The Sustainable Life

futurescope:

Under the right circumstances, solar cells from Semprius could produce power more cheaply than fossil fuels

via nextbigfuture

This past winter, a startup called Semprius set an important record for solar energy: it showed that its solar panels can convert nearly 34 percent of the light that hits them into electricity. Semprius says its technology, once scaled up, is so efficient that in some places, it could soon make electricity cheaply enough to compete with power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. 

[read more] [Semprius]

(via pieceinthepuzzlehumanity)

climateadaptation:

Though cesium levels are 10 times the norm, tuna is still safe to eat. Cesium, by the way, is a pleasantly sweet. Homer voice <on> “Mmmmm, delicious radiation…”

Radioactive bluefin tuna crossed the Pacific to US

ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer May 28th 2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Across the vast Pacific, the mighty bluefin tuna carried radioactive contamination that leaked from Japan’s crippled nuclear plant to the shores of the United States 6,000 miles away — the first time a huge migrating fish has been shown to carry radioactivity such a distance.

“We were frankly kind of startled,” said Nicholas Fisher, one of the researchers reporting the findings online Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The levels of radioactive cesium were 10 times higher than the amount measured in tuna off the California coast in previous years. But even so, that’s still far below safe-to-eat limits set by the U.S. and Japanese governments.

click here to continue reading…

(Source: ap.org)

veganrunnergirl:

Hemp Seeds

Hemp is one of the earliest cultivated crops - the Chinese grew it 4000 years ago, and it was popular across Asia and the Middle East. Hemp seeds, also known as hemp hearts, are the basis of hemp foods. You can eat them shelled, or they are also processed into hemp oil and hemp milk. What makes them so special?

• They are a nutritional powerhouse, full of omega-3 and 6, and a complete protein. Hemp seeds have about 3300mg of Omega-3 and 8100mg of omega-6 in 3 tbs (compared to 4050mg of Omega-3 and 800mg Omega-6 in 3 tbs of flax seeds). Omega-3 is harder to get than 6, and though there is more in flax seed, it is all ALA. Some of the omega-3 in hemp seed is the easier to absorb and harder to find SDA. The ratio of omega 3 to 6 is almost ideal in hemp seeds (ideal is considered 1:2 or 1:4. It’s actually on the lower range of ideal, which is a bonus because most of us get enough omega-6 already. As for protein, hemp seeds are 33% protein and contain all the essential amino acids and nearly all the amino acids. 3 tbsp contain 11g protein. Hemp also does not appear to contain phytic acid that may reduce nutrient absorption.
• Hemp is environmental. It is illegal to grow hemp in the U.S., so most of it is imported from Canada. Hemp grows quickly and has a deep root structure so it is good for the soil. This miracle plant also naturally resists pests so it doesn’t need pesticides. Hemp likes nitrogen rich soil, so like all other crops, organic farmers will rotate. Unorganic farmers tend to use fertilizer.
• Hemp seeds are easy to use. They are more shelf stable than flax seeds, but not as stable as chia seeds. Nutiva recommends using within 8-12 weeks of opening. They also don’t need to be ground.
• Hemp seeds won’t get you high. There are many varities of hemp, and the kind that gets you high is marijuana, which is high in THC (the stuff that gets you high). Hemp seeds are grown from industrial hemp plants which contain too little THC to get you high, no matter how much of it you eat or drink.

(via victorioushandofgod)

mothernaturenetwork:

Fuzzy baby elephant makes zoo debut
A 2-day-old male Asian elephant, weighing only 102 kilograms (about 225 pounds), sits on a bed of grass on May 10 while getting used to his wobbly legs inside his enclosure at the Berlin Zoo. Asian elephants are an endangered species threatened primarily by habitat loss from deforestation, as well as ivory poaching and  isolation of populations.

(via freespirit-2012)