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Wix: Introduce the Open Source Maintenance Fee
9 months ago
- WiX Toolset introduces an Open Source Maintenance Fee for revenue-generating consumers to ensure project sustainability.
- Fee enforcement starts with WiX v6.0 release on April 5, 2025, via EULA on binary releases.
- Payment tiers via GitHub Sponsors: Small ($10/mo), Medium ($40/mo), Large ($60/mo) organizations.
- WiX Developer Direct customers exempt as fee is included in their support agreement.
- Steps include finalizing EULA, updating .nupkgs, setting up GitHub Sponsors tiers, and README updates.
UN chief urges AI companies to focus on renewable energy
9 months ago
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urges AI sector to prioritize sustainable energy for data centers.
- A typical AI data center consumes as much electricity as 100,000 homes.
- AI data center energy demand is rapidly expanding, potentially matching Japan's total electricity consumption by 2030.
- Guterres calls for major tech firms to power all data centers with 100% renewables by 2030.
- AI can help improve energy efficiency but is also highly energy-intensive.
- Data centers currently account for 1.5% of global electricity consumption, expected to more than double by 2030.
Mistral's new "environmental audit" shows how much AI is hurting the planet
9 months ago
- Mistral conducted a first-of-its-kind environmental audit to quantify the impacts of its Large 2 AI model.
- The audit measured CO2 emissions, water consumption, and materials depletion, finding most impact occurs during model training and inference.
- A single AI prompt (400 tokens) emits 1.14g CO2 and consumes 45ml water—minimal individually but significant in aggregate.
- Over 18 months, Mistral's model emitted 20.4 ktons CO2 (≈4,500 cars/year) and used 281,000m³ water (≈112 Olympic pools).
- AI queries' CO2 impact is comparable to 10 sec of US streaming (55 sec in France) or 4-27 sec on Zoom.
- Writing a 10-minute email read by 100 recipients emits as much CO2 as 22.8 Mistral prompts.
Slow
9 months ago
- Human beings can solve problems requiring long-term commitment through sustained projects like scientific experiments, architectural constructions, and longitudinal studies.
- Examples of long-term projects include the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, construction of cathedrals like Notre Dame and Sagrada Familia, and the Cape Grim Air Archive.
- Other notable projects are the Framingham Heart Study, Central England Temperature series, LIGO gravitational wave detector, and the E. coli long-term evolution experiment.
- The Clock of the Long Now aims to last 10,000 years, while open-source systems like Linux and Wikipedia may persist for centuries.
- Historical examples include the 2nd Ave Subway in Manhattan and the now-defunct Kongo Gumi, which operated from 578 to 2006.
- Long-term projects often have psychological impacts, influencing how future generations perceive and undertake similar endeavors.
US-based company developed a modified wood it claims is stronger than steel
9 months ago
- InventWood developed 'Superwood', a modified wood stronger than steel, capable of stopping bullets in lab tests.
- Superwood is created by chemically treating timber to remove lignin and compressing it, reducing volume by 80% and increasing strength.
- The product retains wood's attractive grain and can be made from poplar trees or bamboo, which grows quickly and helps in carbon sequestration.
- Engineered wood products like glulam and cross-laminated timber (CLT) are already used in construction for their strength and moisture resistance.
- Using CLT instead of concrete can reduce carbon emissions by nearly 10% in some buildings.
- Superwood is not meant to compete with existing engineered woods but can serve as a durable, aesthetically pleasing finishing layer or external cladding.
- Other companies are developing similar products, like Pollmeier's BauBuche from beech and 3RT's veneer sheets from low-value trees.
- Wood products are gaining popularity in construction for their carbon storage benefits, though challenges like insurance and mortgage rates remain.
- Superwood has shown fire resistance and durability against wood-eating insects, though it requires special tools for cutting.
- Recycling old timber is still important, with waste wood being repurposed into new products like CLT-style panels.
Hospital food proven bad scientifically – and may undermine health
9 months ago
- Hospital and nursing home meals in Germany fail to meet basic nutrition standards, with low dietary quality and high environmental impact.
- Research shows meals contain too few healthy plant-based foods and too much refined grains, added sugars, salt, and saturated fats.
- Nutritional deficiencies include inadequate protein intake (less than 73% of recommended values) and critically low micronutrients (below 67% of recommended values).
- Animal-source foods contribute to 75% of environmental impact despite making up only 33% of food weight and calories.
