Demand for balsa wood, which is used to make turbine blades, has spiked to the point that it is causing significant damage to indigenous communities in Ecuador What does the deforestation of balsa wood in Ecuador's Amazon region have to do with wind power generation in Europe?

Lithium is an essential component of most rechargeable batteries, powering everything from iPhones to Teslas. However, increased lithium mining due to rising demand will deplete known land-based supplies by 2080. A team of scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, in Saudi Arabia, says they already have a solution in the works: before land-based lithium runs out, shift lithium mining to the ocean.

An international team of researchers led by the University of Tokyo has discovered a new material which, when rolled into a nanotube, generates an electric current if exposed to light. If magnified and scaled up, say the scientists, the technology could be used in future high-efficiency solar devices.

The justification of capitalism is that human nature and the nature of reality require that each individual live in freedom pursuing his values. It once was expressed as the “right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

SingularityU South Africa 2017