WcP.Scientific.Mind's blog

Minute PlanetSolar - April 2011 - World Tour Through the Pacific
Uploaded on May 6, 2011

PlanetSolar around the World
Published on Apr 12, 2012
Turanor PlanetSolar is a solar powered catamaran that is circumnavigating the World. The project was dreamed up by Raphael Domjan and enabled by businessman Immo Stroher.

PlanetSolar in Greece for TerraSubmersa Expedition!
Published on Sep 2, 2014
In August 2014, the vessel resumed her role as a scientific platform for the University of Geneva with the Expedition TerraSubmersa. It aims to explore the prehistoric landscapes submerged in the Argolic Gulf in Greece, in an attempt to reconstitute them and perhaps to find traces of human activity.

PlanetSolar in Venice (Italy)
Published on Oct 2, 2014  read more »

Super Moon rises over the hills tonight near Los Angeles. (Credit: Craig DeMartini)

The supermoon captured over Mount Rainier. (Credit: Tommy McPharlin)

A bright light will soon be visible in the sky as "Supermoon" begins rising. (Credit: TKTLA)

The first spectacular "supermoon" of the summer peaks this Saturday. (Credit: Huffington Post)

A supermoon rises behind the scaffolding-wrapped Washington Monument, Sunday, June 23, 2013. (Credit: NASA)

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Spectacular ‘Supermoon’ Visible in the Sky Overnight
The moon will seem a little bit bigger and brighter Saturday morning when a “supermoon” — the first of an expected three this summer — will be visible, according to NASA. The occurrence, also called a “perigee moon,” takes place when the moon becomes full at the point of orbit when it’s closet to earth, making the moon “seem extra big and bright,” NASA reported on its website.  read more »

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How Energy Efficient Is Your City?
A new report ranks 34 major US cities by their energy-use policies.
Does your city have a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions dramatically? Is it seeking to reduce car use through bike share programs and public transit subsidies? Does it partner with utility companies to help small businesses and homeowners save energy? And does it lobby for statewide energy-efficiency legislation?

Those are just a few of the policies that have made Boston the top-ranked city for energy efficiency, according to a new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Portland, Ore., placed second, followed by New York, San Francisco, and Seattle.

ACEEE ranked 34 major American cities—the 25 most populous incorporated ones, plus the central cities of nine other major metropolitan areas—according to their efforts to promote energy savings. The report looked at building codes, community-wide energy initiatives, transportation policies, energy-saving programs involving public utilities, and efforts to improve the efficiency of government building. You can see where each city ranked on the map above.

The 10 Most Energy-Efficient Cities In The U.S.  read more »

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Huffington Post - Lavabit Founder Ladar Levison On The Shutdown Of Email Service (LIVE VIDEO)

Washington Post - Lavabit, Silent Circle shut down e-mail: What alternatives are left?

PC Magazine - Google is making headlines this week for a court filing that some have interpreted as an admission that Gmail users should have no expectation of privacy while using the service.

Fox News - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi called the latest reports "extremely disturbing."

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Image courtesy ciphersend.com and techzane.com

*update* 8 Aug 2014
In Copenhagen, where bicycles outnumber people and nearly 40% of residents cycle to work, bike-friendly infrastructure is key

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[July 8, 2013] 12,000 electric cars are to move on the roads in Greater Copenhagen by 2015. 12,000 electric cars are to move on the roads in Greater Copenhagen by 2015. This is the target set by The Capital Region of Denmark and their new project Copenhagen Electric. Today there are not even 1 500 electric cars in the whole of Denmark. Copenhagen Electric is to encourage municipalities, hospitals and enterprises to purchase more electric cars for their car pools. - We’re starting with the municipalities, says Kåre Albrechtsen, head of Copenhagen Electric that is run by the Capital Region of Denmark. The region is investing 12 million Danish kroner in the consulting project Copenhagen Electrics over a 3-year period. The municipalities in Greater Copenhagen now have 274 electric cars, which is eight percent of the entire municipal car pool. The aim is to increase this share to 25 percent in only two years’ time. (News Øresund)  read more »

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Everything Google has said and shown about their wearable computer involves adults and mostly rather serious pursuits such as getting directions, and doing Google searches. But when the device becomes available to buy later this year, children of all ages will begin using them, too.

We’ve seen Michele Bachmann and a half-naked blogger wear Google Glass over the last couple of weeks. But those images don’t exactly warm your heart. But a two-year-old with the connected glasses on? That might be one of the cutest things you see on the Internet this week.

Chris Angelini, a writer and editor at tech site Tom’s Hardware, decided to put the glasses on his two-year-old son, Lucas. The result is an adorable video of Lucas telling people to “Look at my cool glasses!” Lucas only wears the glasses for 2 minutes and 42 seconds in the video, but that’s long enough for him to document the experience of getting some watered-down apple juice, show off his Lego collection and play catch with his dad.  read more »

Once a year, penguins experience a catastrophic molt. (Yes, that’s the official term.) Most birds molt (lose feathers and regrow them) a few at a time throughout the year, but penguins lose them all at once.

Gentoo penguins “porpoise” by jumping out of the water. They can move faster through air than water, so will often porpoise to escape from a predator.

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Most penguins swim underwater at around four to seven miles per hour (mph), but the fastest penguin—the gentoo (Pygoscelis papua)—can reach top speeds of 22 mph!  read more »