Humanity's Future is in the Dark

A lot of people are talking about nonsense like the end of the world by December 2012, but not enough pay attention to the severe, real problems that are just around the corner.

"If current trends continue, if current patterns of production and consumption of natural resources prevail and cannot be reversed, then governments will preside over unprecedented levels of damage and degradation." -- this is a warning from the United Nations Environment Programme.

"The world continues to speed down an unsustainable path despite over 500
internationally agreed goals and objectives to support the sustainable management of the environment and improve human wellbeing, according to a new and wide-ranging assessment coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme".

Basically this means we consume too much, destroy too much and soon there will be major food and water problems. Just as an example, a few years ago the World Bank concluded that destructive fishing practices, fueled largely by subsidies, had depleted stocks so much that society was missing out on $50bn per year worth of fish it could otherwise have eaten.

Unless some serious action is taken, globally, to conserve and protect the little we have left of this planet, humanity may start to disappear.

Read more here

Has the Windtrap Finally been Invented?

Dune is my favorite book of all times. It's, in fact, my "One Book".

I love many things about this book, obviously. One of the most interesting ideas of Frank Herbert's was the Windtrap. This device was installed in the desert, and accumulated the moisture from the air, creating huge water reservoirs for the Fremen.

Seems like someone has finally decided to implement this idea, and so we get the AquaMaker. This machine looks like a water cooler, but according to the makers, it creates water out of pure air and you don't need any plumbing for it.

Sounds very interesting. I wonder if it also dehydrates the air in the house - that would be a welcome addition.