[ By Delana in Energy & Fuel & Food & Health & Technology & Gadgets. ]
Most of us can agree that fruit is an excellent source of natural energy. Have you ever considered that it might be useful for fueling more than just the human body? Two separate ad agencies have developed, more than a year apart, ad campaigns using the natural power of fruit to produce electricity. The ads take the time-honored “lemon battery” science fair project and turn it into a fun study of the power of nature.
Imperial Leisure developed this ad in 2010 for Jaffa oranges. The film shows a large array of Jaffa orange slices powering an iPhone, giving a unique perspective to the amount of energy needed to run not only our electronic devices, but our bodies as well. Metal spikes (usually zinc and copper) pierce the oranges and a chemical change takes place in the metal. This reaction produces a small amount of power; when lots of the tiny batteries are linked together they can actually produce a significant amount of electricity.
Much more recently, French agency DDB developed this short film for Tropicana. A similar fruit battery concept is used to power a neon billboard reading “Natural Energy.” Imperial Leisure, the British agency that developed the Jaffa campaign, argue that the Tropicana billboard can’t actually be powering the lights because when the oranges are pushed onto the spikes more than two electrodes (one positive, one negative) are piercing each one, meaning the battery would short out rather than produce any power. Whether the billboard is actually powered by oranges or not, both ad campaigns are a fantastic reminder of the energy our bodies can gain from eating natural foods.
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Jimmy’s Place
At 79, Jean Lichorat of Kissimmee has outlived her family and friends. But she’s doesn’t feel alone.
“My dog is the best companion,” she says of her cocker spaniel, Joanne. “That’s my baby. I love her so much.”
Because Lichorat doesn’t have anyone to care for her dog and can’t afford a kennel, she puts off any medical test or procedure that requires an overnight stay at the hospital. She would rather risk her health than endanger, or possibly lose, her only companion.
That’s why Jimmy’s Place, the council’s soon-to-open pet hotel, means so much to Lichorat and others like her. Depending on the size of the guests staying there, the facility has room for up to 10 pets for short periods while the elderly owners are at the hospital or getting care.
“This kind of situation is very common among our elderly clients with pets,” said Robert Dent, a spokesman for the Osceola County Council on Aging. “Some will even refuse to go to the hospital after a 911 call.”
Advocates for seniors and animals said they haven’t heard of a program like Jimmy’s Place anywhere else in the state but applauded the idea.
“Kudos to them,” said Jake White, executive vice president of the SPCA of Central Florida. “It is great that an agency that supports seniors steps forward to help animals. They [animals] really make a difference in their lives and help them in many ways.”
Many studies have shown that seniors with pets have better physical health and mental well-being than those who don’t.
“A program that provides good care for a beloved animal is also providing an important support for the human who cares for that animal,” AARP Florida State Director Lori Parham said.
Jimmy’s Place has been in the works for more than a decade. It’s the brainchild of the council’s Meals on Wheels volunteers Jimmy Scarborough and his wife, Pat.
Jimmy Scarborough, a retired deputy sheriff who died in 1998, noticed that some of the program’s elderly clients couldn’t afford pet food and would split their Wheels meals with their cats or dogs. Scarborough began to buy food for the animals out of his own pocket and had the drivers — he was the program’s Kissimmee coordinator — deliver it along with the clients’ meals.
Soon the Council on Aging was on board.
“We began to collect pet food in our food drives and have been delivering it to clients with pets for years now,” Dent said.
After Jimmy Scarborough died at 89, his wife made it a point to keep the program alive and expand it to offer other services.
“We began raising money for it at Jimmy’s funeral,” Pat Scarborough, 75, said. “I told people not to spend money on flowers and give me or the council the money instead. I knew that would make Jimmy very happy.
“I spent $150 on rented plants and raised much more than that for a good cause,” she said.
Over time, the council had been looking for ways to make the pet hotel happen. It came together this year after the organization secured a couple of grants to refurbish a small space in a building it already owned.
Jimmy’s Place will officially open Friday, but it is already in operation.
Lichorat hasn’t had to use it yet, but she’s ecstatic to know it will be available for Joanne if an emergency arises.
“That’s good,” she said laughing. “Oh, wow. That’s good.”
