science-junkie:

A storage power plant on the seabed

Norwegian research scientists will contribute to realising the concept of storing electricity at the bottom of the sea. The energy will be stored with the help of high water pressure.

The idea of an underwater pumped hydroelectric power plant may sound like Jules Verne fiction, but then it was hatched by a German engineer who has spent much of his professional life working in aerospace technology.

“Imagine opening a hatch in a submarine under water. The water will flow into the submarine with enormous force. It is precisely this energy potential we want to utilize,” explains Rainer Schramm, inventor and founder of the company Subhydro AS to Gemini.no. “Many people have launched the idea of storing energy by exploiting the pressure at the seabed, but we are the first in the world to apply a specific patent-pending technology to make this possible,” he adds.

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courtenaybird:

Which Social Networks Are Growing Fastest Worldwide? 

(via emergentfutures)

vicemag:

I Spent The Weekend Watching Topless Feminists Piss Off Neo-Nazis

Last Friday, I took the Eurostar from London to Paris to meet the topless feminist protest group Femen. Originally based in the Ukraine, the organization has since spread across the world. The idea was to film the buildup to Femen’s next protest, but I didn’t find out quite what I was getting myself into until I arrived at their headquarters—a lofty space above a theater in Goutte D’or—that afternoon.

The area has a large Muslim population and is dotted with Islamic cultural centrers, so it seems quite a ballsy (or boobsy? Is that a thing?) move to base themselves there considering a large part of their shtick is protesting against conservative Islam. Their last protest action, for example, was Topless Jihad Day—a day where Femen members got their boobs out in various European cities to show solidarity with Amina Tyler. Amina, is a 19-year-old Femen member from Tunisia who was drugged and given a “virginity test” after posting topless protest pictures of herself on Facebook.

When I arrived, the Paris HQ was plastered with banners from previous demos—one that read “Sextremism” in bright red paint covered an entire wall. A few members were trying to decide on the best slogan for the massive new banner, which a girl called Oksana was already decorating with paintings of topless Femen activists. The reason for the extended deliberation was because of a heated discussion over whether “Nazi factions” should be spelled with or without an s at the end. No one’s going to pay you much attention in the protest world if you mess up your spelling.  

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emergentfutures:

CHART OF THE DAY: The Unstoppable Rise Of Over-The-Top Mobile Messaging

OTT messaging has grown exponentially since 2011, when Informa and Portio Research both pegged its volume at about 4 billion daily messages. By year-end 2013, daily OTT message traffic is expected to more than double the amount of daily SMS texts. 

 

Full Story: Business Insider

fastcompany:

“I’m 10 and pregnant.” “I’m 17 and a virgin.” “I’m 85 and tired.” 

Google auto-complete reveals our deepest fears. Watch.

analyticisms:

Two pretty amazing charts about the rise of digital music and its impact on recorded music revenues.

fastcompany:

Cities across the country are making plans to cater to bikers and pedestrians (along with cars) as they design and manage their transportation infrastructure. These are 10 that are doing it really well:

• 1. Indianapolis, IN
• 2. Hermosa Beach, CA (tie)
• 2. Huntington Park, CA (tie)
• 4. Ocean Shores, WA
• 5. Northfield, MN

5 more great cities for bikers and pedestrians