This past month, the Mariana Islands Nature Alliance hosted climate change workshops for teachers and students from various high schools on island as part of MINA’s “Schools for Environmental Change” program.
Because climate change has become a growing concern worldwide, MINA decided to increase awareness in the CNMI through educational workshops with presentations from environmental experts on island.
Participants included students and teachers from Marianas High School, Saipan Southern High School, Mount Carmel High School, Northern Marianas Academy, and AmeriCorps.
The presenters at the workshops included Robbie Greene of Coastal Resources Management; Greg Moretti of the Pacific Marine Resources Institute; Kaitlin Mattos of the Division of Environmental Quality; Andre Kozij of Northern Marianas Academy; John Furey, long time Environmental Educator; and Wayne Andrew, former Palau Delegate and environmental activist.
Lectures and activities included the causes of climate change, its effects on land and sea, and what the community can do about it.
“I liked the presenters,” one student commented. “They provided us with a lot of good information that many of us were not aware of.”
In addition to the workshops, participants were taken on a field trip to Managaha to learn about beach erosion and how to monitor coral bleaching through “Coral Watch,” a methodology used to assess the extent of bleaching.
A student praised the trip, “I loved everything about the field trip. All the activities were great!”
One of the most important components of MINA’s “Schools for Environmental Change” was the development of Conservation Action Plans or CAPs.
These CAPs were developed by the students to help their respective school ameliorate the causes of climate change or help their school adapt to the effects of climate change.
Students presented their CAPs this past Saturday, March 23, at the American Memorial Park auditorium.
“The students came up with great Conservation Action Plans that I think will really help their school move in a positive direction towards changing their views about the environment and climate change,” said Rica Dela Cruz, one of MINA’s project managers, “It’s these smaller initiations that can really create big changes. I’m so proud of these students.”
The CAPs of the schools included planting more trees on campus, installing more recycling bins, switching classrooms and school offices to solar street lighting, controlling paper usage, and increasing student body general awareness of climate change through surveys and climate change knowledge quizzes. In order to facilitate implementation of their plans on campus, the participating schools will receive $300 from MINA to buy the necessary supplies.
“I’m very happy with the CAPs that will be implemented in the participating schools,” said Sam Sablan, MINA’s executive director, “They have shown that they really are ‘Schools for Environmental Change.’ ”
2013年3月26日 星期二
LIFX hits $1 million in pre-order sales for its smart bulb
Kickstarter success story LIFX has launched a second batch of pre-orders of its WiFi-enabled, solar bulb, with the Melbourne venture on track to eclipse $1 million in sales by the end of the week.
LIFX is a WiFi-enabled, multicolour, energy-efficient LED light bulb, controlled via an iPhone or Android. In addition to giving the user "unprecedented control" over their lights, LIFX reduces energy costs and lasts for up to 25 years.
The LIFX team consists of Phil Bosua and his father John, RetailMeNot co-founder Guy King, Dave Evans, Andy Gelme and Andrew Birt, formerly of AngelCube.
In September last year, LIFX launched a campaign on US-based crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, with the aim of raising $100,000.
Within days, LIFX had raised more than $1 million from almost 10,000 backers.
While the first shipment was originally scheduled for this month, the first 500 units will now be shipped in May or June. Meanwhile, a second batch is set for September.
"We launched batch two of LIFX pre-orders on Friday afternoon, and sold over $100k in the first day, and look on track to eclipse a further $1 million by week's end," Birt told StartupSmart.
In the past three days, more than 3,000 units have been sold, with less than 97,000 units remaining.
"I think we had a pretty good idea this one was going to go quite well because everyone who is ordering in this round signed up to a notification list previously," Birt says.
"People were definitely disappointed they missed out on the Kickstarter campaign. That was originally going to be a 60-day campaign but ended up being a six-day campaign."
Birt says the company is confident it can honour its shipment dates, insisting it has full faith in its manufacturer in China.
"A lot of it comes down to trusting the partner you're working with. Phil has spent a lot of time with them now. He knows what they're capable of and what they're not capable of," Birt says.
"They're very accustomed to hitting deadlines."
According to Bosua, the company is "super happy" the factory prototype is now finished and tooling has begun.
"The first batch of LIFX bulbs are underway," Bosua said in a video update on the company's website.
"Important functions of the firmware and the app are now complete, and we couldn't be happier with where we're at.
"The WiFi network connection is now complete... We've also finished the switching, dimming and colour-changing controls. You can also use your phone to dim your lights.