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Cloveice DeMaintenon, 85, lives with Teleka, her Chinese crested, in an assisted-living apartment at Oak Leaf Landing in Kissimmee. If she should need to leave home to receive medical care, she won’t have to worry about Teleka, thanks to Jimmy’s Place, the free pet hotel sponsored by the Osceola Council on Aging
Beth
Jaws 7: Amazing New Shark Tales and Discoveries
[ By Chris in Animals & Habitats, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
(Images via: Scrape TV, Flickr, Discovery, Reef Ed, Big Blue Tech, Pagog, Mom and Pop’s Internet Shop)
During a recent bout of insomnia, the classic movie “Jaws” was on television, a flick that is the reason I have and will never set a foot in the ocean. In honor of that amazing Steven Spielberg feature and its all-at-once intimidating yet intriguing star, here are seven cool (and even surprising) recent discoveries about sharks, including everything from camouflage sharks and sharks with ESP to shark attack probabilities and peaceful interactions with smaller fish.
Camouflage Sharks: Sounds Scary Enough to be True
(Images via: Observations of a Nerd, University of Tampa Shark Lab, Wikipedia)
Did you know that approximately 50 species of sharks, that is 10 percent of all sharks, are able to emit light that allows them to disappear from both predators and prey? That’s right, according to a recent study in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. Specifically studying a luminous shark known as the velvet belly lantern shark, researchers discovered that this type of shark can produce and emit light from underneath its body, essentially allowing the shark to mimic environmental light and thus camouflage itself from other unsuspecting fish. Fortunately, the velvet belly lantern shark does not feast on humans, who could find themselves in quite a pickle if this camouflaged creature were to pass by.
The Spidey Senses of Sharks
(Images via: Elasmo Diver, Flickr, Geekologie, Wikimedia)
While some sharks are blessed with the ability to disguise themselves via self-emitted light, all sharks are blessed with super senses similar to humans and advantageous in the deep sea. Take for instance the fact that sharks have ESP – electric sense perception – thanks to electroreceptors that are extremely sensitive to picking up the electric signals of wounded or trapped fish. Or that sharks have eyes like us (with the exception of lenses) that allow them to control light and see well in dark conditions underwater. Or that sharks have perceptive noses that allow them to pick up chemicals in the water. Or that they rely on an incredible sense of touch – both when hearing (through small hairs in the ear that allow them to feel water changes) and tasting (by first biting their prey to determine whether it is a worthy meal). Or that sharks have a lateral line that allows them to detect the movement and sense the direction of any solid body that moves through water, a sense that is not comparable to humans. When you package all of these shark senses together, it’s no wonder this creature rules the seas.
Remembering Not to Forget: Shark Long-Term Memories
(Images via: Liverpool Daily Post, Crusader Travel, Discovery, AIMS, Shark Information, Swim at Your Own Risk)
Geez, given all of these super senses, it wouldn’t seem that sharks need any more advantages. Well, that’s not the case for tiger sharks, which apparently have incredible memories, specifically when it comes to remembering hot spots for good meals. According to a study to be published in the journal Marine Biology, tiger sharks will memorize previous locations that offered good meals and will repeatedly return to those areas even if thousands of miles away (quite possibly by using internal clocks that guide their movements back to these bountiful feeding locales). In a similar light, Galapagos sharks also remember filling locations, though they do not stray as far from these spots as the tiger sharks.
Shark Gumption for the Sake of More Consumption
(Images via: Brine Queen, Arkive, Glaucus, Bootleg)
Judging by the incredible senses, memories and other capabilities of sharks, it’s hardly surprising that these animals would be a little full of themselves and feel as if they’re untouchable. Well, a recent study pulled out some surprises in terms of the confidence and risk-taking abilities of some gill sharks, which entered waters more than 900 feet below sea level to feast on pig carcasses dropped in by researchers. These sharks were willing to enter these dead zones – where oxygen is extremely low and suffocation is a very real possibility – all for the sake of the meal. Guess some sharks just love the thrill and spoils of the hunt, although the study did find that some depths were just too deep for even these cocky sharks to venture.
