A new property of light has been discovered. // American’s pride in the U.S. has hit an all time record low. // These are the top ten emerging technologies of 2019. //
The world’s largest solar power project begins running in UAE.
You might have heard that the United Arab Emirates is building a concentrated solar power plant that will keep the lights on after the sun goes down. While that might be impressive enough by itself, it isn’t the only solar plant they have. In fact, they just opened up the world’s largest conventional solar plant this week.
Dubbed Noor Abu Dhabi, the solar power plant cost almost $900M to build and contains 3.2 million solar panels. It will produce 1.17 gigawatts of power; enough to supply the needs of 90,000 people and reduce the country’s yearly carbon emissions by 1,000,000 metric tons. This is the equivalent of taking 200,000 cars off the roads.
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| Preserving biodiversity
Here are just two of the practical and philosophical crises surrounding biodiversity breakdown.
A loss of biodiversity limits the ways we can use biodiversity to make our world better. Hockfield reminds us that biodiversity is a “bank account” of natural assistance.
For example, it is key in producing better crops to feed growing populations. How will we double food productivity (which we must do to survive) when we lose the wild plants we crossbreed agricultural crops with?
There is much more to lose than this bank account, however. It is a deep philosophical dilemma that humans have and will continue to wipe out organisms that have struggled their way into existence over the course of 5 billion years. |
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| All-powerful cockroaches
Cockroaches are evolving to become invincible.
It’s said that after a nuclear apocalypse, cockroaches will be one of the few animals on Earth able to withstand the intense radiation of the dystopian future and survive.
Insectophobes might feel lucky that they probably won’t live to see a new world ruled by cockroaches, but they don’t have too much to feel lucky about in today’s world, either. Cockroaches are evolving to resist even the weaponry that’s been specifically designed to kill them.
In this piece, our Matt Davis delves into new research that indicates cockroaches are quickly developing resistances to some of the best pesticides around. To what extent? Well, to the point where pesticides alone are becoming quite useless.
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