Solar Sidewalk Invented!

       George Washington University's Virginia Science and Technology Campus is now home to the world's first walkable solar-paneled sidewalk with the completion of a 100-square foot solar walkway, dubbed the Solar Walk. As part of the University's "sustainable Solar Walk" project, 27 walkable solar photovoltaic panels were installed as an extension of a public sidewalk on the campus, along with a solar trellis.

       The semi-transparent solar panels have a peak capacity of 400 watts, and is designed to power some 450 LED lights to illuminate the solar pathway after dark. The panels, which were designed by Onyx Solar, are said to be slip-resistant and able to stand up to regular foot traffic.

       The solar trellis, designed by Studio39 Landscape Architecture, is installed at the end of the solar sidewalk, and sends its solar energy output to help power Innovation Hall on the campus. Both installations can be seen on the public sidewalk between the Exploration and Innovation Halls, at the intersection of GW Boulevard and University Drive.

iPhone 6 May Have Solar Charging Capabilities?

       According to analysts, Apple's patented solar technology could be seen in the iPhone 6. In February 2013, Apple has also received patents for its innovation in using solar panels in mobile devices, such as the iPhone 6. The technology would have an integrated touch sensor with a solar panel. This technology allows Apple to "stack-up" touch sensors on top of solar cell layers. The electrodes that would be featured on the integrated panel can be used for collecting solar energy and for sensing on a touch sensor array.
       In terms of hardware, the iPhone 6 is expected to have a quad-core processor with an A7 chip. A 2 gigabyte RAM along with the iOS 7 operating system will enhance the performance of the smartphone. The camera is also expected to be a better quality featured on the iPhone 6 for Apple fans.

Throwback of Dr. Seuss Each Step of the Way

          The Pacific Science Center had installed what is known as the solar-powered flowers at Seattle Center's festive grounds. People are able to walk in the evening, having the solar-powered flowers light their path as they absorb sunlight and store it to use at night. This new solar artwork also has the capability to interactively sing.
           The artist behind these solar-powered flowers, also known as "Sonic Boom," is Dan Corson. He has brilliantly created five giant solar flowers have sensors located in each flower triggered by people's movement, which brings them to sing harmonic tunes either day or night. Sarah Laslow from Grist has commented that this green art event has reminded her of a Dr. Seuss live experience.

"Artificial Leaf" is able to use Dirty Water to Convert it to Clean Energy!

     Imagine one day you walk into a dollar store, buy a thin, flat device in the size of a playing card, dunk it in a quart of dirty bath water, and use it to generate 100 watts of electricity 24 hours a day, you can thank the Air Force. The Air Force Office of Scientific Research, along with other federal agencies,  have been constantly funding their latest project: the development of an "artificial leaf," a low-cost solar-powered device which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen for powering fuel cells.

     This "artificial leaf" concept actually occurred a few years ago when lead researcher Daniel Nocera had claimed it to being "the Holy Grails of science." The device, which is in a compact size (similar to the size of a playing card), is able to create energy from sunlight and water. This device is simply designed as a slim wafer of silicon coated with catalysts that break water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen cases, which then can be stored in tanks and used as fuel in hydrogen fuel cells.
     The initial research associated with the "artificial leaf" has had commercial potential but required purified water. Otherwise, naturally occurring bacteria creates a film on the wafer, which interferes with its efficiency and eventually prevents it from working together. However, in a convention of the American Chemical Society, Nocera has revealed a new iteration of the device that is capable of working perfectly fine chugging down contaminated water. The trick, he noted, was to "tweak" the catalyst so that it creates a rough surface, preventing biofilm from forming. While that involves making part of the catalyst fall apart, it also has the capability to heal and reassemble itself.
     However, don't be led astray: the artificial leaf is not to be developed to be an efficient device. Its aim, behind Nocera's research, was to develop a simple, durable device that could help provide affordable, renewable energy to the billions of people who currently do not have access to conventional energy and clean water. Aside from general quality of life improvement, low-cost devices such as the artificial leaf could help provide sustainable alternatives to the widespread use of primitive cookstoves, which cumulatively have a significant impact on the global climate with an increasing force of "black carbon" emissions and deforestation.

Walmart in Ohio is now powered by solar!

Walmart has announced that it has worked with SolarCity on progressing towards 12 Walmart stores & Sam's Clubs all over Ohio with installing solar panels that generates up to 6,000,000 kWh of energy, enough to power more than 820 homes and is also apprehended to accumulate about 5-20% of each store's energy consumption. Walmart has committed to increasing the use of renewable energy on all the stores in Ohio and across the country. Pretty effective knowing almost all Walmart stores are open 24 hours and finally being able to say bye bye to those outrageous electric bills.