Reversed Waters: Lifting Great White Sharks Out of the Sea
(Images via: National Geographic, Surfer’s Village)
Apparently, some researchers want to know what it’s like to be God, that is via the use of a hydraulic lift that is able to carry SUV-sized great white sharks out of the water, all for the sake of research purposes. As to be depicted on the new television series Expedition Great White, researchers began lifting great white sharks out of the water in 2007, first beginning with smaller great whites and then advancing to larger great whites. After catching a great white with tuna, the researchers would lift the mammoth creature out of the water for no more than 15 minutes, using this time to take blood samples, make measurements and attach tracking devices on the shark’s dorsal fin to study movement, feeding and reproduction patterns. While the great white sharks were probably a bit surprised and certainly not too happy about getting pulled out of the water, the researchers were considerate of their feelings, using a hydration hose to pump seawater into the sharks and thus avoid suffocation. While certainly a frightening proposition, the shark elevator has apparently allowed researchers to examine great whites in ways that were previously only possible with dead specimens, especially when considering the dangers of being in the water with live great whites.
You Might Be a Shark Attack Victim If…
(Images via: Surfer’s Village, Shark Attack Photos, Extreme Survive, Panoramio)
Speaking of recent shark discoveries, a new study recently found that 21 percent of the global number of shark attacks that occurred between 1999 and 2008 took place on 47-mile strip of Florida’s coastline. Luckily, most of these attacks were by smaller sharks that were confused by humans, and no worse than a dog bite (I’ll have to take the study on its word regarding this last point). Especially interesting, the study was able to determine that people were more likely to be bitten by sharks on a Sunday (when more people were in the water), when wearing black and white shorts (due to the visual adeptness of sharks at picking up contrasts), when swimming during a new moon or full moon (when the tides are highest) and when swimming in less than 6 feet of ocean water. Last but not least, shark attacks in this area were more likely to happen to men than women since men tend to spend more time in the water.
The Softer Side of Sharks: Going to the Fish Car Wash
(Image via: Ningaloo Kayak Adventures)
While these previous discoveries may have hardly changed your opinions or fears about sharks, it should be known that some sharks pay respect to smaller fish. In the Osprey Reef, more than 1100 sharks were observed gathering in fish cleaning stations where the sharks would take a vertical pose, signifying to smaller fish that they were there to be cleaned. In none of these cases did researchers ever see the sharks eating the smaller fish; rather it appeared that the sharks were respecting the process, which benefitted them by removing mucus, algae and dead tissues and also aided the smaller fish by providing them with essential nutrients. Maybe sharks aren’t as bad as they’re cracked up to be, that is when there is something to benefit them in the long run.
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A Nigerian Sultan Helps Gates Rethink His Polio Strategy
In 2000, the picture of polio around the world looked pretty good: just 1,000 cases were reported that year. Bill Gates saw this as an opportunity: a chance to invest a little bit of his money and not just control a disease, but eradicate it.
Last year, though, that rosy picture looked both bleak and expensive. As Bruce Aylward of the World Health Organization said, “There’s no way to sugar-coat the past 12 months.” During 2009, we saw a resurgence of polio in 20 countries — many of which had previously eradicated the disease.
The Gates/WHO strategy to fight polio was based on the success of the 1979 smallpox vaccine campaign. In this campaign, though Bangladesh was seen as a last stronghold of the disease, the virus was finally eliminated when a policy of forced vaccination was implemented (which many consider a human-rights abuse). The polio campaign used a similarly simple playbook: vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate. And for awhile, it seemed that strategy might work. Now, though, it’s failing. Like the case of smallpox, polio is still deeply entrenched in one place: Nigeria. The country made up half of the world’s polio cases last year, in part due to rumors that have circulated about how the vaccine induces sterility, and in part because of the risk of Vaccine-Associated Paralytic Poliomyelitis, which causes paralysis in about one in a million people who receive the oral polio vaccine.
That’s where the Sultan of Sokoto, ruler of 70 million Muslims living in northern Nigeria, comes in.
Something Fishy: Ocean-Based Vertical Farm Concept
[ By Delana in Art & Design, Food & Health, Home & Garden. ]
There is no shortage of vertical farm ideas these days; it’s becoming more apparent with each passing year that crop space is running out and we’ll soon need to figure out a better way to feed ourselves. Many vertical farm ideas look similar and share the same functions, but this one is a bit different: it’s situated in the ocean instead of on land.
Could a sea-based vertical farm have an advantage over a land-based one? It’s very possible. This particular design is from Australian architect Ruwan Fernando and was one of the entries in the eVolo 2010 Skyscraper Competition. Fernando’s design consists of five stacked U-shaped enclosures which can be used for a variety of functions: public space, residences, research, food production, energy production and more. The shape of the levels – and the space between each – helps to let in the maximum amount of natural sunlight, reducing the electricity needed to power the structure. Fernando sees several of his sea-based skyscrapers being grouped together to form a networked food production colony.
