Environment
Environment
SNS maintains a continuous awareness of the world we depend upon for survival, from the oceans to the atmosphere, from how we affect the environment to what technology can contribute to promote global environmental health.
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Topics in This Focus Channel
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AI in the Cloud
October 11, 2018
Amazon, Microsoft, and others are rushing to distinguish their cloud offerings by integrating the latest advances in AI, unlocking new possibilities and efficiencies for small- and medium-sized businesses the world over. Hear how the democratization of AI over the cloud will affect data use, analysis, business operations, and the economy.
- David Binger, CTO, Forced Physics
- Murray Cantor, IBM Distinguished Engineer and CTO, Aptage
- Elena Eneva, Research Scientist in Artificial Intelligence, Accenture
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Supporting the Carbon Trifecta: Advances in 3D Printing
October 12, 2017
Trevor Rudderham, President and CEO, Haydale Technologies Inc.: Shane Fox, Co-Founder and CEO, LINK3D; and Philip Vafiadis, Executive Chairman, Innovyz and Innovyz Institute; hosted by Steve Waite, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Graphene Stakeholders Association
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Supporting the Carbon Trifecta: Building Elon’s World
October 12, 2017
Will Perego, Founder and CEO, 24-Hour Solar Roof; Mark Godsy, CEO, Exro Technologies; and Ray Gibbs, CEO, Haydale Plc; hosted by Cynthia Figge, CEO and Co-Founder, CSRHub
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FiReFilms: “Chasing Coral” Q & A
October 11, 2017
"Chasing Coral", FiReFilms Featured Film of 2017 A Discussion with C. Mark Eakin, Coordinator, Coral Reef Watch, NOAA; Brian McInerney, Hydrologist, National Weather Service; Roger Payne, President, Ocean Alliance and Brian Moench
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The SNS Carbon Trifecta: Harnessing the Flow of CO2
September 29, 2016
With Ray Gibbs, CEO, Haydale Plc; Jon Myers, Founder, Graphene Technologies, NovaMetallix, and Neural ID; Soroush Nazarpour, President and CEO, NanoXplore; and Larry Smarr, Director, Calit2 (a UC San Diego / UC Irvine partnership), and SNS Ambassador for Pure Science; hosted by Mark Anderson
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Preserving Big Brains: The New Whale Protection Zone
September 28, 2016
With Christopher Clark, Imogene Johnson Senior Scientist, Cornell University, and Senior Advisor, Planet OS; and "Announcing the Biocomputer Comparison Toolkit: Finding the Most Powerful Brains on Earth" With Benjamin Smarr, NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Berkeley; and Mark Anderson Hosted by Roger Payne, Whale Scientist, Founder/President of Ocean Alliance, and SNS Ambassador for Ocean Health
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Building Elon Musk’s Hyperloop
September 6, 2015
Bibop Gresta, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies’ Deputy Chairman and COO
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SNS: What Can Go Wrong: The Top 5 Threats
October 23, 2014
Volume 17, Issue 39
Week of October 20, 2014
In This Issue
Feature: What Can Go Wrong: The Top 5 Threats- Global Warming
- Ebola and Other Future Pandemics
- Economic Manipulations
- Global Liquidity Expansion
- The Failure of Self-Government
Quotes of the Week
Takeout Window- Can the Earth Survive China? Global CO2 Production
- Getting to Fusion
Upgrades and Numbers- China's Spider to Apple's Fly: Will You Walk into My Parlour?
Ethermail
In Case You Missed It...
SNS Members Making News-
---A
mericans are historically and by nature optimists; this is also a fair description of most technology executives. Like many of our members, I would plead guilty to this bias on both counts. Even so, there are more problems than usual afoot in the world, and not without reason. While some would take the relatively ignorant view that all things are relative, nothing changes, and the world is as it always has been, I don't see things that way. I believe that actions have consequences, and we are currently paying the piper.This is not bad news, as different actions, or actions remedied, can also often turn threats into positive outcomes. But for this to happen, we must first recognize what these threats - and their causes - are. The markets, and the media, are full of fear these days. The best way to overcome fears is to face them, understand them, and then deal with them. Here, then, are what I consider to be the gravest threats facing the world today, and what it would take to turn them around.
