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Magic Pond: Green Lake in Tragoess, Austria
Washing Laundry in Cold Water is the Same As…
A full 90 percent of the energy used in washing clothes goes toward heating the water, so it stands to reason that using less energy by washing in cold, unheated water would create significant environmental savings. But just how much difference are we really talking about?
Size Matters for Creatures of Cold Polar Waters
Scientists at the Universities of Liverpool, Plymouth, and Radboud, Netherlands, have challenged the view that giant animals are found in polar seas because of a superabundance of oxygen in cold water.
The Day the Niagara Falls Froze Over
It’s an amazing snapshot – so amazing that many have been quick to cry fake: North America’s most iconic falls, apparently frozen mid-flow – but what moment in time is frozen in sepia within this frame? One might think the answer would be simple, but with the origins of this photo veiled in a mist of uncertainty like the spray produced by the falls themselves, nothing is guaranteed.
It seems claims of Photoshop frolics are misguided in this case; yet while the shot looks authentic, because its photographer is unknown, we can’t be sure precisely when it was taken. 1911 has been the date aired most on the web, but it could just as easily be 1912, when much of the surrounding Niagara River was frozen. The other point here is that in the photo the falls are not entirely frozen over, with several small spouts of water visible gushing out from beneath the crust of ice crystals. Read more
“Smart” water heater cuts electricity use by up to 40%
A new Kickstarter campaign for a smart water heater that could cut energy use by 40 percent and water use by 10 percent compared to conventional water heaters has already gotten close to its $125,000 goal after only a few days on the site. The compact water heater, measuring only 12.5 inches by 6.5 inches, is called the Heatworks MODEL 1 and has Wi-Fi compatibility so that temperature, duration and power levels could all monitored and controlled remotely.
ISI Technology, the creator of the Heatworks MODEL 1, says that the water heater is 99 percent efficient. According to the Kickstarter page, it “uses state of the art electronic technology to directly energize and heat the water molecules, rather than heating the water with old-school resistance heating elements. The MODEL 1 eliminates all failure modes of conventional water heating technology and provides more features at the same or less cost.” Read more