"There's also a bunch of things we're finishing off like notifications, music visualiser, candlelight, security mode, as well as heaps of things we're cooking up in the labs."
LIFX is a WiFi-enabled, multicolour, energy-efficient LED light bulb, controlled via an iPhone or Android. In addition to giving the user "unprecedented control" over their lights, LIFX reduces energy costs and lasts for up to 25 years.
The LIFX team consists of Phil Bosua and his father John, RetailMeNot co-founder Guy King, Dave Evans, Andy Gelme and Andrew Birt, formerly of AngelCube.
In September last year, LIFX launched a campaign on US-based crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, with the aim of raising $100,000.
Within days, LIFX had raised more than $1 million from almost 10,000 backers.
While the first shipment was originally scheduled for this month, the first 500 units will now be shipped in May or June. Meanwhile, a second batch is set for September.
"We launched batch two of LIFX pre-orders on Friday afternoon, and sold over $100k in the first day, and look on track to eclipse a further $1 million by week's end," Birt told StartupSmart.
In the past three days, more than 3,000 units have been sold, with less than 97,000 units remaining.
"I think we had a pretty good idea this one was going to go quite well because everyone who is ordering in this round signed up to a notification list previously," Birt says.
"People were definitely disappointed they missed out on the Kickstarter campaign. That was originally going to be a 60-day campaign but ended up being a six-day campaign."
Birt says the company is confident it can honour its shipment dates, insisting it has full faith in its manufacturer in China.
"A lot of it comes down to trusting the partner you're working with. Phil has spent a lot of time with them now. He knows what they're capable of and what they're not capable of," Birt says.
"They're very accustomed to hitting deadlines."
According to Bosua, the company is "super happy" the factory prototype is now finished and tooling has begun.
"The first batch of LIFX bulbs are underway," Bosua said in a video update on the company's website.
"Important functions of the firmware and the app are now complete, and we couldn't be happier with where we're at.
"The WiFi network connection is now complete... We've also finished the switching, dimming and colour-changing controls. You can also use your phone to dim your lights.
"There's also a bunch of things we're finishing off like notifications, music visualiser, candlelight, security mode, as well as heaps of things we're cooking up in the labs."
2013年3月20日 星期三
Searching for solar systems like our own
The solar system's configuration is learned in grade school, and forever committed to memory with the help of foam balls, deconstructed coat hangers, and paint. It's a fairly straightforward arrangement: The sun revolves at the center as eight planets — along with dwarf planet Pluto — orbit within the same plane, and in the same direction as the sun's rotation.
As it turns out, planets around far-off stars do not always obey these rules, as Josh Winn has found. Winn, who is the Class of 1942 Career Development Associate Professor of Physics at MIT, searches for exoplanets — planets outside the solar inverter that revolve around far-off stars. In the last decade, astronomers have identified hundreds of exoplanetary systems in the Milky Way. Winn has found that many of these systems display very different properties from our own, with planets circling at odd angles, out of alignment with their stars' rotation.
"The planet could be going over the poles of the star instead of the equator, or going backward, or revolving in the opposite direction," Winn says. "It's sort of a gift from nature that it turned out these systems could be so interesting."
Winn and his group in MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research are deciphering the geometry of newly discovered planetary systems. The group analyzes changes in starlight as a planet transits, or eclipses, its star. These signals can give scientists clues to a planet's orbit, as well as its size. After combining this information with data, such as a planet's distance from its star, researchers can calculate an exoplanet's mass, composition and atmosphere — essential ingredients for determining whether the planet may be habitable.
"That's one of the big frontiers: studying these potentially habitable planets, and extracting as much information as we can from them," Winn says. "That will be a major preoccupation for us over the next 10 years."
Winn recently received tenure in MIT's Department of Physics, and is keen to continue his work in exoplanetary discovery. But early on in his career, he wasn't sure that astrophysics — or physics in general — was the path for him.
Born and raised in Deerfield, Ill., Winn was an impressionable student. "When I took biology in high school, I thought I was going to be a biologist. When I took chemistry the next year, I thought for sure I'd be a chemist, especially since my father is a chemist," Winn recalls. "Then physics happened to be the last thing I took. And that definitely did stick."
