Thursday, October 07, 2021

Giant “Faucet” Spewing Single-Use Plastic Urges Us To Reconsider Our Plastic Use
By Sara Barnes on October 4, 2021


©Von Wong Production 2021 – #TurnOffThePlasticTap

The accumulation of single-use plastics is one of the most visible ways in which we can see our damage to the environment. These pollutants clog our landfills and oceans, and we should be doing all we can to eliminate their use. Unfortunately, the global pandemic has only increased our reliance on single-use plastics; consumption of this material has gone up 250 to 300%. Artist and activist Benjamin Von Wong is using his power as a creative to bring light to this dire issue and change how we view the problem.


“I’m always looking for exciting ways to make the boring problem of plastic pollution more interesting,” Von Wong writes. Previously, he’s created an 11-foot wave made from 168,000 plastic straws as well as a crystal cave comprising 18,000 plastic cups. Aside from being visually impactful, the thought-provoking images implore us to rethink how we consume.

Von Wong’s latest piece titled Giant Plastic Tap is his most ambitious yet. “The Embassy of Canada in France reached out and asked if I could build an art installation to raise awareness for plastics,” he says. “This was my chance to create more than a piece of art. It was my chance to create a symbol inviting the world to #TurnOffThePlasticTap.”

As the hashtag implies, the artist and his team built a giant faucet that is spewing heaps of single-use plastics—cleaning bottles, water bottles, and other materials that line our grocery store shelves. Von Wong also shares fascinating behind-the-scenes shots that reveal how all of the materials in the project were reused. The tap, for instance, was made from scavenged ventilation ducts and fitted for a forklift. The plastic “water” was sorted, poked, and threaded together, making for easy setup and tear-down so that it could be photographed in multiple locations.

Von Wong sees these images as just the beginning of his project. He's inviting everyone to help spread awareness and gearing it towards creatives. Create a remix of Giant Plastic Tap between October 4 and November 4, 2021, and you’ll automatically be entered into a $10,000 prize pool. Learn more about the competition and how to enter.

Artist and activist Benjamin Von Wong has created Giant Plastic Tap, a series that rethinks how the single-use plastic problem looks.


©Von Wong Production 2021 – #TurnOffThePlasticTap




©Von Wong Production 2021 – #TurnOffThePlasticTap
Von Wong sees these images as just the beginning of his project.


©Von Wong Production 2021 – #TurnOffThePlasticTap

Artists who create a remix of Giant Plastic Tap between October 4 and November 4, 2021 will automatically be entered into a $10,000 prize pool.



©Von Wong Production 2021 – #TurnOffThePlasticTap


©Von Wong Production 2021 – #TurnOffThePlasticTap



©Von Wong Production 2021 – #TurnOffThePlasticTap
Von Wong has also shared behind-the-scenes looks at his massive project.


©Von Wong Production 2021 – #TurnOffThePlasticTap



©Von Wong Production 2021 – #TurnOffThePlasticTap


©Von Wong Production 2021 – #TurnOffThePlasticTap
Benjamin Von Wong: Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Benjamin Von Wong.

Related Articles:

Photographer Celebrates Everyday Heroes with a Gravity-Defying Photo Shoot



SARA BARNES
Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
Read all posts from Sara Barnes




Photographer Sheds Light on Plastic Pollution with a Giant Floating Faucet
OCT 04, 2021
ANETE LUSINA

Photographer Benjamin Von Wong — known for tackling environmental issues in his photographic work — has released his latest project that raises the discussion of plastic pollution in a creative and collaborative way.

In 2016, Von Wong’s photographic work brought awareness to a diverse range of subjects and issues and encouraged others to join in. The most recent project — “Turn Off the Plastic Tap” — further amplifies Von Wong’s dedication to creatively bring attention to a global issue.



Von Wong, who is “always looking for exciting ways to make the boring problem of plastic pollution more interesting,” was approached by the Embassy of Canada in France and asked if he can build an and art installation to bring awareness to plastic production.
Photo by Philippe Boivin – philboivin.com

Von Wong excitedly took on the challenge and, with the help of like-minded community members, built a three-story-tall tap that look as though ti is leaking plastic. He tells PetaPixel that volunteers were found through social media and local community organizations like Ocean Wise.


Photo by Philippe Boivin – philboivin.com
Photo by Philippe Boivin – philboivin.com

The project, as large as the tap itself, required the volunteer team to create a faucet, which was built from used ventilation ducts from a building that was about to be demolished. It was then cut, painted, and adapted to fit a manual forklift.



The participants organized and prepared the plastics by sorting them into three categories — transparent, mixed, and black. The plastics were then tightly assembled — using a rope that was made from plastic bottles – to create the water flow coming out of the tap
.
Photo by Philippe Boivin – philboivin.com

  


The team photographed the art installation in several locations, such as a children’s playground, container yard, recycling facility, landfill, and beach. Each one required volunteers to work closely together to help create the final shot.