"Walmart's installation of solar on 12 store rooftops is the largest solar commitment ever made by a retail business in Ohio," said Bill Spratley

New Solar Technology made from Carbon

Scientists at Sanford University developed a solar panel made entirely from Carbon making it more economical for everyday use. The panel is formed of a thin film that can be applied from a solution which means it could be coated onto buildings, cars, or even glass to generate electricity. The one downside of having the film all carbon is the fact that the efficiency is not so great, but the durability resulting much greater compared to our modern solar panels being manufactured today. Wonder how our economy may benefit greatly from this technological approach in renewable energy, this may be the beginning of a new revolutionary invention bringing many new ideas and innovations to our world, at the same time establishing a sanitary and sustaining environment.

Science Guy trolled on CNN about climate change

Here is Bill Nye, the "Science Guy" that we all grew up to love but, just cant seem to escape his comedic past when a news reporter from CNN decides to call him "kookoo" in an interview but ended up being the one to get burned while going against the climate changes from the heat waves that causes many wild fires which leads to drastic climate changes as well as pollution. Here's a quick video of the interview; check it out!

The end of chargers are near, expect it!

This video explains how the efficiency of solar films, which are made transparent, can be a new revolutionary innovation that can change how many people acquire power in their phones, tablets, notebooks, and other electronic appliances in this day and age. Thanks to a band of researchers in France, they are finding ways to harness the energy of the sun from an ultra thin film that can replace current solar panels that are being manufactured today.

Bracelet mobile phone powered by the sun!

Two designers, Seungkyun Woo and Junyi Heo, inspired by the process of photosynthesis, incorporates a bracelet designed to make and receive calls and text messages powered by the sun. To explain it more in-depth,  the solar cells, located on the front panel, juices the device. The cradle dock also hosts cells on the back as a backup panel to power your bracelet. There will never be a time that you will go crazy about losing your phone once realizing your phone had been with you all this time. Best wishes to them!

Beautiful world falling apart

     Natural disasters are often caused by large amounts of air pollution in a short period of time mostly in large cities. Many disasters are formed through natural or human-made chemicals called "smog," which are caused from the factories that manufactures products that undergo through an assembly line consisting of chemical, heat, and wastes, leaving the factory through open air vents and chimneys. This causes large amounts of pollution to our environment, which contaminates the rain to ozone layers uprising global warming. Car exhaust and fossil fuel combustion, as it occurs in motor vehicles, has been identified as the largest contributor to air pollution in the world.

     Air pollution also causes numerous health issues leading to many respiratory problems. The lungs of many lives throughout the world become coated with particular matter from excessive exposure to pollution. For example, many people who are already suffering from asthma or any other respiratory issues would have a harder time breathing when there are small particles of toxin and chemicals in the air. Long term exposure of pollution could lead to serious health issues such as emphysema or even cancer. It can especially be severe when exposed to young children as it has a higher chance upon causing  childhood  asthma and can lead to other serious  respiratory symptoms during adulthood.

Here's a video I found that brought my motivation to change this nation's viewpoint towards a new approach but most couldn't help but watch.

Wipe out your electric bills!

      Some countries have already begun piquing their curiosity and experimenting with solar technology. What about the United States? Are we also far behind when the countries around us are advancing their resources?

     No. It seems California is advancing as well, as we speak. Compared to the East Coast, the West Coast has more tendencies to support such technology. Due to the warm weather conditions, with the support of the communities as well as many government grants and programs, there has been many rooftop solar installations on residential and commercial buildings. They are even free of charge after incentives for businesses and  off grid rebates for homes that are struggling to pay their bills on time.

     The east coast, on the other hand, are not so Eco friendly. Therefore, Our fellow neighbors settled in the east coast took their matters into their own hands by purchasing portable gas powered generators, powering their own appliances through the use of gasoline. But these generators have no value outside power failures, especially when gasoline can never be produced but bought. For example, homes that were affected by hurricane "Sandy" had no way of getting their hands on gasoline when it was limited in supply. Therefore, the government had provided gas stations with limited amounts of gasoline. The government had no choice but to set up a gas rationing plan, "odd-even", restricting cars with odd-numbered license plates on odd days as well as even-numbers license plates on even days. The rationing had been going on for until weeks end.