- Meat alone accounts for 38% of greenhouse gas emissions and 45% of land use impact.
- Healthy plant-based foods like legumes and nuts make up less than 1% of total procurement by weight.
- Dietary quality scores were low: HEI-2020 (39-57/100) and PHDI (30-44/150).
- Poor food quality in healthcare settings poses long-term health risks and contributes to environmental degradation.
- Initiatives like Germany’s 'Good Food for Germany' and Australia’s CHEF program aim to improve food quality and sustainability in healthcare.
- Policymakers and healthcare providers need to prioritize food quality and set clear standards to promote health without harming the planet.
Happy Bees Make Delicious Honey
9 months ago
- Colorado beekeepers focused on sustainable apiaries.
- Produce local honey of the highest quality with unique stories.
- Bees bred for hardiness in foothills and high plains.
- Mission: robust management for happy, healthy bees producing surplus honey.
- Employ organic and regenerative processes.
- Produce beehives from Colorado timber.
- Use environmentally safe packaging made locally.
The Sunlight Budget of Earth
9 months ago
- Sunlight is a key energy source for modern biotechnology, including biofuels and bioengineered products.
- Humanity's use of sunlight for solar power and agriculture is significant but still a small fraction compared to natural photosynthesis.
- Wild ecosystems absorb about 120,000 GW of sunlight on land and a similar amount in the ocean, dwarfing human usage.
- Only about 0.5% of sunlight absorbed at Earth's surface is used by all ecosystems, with the majority being absorbed as heat or reflected.
- Competition for sunlight is not the main issue; water, nutrients, and land are more critical limiting factors for both agriculture and solar power.
- Solar farms can be designed to coexist with agriculture (agrivoltaics) or built on degraded land to minimize environmental impact.
- Wind and wave energy are indirect forms of solar power, and fossil fuels represent stored ancient solar energy.
- Future challenges in solar energy use will revolve around land, water, and resource competition, not sunlight scarcity.
Butter made from carbon tastes like the real thing, gets backing from Bill Gates
9 months ago
- A company in Batavia, Illinois, is making butter from carbon, not animals or plants.
- The butter looks, smells, and tastes like traditional butter but is made sustainably.
- The process uses carbon dioxide from the air and hydrogen from water, creating fat molecules similar to those in beef or vegetable oils.
- The method produces zero greenhouse gases and requires no farmland, significantly reducing environmental impact.
- Savor, the company behind the innovation, is backed by Bill Gates, who highlights its potential to reduce carbon footprints.
- The butter contains minimal ingredients: fat, water, lecithin, and natural flavors, avoiding palm oil linked to deforestation.
- Savor plans to release chocolates made with their butter by the 2025 holiday season and aims for consumer availability by 2027.
- The company collaborates with restaurants, bakeries, and food suppliers to introduce their product to the market.
Weathering Software Winter
9 months ago
- Devine discusses the challenges of using modern software and technology while living on a solar-powered sailboat, highlighting issues with dependency on cloud services, DRM, and subscription-based software.
- The post explores the concept of data preservation and the difficulties in ensuring long-term accessibility of digital content, referencing historical examples like the BBC Domesday project.
- Devine shares their journey into learning about virtual machines (VMs) and simpler computing systems as a way to create more resilient and personal technology solutions.
- The narrative includes experiments with various programming languages and systems, such as Smalltalk, Lisp, Forth, and Brainfuck, aiming to find a minimal, understandable, and sustainable computing foundation.
- A key realization is the value of simplicity and the potential of older, less complex systems for creating durable and inspectable software, contrasting with the fragility and opacity of modern tech stacks.
- The post concludes with the idea of 'permacomputing,' inspired by permaculture, advocating for diversity in technology solutions to build resilience against obsolescence and centralization.
Deep-Sea Desalination Pulls Fresh Water from the Depths
9 months ago
- Global cities are facing water shortages, with demand expected to outpace supply in the next five years.
- Subsea desalination is a new approach that removes salt from deep seawater to address water scarcity.
- Traditional desalination methods like reverse osmosis are energy-intensive, but subsea desalination uses natural deep-sea pressure to reduce energy use.
- Companies like Flocean are developing subsea desalination systems that save 40-50% energy compared to land-based plants.
