Happy Saturday, dear friends. I hope you are all having a relaxing and fun-filled weekend. Let’s get to the news.
Robots are helping to clean up nuclear waste at Fukushima.
Four years ago a massive tsunami hit the Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan. The ensuing nuclear meltdown was comparable to the Chernobyl incident, but far less radiation was leaked into the atmosphere. About 10,000 individuals were evacuated from the area and the hazard ban may be lifted in the next year.
Much of the clean up would be simple, if humans could work within the confines of the reactor, but even 10 minutes of exposure is too much radiation for humans to endure.
A different plan had to be instituted, and so a company called Kurion set about designing a refrigerator-sized robot with a telescoping arm that could do the work of patching leaks and cutting away damaged materials.
The robot is manipulated via a remote mechanism, where the operator directs the activity using joy-sticks and a touch screen pad. A different type of robot began the process of cleaning up the reactor, and this replacement model is fine-tuning the clean up.
Project managers say this painstaking process should be complete in about 18 months, and then the next phase of clean up should be safe for human workers. It is wonderful to hear that advanced technology is being used for this project. It allows humans to prepare a safer environment for the completion of the project and no one will be exposed to the excessive radiation.
Inspector Gadget, but for Nuclear Waste by Adrienne LaFrance for The Atlantic
The European Union is making great strides in renewable energy.
In 2013, renewable energy accounted for 15% of the energy needs in the European Union. The goal of producing 20% of energy needs using clean sustainable energy by 2020 is an attainable goal, according to recent surveys across member nations.
The UK has lagged behind in its implementation of renewable infrastructure, getting only 5% of its energy from renewables. It may face difficulty in reaching its specific goal of 15% in the allotted time.
Sweden, on the other hand, already obtained 39% of its energy via renewables, as early as 2004, and has currently exceeded its 2020 goal of 40% by a 3% margin. Each country has been given its own goal to reach, based on existing infrastructure and level of wealth.
While some countries are lagging behind, it is encouraging to see goals being set and efforts being made to find clean and sustainable ways to obtain energy, so fossil fuel based platforms become obsolete. The one area that most countries are lagging in relates to the production of heat and transportation, so more efforts need to be applied in these areas.
What is heartening to see is that platforms do exist that can create significant energy for larger populations. The common belief has been that renewables cannot be counted on to produce significant energy, and this fallacy is obviously being proven false, as countries work towards their goals.
And finally…
A young girl is rewarded for feeding crows with many small gifts.
As a young girl, I found a baby crow who had just fledged the nest. It’s mother was no where to be found, and it was very friendly, so I took care of it outside of my home for a number of days. It would sit on my shoulder and coo like a baby. I really enjoyed my time with this crow, which I named Soot, until it flew away to live its wild life.
A young girl in Seattle has developed a unique relationship with a local group of crows. She and her mother feed the crows daily, and they are so smart that they look for this young girl whenever she is outside in hopes of getting a snack.
When she began to feed the crows regularly, she noticed that they randomly left little gifts in the feeding station. She started a collection of these objects, which has grown significantly over the years. Sometimes they leave pebbles or shiny bits of metal, and once even left one part of a best friends charm.
The girl loves her collection as well as her special relationship with her wild bird friends. As an avid bird lover and winter feeder of our feathered friends, this story really touched my heart. Creating loving and lasting friendships with wild animals is such a miracle.
The girl who gets gifts from crows on YouTube
That’s the news for today. Have a joyous day. I hope to see you back here tomorrow for some Feel Good News.
Be Well. Be Joy. Be Love!
Alex