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The initial frenzy kicked up by some media outlets over the H1N1 influenza (swine flu) has subsided to some extent, but of course there is a (slight) threat and beating it could have you walking down over a delicious road that you would lovingly embrace. You could simply get the vaccination shot and have it over with the flu thing, but having good food to increase the overall immunity is a great idea, shots or not.

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Indoor lighting accounts for nearly 15% of energy use in most of the households, and while new technologies are working to drastically reduce this energy consumption, things like Sparks LEDs could prove very useful. This design from Daniel Becker uses energy efficient LED light bulbs, which can be put together to create a striking light sculpture.

Nuclear power plants in Germany are on their way to an extended life, surmounting the huge obstacles in their path. There is a vehement opposition to nuclear power plants in Germany, and most of the population believes that the country should let go of nuclear power plants. The new policy aims at keeping the old plants running to ultimately have greener energy take over the existing system, but it may also pave the way for new nuclear plants.

Hurricane season lasts until November 3oth.

Tropical Ida is trying to get in on top of the radar, as opposed to under the radar before the season winds down. It’s near Nicaragua now.

Ida is the 9th storm of the season, down a bit and sending the global warming/climate change alarmists into a frizzy.

The most current info here.

Come back for updates.

The effect of millions of electric vehicles connecting to the grid during peak hours has been feared and discussed since long. While charging vehicles during off-peak hours may be good for utilities, in an interesting turn it may even earn some money for the owners. More specifically, EV/PHEV owners in West Texas and Illinois are being paid to charge their vehicles during off-peak hours, and that’s clean wind energy we’re speaking of.

Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest peak, and used to be covered in snow throughout the year despite its proximity to the equator. The ill-effects of global warming however, have put up a drastic picture of the mountain, whose slopes went ice-free this year; probably for the first time in 12,000 years.

The World Solar Challenge started off in 1987, and features teams of some of the top engineering colleges from around the world vying to get hold of a top spot, while traveling thousands of miles in solar powered racecars. The challenge puts up a grueling task for the vehicles which are powered by only solar energy. This year, the cars covered a distance of nearly 1,864 miles through a route that stretched from Darwin in Northern Australia to Adelaide in South Australia.

Designers and architects Iosa Ghini Associati have proposed a solar powered monorail system for the city of Bologna, Italy. Called Energy Belt, the 5084 meter long system will connect the airport to the city center. The monorail will operate at heights varying from 7 meters to 25 meters, will have an intermediate stop at Lazzaretto, and will be entirely powered by solar energy collected by photovoltaic panels placed at the track’s southwest side to maximize energy gain.

The vast expanse of the Sahara desert has since long been seen as an available source of solar energy that can be tapped. However, there isn’t much progress to show on the issue. Now the idea seems closer to reality with a German-led consortium of 12 companies that intends to harness the desert sun to power Europe.

Southwest Airlines has unveiled a prototype that will help the skies go greener. Until now, little progress has been made in making the aircrafts environment friendly, and the new prototype aircraft Southwest displayed appears to be a step in the right direction. The new aircraft does not have any ground breaking technology as such, but a healthy dose of innovativeness is what makes this flier eco friendly.