Lifeboat Foundation

In fact, according to IRENA’s new report, the most cost-effective strategy to achieve a “climate-safe future” — keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) — is an accelerated energy transition to renewables and energy efficiency coupled with electrification of key sectors like transportation.

This Renewable Energy Roadmap (REmap) scenario “would also save the global economy up to USD 160 trillion cumulatively over the next 30 years in avoided health costs, energy subsidies and climate damages.”

At the same time, IRENA reports, “every dollar spent on energy transition would pay off up to seven times.”

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A biodegradable replacement for petroleum-based products has to meet all sorts of standards and, so far, attempts at viable replacements from renewable sources have faced limited success due to processing and economic constraints. Among the obstacles, products to date have been too brittle for food packaging.

But new research from The Ohio State University has shown that combining natural rubber with bioplastic in a novel way results in a much stronger replacement for plastic, one that is already capturing the interest of companies looking to shrink their environmental footprints.

Almost all plastics — about 90 percent — are petroleum-based and are not biodegradable, a major environmental concern.

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Plastic pollution is something everyone should not be aware of. In the news, a lot of focus has been on the plastic pollution created by the fashion and food industry, but sometimes it seems like the toy industry is getting a pass. If you think about it, the majority of children’s toys are made of plastic. According to Plastics, 90 per cent of all toys on the market are made of plastic, which is a ridiculous amount of plastic. So where do the discarded toys, that do not end up charity shops, end up? Plastic toys are becoming a substantial environmental problem, especially as quite a few can be found living in their new home, the rubbish dump.

Raising sustainability-conscious kids is not easy, so why are companies not making it easier for parents? Well, a few small startups have been leading the movement by embracing circular economy principles. They are focusing on locally making toys from recycled straw, sawdust and plastic milk bottles, but I do wonder whether their efforts to create a sustainable toy market will lead to large mass producers like Hasbro. I am optimistic and believe it is possible. My optimism strengthened when I heard that Danish toy company Lego has begun the production of a new line of sustainable Lego accessories made from plant-based polyethene derived from sugarcane ethanol, as opposed to the polyethene from oil.

“The investment announced is a testament to our continued ambition to leave a positive impact on the planet, which future generations will inherit.”

Continue reading “Lego Makes A ‘Breakthrough’ In Producing Plant-based Bioplastics Toys Available Next Month” »

Andrew Yang gives a dynamite interview on automation, UBI, and economic solutions to transitioning to the future.

Andrew Yang, award winning entrepreneur, Democratic Presidential candidate, and author of “The War on Normal People,” joins Ben to discuss the Industrial Revolution, Universal Basic Income, climate change, circumcision, and much more.

Continue reading “Andrew Yang | The Ben Shapiro Show Sunday Special Ep. 45” »

Galor says the study results, published on Monday, April 1, in Nature Ecology & Evolution, lend credence to what he and a colleague had surmised in a highly influential 2002 paper — that during the pre-industrial era, the natural selection of those who were genetically predisposed toward having fewer children was instrumental in spurring industrialization and sustained economic growth.

In a study of 200 years of pre-industrial Quebecois genealogical history, researchers at Brown found that fertility-related changes in natural selection during the pre-industrial era paved the way for economic and technological progress.

It’s the kind of diverse, multidisciplinary community, Chinese scientists say, that is crucial to doing great research but is often lacking in labs. “The goals of the Materials Genome Initiative in the States and in China are the same: to produce better materials more quickly that cost less. It’s very important we collaborate with overseas scientists because the materials genome is a new topic. We need to figure out the best path together,” says Zhang.

Researchers are reaping the benefits of carefully built programmes and a surge in funding.

NUI Galway will lead a new €13 million SFI Centre for Research Training in Genomics Data Science. The new Centre will train a generation of 100 highly skilled PhD graduates to harness the collective potential of genomics and data science to have transformative scientific, economic and societal impacts.

Announced recently by Minister Heather Humphreys TD Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation, and Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan TD and Science Foundation Ireland, the Centre will be led by NUI Galway and will involve partners from UCD, TCD, RCSI and UCC.

A genome is an organisms complete set of DNA or genetic material and it contains all of the information needed to build and maintain that organism. Genomics is the branch of science that studies genomes to see how they direct the growth and function of cells and organisms and it is a key area of fundamental science with real-world impacts in areas from human health to agriculture and food production. In recent years the field of genomics has undergone a revolution, driven by new technologies that generate data on an enormous scale. In order to make sense of the large and complex datasets arising from analysis of genomes, we require highly trained data scientists, who can turn this data into useful information that can increase scientific understanding and enable us to harness the power of genomics to drive innovation and create real-world solutions.

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The Futurists (1967), a panel talk by diverse experts on the future in the 21st century.

How close were they? What did they miss?

Continue reading “The Futurists (1967) | Scientists Predict The 21st Century” »

In this week’s Mr Futurist Podcast, I will discuss, Is a Universal Basic Income (UBI) a good idea for the US?

Why the Southern United States is headed for a deep economic crash? What US industries will be the most impacted by business automation? Why will automation affect white collar jobs first? Is the US Becoming a Third World Country? How would a Universal Basic Income (UBI) impact large US companies? Illiteracy in the US. Could we have a Great Technological World-Wide Depression? All this and more in this podcast!

Mr Futurist Podcast – Should We Have a Universal Basic Income (UBI) in the US? Get my weekly podcast/article on business automation, AI and advancing technology and how it can and will affect your company, your job and career. The Right Knowledge is a Powerful thing! This weeks podcast transcript: This week’s article will be on the dark side. I promise by the end, I will flip this around and offer solutions, and make what appears to be something gloom and doom, have a possible happy ending. Having studied artificial intelligence and business automation for the last couple of years. I believe the unemployment numbersRead More →

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