It is predicted that UK groundwater will begin to decrease by 2025, with the overall amount of water available in English and Welsh rivers reducing by 15 per cent by 20502.

In London, the issue is a particularly pressing one – the Environment Agency has identified the region as under serious water stress3, highlighting the need for water efficiency measures to be implemented. In addition, many companies could face changes to licences granted to allow water abstraction as result of the Water Act 20034.

Sophie Greenhalgh, Envirowise Regional Manager for London, said: “Water is set to become one of the most dramatically affected resources as the impact of climate change takes hold, but many businesses are not aware of the steps they can take to mitigate against this risk.

“Companies in the capital should explore practical steps including water saving devices and water recovery and reuse technology such as membrane filtration systems, which enable a large proportion of wastewater to be reused for processes such as heating, cooling and cleaning. This can result in major cost savings through lower mains water and disposal charges, as well as an enhanced environmental reputation with customers and investors.

“Taking such action now could not only pay enormous dividends in future years, it can also lead to short-term benefits. In fact, recent Envirowise research5 revealed that UK companies could be missing out on combined savings of up to £10 million per day by failing to make changes in this area.”

UK businesses which pay income or corporation tax can also claim tax relief on recovery and reuse systems and water saving devices through the Water Technology List (WTL), which is managed by Defra and HM Revenue & Customs in partnership with Envirowise as part of the Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) scheme for water-efficient technology.

Further information on the benefits of reducing water usage is available at envirowise.gov.uk.

Source: PRWeb

Being tested to Technology Readiness Level (TRL 9) this programme for the US Army is currently in the system design, demonstration and testing phase. Plant commissioning and testing is due to commence next spring with delivery expected by mid year, followed by an extended US Army conducted testing and evaluation trial period, continuing through to early 2012. The programme is jointly funded by US Office of the Secretary of Defence (OSD) through the Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) Programme and is expected to result in more than 10 systems eventually being acquired.

“The US Army’s introduction of the PyTEC Pyrolysis Waste Disposal System solution should provide a dramatic increase in sustainability and force protection,” stated Lt Col Daryl “Rick” Harger, Product Manager Force Sustainment Systems, part of Program Executive Office Combat Support and Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS). “The PEO’s mission is to focus on equipping and supporting the joint war fighter through the development and fielding of systems with increased capability which support DoD objectives and enable a more expeditionary force.”

“PyTEC reduces the need for outside contractors to access the secure base camp to dispose of solid waste, dramatically reducing potential threats,” added Pat McGlead, QinetiQ’s Business Development Manager for the PyTEC solution. “Not having to rely on local contractors for solid waste disposal gives commanders the flexibility to operate in terrain which would be otherwise unsupportable plus means they can proactively manage their environmental impact. The energy recovery aspect will also significantly reduce the amount of fuel needed to support the base camp and provide associated cost savings while reducing the number of trucks on the road and freeing logistics assets for more critical mission requirements. PyTEC will enable the US Army forward operating bases to move towards being more self sufficient in the management of their waste management requirements.”

QinetiQ’s PyTEC Pyrolysis Waste Disposal System is housed in two standard free standing interconnected 8ft x 8ft x 20ft skeleton ISO containers that are fitted with hinged opening sides. Based on the latest COTS technology PyTEC requires minimal operator training or involvement to operate by allowing unsorted waste to be continually fed into automated the closed loop system and super heated, with just 25 litres of inert ‘char’ being produced per 100kg or raw waste processed, subject to the proportion of organic waste mix.

To find out more visit QinetiQ

Through films, stories, and an interactive planet, the website shows how research is helping to fight crime in police stations, save lives in hospitals, develop green forms of transport, informing government decisions and much more.

The website has been endorsed by Lord Robert Winston who said this about the site:

“This is a world where research is changing our lives with new technologies in medical engineering, digital communications, manufacturing and cultural industries. On IMPACT! World you’ll find science at work finding new ways to preserve our heritage and protect the planet. Developments like these are improving our health, our wellbeing and prosperity.”

Science and Innovation Minster Lord Drayson said:

“This new website shines a deserving light onto the contribution science and engineering make to the UK . It offers a fascinating insight into how home-grown technologies are tackling some of the biggest challenges we face such as improving our quality of life and stimulating the economy.”

EPSRC Chief Executive Professor Dave Delpy said:

“Engineering and physical sciences research is crucial to creating a healthy, prosperous and sustainable society. It has huge impact on the world around us. We hope this website and our IMPACT Campaign will help the public understand why research is so crucial to the UK ’s future.”

Films and case studies on IMPACT! World include:

• Downloadable software for your mobile phone that could help doctors monitor asthma, diabetes and other chronic conditions remotely.

• Revolutionary software that speeds up processing times for forensic evidence that could help police crack crimes faster.

• How scientists and business are working together to develop advanced manufacturing techniques stimulating the UK economy.