What makes Fernando’s idea truly unique is the fact that it’s meant to be placed in shallow ocean water. It would be close enough to the shore that a bridge would take workers and visitors from the mainland to the farm easily. But why put it in the water at all? The designer believes that instead of moving inward and taking up more green space – as has been the trend for a very long time – we should be focusing our movement outward, toward the “uninhabitable” 70 percent of the planet that is covered in water.
Being located in the water will make it easier for these vertical farms to harvest energy from wind and waves. Because there are no other structures in the water to block the sun, solar energy would also be plentiful. The surrounding seawater would be utilized both for fresh water (after desalination) and to provide minerals to nourish the plants. Of course, current technology is miles away from making a vertical farm like this a possibility, but looking to the ocean as a viable farm site is a step forward in vertical farm design.
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Going up? Go Green! 15 Eco-Towers & Sustainable Skyscrapers
With a burgeoning global population that has ever-growing needs for both food and housing, many architects are looking up for sustainable solutions that will prevent further sprawl and provide fresh food to urban residents. Vertical farms and skyscrapers that incorporate various functions like housing, recreation, work and tourism are like miniature self-sufficient cities, complete with transit and on-site energy production, minimizing the building’s carbon footprint and that of its residents.
La Tour Vivante: International Sustainable City
(images via: Atelier SOA)
La Tour Vivante is a vertical farm skyscraper with a light-shading skin that wraps around the structure and admits sunlight to targeted locations for both functional and aesthetic purposes. Designed by French architecture firm Atelier SOA, the skyscraper’s sustainable features include wind power, reclaimed rainwater, biogas production and on-site food production.
The architects explain, “The separation between city and countryside, urban planning and natural areas, places of living, consumption and production is increasingly problematic for sustainable land management. The concept of Tour Vivante aims to combine agricultural production, housing and activities in a single system.”
Toronto Sky Farm Concept by Gordon Graff
(images via: The Rathaus)
Designed by Gordon Graff when he was a Masters of Architecture student at Waterloo University, the Toronto Sky Farm concept seeks to provide enough food for 35,000 citizens per year. Though that may not be nearly enough to feed all the residents of downtown Toronto, it’s a start. Sky Farm would stand 59 stories tall with half its power produced by methane from plant waste. The hydroponic farming system would be fed with fresh water from Lake Ontario.
House of Peace Hotel in Tanzania Inspired by Nature
(images via: Inhabitat)
When WOW Architects set out to design the ‘House of Peace’ hotel in Tanzania, they found inspiration for its sculpted shape in the geological processes that shape rock formations in nature. With gentle slopes and greenery peeking out between floors, the concrete hotel is an interpretation of the way plate tectonics create hills, which are then molded by weather and stratified by sediments. Even the texture of the walls is drawn from that of fossils often found in such hills.
Almeisan Tower Brings Sky-High Sustainability to Dubai
(images via: Gizmag)
Though it’s unlikely to ever be built, the Almeisan Tower concept is nevertheless a fascinating peek at the ways in which we may be able to provide food for ourselves in the future. Created by architect Robert Ferry for a competition to design a tall emblem structure for Za’abeel Park in Dubai, Almeisan Tower would use solar cells and large mirrors to generate its own power as well as the power required to run the rest of the park.
Axis Mundi’s Wacky Pop-Art Idea for MoMA Tower
(images via: Design Boom)
Though it was Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, Jean Nouvel, who was actually selected to design the expansion of New York City’s Museum of Modern Art, another architect almost stole his thunder. Axis Mundi submitted an alternative design idea for the tower, with a stacked design that features vegetated walls and gigantic reproductions of iconic pop art. Firm founder John Beckmann said of the concept, “Instead of disguising the rich potential of towers that have a mix of uses, we looked for a way to express that diversity.” The resulting mixed-use mishmash certainly stands at a stark contrast to Nouvel’s sleek, contemporary winning design.
Entangled Bank: Green-Walled Eco-City
(images via: ArchDaily)
Charlotte, North Carolina firm LITTLE designed the Entangled Bank concept, a holistic design that “combines heavy duty technological prowess with artistic integration of systems”, as a juror of the Re:Vision Dallas competition described it. The concept connects various elements of community like housing, recreation, work and tourism in a sustainable shell that includes a living wall, wind turbines and an onsite biogas plant.