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Commercializing Space: From the Moon to Mars
May 21, 2014
FiRe 2014: "Commercializing Space: From the Moon to Mars": Patti Grace Smith and Michael Sims; hosted by Larry Smarr
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Outer Space Commerce: Increasing Humanity’s Prosperity on a Global Scale
May 20, 2014
FiRe 2014: Dinner Presentation: "Outer Space Commerce: Increasing Humanity's Prosperity on a Global Scale": Chris Lewicki; hosted by Mark Anderson
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Roger Payne Talks About Humpback Whales In Park City
April 16, 2014
The man who is credited with discovering that humpback whales sing songs will be in Park City for the final guest in this season's Park City Institute's SNS Future in Review Speaker Series.
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SNS: Special Letter: Enabling the Smart Grid with Massive Storage
May 28, 2013
Volume 16, Issue 18
Week of May 27, 2013
In This Issue
Feature: Special Letter: Enabling the Smart Grid with Massive Storage- Alternative Energy: Decentralized Grid
- The Importance of Grid Storage
- Financial Realities of Grid-Scale Storage
- What Does It Take to Make Grid-Scale Storage Work?
- What Are Those "Other Pieces"?
- Flow Batteries and Other Grid-Scale Batteries
- Conclusions, and Looking Forward
- Zinc Air Product Technology
- About the Author
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Publisher's Note: People around the planet are getting nervous, if not outright scared. Outside of Germany, there is little or no sign that the world's leaders have what it takes to resist short-term re-election jitters and the intense lobbying campaigns of those destroying the planet. These lobbyists for coal, oil, and natural gas may control the halls of power today, but if their bosses don't properly review "what business are we in" and come up with a new answer involving alternative energy and no more CO2 emissions, they will be perceived by following generations as perhaps the most destructive organizations of all time.
Solving this requires a new kind of "smart grid," and perhaps the greatest challenge we now face is not only the rapid deployment of alternative energy sources, but also a grid designed to provide storage and "firming" (see definition below) so that these new sources can work in a stable fashion as their share moves beyond 20%.
It turns out that, with the proper grid storage systems, revenues also rise for both the vendors and the utilities, without need for government subsidies or tax incentives. Finally, these integrated systems are perfectly suited to emerging national economies, where we may soon expect to see the kind of leapfrogging typical of new technology, even as the more established countries wrestle with politics and spending issues.
I expect that SNS members interested in the requirement for an accelerated deployment of alternative energies will be cheered to see that there is, indeed, at least one technology and company prepared to provide scalable, safe, integrated, grid-scale energy storage for the smart grids of tomorrow, today. - mra.
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Planning the Earth’s Energy Sourcing
May 23, 2013
"Planning the Earth's Energy Sourcing": A conversation with Michael Shellenberger, President, Breakthrough Institute; Kevin Surace, CEO, Appvance; Tom Arnold, CEO, Gridium.com; Stefano Poli, CEO, Electro Power Systems; and Michael Pfeffer, CEO, Ibis Networks; Hosted by Ed Butler, Senior Broadcast Journalist, BBC
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SNS: Special Letter: Graphene and Global Warming
January 30, 2013
Volume 16, Issue 4
Week of January 28, 2013
In This Issue
Feature: Special Letter: Graphene And Global Warming- What Is the Problem? or, The Legacy of Bubbles
- We Are a Bubble
- Bursting the Bubble of Denial
- The Role of Graphene
- Understanding Graphene's Potential
- A Cause for Hope and "Right Action"
- About Jon Myers
----
Publisher's Note: It is often said that the average human being literally lacks the ability to comprehend second-order rates of change: straight lines, OK - but increasing increases, no. That's too bad, as this is the shape of most human-caused problems. Worse, this shape, representing self-reinforcing problems, gets out of control much faster than do straight-line problems, often ending up in a veritable black hole from which there is no chance of solution.Another issue most people face in understanding complex problems is quite direct: the solutions are also complex. And, it seems, most people are not very good at understanding, or supporting, solutions that have more than one moving part.
This is exactly the case for solving the problem of Global Warming. Energy-based solutions alone (e.g., reduce coal burning, when possible) won't do it. We know from past work by the CTO Design Challenge results at FiRe that even a single set of answers isn't enough: there will need to be a set of transition ("good enough") solutions put into practice immediately, followed by a second set of solutions that are better yet.
Last year, SNS members read about a new proposal from us called "Twinning," which involves linking the problems caused by CO2 created during coal and petro burning for energy, with the idea of a vast new sustainable materials cycle. By taking the carbon from CO2 and creating a new planetary economy in an amazing new class of superior, carbon-based construction materials, we suggested that we could solve the global warming problem, solve the problem of constant resource exhaustion and waste, and make some money for those taking the risk.
