Space Age Transit System to Debut in Tel Aviv

Source: Israel21C
If all goes as planned, within two years Israelis will be the first people to try out a futuristic rapid transport system designed by NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. The skyTran uses two-person modules that drive along a guide rail suspended from existing power lines. Magnets in the vehicle create a magnetic field around the metal coil inside the rail, causing the vehicle to lift up and glide 60 miles per hour on a cushion of air. The system uses very little energy and potentially could be powered entirely by solar panels. The space-age skyTran combines aspects of public and private transportation. "People often don't use mass transit because they don't like to share vehicles, they don't like having to get to a station and they don't like to follow someone else's schedule," says CEO Jerry Sanders. The cost of implementing skyTran is estimated at $9 million per mile, as opposed to $100 million per mile for a light rail system and $20 million per lane for buses. https://netforum.avectra.com/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?Site=ACT1&WebCode=ACTeNews

Article courtesy of ACT newsletter

Too bad Zipcar isn't taking over Avis

If Zipcar were buying Avis, instead of the other way around, the Cambridge-based car-sharing company's fans would be happier today than they are.

This should be good news. The car rental giant's $500 million purchase of Zipcar is great for stockholders, since Avis is offering 49 percent more per share than Zipcar's closing price Friday. In theory, the takeover is also a half-billion-dollar validation of the idea of car sharing; what once seemed like a utopian social experiment increasingly looks like a mainstream, even essential service for city dwellers who only drive every so often. It should help that Avis buys a lot of cars; Zipcar will be able to buy vehicles more cheaply and make more of them available at peak times. Avis, in turn, gains a foothold in a growing business that archrival Hertz is also pursuing aggressively. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/blogs/the_angle/2013/01/too_bad_zipcar.html

Article courtesy of Boston.com-The Boston Globe-The Angle posted by Dante Ramos

 

 

 

 

New Lake Tahoe plan to allow higher density development

Lake Tahoe towns will grow taller and denser under a new regional plan that supporters hope will quell a rebellion by Nevada against land use regulations that have restricted development in the basin.

The new plan is intended to rid the area of some of its midcentury strip development and turn town centers into more inviting, greener destinations that will revive the area's ailing economy. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lake-tahoe-20121225,0,1292195.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Bettina Boxall

 

 

 

 

GM salmon: FDA's assessment of environmental risks

Genetically modified salmon moved closer to the market last week with release of draft documents from the Food and Drug Administration that assessed the environmental risks posed by AquAdvantage salmon, which grow faster than regular Atlantic salmon. http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-aquabounty-salmon-fda-assesses-risks-20121224,0,2554480.story

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times-Booster Shots by Rosie Mestel

 

 

 

Your Water Footprint is Much Bigger than You Might Think

The average Californian uses a lot more water than just what comes from the tap. 

 

A new study measuring California's water footprint finds that an eight-ounce cup of coffee, for example, uses 35 gallons of water, counting what it takes to grow the beans and transport the coffee.

The study is from the Pacific Institute in Oakland. President Peter Gleick says it shows most of our water footprint comes from food.

 

"We may choose, for example, to buy and eat less meat. Meat turns out to be a very water-intensive product to make."

 

Gleick says he hopes the study is the first step toward helping consumers make more sustainable choices. The water footprint for the average Californian is 15-hundred gallons a day… more than 10 times what we consume directly.

 

Article courtesy of KQED Public Media For Northern California by  Caitlin Esch

 

 

 

Arctic breaks records for loss of snow and ice

A fast-changing Arctic broke records for loss of sea ice and spring snow cover this year, as well as summertime melt of the Greenland ice sheet, federal scientists reported Wednesday.

“The Arctic is an extremely sensitive part of the world,” said Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As it warms, she said, “we see the results with less snow and sea ice, greater ice sheet melt and changing vegetation.”  http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-arctic-getting-warmer-and-greener-20121205,0,253551.story?track=rss

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times-Science Now by Kenneth R. Weiss

 

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Energy development on public lands and waters pumped more than $12 billion into federal coffers in 2012, $1 billion more than the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.  http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-20121206-energy-income,0,4832619.story?track=rss

Article courtesy of The Los Angeles Times by Julie Cart