Last summer, wildfires sped by drought turned large chunks of Texas into a moonscape. Nationally, 2011 saw the third worst wildfire season in the United States since 1960: More than 8.7 million acres of land burned.

It’s the job of congressional staffers working on energy and natural resources issues to know facts like this. But some of them have a more urgent and perverse interest in this particular statistic: they’re participants in a macabre annual office pool in which they try to predict how many acres of U.S. land will burn in wildfires.

Frank Gladics, a professional staffer on the Republican side of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, runs the contest. On Tuesday he sent out 2011’s results in an email that was perhaps forwarded a little too widely. (Grist managed to obtain a copy, after all.) Participants in 2011 ranged from lowly legislative aides to powerful staffers, like Bruce Evans, the Republican staff director for the Senate Appropriations Committee. The entrants Grist identified all worked on the Senate side of the Hill.

A morbid version of a jellybean-counting contest, the pool asks staffers to guess the number of acres that will burn each year; guesses that exceed the actual number, as reported in the National Interagency Fire Center Situation Report (PDF), are disqualified.

Billions for defense, not a penny for LEED certification

The law bars the Pentagon from spending money to certify projects Gold or Platinum but loopholes in the language should allow the military to continue as before.

President Obama signed the bill into law despite reservations. (anhonorablegerman/Flickr)

Pentagon-backed 'time cloak' stops the clock

The laboratory device manipulates the flow of light in such a way that for the merest fraction of a second an event cannot be seen.

LIGHT: The breakthrough exploits the fact that frequencies of light move at fractionally different speeds. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Climate change affecting maple trees in N.H.

Trees in New Hampshire are becoming stressed and are producing less syrup.

Photo: Jason Dean/Flickr

‘Pocket neighborhoods’ could transform suburbs

By Tyler Falk | January 5, 2012, 12:57 PM PST

Whether it’s in cities, surburbs, or rural areas, people like to live near jobs, schools, and stores. And it’s easier to make that possible, sustainably, by living closer together. But people don’t necessarily want to give up their single-family homes for high-rise apartments in the city center. Does it have to be either/or? Can suburban communities have amenities closer to their homes, much like urban dwellers living in higher density, without giving up green space?

Kaid Benfield, at The Atlantic Cities, thinks we can have it both ways with “pocket neighborhoods.” The idea could transform suburban communities, or at least offer a nice alternative to living in either a city or exurb. Benfield points to architect Ross Chapin’s Third Street Cottages in Langley, Washington as an example of how to build these reimagined suburbs:

The ‘Detroit Big Three’ come roaring back

By Channtal Fleischfresser | January 5, 2012, 3:31 PM PST

Only a few years ago, America’s auto industry was at death’s doorstep, so to speak.

But while the country’s economy struggles to regain its footing following the 2008-2009 financial crisis, America’s car companies appear to be back on track - if not better off than they were before the recession.

The three main U.S. car companies showed significant sales growth for December. Ford, GM, and Chrysler saw gains from December 2010 of 17%, 5%, and 37%, respectively. Ford says it has not seen this strong a rebound in production since the 1980s.

Expectations are that the ‘Detroit Big Three’ will keep up the momentum, according to a recent KPMG survey of 200 auto industry executives.

According to the survey, many auto executives said they believed the U.S. auto companies would gain market share over the next five years.

Designer turns discarded belts into durable and beautiful tiles

By Beth Carter | January 5, 2012, 6:00 PM PST

London-based designer Inghua Ting and her namesake design company have taken used men’s belts and reworked the leather into twelve or eighteen inch flooring tiles.

The tiles are gorgeous and hard-wearing, and can be used for anything from flooring to bar tops to walls.  The salvaged belts are stripped of the metal, cleaned and bonded to a reconstituted leather backing. Each belt is hand picked for the quality of the leather, and each tile is completely unique.

Ting was educated at the Royal College of Art, and initially worked in Japan, developing “innovative, futuristic” fabrics. Her interests then switched to more sustainable issues, which led her to use discarded materials in her designs.

In addition to belts, Ting works with reclaimed seat-belts, leather saddles and a range of different salvaged fabrics.