At that time, I thought the answer was carbon nanotubes, but a review of a combination of potential health issues gave me (and others) pause: small fibers, after all, caused asbestosis. At the same time, a second look at the requirement for a universal geometry on the nano scale convinced me that I was wrong, and that the best solution would be flat sheets of carbon, 1 atom thick - or "graphene."Last month, the UK made the same decision, announcing a new government-sponsored R&D effort focused in Manchester (and quickly picked up by Cambridge). Two weeks ago, the EU followed suit. Having been in touch with the White House on this question since last November, we have strong hopes that the US, too, will get into this game, before it's too late.
If we're right about the potential of graphene, it will be the building block with which a very large part of the future world is created. Jon Myers, CEO of Graphene Technologies (a 2013 FiReStarter Company), saw this problem early, and has created a novel, proprietary solution which will hopefully accelerate the idea of placing a graphene plant next to every coal plant in the world, turning 100% of the CO2 into a valuable graphene feedstock, the centerpiece of the Twinning concept.
At the end of this issue, members will note a new feature which we felt would be particularly helpful in this discussion: a Resource List of articles on graphene from the UK and US, the latter a part of a longer list recommended to us by the White House. I believe everyone should read this letter carefully, regardless of one's current job or interests: it addresses the creation of a new path for the survival of our species. - mra.
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SNS: The Geographical Fate of Personal Computers
January 23, 2013
Volume 16, Issue 3
Week of January 21, 2013
In This Issue
Feature: The Geographical Fate of Personal Computers- The Inventors
- The Followers
- The Countries
- The Markets
- The Slowing US Engines
- The OEM/ODM Mistake
- Destructive Destructionism
Quotes of The Week
Upgrades- Mercantilist M&A: Running by China Rules
Takeout Window- Dilbert vs. Microsoft
- Google's Answer to Passwords
- Politics Over Banking: Currency Wars II
Ethermail
In Case You Missed It...
Members Making News
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“Connecting Digital Earths”
October 4, 2012
An SNS Weekly Report, including Building the Sensor Planet; M2M and Nature; Earth II and World Wind; Commercial vs. Academic Earths; Uniting Worlds; and The Reality Machine and the Global Prediction Machine
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“A Contract with the Ocean”
September 20, 2012
An SNS Special Letter, written by guest author Don Pickering
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“Zero Footprint: A New Model Linking Energy and Materials”
July 18, 2012
An SNS Weekly Report, including The Carbon Cycle; The Geometry of Life; Twinning, Global Warming, and the New Carbon Cycle; Toxicity; and A New Model, and the Beauty of Two Cycles
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“Let’s Turn Carbon Emissions into Something Useful”
May 29, 2012
A KPLU "The Digital Future" interview with Mark Anderson on all that carbon could be used to make fuel, chemicals, and other products.
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“The Future of Cleantech”
May 25, 2012
A Conversation with Tom Matzzie, Founder and CEO, Ethical Electric Company; Dan Kapp, Director, Powertrain Research & Advanced Engineering, Ford Motor Co.; and Tony Lammers, President and CEO, MAR Systems; hosted by Sheeraz Haji, CEO, Cleantech Group
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“From Ice to Ocean: Sea-Level Rise to Ocean Health”
May 23, 2012
James Balog, Photographer, Chasing Ice, and Founder, the Extreme Ice Survey; hosted by Roger Payne, Founder and President, Ocean Alliance
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“Ocean Toxins: Discoveries and Remedies”
May 23, 2012
Roger Payne, Founder/President, Ocean Alliance; hosted by James Balog, Photographer, Chasing Ice, and Founder, the Extreme Ice Survey
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“Remote Viewing in Underwater Cities”
May 27, 2011
With John Delaney, Professor, School of Oceanography and Paros Endowed Chair for Sensor Networks, and Director and PI for the Regional Cabled Observatory of NSF’s OOI; and Doug Stanley, CEO and Co-Founder, Ridgeline Entertainment; hosted by Michael Pfeffer, Managing Partner, Kolohala Ventures
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“Polar Ice Volumes Over Time: Is the Climate Debate Over?”