He followed his newfound interest to MIT, where he majored in physics, absorbing valuable perspective from his academic adviser, Alan Guth, the Victor F. Weisskopf Professor of Physics, and his thesis adviser, John Joannopoulos, the Francis Wright Davis Professor of Physics. Both professors gave Winn a window into the life of an academic, from the stimulation of intellectual work to the practical business of winning grants and cultivating a research group.
"All the way up until the very end, I was absolutely sure I wanted to be a professor of physics," Winn says. "Then as the actual end of college approached, I started to wonder."
After graduating, Winn skipped across the Atlantic to Cambridge University as a Fulbright Scholar, continuing to study physics and mathematics. When he returned to the United States, unsure whether he wanted to pursue purely academic studies, Winn looked to applied fields, landing temporarily on medical physics and a PhD program at the MIT-Harvard Health Sciences and Technology Program.
As it turns out, planets around far-off stars do not always obey these rules, as Josh Winn has found. Winn, who is the Class of 1942 Career Development Associate Professor of Physics at MIT, searches for exoplanets — planets outside the solar inverter that revolve around far-off stars. In the last decade, astronomers have identified hundreds of exoplanetary systems in the Milky Way. Winn has found that many of these systems display very different properties from our own, with planets circling at odd angles, out of alignment with their stars' rotation.
"The planet could be going over the poles of the star instead of the equator, or going backward, or revolving in the opposite direction," Winn says. "It's sort of a gift from nature that it turned out these systems could be so interesting."
Winn and his group in MIT's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research are deciphering the geometry of newly discovered planetary systems. The group analyzes changes in starlight as a planet transits, or eclipses, its star. These signals can give scientists clues to a planet's orbit, as well as its size. After combining this information with data, such as a planet's distance from its star, researchers can calculate an exoplanet's mass, composition and atmosphere — essential ingredients for determining whether the planet may be habitable.
"That's one of the big frontiers: studying these potentially habitable planets, and extracting as much information as we can from them," Winn says. "That will be a major preoccupation for us over the next 10 years."
Winn recently received tenure in MIT's Department of Physics, and is keen to continue his work in exoplanetary discovery. But early on in his career, he wasn't sure that astrophysics — or physics in general — was the path for him.
Born and raised in Deerfield, Ill., Winn was an impressionable student. "When I took biology in high school, I thought I was going to be a biologist. When I took chemistry the next year, I thought for sure I'd be a chemist, especially since my father is a chemist," Winn recalls. "Then physics happened to be the last thing I took. And that definitely did stick."
He followed his newfound interest to MIT, where he majored in physics, absorbing valuable perspective from his academic adviser, Alan Guth, the Victor F. Weisskopf Professor of Physics, and his thesis adviser, John Joannopoulos, the Francis Wright Davis Professor of Physics. Both professors gave Winn a window into the life of an academic, from the stimulation of intellectual work to the practical business of winning grants and cultivating a research group.
"All the way up until the very end, I was absolutely sure I wanted to be a professor of physics," Winn says. "Then as the actual end of college approached, I started to wonder."
After graduating, Winn skipped across the Atlantic to Cambridge University as a Fulbright Scholar, continuing to study physics and mathematics. When he returned to the United States, unsure whether he wanted to pursue purely academic studies, Winn looked to applied fields, landing temporarily on medical physics and a PhD program at the MIT-Harvard Health Sciences and Technology Program.
Producers urged to protect the environment
Protecting the environment is a vitally important part of any farming system. Not only does it mitigate the risk of public complaints or prosecution, it is also in the best interests of the farm itself.
Birds kept in a well-run, clean unit are likely to be healthier and more productive than on a farm with poor biosecurity. And adopting environmentally friendly practices can also reduce input costs – a win-win for all involved.
Speaking at a recent Datapoul training event in Devon, Rick Isley, work-based assessor at Poultec, said that good waste management was central to any farm's biosecurity plan. All farmers should draw up a tailored waste management plan, and ensure staff were trained in best practice for waste minimisation and disposal.
"It's also worth assessing your resource efficiency - look at the materials, equipment and energy used on farm, and the type and quantity of waste generated, and then examine how you can reduce that," he said.
Water waste not only cost money, but also increased the risk of wet litter and polluted run-off, said Mr Isley. "Measure and monitor your water use - it is often your first indicator that something is wrong." Installing spray taps and flow restrictors could reduce water use by 60-70%, but simple measures like fixing leaks and checking drinker lines was also important.
Water pollution could stem from manure, fuel and feed spills, wash-down chemicals and dust from fans and roofs, so producers should keep clean and dirty water sources separate, he added.
