As predicted on this blog a while back we are starting to see projects appear that attempt to create a new internet or circumvent the restrictions being put in place by government and business. One is example is The Darknet Project (TDP).
"The goal behind the project is to create a global darknet, a decentralized web of interconnected wireless mesh networks that operate independently of each other and the conventional internet. In a wireless mesh network, individual nodes can relay data for other nodes, ensuring that the routing of data remains robust as nodes on the network are added and removed."
The idea being that the network cannot be controlled or shut down due to its decentralised nature.
Fed up with being "outside of the scope of economic viability" for high speed internet access a group of farmers in Lancashire are "utilising the skills, time, energy and ingenuity of the local residents and businesses" to install a "Gigabit, future-proofed, reliable, communications network to every property".
They are training up local people to do the installation and the project will be backed with a share issue for a not for profit company.
I saw a credit card sized prototype of this a while back but now the clever chaps have managed to get a functional computer down to the size of a thumb drive and costing only £15. You can programme and play HD video on it and it runs a linux operating system. You can connect up a usb keyboard and a screen.
Ok, not exactly sunscreen, but titanium dioxide (an ingredient in many sunscreens) has been shown to reduce smog so much that it is now being proposed as a coating for buildings.
“The aluminum company Alcoa has created a titanium dioxide coating for aluminum panels designed to cover buildings like a shell.” "The firm claims that 1,000 square meters of the coated panels eat up the equivalent NOx output of four cars."
And by 'does' I mean launches a programme to get 100 hackerspaces up and running in the Shanghai area. No point wasting your time with a couple eh?
"Shanghai Government Technology committee has issued a call for a proposal to build 100 community hackerspaces with government funding for equipment. The communities in resident area are going to manage the spaces and pay for the materials. Each space is required to be at least 100 square meters, more than 200 days/year open, equipped with wood lathes, metal lathes, saws and drill grinding combined machine, milling machine and other tools." more here: http://bit.ly/rB3qPF
Researchers in California have followed an interesting phenomenon. Their catch and release bird research has shown over the past several decades that the average size of birds has increased noticeably. The attribute this to climate change stating:
“One is that birds could be storing more fat to survive the harsher winter storms that have become more common as the world warms. The other cause may be that climate change is affecting plant growth in a way that is leading to fatter birds.”
The combination of a poor economy and the high price of metals has led to a massive spike in theft of metals. So much so that a University Criminologist has started up a website www.metaltheft.net to track incidences.
From World Futurist Society:
"Metal theft may become one of the biggest criminal activities of the twenty-first century, warns University of Indianapolis criminologist Kevin Whiteacre. Targets may include construction sites, vehicle parts, plumbing and electrical equipment, and public infrastructure, where thieves see value not just in the manufactured goods themselves but also in their component metals.
“This has redefined theft to me,” says Whiteacre. “You’re no longer stealing a specific item for its value as an item. You’re stealing it for its constituent parts.” Whiteacre has created a Web site, Metaltheft.net, as a repository of news and research on the phenomenon." http://bit.ly/vIDuVn
With all the sharing websites popping up lately, an unlikely sector is being represented...the music industry.
A new way to legally 'share music', Redigi, allows users to sell the hits they're tired of. So, that old Britney Spears just doesn't get the playtime it once did? Sell it to another user directly without keeping a copy for yourself. Making it convienent and legal.
Well this is pretty audacious. Someone has learnt how to take data off the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather satellites using some relatively basic electronics that are readily available. The hacker is hoping to set up an automated system to pull images off these low orbit satellites when they pass over. Maybe soon we can all have our own weather satellite images.
Given that the industrial food system is responsible for one third of all man-made GHG emissions (War on Want Food Sovereignty Report, 2011), we can see why consumers are increasingly keen to support local and community-based agriculture. With their aims overlapping more often that not with organic agriculture, locally based food initiatives offer consumers healthier food, give a sense of place to the food system and advance local economies whilst increasing our food security.
For this to grow, it will be important for local producers to communicate their brand effectively with other producers and consumers, and for the supply chain to be transparent through all stages. Websites such as Eggzy and Food Mapper allow shoppers to locate local producers, community farming projects and allotments; and, Local Food Systems are now trialling a new scheme in the US where entrepreneurs can develop their business ideas and position it within a local supply chain.