May 25, 2011
A conversation with Wieslaw Maslowski, Research Professor of Oceanography, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey; hosted by Larry Smarr, Director, California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), UC San Diego and Irvine
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“Providing Clean Water for 200 Million”
November 11, 2010
A conversation with Jin Zidell, Founder/Chairman, Blue Planet Network
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“Restoring the Night Sky”
November 11, 2010
A conversation with Pete Strasser, Managing Director, International Night-Sky Association
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“Searching for Life on Mars”
May 14, 2010
With Steve Squyres, Principal Investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission, and Professor of Astronomy, Cornell University; hosted by Larry Smarr, Director, California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), UCSD and Irvine
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“Peak Water”
May 12, 2010
With Wendy Pabich, Founder, Water Futures; Jonathan Leidich, President and CEO, Patagonia Adventure Expeditions; Tamin Pechet, CEO, Banyan Water LLC; and Rafael Simon, Venture Partner, VantagePoint Venture Partners; hosted by Russ Daggatt, Board Member, American Rivers
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“Pollution Report on the World’s Oceans”
May 22, 2009
Roger Payne, Founder and President, Ocean Alliance; hosted by Cynthia Figge, Co-Founder, EKOS International and EkoHub
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“Practical Strategies for Solving the Climate Problem”
May 19, 2009
Veerabhadran "Ram" Ramanathan, Distinguished Professor of Climate Sciences and Director, Center for Clouds, Chemistry & Climate (C4), Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD
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“An Urgent Need to Address Climate Change”
May 22, 2008
James McCarthy, a leader of the Nobel Prize-Winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Professor of Oceanography, Harvard University; hosted by Cynthia Figge, Partner and Co-Founder, EKOS International
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“China and the Changing Face of World CO2 Emissions”
May 22, 2008
A conversation with Richard Carson, Professor and Past Chair, Department of Economics, UC-San Diego; hosted by Cynthia Figge, Partner and Co-Founder, EKOS International
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“Earth on Fire: Rapid Response to Climate Crisis, Continuing the Necker Island Discussion”
May 21, 2008
With Elon Musk, CEO and CTO, SpaceX; and Lyndon Rive, CEO, SolarCity; hosted by Stephen Evans, Presenter, Business Daily, BBC World Service
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CTO Design Challenge: “Fighting Urban Wildfires”
May 21, 2008
A panel of wildfire experts, including: Ron Roberts, Supervisor, San Diego County Board of Supervisors, and military and fire personnel; with Larry Smarr, Director, California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (the "FiRe Lab"), UCSD; Per-Kristian Halvorsen, CTO, Intuit; Brian Higbee, Director of SI Strategy, Symantec; Kelly Millsaps, CTO, Avanade; Kevin Walter, Director, Strategic Planning, Office of CTO, EMC Corporation; hosted by David Brin, Science Fiction Author and Physicist, and Co-Host of TV's "ArchiTechs" series
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“Tesla Motors: The Cars of Tomorrow, Today”
May 24, 2007
A panel discussion with Martin Eberhard, CEO, Tesla Motors; Nate Lewis, George L. Argyros Professor of Chemistry, Caltech; and Vijay Vaitheeswaran, Global Environment and Energy Correspondent, The Economist; hosted by Elon Musk, Chair, Tesla Motors
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“The Whale and the Wind Turbine: Biomimicry and Design”
May 23, 2007
A conversation with Janine Benyus, President, Biomimicry Institute; hosted by Cynthia Figge, EKOS International.
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Channel Partner
Leaders in This Focus Channel
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Daniel Kapp
Director, Powertrain Research & Advanced Engneering, Ford Motor Co.
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Michael Shellenberger
President, Breakthrough Institute
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Lew Tucker
Former CTO, Cloud Computing,, Sun Microsystems
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Bibop Gresta
Chairman, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies
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John Delaney
Professor of Oceanography, University of Washington; Director and Principal Investigator, Regional Scale Nodes, NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative
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Bradley Peacock
Principal, DwellTek
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Brian McInerney
Hydrologist, National Weather Service and E2MS
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Nathanael Miller
Technical Lead, Earth Energy Monitoring System (E2MS)
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Will Perego
Founder and CEO, 24-hour Solar Roof
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Doug Stanley
CEO and Co-Founder, Ridgeline Entertainment
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Heidi Lubin
CEO, HEVT
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Cynthia Figge
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, CSRHub and Co-Founder, EKOS International
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Mark Foster
Partner, Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects
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Amory Lovins
Co-Founder, Chair, and Chief Scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute
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Wendy Pabich
Founder and President, Water Futures Inc.