"Don't just spread manure in one field. Clean up after any spills and ensure dirty water is stored appropriately and not allowed to discharge into a sewer or watercourse."
To minimise waste from packaging, and reduce their input and disposal costs, farmers should buy in bulk, and contact their council to see what could be recycled, said Mr Isley. "You can register for an exemption to store non-hazardous waste for up to 12 months - but it must be secure and you have a duty of care to ensure it's disposed of properly."
Chemical containers should be triple rinsed and drained, but hazardous waste like oil containers, clinical waste and solar bulb should be stored and disposed of appropriately.
"Store dead birds in watertight locked containers, to prevent pest infestation; keep waste oils in bunded stores; and use netting over plastics to prevent them blowing away. You should also keep a record of all waste that is taken from the site."
Tackling pests like flies and vermin was an essential part of farm assurance schemes, said Mr Isley. And keeping litter in good condition would help to reduce odour and improve bird health. "Consider installing renewable energy to reduce electricity bills - an incinerator or anaerobic digester could dispose of waste litter at the same time."
Installing energy saving equipment would also cut input costs and waste, he added. "Turn off unnecessary lights, or put them on to a timer. And think about how your business impacts on immediate neighbours through light, noise, smell or pest infestation."
Birds kept in a well-run, clean unit are likely to be healthier and more productive than on a farm with poor biosecurity. And adopting environmentally friendly practices can also reduce input costs – a win-win for all involved.
Speaking at a recent Datapoul training event in Devon, Rick Isley, work-based assessor at Poultec, said that good waste management was central to any farm's biosecurity plan. All farmers should draw up a tailored waste management plan, and ensure staff were trained in best practice for waste minimisation and disposal.
"It's also worth assessing your resource efficiency - look at the materials, equipment and energy used on farm, and the type and quantity of waste generated, and then examine how you can reduce that," he said.
Water waste not only cost money, but also increased the risk of wet litter and polluted run-off, said Mr Isley. "Measure and monitor your water use - it is often your first indicator that something is wrong." Installing spray taps and flow restrictors could reduce water use by 60-70%, but simple measures like fixing leaks and checking drinker lines was also important.
Water pollution could stem from manure, fuel and feed spills, wash-down chemicals and dust from fans and roofs, so producers should keep clean and dirty water sources separate, he added.
"Don't just spread manure in one field. Clean up after any spills and ensure dirty water is stored appropriately and not allowed to discharge into a sewer or watercourse."
To minimise waste from packaging, and reduce their input and disposal costs, farmers should buy in bulk, and contact their council to see what could be recycled, said Mr Isley. "You can register for an exemption to store non-hazardous waste for up to 12 months - but it must be secure and you have a duty of care to ensure it's disposed of properly."
Chemical containers should be triple rinsed and drained, but hazardous waste like oil containers, clinical waste and solar bulb should be stored and disposed of appropriately.
"Store dead birds in watertight locked containers, to prevent pest infestation; keep waste oils in bunded stores; and use netting over plastics to prevent them blowing away. You should also keep a record of all waste that is taken from the site."
Tackling pests like flies and vermin was an essential part of farm assurance schemes, said Mr Isley. And keeping litter in good condition would help to reduce odour and improve bird health. "Consider installing renewable energy to reduce electricity bills - an incinerator or anaerobic digester could dispose of waste litter at the same time."
Installing energy saving equipment would also cut input costs and waste, he added. "Turn off unnecessary lights, or put them on to a timer. And think about how your business impacts on immediate neighbours through light, noise, smell or pest infestation."
2013年3月13日 星期三
Growth Protocols for No-natural Light Environments
Traditional artificial light, such as High Pressure Sodium (HPS) and fluorescent (FL) tubes, has not been able to cost effectively produce high quality commercial grade lettuce and herbs without natural light. Thus, production of lettuce and herbs in no-natural light environments has not been possible on energy efficient industrial scale.
To enable scaling-up of plant factories and other multi-layer no-natural light environments, Valoya wanted to verify its light spectra in a wide range of no-natural light environments and documented growing protocols for these environments.
During 2010-2012 Valoya conducted in-depth trials with some of its key light spectra to document their suitability in multi-layer applications without natural or other light sources.
The tests verified that Valoya's wide light spectra have outstanding performance also without the support of natural light or other light sources. The AP673 spectrum provides very good results with leafy greens and the AP67 with other plants such as tree and tomato seedlings. In previous trials Valoya has also discovered that pollinator bumble bees can navigate under Valoya's LED lights as sole light source and without support from natural light.
