The world is good

2021-06-30 11:02:07 This self-sufficient floating island is designed to clean up our oceans

We’re happy to share with you the story of the 8th continent — an award-winning design that recycles ocean plastic and is fully self-sustainable.

Designed by Lenka Petráková, a senior designer at Zaha Hadid Architects in London, the five-part structure features everything from greenhouses and living quarters to biodegradable waste collectors and water desalination facilities.

The prototype ocean-cleaning facility is named in reference to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — a 1.6 million square kilometer collection of marine debris floating in the Pacific Ocean. “I realized how destroyed the oceans are and how many species are extinct, how much pollution is there, and that the parts that may have never seen a human being, feel the effects of our activities,” says Petráková.

The designer was inspired by marine life when coming up with her concept. After researching how marine species live and interact with each other and their environment, Petráková created the floating station to be a “living organism that is fully self-sustainable.” The idea was not only to design a concept that cleans our oceans but one that also restores their health. The concept just won the 2020 Grand Prix award for its innovative architectural design, following a competition launched by Foundation Jacques Rougerie.

The station could stay anchored to the sea bed when operational, but remain flexible to move in line with ocean currents. Harnessing the power of tidal waves, the structure would make its own renewable electricity to power its plastic collection facilities and water desalination centers, maximizing the health of the marine environment around it. Open / Comment

2021-06-29 09:23:20 Open / Comment

2021-06-29 09:23:11 LEGO’s new prototype bricks are made from discarded plastic bottles

From cutting plastic from packaging to using plant-based materials, famous toymaker LEGO has been hard at work in recent years to make its beloved toy bricks more sustainable. With that same goal in mind, the company has recently created its first prototype building blocks using recycled PET plastic from discarded bottles.

The new prototype is the first brick made from a recycled material to meet the company’s strict quality and safety standards, and it is the work of more than 150 people who are keeping busy to find sustainable solutions for LEGO products.

Throughout the last three years, the company’s researchers have tested over 250 variations of PET materials and hundreds of other plastic formulations. Though the prototype meets several of the company’s quality, safety, and play requirements, more testing is needed before the bricks made from recycled plastic will appear in LEGO’s product boxes.

Further tests will involve developing the PET formulation and assessing whether to move to the pilot production phase, which is expected to take about a year. The prototype is made from discarded plastic bottles acquired from suppliers in the US. A one-liter plastic bottle provides enough raw material for around ten 2 x 4 LEGO bricks.

“We are super excited about this breakthrough,” said Tim Brooks, LEGO’s Vice President of Environmental Responsibility. “The biggest challenge on our sustainability journey is rethinking and innovating new materials that are as durable, strong, and high quality as our existing bricks — and fit with LEGO elements made over the past 60 years. With this prototype, we’re able to showcase the progress we’re making.” Open / Comment

2021-06-28 09:23:37 Open / Comment

2021-06-28 09:23:28 AI helps restore Rembrandt masterpiece that was disfigured 300 years ago

In 1715, three-quarters of a century after Rembrandt painted it, The Night Watch was greatly disfigured when it was moved from its original location at the Arquebusiers Guild Hall to Amsterdam’s City Hall. The disfigurement involved significant trimmings from all sides so that the masterpiece would fit between two doors at the new location. The fragments were lost after removal, preventing millions visiting Amsterdam’s Rijkmuseum from savoring the painting as Rembrandt originally intended it.

Now, centuries later, the painting can be enjoyed in its complete form through the use of artificial intelligence. Thanks to high-resolution photography of what is left of the original, computer learning of Rembrandt’s techniques, and a contemporary copy of the full painting by Gerrit Lundens, the Rijkmuseum was able to reproduce the work in all its glory.

Lundens’ copy — painted within 13 years of the uncut original — was a passable one, but scientists working with the computers discovered he must have been sitting on the left side of the painting, creating distortions in perspective. He also used slightly different mixes of paint and his work has aged rather differently to The Night Watch over time.

However, the researchers working on the restoration were able to correct these shortcomings thanks to a relatively new technology called convolutional neural networks — a type of AI algorithm that helps computers understand images. Most importantly, the computers were able to learn how to reproduce the very strokes of Rembrandt’s brush, to ensure they are as close as possible to how the painting appeared three centuries ago.