• The ‘Virtual Human’ that will allow doctors to test different prescriptions against their patient’s individual genotype before prescribing the safest and most effective treatments.

• The £2 LED lightbulb that lasts 60 years.

• Sheets of carbon just a single atom thick that could herald a new generation of electronic devices.

• New technology helping children with communication disabilities to share everyday experiences with their family.

IMPACT! World is the latest activity in EPSRC’s IMPACT! Campaign launched at the Cheltenham Science Festival in June. The campaign aims to demonstrate how UK scientists and engineers are solving some of the biggest challenges facing society.

Visit the innovative website at www.impactworld.org.uk

In addition to an eco-friendly rating, the lineup boasts some of the industry’s most reliable names: Brill, Earthwise, Great States, Sun Joe, LawnBott and Worx.

To make the buying process easy, MowersDirect.com also gives you the benefit of side-by-side comparisons to ensure you get the right mower for your money, your needs and the environment.

The estimated 54 million Americans mowing their lawns each weekend with gas-powered mowers may be contributing as much as five percent of the nation’s air pollution, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The Electric Power Research Institute of Palo Alto claims that replacing half of the nearly 1.3 million walk-behind gas mowers used in the United States by electric or reel mowers would eliminate the equivalent hydrocarbon emissions of 2 million cars. To that end, mowersdirect.com is committed to doing its part by offering its customers a variety of eco-friendly options.

For more information on how you can find the best eco-friendly mower, visit MowersDirect.com

Source: PRWeb

In recognition of the fact that Dell is working to be the greenest technology company on our Planet, Green Magazine TV will be featuring the company and some of its new computers, which are energy efficient, recyclable and less costly, on an upcoming episode of Green Magazine TV on the Discovery Channel. Dell designs products with the environment in mind from the materials used in their manufacture, to the energy to run them, to the packaging in which they are shipped, to their recyclability. Dell has been recycling for over a decade. It is the first technology company to offer free worldwide recycling for its consumers. For more information on the newest Dell computers visit http://www.dell.com

For more information on “Green Magazine TV,” visit http://www.greenmagazinetv.com

Source: PRWeb

The Grand Prize winning team consists of Phil Ashworth, general manager of Australia-based Amerro Engineering and Dr. Graham Robertson, a principal research scientist with the Australian Antarctic Division. Their invention – the underwater baited hook – allows longline vessels to set baited hooks underwater out of reach of seabirds. Designed for use on coastal tuna and swordfish vessels worldwide, the invention minimizes or eliminates mortality of seabirds including albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, which seize bait on the water surface or deep dive and are accidentally killed. This unique underwater bait setting technology solves a huge conservation problem with the use of longlines particularly in large industrial fleets. This year’s International Smart Gear Competition Grand Prize winners beat out more than 71 other contenders from 27 countries.

Every year hundreds of thousands of marine animals, including seabirds are killed through destructive fishing practices. Additionally, millions of tons of untargeted fish die and are discarded as unwanted catch, called bycatch.

“WWF created the International Smart Gear Competition to reward and inspire innovative ideas to reduce fisheries bycatch,” says Bill Fox, WWF’s vice president of fisheries. “Bycatch is both an environmental and economic problem, and one of the greatest and most pervasive threats to seabirds, sharks, sea turtles, fish and marine mammals that live in the oceans. Smart Gear represents a unique collaboration among conservationists, fishermen, and scientists to develop innovative devices that enable fishermen to fish more sustainably.”

Two other inventions to help reduce bycatch have won runner up prizes of $10,000 for their inventors. A team from Belgian’s Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO) won for their invention named Hovercran, which substantially reduces bycatch in shrimp trawls. The other runner-up prize winner is David Sterling, of Australia’s Sterling Trawl Gear Services, who developed a device called the Batwing Board, an alternative to the standard trawl door used by most trawl operators, which both reduces impact to the sea bottom by approximately 90% and reduces fuel consumption.

This year’s competition also features a special East African Marine prize of $7,500 which has been awarded to Samwel B. Bikkens of Kenya’s Moi University for his device known as The Selector.”
The invention makes use of fish responses to light and water movement to address a bycatch problem in Lake Victoria, the largest lake in East Africa and an important fishery in the region. This is the second year that WWF has offered a special regional prize to encourage inventions that address issues in areas of critical concern.

“The creative inventions designed by the winners of the Smart Gear Competition promise practical, effective, everyday solutions to the problem of bycatch – a serious issue which threatens the health of our oceans,” say Michael Osmond, WWF’s senior program officer for fisheries, who directs the competition.

The Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation, The Marisla Foundation, the Sea World & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, the Lemelson Foundation, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are supporting this year’s Smart Gear Competition.

