What better way to start the week than a budle of good news nuggets.
In the pursuit of multiple ways to generate clean energy, it's good news to hear that tidal energy could soon hit record conversion efficiency thanks to a new development from scientists at Australia’s RMIT. Relative to current systems, the engineers have developed a novel design for a convertor that doubles the energy harvested from ocean waves. They hope the breakthrough paves the way for large-scale adoption of tidal energy technologies and thus smoothens out our transition towards renewables.
At a time when the world was supposed to be reducing waste, the pandemic has created new streams of it in the form of facemasks and other personal protective equipment (PPE). On England's south coast, the city of Brighton has become the first in the UK to install PPE recycling bins across the city. ReWorked processes the waste and turns it into furniture, shelters and - appropriately - bins.
Good news for 007 fans! The much delayed Bond movie - No Time to Die - is now scheduled to be released in UK cinemas on 30 September and on 8 October in the United States. Here's the trailer to whet your appetite:
British capitalism seems to be on a roll. A million job vacancies were advertised in July, a new monthly record. Early signs are that unwinding the furlough scheme, now under way, is not going to cause a sharp rise in unemployment.
Venice is a beautiful place to visit, but with its cobbled streets and many, many bridges (403, to be precise), it's not exactly easy to get around if you're in a wheel chair. Happily, that's about to change. City officials have vowed to make Venice's main sights more accessible with a wheelchair-friendly route from the entrance point of the Piazzale Roma to iconic St. Mark's Square. The plan will connect a series of bridges with widened routes and ramps that feature non-slippery surfaces.
A charity dedicated to reforesting the Scottish Highlands has started work on the world’s first rewilding centre, near Loch Ness. Trees for Life broke ground on the Dundreggan Rewilding Centre last week. The attraction, due to open next year, will act as a gateway to the 10,000 acre Dundreggan estate, which has been reforested over the last decade by Trees for Life. The charity’s efforts have resulted in golden eagles returning to the estate for the first time in 40 years, while other species, such as black grouse, are bouncing back. The centre will teach visitors about rewilding, and Gaelic culture.
A nine-year-old girl asked for Jeep drivers to join her father's funeral procession because she shared a love for Jeeps with her dad. The Jeep community answered the call. Indeed, so many Jeep drivers rallied to the call that it ended up creating a seven mile procession from the funeral home to Pioneer Cemetery in Wagoner, Oklahoma.
Following our report on Saturday that the infamous EverGreen cargo ship was embarking on its return journey down the Suez Canal, we are delighted to report that it successfully navigated the 120 mile shipping route (phew!) and made it to the relative safety of the wider expanses of the Red Sea without incident.
Did you know that dolphins like getting high? Dolphins deliberately handle pufferfish causing them to release toxins as a defence mechanism. These toxins can be deadly in high doses, but also have a narcotic effect – and are a powerful hallucinogenic, which dolphins appear to enjoy.
Dive in Deeper
Discovery: Paleontologists digging in northwest China have unearthed two new giant dinosaur species. Titans...
Sean Lock: Let's celebrate the life of the English comedian's comedian by enjoying some of his best jokes. Laughs...
BioBite: Edible coffee cups are great for the environment and this innovative idea is much like an ice-cream cone. Progress...
Fun and Games
Dolphin playing catch me if you can with a Golden Retriever. There is no evidence that the dolphin had been handling any pufferfish before this!
Comments