The new additions, which add significant details to the painting, will only be on show for a three-month period. According to Taco Dibbits, director of the Rijksmuseum, this is to prevent “tricking” the viewing public into thinking they were seeing the original in its complete form. The difference between Lundens’ work and the newly augmented original was, he said, between an “artist’s interpretation” and “a scientific” one. “It is very exciting to see.” Open / Comment

2021-06-27 09:48:09 Open / Comment

2021-06-27 09:48:00 16-Year-Old Entrepreneur Buys Confiscated Storage Units to Help Owners Recover Family Treasures

Lots of teens look for novel ways to supplement their summer income. After surfing YouTube for ideas, this 16-year-old came up with a plan and is now uplifting people who are down on their luck. It was only after setting the wheels in motion, however, that Shane Jones discovered turning his money-making scheme into a nonprofit venture would earn him a lot more satisfaction. A DIY video detailing the steps for buying repossessed storage units online and selling the contents appealed to the Rhode Islander’s entrepreneurial spirit. Taking $100 he’d saved up from his job at a used bookstore, last August, he put in a bid on his first unit—and won.

Per the terms of the auction, the youth from Wakefield bought the unit sight unseen—but when he realized the contents contained a raft of personal treasures likely worth more to their former owners than for any potential resale value, the experience was eye-opening. “I started out thinking that bidding at a storage auction was kind of like a yard sale, but now I know that’s not true. These people didn’t choose to give me this stuff. They didn’t have a choice. It’s almost like a duty to give it back.”

A little sleuthing revealed the original owner of the unit was in prison. Sensing the man hadn’t given up the batch of mementos and documents voluntarily, with the help of his parents, Shane was able to track down the incarcerated man’s mother and return his possessions to her.The thankful mom was so thrilled by Shane’s thoughtful actions, he was inspired to keep the momentum going. While the owners of the second unit Shane bought had passed away, clues inside led him to heirs to whom he was able to pass along a passel of family heirlooms.

The owner of Shane’s third storage auction win turned out to be a woman whose life had taken a downward spiral. After losing a baby to sudden infant death syndrome, she eventually lost her job as well. Even though the locker contained the precious keys to her past—baby items and family photos—she’d been unable to afford its upkeep. Shane contacted the locker’s former owner, who’d since relocated to Connecticut, and made arrangements for a front-porch rendezvous at his home to return her belongings. When she arrived, she was moved to tears by the teen’s kindness.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this kid, for going the extra step, for people he doesn’t know. It is actually a lot of work that he puts into this effort,” his mom told. Open / Comment

2021-06-26 11:23:03 Open / Comment

2021-06-26 11:22:50 This is how bacteria can help us recycle electric car batteries

Though electric vehicles (EVs) emit much fewer greenhouse gas emissions than cars that burn petrol or diesel, the rare metals needed for manufacturing their batteries are increasingly in short supply. Currently, the EU recycles less than five percent of EV batteries, and the most common technique involves melting everything down to extract the precious metals — a very energy-intensive process. However, thanks to new biotechnologies, a much better way of recycling old batteries is coming into view, with scientists arguing that bacteria might be the ideal candidate to do the job in an effective and environmentally friendly manner.

One of the proponents of using bacteria to recycle precious metals from EV batteries is Sebastian Farnaud, a researcher and professor at Coventry University in the UK. He explains how a process called bioleaching, or biomining, employs microbes that can oxidize metal as part of their metabolism. The technique isn’t new and has already been widely used in the mining industry, where microorganisms are employed to extract valuable metals from ores. The same process has also been used to recover precious metals from circuit boards and solar panels.

Bioleaching involves growing bacteria in incubators at 37°C (98°F). Compared to traditional recycling methods, the process has a significantly smaller carbon footprint, making it a much greener alternative. “Rather than remaining an afterthought, recycling can become both the beginning and end of an EV battery’s life cycle with bioleaching,” Farnaud argues, “Producing high-quality raw materials for new batteries at a low environmental cost.” Open / Comment

2021-06-25 12:10:50 Open / Comment