More Energy-Saving Homes

Following up on a previous post, the Wall Street Journal recently ran an article ($) on the burgeoning market for energy efficient homes. Such "green" homes are increasingly moving to the mainstream. They are even becoming fixtures in new housing developments, not just in custom-built houses. Nationally, green homes are projected to increase to between 5% and 10% of U.S. housing starts by 2010, from 2% in 2005, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Below are examples of some of the features called out in the article

The water in this house is heated by solar power; the flow is directed to a small black box on the roof. This feature, plus strategic window positioning and heavily insulated walls, makes the home 10 times more energy-efficient than before its 2005 remodeling.



This home has unusual features such as the pictured salvaged airplane flaps used for shading.



This home has 20-inch-thick straw-bale walls. In the winter, the sun shines into the porch and light is absorbed by the concrete floors, to help maintain heat.



Fabric overhangs shade the windows against the summer sun in this house, cutting down on cooling bills. The raised structure allows the floor to be insulated.

Frilled shark caught on video

Frilled sharks are rarely seen alive because their natural habitat is about 2,000 feet under the sea. However, one was recently captured on film at the Awashima Marine Park in Japan. Staff there caught the 5-foot long female and identified it as a frilled shark, which are sometimes referred to as "living fossils" because they are a primitive species that has changed little since prehistoric times. Unfortunately, the shark was in poor condition and died several hours later.

A video of the creature can be seen here.

More Macro Insect Photography

Another great gallery of insect macro photography. Below are several examples:

Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) Dragonfly:



Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) Butterfly:



Zebra (Salticus scenicus) Jumping Spider:

Penguin Gallery

This photo gallery of penguins from a trip to the Falkland Islands has some great shots, as well as some great penguin commentary. Below are a few examples.

King penguins slapping each other:



A Magellan penguin calling, with a chick at his side:



A Gentoo penguin chick:



A Rockhopper penguin calling:

Find Biodiesel with your Cell Phone!

Those with diesel-powered vehicles (including big-rig truckers) would be more likely to refuel with biodiesel* if they knew where to find a filling station that carried it. Websites such as the Department of Energy's Alternative Fueling Stations Locator can help. However, the internet is not always accessible, particularly when on the road.

A new company called NearBio has created a growing database of over 1000 biodiesel filling locations across the United States. What makes NearBio special is that it delivers its database to your cell phone through either wireless internet access or text messaging! The free service includes driving directions, the phone number, and the blends available at the five closest locations. This service is good news for producers of biofuels, as it will help to stimulate demand for the product.

The picture below is of NearBio's mapper, and shows all of the U.S. biodiesel locations currently in the database, color coded by type of blend**:



* Biodiesel is a type of fuel that can run in existing diesel-engined vehicles. The "Bio" refers to the fact that it is processed fuel derived from biological sources. Biodiesel results in significantly fewer emissions than petroleum-based diesel when burned. Some of the biological sources (or "feedstocks") for this fuel include: virgin oils (rapeseed and soybean oils are commonly used, though other crops such as mustard, palm oil, hemp, jatropha, and even algae show promise); waste vegetable oil; animal fats such as tallow, lard, yellow grease, and the by-products of the production of Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil; sewage; etc.

** The blends of biodiesel refer to the "B" factor used by much of the world to state the amount of biodiesel in any fuel mix. For example, fuel containing 20% biodiesel is labeled B20, and pure biodiesel is referred to as B100.

Thanks to Wired for the tip.

Top 100 Rare and Unique Mammals

Scientists have launched an attempt to save some of the world's rarest and most neglected creatures from extinction. The program focuses on "EDGE" species, or Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered. These are one-of-a-kind species. If they are lost there is nothing similar to them left on the planet. The Top 100 EDGE mammals can be viewed here. Below are several examples from the EDGE website:

Long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijni)
This ancient rabbit is one of South Africa’s rarest and most endangered mammal species:



Red panda (Ailurus fulgens)
The scientific name of this rare and beautiful species literally means ‘fire-colored cat’:



Golden-rumped elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon chrysopygus)
Recent studies indicate that elephant-shrews are in fact distantly related to elephants:



New Zealand lesser short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata)
The world's most terrestrial bat, this species fills the niche of mice or shrews in other parts of the world:



Maned three-toed sloth (Bradypus torquatus)
The green algae that live in the fur of sloths provide them with excellent camouflage:

Pond Scum Power

In hopes that algae will one day serve as a replacement for natural gas used to power electric plants, researchers in Arizona over the past year have watched algae multiply in huge, bubbling test tubes beneath the hot sun in order to find just the right strand of the microscopic single-celled plant. The experiment has been so successful that it's about to expand into greenhouses on the electric plant grounds, and in time, be grown in such large quantities that it could be converted into fuel.

It works like this: Algae ingests carbon dioxide and releases oxygen in the photosynthesis process. Algae is laden with oils that can be used to produce biodiesel, starches that can be transformed into ethanol and protein that could have a market niche in cattle and fish feed.

The idea was thought of by a rocket scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was experimenting with growing algae on the International Space Station. The rocket scientist then founded a company called GreenFuel Technologies to market his idea. The company’s scientists now think that they may be able to produce 200 tons of algae per acre per year during mass production. Commercial production is expected to begin in 2008 in Arizona and other sites in Australia and South Africa. (See here for other articles about GreenFuel's technology).

Before fuel can be produced on a mass scale, scientists must figure out how to provide enough light to maximize algae growth and how to get the carbon dioxide in the water, where algae grows, fast enough to allow for maximum growth.

Real Life Bambi & Thumper (and more!)

This photo gallery shows a deer and rabbit that have become best buddies -- a real life Bambi & Thumper:





This artist has many other wildlife pictures online. Below are a few examples:

Multimedia Tour of the World's Forests

Check out this amazing and well-designed multimedia tour of the world's forests from Forests Forever. Watch or skip the intro, then click to enter the "Forest Gallery."

What's That Bug?

What's That Bug is a website with a huge database of bugs that enables you to find whatever creepy, crawly, flying and otherwise interesting critters that may come your way. If you come across something you can't identify, they accept submissions and will post the answer online.

Red Cotton Bug, Dysdercus cingulatus:



Sphinx Moth Caterpillar: