Lifeboat Foundation

Cause and effect. We understand this concept from an early age. Tug on a pull toy’s string, and the toy follows. Naturally, things get much more complicated as a system grows, as the number of variables increases, and as noise enters the picture. Eventually, it can become almost impossible to tell whether a variable is causing an effect or is simply correlated or associated with it.

Toyota known for its hybrid innovation, has been cautious with fully electric vehicles (EVs), only launching its first EV, the bZ4X, in 2022.

Solid-state batteries are smaller and more durable, making them well-suited to daily fast charging and capable of carrying additional weight, like extra passengers or cargo. This technology has been difficult to scale up, but Toyota’s strong financial base and reputation for reliability position it uniquely to introduce these advanced batteries to the mainstream.

Historically, Toyota’s innovative, consumer-friendly designs, such as fuel-efficient cars in the 1970s and hybrids in the 1990s, have revolutionized the auto industry. Now, Toyota’s solid-state battery development could do the same, potentially transforming EVs from niche to mainstream by offering greater efficiency, performance, and convenience.

A new process for removing CO₂ from the environment has been facilitated by a cobalt-copper catalyst.

An international research team has fabricated a 1 cm² perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell that utilizes a top cell based on a perovskite absorber integrating inorganic copper(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN).

A co-deposition strategy of CuSCN and perovskite is firstly developed to solve the key technical…

A Saudi-Chinese research team has fabricated a perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell without a hole transport layer (HTL) in the perovskite top cell. This innovative strategy, based on the co-deposition of copper(I) thiocyanate and perovskite in the top cell absorber, was intended at solving typical issues of HTLs in tandem devices.

Continue reading “Perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell based on copper(I) thiocyanate achieves 31.46% efficiency” »

Tesla has created a new racing vehicle with a non-fuel engine, one that doesn’t rely on electricity or hydrogen to deliver sustainability and high performance.

Award-winning architect Lenka Petráková is pioneering a new way to tackle ocean pollution with an ambitious project named “The 8th Continent.” Her innovative design aims to recycle ocean plastic while functioning as a completely self-sustaining floating structure. If realized, it could mark a significant advancement in global conservation efforts.

“The 8th Continent” is an intricate, five-part structure designed to float on the ocean, equipped with greenhouses, living quarters, and biodegradable waste collectors. It represents more than just a plastic-collection unit; it’s a potential catalyst for restoring damaged marine ecosystems.

Continue reading “Majestic ‘8th continent’ collects and recycles plastic from the ocean” »

What is the level of carbon emissions across the United States? This is what a recent study published in AGU Advances hopes to address as a team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst conducted the first nationwide analysis of carbon emissions across the United States with the goal of putting constraints on previous analyses regarding the amount of carbon emissions across the United States, also known as the carbon cycle. This study holds the potential to help researchers, climate scientists, and the public better understand the United States’ contribution to climate change and the steps that can be taken to mitigate them.

“We need to know how much CO₂ is being generated so we can predict how it will respond to climate change,” said Dr. Matthew Winnick, who is an assistant professor of Earth, Geographic and Climate Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a co-author on the study. “As temperature rises, we tend to think that a lot of the natural carbon cycle processes will respond to that and potentially amplify climate change.”

For the study, the researchers collected data on carbon emissions across more than 22 million rivers, lakes, and water reservoirs with the goal of developing a model that could put tighter constraints on previous carbon cycle models. In the end, the researchers’ models estimated approximately 120 million metric tons of carbon, which is approximately 25 percent lower than previous models which estimated approximately 159 million metric tons of carbon. The researchers note these more accurate findings could benefit carbon capturing methods to mitigate climate change.

British startup plans to supply solar power from space to Icelanders by 2030, in what could be the world’s first demonstration of this novel renewable energy source.

The space solar power project, announced on Monday (Oct. 21), is a partnership between U.K.-based Space Solar, Reykjavik Energy and Icelandic sustainability initiative Transition Labs.

Bioengineers propose “electro-agriculture,” a method that replaces photosynthesis with a solar-powered reaction converting CO₂ into acetate, potentially reducing U.S. agricultural land needs by 94% and supporting controlled indoor farming.

Initial experiments focus on genetically modified acetate-consuming plants like tomatoes and lettuce, with potential future applications in space agriculture.

Revolutionary Electro-Agriculture