Great Water Solutions...

Self-Healing Concrete

National Geographic

Its not quite as advanced as Terminator technology. But a new concrete that can heal its own wounds may soon bring futuristic protection to bridges and roads.

Um... so this is one of the coolest and most productive inventions I've seen (except cloaking technology... that beats all in coolness)! This concrete will make buildings, roads and bridges, SO much safer! Say goodbye to potholes!


Living at Sea

National Geographic

Championed by California-based competition sponsor the Seasteading Institute, the high-seas homesteading movement is all about creating tiny frontier lands "where those who wish to experiment with building new societies can go to test out their ideas," according to the institute's Web site.

Don't forget to click through all the pictures! I'd LOVE if one of these ideas could be invented! Woot!

toxic waste's toxic waste

Dirty tricks and toxic waste in Ivory Coast

BBC

"It is the biggest toxic dumping scandal of the 21st century, the type of environmental vandalism that international treaties are supposed to prevent. A giant multinational is being sued in London's High Court by thousands of Africans who claim they were injured as a result of the waste that was illegally tipped on Ivory Coast's biggest city, Abidjan."

The biggest toxic waste scandal, and yet people are still sick, still dying, and yet Trafigura denies the waste is hazardous. They have not been charged, and a lot of the waste is still there. Makes you really confident in humanity, doesn't it?

Speaking of pollution...

Concern over birth defects in China

BBC

"The province of Shanxi in central China is one of the most polluted places in the world and according to government officials, the rate of birth defects in this region is six times higher than the national average."

We often hear about how polluted China is... but are we really paying attention? When I lived in Korea there was a season called "Yellow Dust Season", when sand from the Gobi desert in China blew across to Korea. This is relatively normal, and wouldn't be that bad if it weren't for the fact that the dust blows through Chinese factory smoke stacks first, making it toxic. By the time it hits Korea it's a health hazard and people are warned not to go outside. The air turns yellow, literally. And yet, this is just the stuff picked up and dropped in Korea. This article shows what happens in China. It makes me want to boycott "made in China", although I'm sure there are severe economic repercussions to that too...