For Iceland, renewable energy is easy. The island nation sits right atop two tectonic plates slowly pulling apart, drawing up magma from below. That rift is the source of Iceland’s active volcanoes, which frequently belch lava and ash into the sky. But it also has a benefit: The country can easily tap geothermal heat and steam beneath the surface to generate electrical power and heat — all without any carbon dioxide emissions. Much of Iceland’s electricity comes from hydropower, but most of its heating comes from geothermal. But now Iceland’s going even further — or deeper, as it were. This fall, the country is drilling an unprecedented 3-mile hole ( almost 5 kms... STRAIGHT DOWN!) in the so
As bees slip onto the endangered species lists, researchers in Japan are pollinating lilies with insect-sized drones. The undersides of these artificial pollinators are coated with horse hairs and an ionic gel just sticky enough to pick up pollen from one flower and deposit it onto another. The drones' designers are hopeful that their invention could someday help carry the burden that modern agricultural demand has put on colonies. As a species, bumblebees aren't doing well, so sadly, we may have to consider a future with fewer of the endangered insects. Humanity would be in trouble without these active pollinators, so Japanese scientists have created drones that mimic them by spreading poll
