, including correlation

…

Biomimicry

August 7, 2009
 | by spectraz
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I just saw this highly inspiring TED Talk from Janine Benyus on biomimicry. In this talk Benyus describes how nature solves certain problems and how mankind can copy these solutions and remix them into new inventions and new technologies.

What is biomimicry then? Well, according to Wikipedia biomimicry is:

“(from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) is an ancient concept recently returning to scientific thought that examines nature, its models, systems, processes, and elements— and emulates or takes inspiration from them to solve human problems sustainably. Scientific and engineering literature often uses the term Biomimetics for the process of understanding and applying biological principles to human designs. This includes biomaterials, biomechanics, biological systems composed of individuals of one species (e.g., schools, herds and swarms), or multispecies ensembles.”

Be sure to check As Nature as well and learn more about biomimicry and learn more about this fascinating way of solving design problems.

Here is the TED:Talk introduction:

Janine Benyus has a message for inventors: When solving a design problem, look …

Open Sailing

July 21, 2009
 | by spectraz
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I saw this link thanks to MissPirata and I thought that I really wanted to share it with you. The following information comes from the Open_Sailing initiative:

In order to live at sea, we’re pioneering an entirely new form of marine architecture. Open_Sailing acts like a giant organism, a cluster of intelligent units that can react to their environment, change shape and reconfigure themselves. They talk to each other. They’re modular, re-pluggable, pre-broken, post-industrial and self-sufficient. Open_Sailing is a project that is well underway. We are a constantly growing, international team of around 15 people designing and engineering a prototype that is being built now in the UK, France and Morocco – under the mentoring of numerous experts. We will set sail in May from London to Rotterdam. You can see the results of the test journey in July at the Royal College of Art and track our progress online at www.opensailing.net.

Re-introducing Eco and Ethics

July 18, 2009
 | by spectraz
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After having been contacted by Chris from Greenpress – whom wanted to see Eco and Ethics move to their green blog format – I decided to switch to Greenpress because I feel that it is the right decision for me and my blog right now.

We’re at a point in time when we have to re-think our strategies and global tactics not only to embrace technological breakthroughs, but also to enhance them in order for us to learn how to cultivate and harvest energy in new ways.

Not only do we have to learn how to deal with e-waste and garbage, we also have to try and figure out how to use our resources better and how to globally avoid disasters and to diminish wars over water, oil and natural resources.

Logistics per se, and how we understand this concept, will change over time, and it is up to governments and citizens of the world to decide whether or not we want to limit our way of life or keep on going as before, and at the same time doing something …

Ray Kurzweil Talks About Technological Advancement

June 13, 2009
 | by spectraz
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Ray Kurzweil’s latest data shows that technological development will continue to accelerate even though we’re currently in an economic recession. If we look at the graphs we can clearly see that the technological development has gone through periods of recession in the past, and we ought to continue developing information technologies etc. in order to spread fortwardthinking ideas and progressive technologies to mankind.In this TED talk, Kurzweil also unveils his new project, Singularity University, to study technology on the verge of breakthrough and find ways to share this technology in order to benefit humanity.In the talk you will also be able to hear some remarks and thoughts about the environmental and global issues we all have to deal with in new updated ways. We need to rebuild the ethical environment, perspectives on problem solving and political attitudes.Ray Kurzweil is an engineer who has radically advanced the fields of speech, text, and audio technology.

Hans Rosling’s Talks on TED

May 29, 2009
 | by spectraz
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Have you seen Hans Rosling’s talks on TED yet? I encourage you to see these talks because they are already classics as well as very inspiring. They will challenge your preconceptions and your way of thinking about globalization, markets, economy and data. The first talk was filmed Feb 2006 and the second talk was filmed Mar 2007.Hans Rosling (b.1948 in Uppsala, Sweden) is Professor of International Health at Karolinska Institutet and Director of the Gapminder Foundation, which developed the Trendalyzer software system. From 1967 to 1974 he studied statistics and medicine at Uppsala University, and in 1972 he studied public health at St John’s Medical College, Bangalore. He became a licenced physician in 1976 and from 1979 to 1981 he served as District Medical Officer in Nacala in northern Mozambique.[]“You’ve never seen data presented like this. With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, statistics guru Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called “developing world.”" “Researcher Hans Rosling uses his cool data …

The Skeptic’s Handbook

May 19, 2009
 | by spectraz
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“Rise above the mud-slinging in the Global Warmingdebate. Here are the strategies and tools you needcut through the red-herrings and avoid the traps.”The Skeptic’s Handbook

Juan Enriquez: Why can’t we grow new energy?

April 8, 2009
 | by spectraz
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Juan Enriquez: Why can’t we grow new energy?“Juan Enriquez challenges our definition of bioenergy. Oil, coal, gas and other hydrocarbons are not chemical but biological products, based on plant matter — and thus, growable. Our whole approach to fuel, he argues, needs to change.”"Juan Enriquez thinks and writes about the profound changes that genomics and other life sciences will cause in business, technology, politics and society. Full bio and more links“TED: Ideas worth spreading

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