In terms of energy efficiency, about 80W/m2 is sufficient in static installations and even less than 40W/m2 in lines with moving gutters or moving lights.
Valoya CEO, Lars Aikala comments; "We already have several customers using our lights in no-natural light environments. The successful completion of this test program gives us detailed scientific data on the subject and enables us to better quantify the benefits. Our LED lights provide significant advantages to traditional lighting technologies and in comparison with conventional horticultural LED lights in terms of fast growth and high quality plants in all no-natural light environments."
Valoya is a provider of energy efficient LED grow lights for professional use. Valoya LED -lights have been developed using Valoya's proprietary LED technology and extensive plant photobiology research. Valoya's customer base includes numerous greenhouses and research institutions all over the world.
Wheaton council members recently passed a resolution supporting the traffic signal improvements. It'll include work on nine signals along a nearly three-mile stretch on Roosevelt Road, between Hazelton Avenue and Lorraine Road, and four signals along a .7-mile stretch on Butterfield between East Loop Road and Scottdale Circle.
"They're converting the regular incandescent lamps for lights to LED, which is a lower energy use alternative to incandescent lamps and will save on energy costs but also save on replacement of bulbs because they last longer," said Wheaton city engineer Paul Redman. "It is the trend today to go to the LED lights for traffic signals, and it's even starting to move into street light arena as well and general lighting all together. It is the trend because they're lower energy use."
Upgrades also include emergency battery back-up power supply and countdown pedestrian signals,
That means during power outages, Wheaton will have power back-up for several hours. Before, when the lights went out, all intersections with traffic signals reverted to four-way stops, so this will cut down on congestion and help traffic flow during outages, Redman said.
Upgrades are being implemented statewide, according to Mike Claffey, communications manager at IDOT. Contract plans are being prepared for multiple locations over the next few years, as funding allows.
To enable scaling-up of plant factories and other multi-layer no-natural light environments, Valoya wanted to verify its light spectra in a wide range of no-natural light environments and documented growing protocols for these environments.
During 2010-2012 Valoya conducted in-depth trials with some of its key light spectra to document their suitability in multi-layer applications without natural or other light sources.
The tests verified that Valoya's wide light spectra have outstanding performance also without the support of natural light or other light sources. The AP673 spectrum provides very good results with leafy greens and the AP67 with other plants such as tree and tomato seedlings. In previous trials Valoya has also discovered that pollinator bumble bees can navigate under Valoya's LED lights as sole light source and without support from natural light.
In terms of energy efficiency, about 80W/m2 is sufficient in static installations and even less than 40W/m2 in lines with moving gutters or moving lights.
Valoya CEO, Lars Aikala comments; "We already have several customers using our lights in no-natural light environments. The successful completion of this test program gives us detailed scientific data on the subject and enables us to better quantify the benefits. Our LED lights provide significant advantages to traditional lighting technologies and in comparison with conventional horticultural LED lights in terms of fast growth and high quality plants in all no-natural light environments."
Valoya is a provider of energy efficient LED grow lights for professional use. Valoya LED -lights have been developed using Valoya's proprietary LED technology and extensive plant photobiology research. Valoya's customer base includes numerous greenhouses and research institutions all over the world.
Wheaton council members recently passed a resolution supporting the traffic signal improvements. It'll include work on nine signals along a nearly three-mile stretch on Roosevelt Road, between Hazelton Avenue and Lorraine Road, and four signals along a .7-mile stretch on Butterfield between East Loop Road and Scottdale Circle.
"They're converting the regular incandescent lamps for lights to LED, which is a lower energy use alternative to incandescent lamps and will save on energy costs but also save on replacement of bulbs because they last longer," said Wheaton city engineer Paul Redman. "It is the trend today to go to the LED lights for traffic signals, and it's even starting to move into street light arena as well and general lighting all together. It is the trend because they're lower energy use."
Upgrades also include emergency battery back-up power supply and countdown pedestrian signals,
That means during power outages, Wheaton will have power back-up for several hours. Before, when the lights went out, all intersections with traffic signals reverted to four-way stops, so this will cut down on congestion and help traffic flow during outages, Redman said.
Upgrades are being implemented statewide, according to Mike Claffey, communications manager at IDOT. Contract plans are being prepared for multiple locations over the next few years, as funding allows.
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