The International Smart Gear Competition was created by World Wildlife Fund and a diverse range of partners in May 2004 to bring together fishermen, fisheries, policy and science to find solutions to reduce the unnecessary decline of vulnerable species due to bycatch. The first Smart Gear Competition drew more than 50 entries from 16 countries. This year the competition drew 71 entries from 27 countries, including Peru, Uruguay, French Guiana, and the Ukraine.

For more information on the International Smart Gear competition visit www.worldwildlife.org or www.smartgear.org. Images and video are available for media by request.

Other information regarding bycatch and the 2009 International Smart Gear Competition:

* There are 26 species of seabirds, including 17 albatross species, threatened with extinction because of longlining, which kills more than 300,000 seabirds each year.

* As many as 250,000 endangered loggerhead turtles and critically endangered leatherback turtles are caught annually on longlines set for tuna, swordfish, and other fish.

* An estimated 89 percent of hammerhead sharks and 80 percent of thresher and white sharks have disappeared from the Northeast Atlantic Ocean in the last 20 years, largely due to bycatch.

* The International Smart Gear Competition winner is determined by a panel of judges that includes fishermen, researchers, engineers and fisheries managers from all over the world. This year’s judging panel included 12 judges from 6 countries. The competition is open to eligible entrants from any profession, including fishermen, professional gear manufacturers, teachers, students, engineers, scientists and backyard inventors, offering anyone a chance to win. Entries are judged on innovation, practicality, cost-effectiveness, their ability to reduce bycatch of any species and the overall contribution the invention makes to conservation. The next competition will be in 2011.

Source: PRWeb

When ICALEO® kicks off November 2, 2009 at the Hilton located in the WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort, “green” applications of laser technology will be at the forefront of the conference, which ends November 5th. The plenary session “Frontiers and Challenges for the Green Economy” at 9 a.m. on November 2nd will “unveil to even the most casual observers the necessity, the inevitability, of applying laser technology to the manufacture of solar-energy cells and other environmentally friendly energy solutions,” says LIA Executive Director Peter Baker. “Lasers more than ever will be vital to helping companies satisfy customer demands for efficient and sustainable energy, while producing consistently high-quality products in the automotive, medical, food and aerospace industries.”

Dr. John Turner, a Research Fellow from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., will give an overview of the future of energy in his keynote address “Frontiers, Opportunities and Challenges for a Hydrogen Economy.” Other topics will include:

• “Lasers — An Enabling Technology in the Photovoltaics Revolution” by Dave Clark, Senior Director, Strategic Marketing, Photovoltaics at Newport Corporation / Spectra-Physics, Mountainview, Calif.

• Laser processing of carbon materials, from high-speed diamond film deposition to carbon nanotubes as semiconductor devices, by Dr. Yongfeng Lu, Lott Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

“The prospect of lasers in the green energy economy has never looked better,” notes Congress General Chair Xinbing Liu, Director, Panasonic Boston Laboratory, Newton, Mass., USA. “This is the time to turn vision into reality.”

ICALEO has been devoted to the field of laser materials processing for 27 years and is viewed as the premier source of technical information in the field. For more information and to register, please visit the LIA’s ICALEO Web site at https://www.laserinstitute.org/ICALEO.

Source: PRWeb

The IPhone from Apple has had such an extraordinary impact on the mobile computing world in general and a store of thousands of applications enabling you to do things from finding a local taxi to checking your shelves are straight.  now Nissan is developing an application for the Apple IPhone which will interact with it’s new range of electric vehicles.
Nissan’s new vehicles are due to be announced in August and it is expected the IPhone application will also be unveiled at the same time.  It is not not the exact range of functions thet the user will be able to perform with the application but it is expected to contain several monitoring functions for such things as battery level, heating and air conditioning.  To continue some of the trends found on other IPhone applications it may also be able to provided the nearest recharging stations to your current location and inform of the cost.

Mobile computing has come along way in the last few years and this will see the technology start to interact with other everyday things that we use in our lives other than the traditional multimedia and computing platforms.

Brando go onto say “It is convenient for you to take along with when you are out on business, on travel, on a long journey on bus or ship, etc. It is a portable, environmentally-friendly, lightweight, durable and versatile solar charging product”.

The package includes connectors for the Nokia II (2mm), Nokia I (3.5mm), mini USB (for Motorola/HTC/Dopod/MP3/MP4), LG, Samsung i900a nd Sony Ericsson,  so should suit a wide variety of devices.

Find out more at Brando

Tell the time with the power of the sun using Citizens Eco-drive technology. The Eco-drive series of watches that use solar power to power and charge your watch of choice. A modern version of a sun dial if you will.
The series of Eco-drive watches contain a solar conversion panel and converts energy from the sun to store in it’s energy cell (see video for brief explanation of the technology). The energy cell contains none of the usual chemicals found in regular watch batteries and under normal use and exposure, you can expect the cell to be used for a lifetime. The watch will charge the battery via exposure to the light and run from the the cell when no light is available.

See the range of Eco-drive watches at Citizen