- Deep-sea environments offer stable conditions, fewer microorganisms, and less need for chemical pretreatment.
- Challenges include high costs, the need to pump desalinated water from great depths, and potential environmental impacts on marine life.
- Subsea desalination requires steep coastal drop-offs; shallow shelves increase costs with long pipelines.
- Government contracts and financial partnerships are crucial for scaling subsea desalination, but the industry is hesitant to adopt new technologies.
- Experts believe subsea desalination could eventually supply entire cities, but large-scale adoption may take a decade or more.
Toothpaste made from hair provides natural root to repair teeth
9 months ago
- Keratin from hair can repair tooth enamel and prevent decay.
- Keratin forms a protective coating that mimics natural enamel when in contact with saliva minerals.
- Acidic foods, poor oral hygiene, and aging contribute to enamel erosion and decay.
- Keratin-based treatments stop decay completely, unlike fluoride toothpastes which only slow it down.
- Keratin forms a dense mineral layer that protects teeth and seals nerve channels, reducing sensitivity.
- The treatment can be delivered via toothpaste or a professionally applied gel.
- Keratin is sustainably sourced from biological waste like hair and skin.
- Keratin eliminates the need for toxic and less durable plastic resins used in restorative dentistry.
- Keratin closely matches the natural color of teeth, providing a more aesthetic solution.
- The research aligns with efforts to embrace circular, waste-to-health innovations.
- Keratin-based enamel regeneration could be available to the public within 2-3 years.
How much do electric car batteries degrade?
9 months ago
- Electric car batteries typically retain more than 80% of their initial capacity after 200,000 miles.
- Battery degradation occurs through calendar aging (1-2% per year) and cyclical aging (from charge/discharge cycles).
- Degradation is fastest in the first 20,000 miles, then slows to a linear rate.
- Tesla reports only 12-15% capacity loss after 200,000 miles for their models.
- Early Nissan LEAFs had degradation issues due to lack of active cooling, but most modern EVs use liquid cooling.
- Studies show only 1.5% of EVs needed battery replacements, with most retaining over 80% capacity even at high mileage.
- Laboratory models often overestimate degradation rates compared to real-world data.
- Manufacturers offer long warranties (8-10 years, 100,000+ miles), often covering batteries below 70% capacity.
- Tips to reduce degradation: avoid extreme temperatures, extreme charge states, and frequent fast charging.
- Battery technology is improving, with newer models expected to degrade even slower than current ones.
Japan opens osmotic power plant
9 months ago
- Japan's first osmotic power plant started operations in early August in a southwestern prefecture.
- The plant uses the difference in salt concentration between seawater and fresh water to generate electricity.
- The technology is described as a next-generation renewable energy source unaffected by weather or time, emitting no CO2.
- Electricity is produced via osmotic process using a permeable membrane separating concentrated seawater and treated water.
- A turbine is rotated by water movement from fresh to saltwater, generating electricity.
- The plant in Fukuoka is expected to produce 880,000 kWh annually, powering a desalination facility.
- The project is praised as a significant step for renewable energy, with hopes for global adoption.
Gouach wants you to insert and pluck the cells from its Infinite e-bike battery
9 months ago
- E-bike batteries typically consist of 18650 batteries connected in series and parallel with a BMS.
- A 'dead' e-bike battery may only have a few dead cells, but most owners lack the tools or knowledge to repair them.
- Gouach's Infinite Battery features a durable, fireproof casing allowing easy replacement of 18650 cells with just a screwdriver.
- The battery includes Bluetooth connectivity for monitoring cell performance and heat via an app.
- Designed for compatibility with 90% of e-bike brands or as an upgrade for existing models.
- Gouach developed no-weld battery wiring using custom PCBs with flexible contacts to prevent disconnection from vibrations.
- Early versions used off-the-shelf casings but faced issues with water ingress in bike-share programs.
In a first, Google has released data on how much energy an AI prompt uses
8 months ago
- Google released data on energy consumption of AI prompts, with a median prompt using 0.24 watt-hours.
- The report includes detailed calculations of energy, water consumption, and carbon emissions for Gemini AI queries.
- AI chips account for 58% of energy use, while supporting infrastructure like CPUs, memory, and backup equipment make up the rest.
- Google's energy estimates are based on median usage, with complex queries consuming significantly more energy.
