AINPO - Angel Initiative Non Profit Organization

Dedicated to social, economic & most importantly climate justice through sustainable technologies/methodologies. Search the play lists for our regularly updated DIY sustainability video library on YouTube at the Angel Initiative NPO page.

[environmentalillnessnetwork]

Aluminum (Al) is present in the daily life of humans, and the incidence of Al contamination increased in recent years. Long-term excessive Al intake induces neuroinflammation and cognition impairment.

[environmentalillnessnetwork]

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Life and the Elements: Titanium

Though titanium does not play any role in the human body (most ingested titanium passes through without being absorbed) it is the most biocompatible metal, making it the prime choice for biomedical implants - often alloyed with aluminum and/or vanadium.

The element is non-toxic even in relatively large doses, but in certain situations titanium is a fire hazard, including when in the form of a powder or metal shavings and when reacting with liquid oxygen. 

Source.

[prostheticknowledge]

Natural Human-Drone Interaction

Research project from Eirini Malliaraki illustrates ideas for drone programming, from gesture to emotion recognition:

1-month graduate project // Royal College of Art & Imperial College// May 2017

Taking inspiration from the interaction between falconers and their birds of prey, as well as from common daily gestures, cybernetics, dance, and robotics, several themes were explored, namely: - a gesture-based interaction scheme that attempts to create a more intuitive and natural way to communicate with aerial robots - ways in which aerial robots can become more autonomous by interpreting their environment in richer ways - ways in which they can communicate their intentions and give feedback - ways in which an aerial robot can understand and react to human emotions and eventually influence our behaviour

Parrot AR Drone, Node js, Javascript, Affectiva Emotion analysis SDK

Link

[environmentalillnessnetwork]

[rjzimmerman]

"It's up to us as leaders to creatively implement clean energy solutions for our cities across the nation. It's not merely an option now; it's imperative." — Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin of Columbia, South Carolina

Excerpt:

The Sierra Club released a new analysis Friday that found that transitioning all 1,400+ U.S. Conference of Mayors member-cities to 100 percent clean and renewable electricity will significantly reduce electric sector carbon pollution nationwide and help the U.S. towards meeting the goals of the Paris climate agreement.

According to the Sierra Club analysis, if cities belonging to the U.S. Conference of Mayors were to move to 100 percent clean and renewable electricity, it would reduce electric sector carbon emissions by more than that of the five worst carbon polluting U.S. states combined. If the 100 percent energy targets were achieved by 2025, the total electric sector carbon pollution reductions would fill anywhere from 87 percent to 110 percent of the remaining reductions the U.S. would need to achieve in order to meet the goals of the Paris agreement.

The analysis of National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Energy Information Administration data comes before the start of the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting in Miami Beach, from June 23-26, where members will consider a resolution that would establish support for the goal of 100 percent clean, renewable energy in cities nationwide.

In addition, the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign and the co-chairs of Mayors for 100% Clean Energy announced Friday that 118 mayors across the country have endorsed a goal of powering their communities with 100 percent clean, renewable energy such as wind and solar.

Thirty-six cities across the U.S. have now committed to transition to 100 percent clean and renewable energy. This growing list of cities most recently includes Columbia, South Carolina, which this week unanimously voted to transition entirely to clean, renewable energy by 2036. Other cities including Los Angeles and Denver are studying pathways to 100 percent clean energy.

[rjzimmerman]

Seismic airguns exploding in the ocean in search for oil and gas have devastating impacts on zooplankton, which are critical food sources for marine mammals.

Excerpt:

Seismic airguns exploding in the ocean in search for oil and gas have devastating impacts on zooplankton, which are critical food sources for marine mammals, according to a new study in Nature. The blasting decimates one of the ocean’s most vital groups of organisms over huge areas and may disrupt entire ecosystems.

And this devastating news comes on the heels of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s proposal to authorize more than 90,000 miles of active seismic blasting. Based on the results of this study, the affected area would be approximately 135,000 square miles.

In the study, scientists found that the blasts from a single seismic airgun caused a statistically significant decrease in zooplankton 24 hours after exposure. Abundance fell by at least 50 percent in more than half (58 percent) of the species observed. The scientists also found two to three times more dead zooplankton following airgun exposure compared to controls and, shockingly, krill larvae were completely wiped out.

[materialsworld]

5 things you didn’t know about... a new concrete mix that resists salt damage

Credit: Drexel University. A series of concrete core samples being prepared for testing for reactivity with de-icers.

1. The new method for producing concrete uses by-products of coal furnaces, the metal industry and silicon and ferrosilicon alloys – fly ash, slag and silica fume.

2. It has proved more resistant to salt deterioration than current concrete mixes used for road and pavement surfaces.

3. Calcium chloride salt, used to de-ice roads, reacts with calcium hydroxide in concrete, forming calcium oxychloride. This can expand when formed, creating internal pressure and producing cracks in the concrete.

4. The new concrete mix contains less calcium hydroxide, therefore producing less calcium oxychloride than Portland cement, while also using recycled materials.

5. It is hoped that the new mix will allow the lifespan of concrete roads and pavements to reach the designed target of 20-40 years.

To read the paper in full visit, bit.ly/2rL3VV6

To find out more see page 7 of the upcoming July issue of Materials World.

[ainpo2014]

The concept of low- to no-pressure travel through tubes has been around for a few hundred years, but it’s clearly facing a revival of inspiration lately. It continues to capture imaginations …

[alphatech5]

Hyper Chariot Aims To Go Faster, Further, & Cheaper Than Hyperloop

By Nicolas Zart The concept of low- to no-pressure travel through tubes has been around for a few hundred years, but it’s clearly facing a revival of inspiration lately.

[onceuponawildflower]

The world will not evolve past its current state of crisis by using the same thinking that created the situation.

Albert Einstein (via onceuponawildflower)

[lynnleev]

[veganvoices]

[ediblegardensla]

Begin again

[ediblegardensla]

January garden, Los Angeles.

[climateadaptation-deactivated20]

Sea levels are rising faster than they have in 28 centuries — here's where New York City could flood first

New York City, like most US cities that border an ocean, may eventually flood from sea level rise by 2050. The city released a map that shows where.

By 2050, NYC’s average temperature is expected to rise between 4.1 and 6.6°F, and annual precipitation is expected to increase between 4% and 13%. Dangerous waves are also now 20 times more likely to overwhelm the Manhattan seawall than they were 170 years ago, according to a recent study.

Anticipating those realities from climate change, the Mayor’s Office of Recovery & Resiliency released the city’s first-ever Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines in early May. As Fast Company notes, it’s a preliminary draft that will be finalized by the end of 2017.

The document recommends building design strategies for how to mitigate extreme heat, precipitation, flooding, and storm surges. It also links to an interactive map that shows which streets are in the danger zones for flooding from the 2020s to 2100.

[ainpo2014]

Farmed Norwegian Salmon...World’s Most Toxic Food?

a documentary called "Poisonous Fish: The Big Health Lie" that aired in November 2014, produced by Austrian national TV (ORF): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_Sl_... (German: "Giftiger Fisch: Die große Gesundheitslüge") Norwegian farmed salmon suffer extremely unhealthy living conditions and are fed toxic substances: - Fish from the Baltic Sea contamined by industrial wastes - Ethoxyquin to preserve the fat in those fish The accumulation of this makes them "5 times more poisonous than any other food available in a normal supermarket"