HFCs
Latest
Kigali Amendment reached to cut use of planet-warming HFCs
Today, more than 170 nations have settled on a plan to cut the use of hydrofluorocarbons (or HFCs), a refrigerant that causes warming in the Earth's atmosphere. Called the Kigali Amendment for the location of negotiations in Rwanda, it's the result of seven years of work to expand the Montreal Protocol reached in 1987. That deal phased out the use of ozone-depleting chemicals, and by adding to it, this agreement carries its legally binding weight as a treaty, without needing to wait for ratification like last year's Paris Agreement.
Gordon Murray reveals new Batmobile, Dark Knight gets serious about reducing carbon footprint
So you've finished building your Batman Forever-style Batmobile, your Tumbler's up on blocks in the front yard, and you're itching for a new project. It's not too early to start planning a DIY version of Gordon Murray's newly unveiled Bat-ride (part of the Batman Live World Arena Tour). The designer drew on his experience with the McLaren F1 for his new concept car, which includes a healthy dose of imagineering: there's a carbon-fiber body that "breathes," as well as LED-lit "virtual wheels." We're not sure how carbon fiber breathes or what virtual wheels are, but as Murray explains in the video below, they're based on Formula One materials as he imagines them 15-20 years from now. He also envisions a greener Dark Knight, whose ride runs on hydrogen fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries -- no longer will the caped crusader suffer a guilty conscience due to his excessive carbon dioxide emissions.
RC car runs on soda can rings, Doc Brown approves (video)
Many a future engineer was inspired by Back to the Future's Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, and not just because he proved that unkempt eccentrics could truly change the world. No, he also pioneered Mr. Fusion, the coffee maker/cold fusion reactor that turned garbage into energy. And while we're still waiting for cold fusion and time travel to become a reality, today we're all one step closer to waste-powered cars. A pair of Spanish engineers have recently unveiled the dAlH2Orean (see what they did there?), a R/C car that runs on aluminum. Dropping a few soda can tabs into a tank of sodium hydroxide produces enough hydrogen to power the little speedster for 40 minutes – at almost 20mph. Hit the video above to see it in action, along with your daily helping of the Chemical Brothers. Fitting.
Beverage companies blame video games for obesity
On Monday, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom submitted a proposal that he hopes will curtail obesity by applying a financial deterrent to drinks with high fructose corn syrup - in other words, a surcharge on soda. (Amount of surcharge has yet to be defined.) Understandably aggravated by this measure is the American Beverage Association, who pulls out one of our favorite red herrings in its defense.Said Kevin Keane, senior VP of the ABA, "It makes no sense to single out any one single cause of obesity, which is a complex problem." As quoted by the International Herald Tribune, "Keane said that if Newsom really wanted to fight the fat, he would take on computer and video game companies, which Keane said lured children inside when they should 'be outside burning calories.'"Yes, folks, by this logic we shouldn't even bother to worry about soda causing obesity when video games - not Dance Dance Revolution or Rock Band drums, mind you, those other video games like BioShock and Spider Solitaire - are the bigger Cause of Fatness. In a wholly accurate scientific study, Joystiq editors reported feeling approximately 15 calories surge from our controller, through our hands, and into our bloodstreams for every double kill in Halo 3. We jest, of course, but continuing with Keane's logic, we must say it makes no sense to single out video games when the real problem of obesity is existence itself. If Mayor Newsom really wanted to fight the fat, he should combat our very existence. If he obliterates that, then there'll be no more obesity.Update: The ABA sends a response letter to Kotaku.[Image Source. Via OXM; thanks, PrivateRyan]
