Hacker News with Generative AI: Sustainability

Exploring the Cost and Feasibility of Battery-Electric Ships (newscenter.lbl.gov)
Retrofitting a portion of the US shipping fleet from internal combustion engines to battery-electric systems could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and be largely cost effective by 2035, according to a new study from Berkeley Lab researchers recently published in Nature Energy.
Installing E.V. Chargers Is Finally Paying Off for Retailers (nytimes.com)
X's Moonshot for Circularity (x.company)
Humans generate tons of waste.
Urban Machine: robotics and AI to reclaim lumber for reuse (urbanmachine.build)
Urban Machine pioneers sustainable wood reclamation.
Solar-powered desalination system requires no extra batteries (news.mit.edu)
MIT engineers have built a new desalination system that runs with the rhythms of the sun.
'In cities, trees are treated like street furniture' (elpais.com)
Environmental activist and tree expert. That’s how Peter Wohlleben, 60, defines himself today. He no longer calls himself a forester, for a simple reason: “I no longer manage forests. I don’t have time,” he explains during a Zoom interview from his home in Hümmel, a small town an hour from the city of Cologne, Germany.
Outdoor tourism produces copious waste, accelerates effects of climate change (dailycollegian.com)
Spending time outdoors has many benefits, such as improved physical and mental health and promoting community building. But with being outdoors comes great responsibility. It is important to acknowledge the impact humans have on the environment and the cultural importance of many outdoor spaces.
Researchers have built server prototypes that re-use old components (ieee.org)
Researchers have built server prototypes that re-use old components that would otherwise go to waste, boosting sustainability.
Ecosia and Qwant, two European search engines, join forces (techcrunch.com)
Qwant, France’s privacy-focused search engine, and Ecosia, a Berlin-based not-for-profit search engine that uses ad revenue to fund tree planting and other climate-focused initiatives, are joining forces on a joint venture to develop their own European search index.
MIT engineers make converting CO2 into useful products more practical (news.mit.edu)
As the world struggles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, researchers are seeking practical, economical ways to capture carbon dioxide and convert it into useful products, such as transportation fuels, chemical feedstocks, or even building materials. But so far, such attempts have struggled to reach economic viability.
Is 'Toxic Fashion' making us sick? A look at the chemicals lurking in our clothe (2023) (npr.org)
In 2018, Delta airlines unveiled new uniforms made of a synthetic-blend fabric. Soon after, flight attendants began to get sick. Alden Wicker explains how toxic chemicals get in clothes in To Dye For.
Peak population may be coming sooner than we think (ft.com)
Peak population may be coming sooner than we think
Sky Cooling Fabrics (in backyard workshop) [video] (youtube.com)
A New Chapter for RubyGems: How Ruby Central Is Building a Sustainable Future (rubycentral.org)
RubyGems and Bundler are the package management systems for Ruby applications used by developers worldwide. They’re also the backbone of a thriving world of Ruby software. For nearly two decades, these tools have simplified how developers develop, share, and install gem libraries, extending the simple Ruby programming language into a powerful and versatile ecosystem.
Oxide cuts data center power consumption in half (oxide.computer)
Here’s a sobering thought: today, data centers already consume 1-2% of the world’s power, and that percentage will likely rise to 3-4% by the end of the decade. According to Goldman Sachs research, that rise will include a doubling in data center carbon dioxide emissions. As the data and AI boom progresses, this thirst for power shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Two key challenges quickly become evident for the 85% of IT that currently lives on-premises.
Growing food instead of lawns in California front yards (nytimes.com)
On a corner lot in Leimert Park in dusty South Los Angeles, not far from Obama and Crenshaw Boulevards, sits a curiosity that’s wildly different from all the neighboring grassy yards.
Powering the Mars Base (wordpress.com)
A growing Mars base has a prodigious need for power.
Who Says You Can't Live Off the Grid in Manhattan? (nytimes.com)
How long would you go without your refrigerator? How about your stove, lights, coffee maker, microwave, television? In May 2022, Joshua Spodek disconnected his Greenwich Village apartment from the electrical grid to see if he could live unplugged for a year.
Meta's plan for nuclear-powered AI data centre thwarted by rare bees (ft.com)
Guy makes "dodgy e-bike" from 130 used vapes to make point about e-waste (arstechnica.com)
To make a point about how wasteful this practice is—and to also make a pretty rad project and video—Chris Doel took 130 disposable vape batteries (the bigger "3,500 puff" types with model 20400 cells) found littered at a music festival and converted them into a 48-volt, 1,500-watt e-bike battery, one that powered an e-bike with almost no pedaling more than 20 miles.
Mercedes-Benz opens its own recycling facility for EV batteries (arstechnica.com)
Today, Mercedes-Benz opened its first battery-recycling plant in Germany.
Finland exports snow-saving mats to ski resorts hit by climate crisis (theguardian.com)
Finland exports snow-saving mats to ski resorts hit by climate crisis
Ultra-processed foods, animal-plant protein intake ratios' environmental impacts (sciencedirect.com)
There is growing concern about the various impacts of food consumption, both on human and planetary health.
Electrifying ships could be cost effective by 2035, study says (techxplore.com)
Retrofitting a portion of the US shipping fleet from internal combustion engines to battery-electric systems could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and be largely cost effective by 2035, according to a new study from Berkeley Lab researchers recently published in Nature Energy.
Small Is Beautiful (wikipedia.org)
Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered is a collection of essays published in 1973 by German-born British economist E. F. Schumacher.
GenAI is set to create a mountainous increase in e-waste (theregister.com)
Computational boffins' research claims GenAI is set to create nearly 1,000 times more e-waste than exists currently by 2030, unless the tech industry employs mitigating strategies.
Car sharing and second-hand phones not as green as they seem, research shows (phys.org)
Not all sustainable business models have the impact they claim, Leiden researcher Levon Amatuni revealed. Car sharing and phone reuse, for example, have a smaller positive effect than previously thought. Amatuni advises people to "pay attention to actual changes in their consumption behavior rather than green perceptions or labels."
Experts say a proposed revamp to the recycling symbol is still deceptive (grist.org)
Experts say a proposed revamp to the recycling symbol is still deceptive — and probably illegal
Norlha, the Luxury Yak Wool Brand Made by Nomads on the Tibetan Plateau (anothermag.com)
With ethical and sustainable practices at the forefront, Kim and Dechen Yeshi’s label Norlha makes use of Tibet’s precious yak wool and ancient techniques to make beautiful hand-crafted clothing
Scythe Works Without Borders (scytheworks.ca)
The scythe works without borders, literally.