Archive for January, 2009
WARNING: 99% of All Recycled Cell Phones Contain Owner’s Private Data
January 31st, 2009 | 
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In a sampling of two thousand recycled mobile phones, 99 percent were found to have sensitive data like banking information and confidential emails.
The sampling was done by Regenersis. They processed over 2 million handsets in 2008; that’s one handset every 15 seconds. During a random sampling in December they discovered how many mobiles had not been wiped clean: a lot!
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Engineer Uses Solar Energy, Wax, and Human Sweat to Fight Malaria
Those of us in cooler climes often forget that malaria is an epidemic in many parts of the world— according to the World Health Organization, 300-500 million cases are diagnosed each year. And while insecticides are helpful, mosquitoes quickly build a resistance to the treatment. Fortunately, a Kentucky engineer named Tom Kruer has come to save the day with a cheap, low-tech solution to the malaria problem.
5 Effective Strategies for Solar Companies in a Slow Economy
The solar industry has taken a beating lately. At their low in November, solar stocks were down 70%. Natural gas and oil prices have plunged, reducing the value of renewable energy. Financing is scarce, making the upfront cost of solar energy a challenge.
Perhaps these conditions will encourage innovation. Here are some tactics for solar companies to weather the storm in the short-term:
Researchers Harness Power of Osmosis for Water Purification
As the world approaches peak water, technology to harvest freshwater from non-potable sources becomes increasingly important. Researchers at Yale University have recently developed such desalination technology using the power of osmosis.
Meat and Global Warming
We’ve written before here at Low Impact Living about the relationship between meat consumption and global warming. The sad truth is that the raising and distribution of meat is a major contributor to our global warming crisis.
However, beef is by far the worst of the meats from an environmental perspective. According to an excellent new article in Scientific American, beef contributes more than 13 times as much to global warming as do the gases emitted from producing chicken. And it’s even more shocking when you compare beef to potatoes– the multiplier is 57.
The article, by Nathan Fiala, highlights some other alarming facts. For example:
- Producing the meat eaten by an average American each year produces the equivalent greenhouse gases as driving a car 1,800 miles
- Meat production is responsible for between 14 and 22 percent of the 36 Billion tons of greenhouse gases we produce on Earth each year
Please read the entire article How Meat Contributes to Global Warming here.