XERO Project Envisions Sustainable Dallas
(images via: David Barker + Partners)
While the Entangled Bank concept turned heads and made it to the top 3 in the Re:Vision Dallas competition, it was the XERO Project that took first place. The David Barker + Partners/Fletcher Studio design is based around the question, “What if one block in Texas became the sustainable model for the world?” The design envisions a high-density, zero-energy, agriculturally oriented pair of buildings that include public orchards, community gardens, food stalls, restaurants, retail space and housing. The design also imagines connecting the building to greater Dallas with intersecting greenways.
The Zuidkas Sustainable Tower in Amsterdam
(images via: Plus Mood)
How green can a skyscraper get? Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter decided to find out with a design commissioned by the Government Buildings Agency of the Netherlands for a mixed-use building in Amsterdam. De Ruiter aimed to achieve the highest score possible on a range of environmental objectives to help the government determine a future standard for sustainability in architecture. The design consists of a glass envelope that accommodates a variety of ‘green houses’ – atria, CO2 greenhouses and hybrid greenhouses – in addition to offices, homes, a school and retail facilities.
Plantagon Geodesic Vertical Farm
(images via: Inhabitat)
Swedish-American company Plantagon has come up with an unusual twist on the vertical farm concept: a geodesic greenhouse containing a spiral ramp upon which fresh crops can be grown in urban environments. Plantagon says the farm “will dramatically change the way we produce organic and functional food. It allows us to produce ecological [resources] with clean air and water inside urban environments, even major cities, cutting costs and environmental damage by eliminating transportation and deliver directly to consumers. This is due to the efficiency and productivity of the Plantagon® greenhouse which makes it economically possible to finance each greenhouse from its own sales.”
Vertical Park: Stackable Architecture for Mexico City
(images via: Archicentral)
Not only do we need vertical buildings that bring many functions into one building, preventing the destruction of what little green space we have left, but we also need structures that can meet our needs as they evolve. The stackable ‘Vertical Park’ concept by Jorge Hernandez de la Garza is a modular skyscraper designed for Mexico City, where space is definitely at a premium. Each module provides spaces for living, working, urban farming, water reclamation and solar energy collection.
Pyramid Farm
(images via: The Vertical Farm Project)
Architecture professors Eric Ellingsen and Dickson Despommier have dreamed up yet another way in which agriculture can be incorporated into urban environments in the future. The Pyramid Farm offers a self-sustaining ecosystem that are capable of producing a wide variety of food – including fish and poultry – while also minimizing waste as much as possible. It would even have processes in place to transform waste into energy sources that could run the farm.
Dragonfly Urban Farm Concept
(images via: Vincent Callebaut)
Few urban farm concepts are quite as visually stunning as Vincent Callebaut’s Dragonfly, a tall wing-like structure designed around the Southern bank of Roosevelt Island in New York City. This entirely self-sufficient concept features two oblong towers and 128 floors filled with housing, offices, laboratories and farms that would be tended by the building’s occupants. The greenhouse, which defines the space of the design, supports the load and is buttressed by two inhabited rings covered in solar panels.
Harvest Green Tower
(images via: Design Boom)
Romses Architects envisioned the ‘Harvest Green Tower’ for Vancouver, winning a competition held by the city of vancouver ‘the 2030 challenge’ to find new methods of green building that can help address climate change issues. The Harvest Green Tower produces food – including boutique goat and sheep dairy – and generates its own energy through wind and solar power. Incorporated within the tower are also residences, transit, offices, retail space and research facilities.
Aberrant Agriculture by Scott Johnson
(images via: Rat Haus)
The Aberrant Agriculture concept by Masters of Architecture student Scott Johnson not only combines vertical farming, residential, hotel and retail functions in one sustainable skyscraper, it also processes and sells the food that is produced within. The agricultural core of the building grows 12 ‘power foods’ including berries, garlic and beans and whatever the building’s residents couldn’t eat would be sold to the public.
Modular Skyscraper Additions Add Garden and Power Producing Space
(images via: Ecoble)
All of these ideas for the sustainable skyscrapers of the future are great, but what about all the waste that would be generated by tearing old buildings down, and wasting new resources to rebuild? That’s where this concept by Daekwon Park comes in. It’s a modular system designed to act as add-ons for existing buildings, adding space for outdoor recreation, vertical gardening and wind power generation as well as other functions as needed.
Steph