Dive into the archives.
- Climate Proofing the Netherlands (and Saving Architecture)
[Storm Surge Barriers in the Netherlands. Photo: Ralph Hargarten]
In the last years it seems to be an agreed upon fact that sea levels are certainly on the rise due to global climate change. Over the past 100 years, the seas have been climbing approximately 1.8mm per annum. Scientists have more recently been recording [...]
- Water Economy and Liquid Assets
[Zoning future underground waterbanks for a new liquid sub-urbanism.]
Scientists and economists predict that the wars of the 21st century will be waged over water rights. Some cities live under the threat of eradication through rising sea water levels, and others, under the threat of desertification. Counties in arid Arizona, whose main cities of Phoenix and [...]
- Reviving OTEC
[Most extreme temperature differences between surface and deep oceanic waters.]
Shelved in the early 1970s after realizing the project was technologically possible but economically untenable, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, or OTEC, is witnessing a revival. While many gave up on this, such as NREL, now even energy novices like Lockheed Martin are getting back in on [...]
- Vortex Induced Vibrations
A Vortex-Induced Vibration. The flow is moving from right to left via. creative commons
A team of researchers lead by Professor Michael Bernitsas at the University of Michigan has invented a device with the potential to serve a vast amount of the world’s populace with clean energy. VIVACE (Vortex-Induced Vibrations for Aquatic Clean Energy) [...]
- Trash Vortex: sea-based landfilling?
08-12-03: Trash Vortex
The world’s largest garbage dump is located thousands of miles from land. Also known as The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the Pacific Trash Vortex is an area of marine debris floating in the Pacific Ocean. This collection of trash is characterized as a plastic-soup due the high concentrations of suspended disposable plastics that [...]
- Farming the Atmosphere for Water
[Clouds in the Mojave Desert]
Beyond the astonishing bird’s nest featured at the recent Beijing Olympics was perhaps a more spectacular accomplishment: large-scaled cloud seeding. Chinese film and Olympic opening ceremony director Zhang Yimou cited rain as the largest threat to the opening ceremonies. To ensure a rain-free performance, 1104 rocket’s filled with silver [...]
- Gongoozolers, Aqueducts, and Lifts
[The inland waterways of England and Wales is comprised of over 5,000 navigable kilometers.]
Shipping just got a whole lot smarter. With the advent of software able to forecast the optimum shipping route and method for products still relying upon our globalized capital, suppliers and manufacturers are better able to soften the constricting power of rising [...]
- Dam Politics in the 'Stans
[The Nurek Dam in Tajikistan forms this massive 10.5 km³ reservoir. Photo by Carolyn Drake for The New York Times.]
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many freshly independent Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan, were dealt either a strong or poor hand with regard to land resources. Reading in the NYTimes on Sunday, Tajikistan [...]
- Marked Routes
[A superimposition of 23 significant journeys. (click to view large)]
Stumbling upon a map produced by GOOD magazine (and executed by the reliable graphics of Graham Roberts), suggests the power of historic routes to mark the very teritory in which they navigate – whether it be land, water, or air. Some chartered in open territories are [...]
- Dead Zones
[Over 400 dead zones dot the globe (see black dots above). There seems to be a bit of a graveyard forming in the Eastern US and Northern Europe...]
An interesting article in Science chronicles the ever rising numbers of dead zones. Dead zones are oxygenless waters as a result of activities such as riverine runoff of [...]