Microsoft develops glucose-monitoring contact lenses

By Charlie Osborne | January 6, 2012, 3:06 AM PST

Researchers at Microsoft are working in collaboration with the University of Washington to develop an electronic contact lens that can monitor glucose levels in the blood.

Dubbed ‘Functional Contact Lenses’, they would potentially replace blood tests and provide instant information on changes in glucose and insulin levels — a tantalizing prospect for type 1 diabetes sufferers.

Gaining a real-time update of their chemical fluctuations, diabetes patients would then be able to monitor their situation, and react instantly to imbalances.

The contact lenses are designed to take measurements through tears and eye fluid, which would be stored digitally and allow access to the records by the user’s doctor. The lenses reportedly are expected to be worn on a daily basis.

An enzyme interacts with eye fluid, and as the reaction takes place specific measurements are made via bio-compatible electrodes on the surface of the lens. The minute glucose sensors on the lenses will communicate wirelessly, passing data through a Windows platform, smartphone or tablet device.

Babak Parviz, a researcher involved within the project, explained how the measurements are taken:

NYC Walk Signs Made Into Lights

by Mary Mazzoni 01/05/12

Photo: Felix Lighting Specialists

If you’ve been missing the classic “Walk, Don’t Walk” signs of old-school New York City, you’re in luck. You can now own one of the iconic signs and use it to light your home.

UK-based lamp manufacturer Felix Lighting Specialists saw potential in the discarded signs – which first hit the streets of NYC in 1952 and were phased out in favor of newer LED models – and transformed them into hip household lighting.

The original signs have been fitted with new circuitry, allowing the “Walk” and “Don’t Walk” portions of the sign to illuminate at timed intervals. Irony of ironies, these Big Apple artifacts are fitted with U.K. plugs. So, plan on purchasing an adapter for use in the states.

Sign lamps, available in classic NYC yellow or limited-edition aluminum, are available for purchase online for £825. The price is less than modest, but if you’re willing to foot the bill, you could soon own a little piece of history.

Battery Recycling Jumps 900,000 Pounds in 2011

by Megan Dobransky 01/05/12

Stock Photo

In 2010, Call2Recycle^®, the North American leader in consumer battery recycling, announced that battery recycling records were crushed, up 10.1 percent from 2009 to 6.7 million pounds.

Now, they have a similar announcement, only the percentage increase is even greater – a whopping 13.1 percent increase over 2010, totaling more than 7.6 million pounds of rechargeable batteries collected for recycling.

“We continue to focus on encouraging more consumers to recycle batteries so that we can limit the amount of virgin natural resources necessary to manufacture new ones,” said Carl Smith, CEO of Call2Recycle, in a press release. “We are very pleased with our growth of collections, but we also know that we have much more to do before we can claim success.”

Since 1994, Call2Recycle has diverted more than 70 million rechargeable batteries from landfills with the help of a network of 30,000 drop-off locations.

by Grist

5 Jan 2012 6:44 AM

Still deciding how to enhance and eco-ify your life in 2012? We rounded up resolutions from Grist readers and staffers to give you some ideas. This year, they've resolved to:

Learn to make yogurt, because it's the item I buy most frequently that comes in a plastic container.
         -- Dawn White, Grist Facebook fan

Not have a baby -- and donate more regularly to Planned Parenthood.
         -- Jess Zimmerman, Grist List editor

Adding rain barrels and doing a raised-bed garden.
         -- Kathryn Tilley, Grist Facebook fan

Transition from a bus-powered commute to a 100-percent bike powered commute, which will also help me transition into having quads like canned hams.
         -- Ted Alvarez, managing editor at Grist

Buy fewer new items. Hit up thrift stores and focus on handmade gifts for special occasions.
         -- Matthew H. Smith, Grist Twitter follower

1. Don't eat anything from a Concentrated Animal Feed Operation (CAFO).
2. Don't buy anything from China.
3. Don't use any plates, napkins, or utensils to throw away. This means carrying around a coffee mug, water bottle, bowl, and utensils.
         -- Katie Rose, Grist Facebook fan

Try to restrain that ravenous critic in my head, to give the dreamers and chance-takers a little more room to ... ah, just read about it here.
         -- David Roberts, Grist staff writer

Solar power paying for and powering a Chevy Volt

2012 Chevrolet Volt

(Credit: GM)

Few people are getting rich selling solar energy back to the grid, but one homeowner has made enough to pay for his Chevy Volt.

