articles

Plastic pollution remains a major issue around the world, and now a new study suggests that microplastics have invaded our drinking water.

An investigation conducted by Orb Media and the University of Minnesota School of Public Health examined over 150 water samples from 14 countries across five continents — all in search of microfibers.

Sixteen years after the collapse of the World Trade Center towers sent a “cloud” of toxic debris across Lower Manhattan, children living nearby who likely breathed in the ash and fumes are showing early signs of risk for future heart disease.

If electronics are the underpinning of our modern economy, then batteries are what make the world go round. And since its commercial introduction in 1995, the lithium-ion (li-ion) battery has been king.

Over the past 30 years, a three-fold improvement in energy density has driven li-ion batteries far down the cost curve, from more than $3,000/kWh to approximately $150/kWh today, making li-ion the battery chemistry of choice for our toys, consumer electronics, medical devices, power tools, and increasingly, cars. Applications for household and grid storage that balance the intermittency of renewables are already hitting the market. Indeed, the $30 billion industry is expected to clock a blistering 11.6% annual growth rate through 2024, to a valuation of nearly $80 billion1.

NASA's Aqua satellite captured clear view of the eye of Hurricane Jose at it moved toward the Leeward Islands and strengthened into a Category 4 Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Aqua also analyzed the storm in infrared light showing powerful storms around the center, capable of heavy rainfall.

NASA's fleet of satellites have been continually providing forecasters with data on Hurricane Irma. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided a look at the wide-eye of Irma and if you think about the area of maximum sustained winds around the eye, it's similar to a wide F2 tornado.