- Energy efficiency has improved, with a 33-fold reduction in energy use per prompt from May 2024 to May 2025.
- Each prompt emits 0.03 grams of CO2 and uses 0.26 milliliters of water, based on Google's clean energy purchases.
- The report is a step toward transparency but lacks details like total daily queries, limiting full energy demand estimates.
- Researchers advocate for standardized AI energy ratings similar to Energy Star for appliances.
Chipotle Partners with Zipline for Aerial Delivery
8 months ago
- Chipotle partners with Zipline to launch Zipotle, an aerial delivery service in Dallas.
- Zipotle uses Zipline's autonomous aircraft for fast, eco-friendly deliveries directly to customers.
- Initial service available in Rowlett, TX, with plans to expand hours and weight capacity.
- Orders are placed via the Zipline app, with autonomous pick-up and obstacle-avoiding delivery.
- Zipline has extensive experience, with over 100 million autonomous miles flown globally.
- Chipotle emphasizes convenience and freshness, aligning with its sustainability mission.
Across the US, EVs beat hybrids and gas in life cycle emissions study
8 months ago
- Compact electric sedans with small batteries have the lowest life cycle carbon emissions (81 g CO2e per mile).
- Gas-powered pickup trucks have the highest carbon footprint (486 g CO2e per mile).
- Hybrid powertrains reduce emissions by 11–13% compared to internal combustion engines.
- Plug-in hybrids with 35–50 miles of range reduce emissions by 53–60%, depending on electric mode usage.
- Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with smaller battery packs (200-mile range) have the least environmental impact (25–26% of ICE emissions).
- Longer-range BEVs (300–400 miles) still significantly reduce emissions (67–83% lower than ICE).
The world produced enough calories in 2020 to feed 15B people
8 months ago
- In 2020, the world produced enough calories to feed 15 billion people, but only 50% reached people's plates.
- Rising meat production (especially beef) and biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel are major reasons for inefficiency in the global food system.
- Shifting to healthier diets and reducing biofuel production could improve food availability without expanding farmland.
- Food production was analyzed in terms of calories, focusing on the top 50 crops that provide 97.5% of global calories.
- Between 2010 and 2020, global calorie production increased by 24%, but human-available calories only rose by 17% due to livestock inefficiencies.
- 45% of calories in 2020 were lost in animal-based food production, with beef being the least efficient compared to chicken.
- 5% of calories were used for biofuels, with palm oil biodiesel use increasing by 34%.
- Food waste, especially in animal products like beef, exacerbates calorie loss.
- The study highlights that food scarcity is not due to biophysical limits but distribution and human choices.
- Future research should consider proteins and micronutrients alongside calories.
UMichigan study: EVs are cleaner than ICEs over average vehicle life
8 months ago
- EVs are cleaner than gas vehicles over their lifetime in every county in the contiguous U.S., even when accounting for battery production and electricity sources.
- Electrifying larger vehicles like pickup trucks has the biggest positive impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
- A study by the University of Michigan found that BEVs produce 71-73% fewer lifetime emissions than combustion vehicles.
- EVs are cleaner regardless of where they are charged, as power plants are more efficient than individual gas vehicles.
- Battery production accounts for 48-56% of an EV's lifetime emissions, while 92% of a gas car's emissions come from driving.
- Purchasing a used EV is highly recommended to minimize emissions, as the production impact is already accounted for.

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#sustainability

Wix: Introduce the Open Source Maintenance Fee

UN chief urges AI companies to focus on renewable energy

Mistral's new "environmental audit" shows how much AI is hurting the planet

Slow

US-based company developed a modified wood it claims is stronger than steel

Hospital food proven bad scientifically – and may undermine health

Happy Bees Make Delicious Honey

The Sunlight Budget of Earth

Butter made from carbon tastes like the real thing, gets backing from Bill Gates

Weathering Software Winter

Deep-Sea Desalination Pulls Fresh Water from the Depths

Toothpaste made from hair provides natural root to repair teeth

How much do electric car batteries degrade?

Japan opens osmotic power plant

Gouach wants you to insert and pluck the cells from its Infinite e-bike battery

In a first, Google has released data on how much energy an AI prompt uses

Chipotle Partners with Zipline for Aerial Delivery

Across the US, EVs beat hybrids and gas in life cycle emissions study

The world produced enough calories in 2020 to feed 15B people

UMichigan study: EVs are cleaner than ICEs over average vehicle life