Retired nephrologist Bob Stonerock says that he used the $5,600 he's made over the last two years selling solar electricity to the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) for the down payment on his red 2012 Chevy Volt.

The Chevrolet Volt is an extended-range electric vehicle that can operate for the first 40 miles on electricity alone before switching on its gas-powered engine. The plug-in hybrid retails for $41,000 and leases for $350 per month. Stonerock's Volt cost him $46,000.

That sounds impressive, but before you map out a solar array for the roof to justify splurging on a new car, keep in mind that Stonerock's scenario is unique, and the economics probably won't be the same for the typical homeowner.

Years ago the Orlando, Fla., resident installed a 20.8 KW photovoltaic system that includes a 33-foot-by-33-foot "tower of power" made of solar panels. The elaborate setup cost $170,000 to install. Most homeowners opt for the more modest 4 KW system.

But Stonerock's solar installation more than adequately powers his home's monthly average electricity usage of 2,400 kilowatt hours, and also powers the Volt for free. The rest he sells back to the OUC, and at the end of the year the utility company cuts him a check for his earnings.

While the exercise highlights Stonerock's commitment to low-carbon living, it also shines a light on the long break even (in this case, decades and decades long) for green technology first movers.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

Baltimore: Destination of the week

A famous harbor and other natural attractions make this former victim of Rust Belt decay an ideal East Coast destination.

Photo: ktylerconk/Flickr

Bajaj RE60: could it become the world’s cheapest car?

By Channtal Fleischfresser | January 4, 2012, 5:33 AM PST

Step aside, Tata Nano. Its standing as the world’s cheapest car could be in jeopardy.

Bajaj Auto, an Indian company known for its three-wheelers, is set to release its new four-wheeler, the RE60. Weighing in at only 880 pounds, the car reaches a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour (43 miles per hour), emits only 60 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, and gets a whopping 35 kilometers per liter (82 miles per gallon).

“We are very excited with the outcome of our efforts and, in the RE60, we believe we have an excellent solution for the mobility challenges arising from the rapid urbanization of India,” said Rahiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto. “In the RE 60 we have an immediate solution to pollution that doesn’t need new infrastructure, huge subsidies or time,” he added.

“Spiderman” silk could save energy, replace plastics

By David Worthington | January 4, 2012, 4:03 PM PST

Spider silk is stronger than steel. (Image credit: Wikipedia Commons)

We won’t be dangling from skyscrapers at will, but if science proves successful, genetically engineered silk worms could one day produce substitutes to plastics. The silk would offer substantial energy savings over today’s petrochemicals and make greener consumer goods.

Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal by scientists from the University of Wyoming has made silk worms a topic of industrial interest - thanks to genetic material from spiders.

Professor Don Jarvis and his team successfully inserted spider genes into silk worms to significantly increase the strength of the silk, BBC News reports. The worms won’t be fighting crime, but their silk could make life better for people.

Spider silk is stronger than steel, so it’s a suitable replacement for tough plastics. Silk worms produce vastly greater quantities of silk than do spiders, and have long been subject to genetic experimentation.

Desperate for more land, Hong Kong plans to go underground

By Vanessa Ko | January 5, 2012, 2:15 AM PST

HONG KONG — To address Hong Kong’s constant need for more space to build upon, the government in November proposed the usual method of creating new land by filling in more of the surrounding waters with trash, as well as a less conventional solution: underground rock caverns.

It would be akin to digging big basements in solid rock. Even though Hong Kong uses underground space extensively for the subway system, only five other purpose-built caverns are currently in use. These include a sewage treatment plant and a salt-water reservoir, both featuring walls and ceilings of exposed rock.

At a recent press conference, Secretary of Development Carrie Lam called Hong Kong’s rock formations a “unique geological asset” and urged the city to take caverns into consideration. The government’s feasibility study, which examines a variety of facilities that might be built underground, highlights that one added benefit of rock caverns is to hide unattractive structures (also known as NIMBY-type facilities) such as water-treatment plants or mortuaries.