All posts by Jeremy Eades

I'm an English teacher in Japan. I have an interest in the brain and language acquisition, not to mention writing and the pipedream that I'll become the next Asimov. Or something like that. Nice to meet you!
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The real-life "Mad Max" will be about water

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The original “Mad Max” was about a post-nuclear war Australia, where the war had been caused by countries vying for dwindling oil supplies. But what if the same could happen, only the precious substance was water? Many people seem to think so, and the number’s growing. The largest-growing area of the US is the Southwest, the area with precisely the least amount of water to go around, though by far not the only region of the country with water problems.

The kicker is that, unlike carbon emissions, if one person conserves x amount of water, and another person on the other side of the world uses a surplus of x amount of water, it doesn’t even out. If I in Japan – a country with a high amount of rainfall – conserve water, it doesn’t do an Australian sheep farmer a lick of good. They say all politics is local, and water usage is the same. It’s up to each local to use its supply wisely. Some people have said that Darfur, if not the Rwandan genocide, was the first of the 21st century water wars. We’ll see if it turns out that way.

(photo via brtsergio)

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Prosthetic limbs that can sense touch and heat thanks to carbon nanotubes

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We’ve had various articles on  exoskeletons and prosthetics, they’re getting stronger and more efficient.  Now, we find out that touch and heat may soon be wired in as well.  These sensors could then be wired into the parts of the brain that correspond to that section of the missing limb.

In addition to the obvious prosthetic limb advances, if it could be temporarily wired into a person’s brain, there’s no reason this couldn’t be used on a remotely controlled robotic arm.  Send a small probe out to repair the outside of a submarine or spacecraft, and the person inside controlling it could feel their way along.

(via SciTechDaily) (image from vernhart)

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Bad, bad Lester Brown

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PB3 web So listening to Science Friday’s podcast today, one of the topics was Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute, an organization dedicated to preventing us from screwing up our planet any more than it already is. He’s come out with the latest version of his book, the 3rd edition of his book called, appropriately, “Plan B 3.0”. In it, he discusses the usual energy crisis, but he also carries it further, describing water wars, the effects of biofuels on food prices, etc. Brown also discusses some things that can be done to rectify these problems. It’s not terribly upbeat, however, as the fixes are rather more politically radical than anything we Americans have heard.

Ok, so it’s not SF, but the speculation is pretty good, and if it doesn’t motivate you to do something, it might just plant the seed for an entertaining story. Check out the book here, the first chapter or so is available free now, and the whole book will be released free later this week. Now that’s a promotional offer!

(image via EPI’s website)

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Your attic – it’s not just for stashing junk anymore

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As many readers may know, we Americans typically are oblivious to the geographic conditions in which we live – particularly when it comes to building our dwellings.  Whereas living in Japan, you can see nearly every apartment block is built with the entrance on the north side, the apartment going all the way through to the south side, which is usually a set of glass sliding doors.  This gets you the sun shining on the balcony and into the home, providing a good place for drying laundry and putting some nice direct solar heating into the apartment.  On the other hand, the lack of insulation and single-pane windows means I’m currently freezing my buns off on this cloudy January day.  But that’s beside the point.

Meet the EcoHat.  Traditional houses are built with an attic that is stifling hot in summer, frigid in winter, and stores junk year-round.  At Oxley Woods in England, Richard Rogers is designing a new type of home, one with what is essentially a modular attic that can be adjusted to fit the housing conditions.  Following the graphic above, normal houses can only make use of solar energy when the sun is shining on the side of the house with the solar panels.  With the EcoHat placed on the southern side of a flat or slanted roof, it can absorb heat all day.  This allows for greater energy efficiency and a method for heating water.  There are other design concepts that have gone into the homes, making them somewhat attractive, and somewhat reminiscent of an industrial park.

(via Matthew Yglesias)

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Fund new gadgets with your old ones

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In four years, I’ve been through 3 or 4 cell phones, a couple digital cameras and 2 iPods.  Not to mention the computer hardware that’s gone belly-up on me.  So what can I do with all this stuff?  Toss it in the trash?  Recycle?  The toxic chemicals will pollute, and recyclers haven’t been as scrupulous as we might like – shipping this stuff off to poor countries where circuit boards are burnt to get at their valuable metals.

Now, a socially-responsible company will buy your old consumer electronics off you, refurbish them and sell them on the street, all in an effort to reduce e-waste and improve sustainability.  Second Generation out of Massachusetts will calculate the price then give you a printable shipping label which you slap on a box and send off.  After the items have had their check, you get yours.  If I were in the States, I’d certainly make use of this.  Check out this article at Ars Technica for an in-depth review of Second Generation’s process.