For example, for the beach photo, it took the team five hours to assemble the tap along with two hours spent on capturing the image.



It wasn’t an easy task to light it up so the team used mirrors to direct the light while a simple bee smoker came in handy to diffuse it and add a touch of mystery.



To further light it artificially, Von Wong and his team of volunteers brought whatever lighting they had on hand. Von Wong says that they used everything from speedlights to Godox strobes to top-of-the-line Broncolor Move Outdoor packs.




And, once the sun and clouds got into the perfect position, the shot was ready. Von Wong also used the Sunseeker app to predict the position of the sun while scouting the chosen shoot location at a beach in Oka, Canada.



The final beach shot was taken using Sony a7R IV with Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 lens at 1/250 s, f/11, and ISO 50.



Von Wong explains that the photo-taking stage took the team two weeks and the project was long from finished. They still had to pack up the installation and ship it to France so that it can be displayed in Paris on October 7.

The behind-the-scenes work such as editing, putting together press and marketing materials, building non-profit partnerships, and more takes a lot of work — so for Von Wong, the project is still not done.




For anyone interested, Von Wong encourages artists and creative talents to participate by creating a remix of the original Giant Plastic Tap between October 4th and November 4th. Those who take part will be automatically entered into a $10,000 prize pool.

Detailed instructions on how to enter can be found here. More of Von Wong’s work can be found on his website and Instagram, with additional information about the Giant Plastic Tap project available on the Turn Off the Plastic Tap website.

Image credits: All images provided courtesy of Von Wong Production 2021 and used with permission.

Trump Claims He Fell Off Forbes’s Richest List Because They Failed to Count Rubles
Photograph by Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty

October 5, 2021

PALM BEACH, Florida (The Borowitz Report)—Lambasting Forbes for dropping him from its list of the four hundred richest Americans, Donald J. Trump claimed that the magazine did not take into account what he called “secret rubles.”

“Let’s say someone has been receiving payments of billions of rubles for four years, and they’re buried in a vault under the Kremlin,” Trump said. “Those losers at Forbes wouldn’t begin to know how to count those kinds of rubles.”

Claiming that he has been “treated very unfairly” by the magazine, he said, “This should never be allowed to happen in our country.”

He scoffed at the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s status as first on Forbes’s list. “If you count rubles, Trump is a triple Bezos,” he said.

 


Donald Trump falls off Forbes 400 rich list for first time in 25 years

A Forbes report said that Trump has the same amount of wealth as he had a year ago, but he is down USD 600 million since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By ANI| Posted by Sakina Fatima | Published: 6th October 2021 

Washington: Former US President Donald Trump and real estate mogul dropped off from the Forbes 400 list of America’s richest people for the first time in 25 years, the magazine reported.

A Forbes report said that Trump has the same amount of wealth as he had a year ago, but he is down USD 600 million since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump’s wealth is worth around USD 2.5 billion, leaving him USD 400 million short of the cutoff to make this year’s Forbes list.

The report said that Trump had the golden opportunity during the time of the US presidential polls.

“Fresh off the 2016 election, federal ethics officials were pushing Trump to divest his real estate assets. That would have allowed him to reinvest the proceeds into broad-based index funds and assume office free of conflicts of interest,” Forbes report said.

However, the former US president had decided to hang onto his assets.

“At the time, they were worth an estimated $3.5 billion, after subtracting debt.” The magazine stated that Trump is to blame for this drop in standings.”If Trump is looking for someone to blame, he can start with himself.”

A few days before entering the White House, Trump had noted that he “could actually run my business and run government at the same time.”

“I don’t like the way that looks, but I would be able to do that if I wanted to. I would be the only one that would be able to do that,” Trump had said, as quoted by Forbes.

Successfully Merging Human and Robotic Workforces in Manufacturing

(Photo : pixabay)

When developments into robotics started, society was concerned they would start to takeover the workplace. Companies would be able to ditch human workers and adopt an entirely robotic workforce. However, that fear has dissipated a lot as manufacturers have successfully managed to merge both a human and robotics workforce.

Here, we'll look at how the manufacturing sector can successfully merge human and robotic workforces and the benefits it delivers.

How have businesses so far managed to merge humans and robotics?

Robotics have gained a lot of popularity within the manufacturing sector. Year upon year, businesses have started to spend more on introducing the latest technologies and robotics into the workplace. In Germany alone, the robotics and automation industry has seen an average growth of 10% over the last decade.

For every 10,000 workers in Germany, there is said to be around 309 industrial robots. This gives it the highest robot density level in Europe. Having a human and robotics merged business is seen as a major strength in the business world. That, alongside machine vision technologies, are the major growth sectors within the robotics and automation industries.

Robots can deliver a lot of great benefits to manufacturing sites, carrying out physically demanding and riskier tasks to protect the human workforce. They also work at faster speeds and don't get tired, allowing for potentially 24/7 production.

Workplace robots haven't impacted jobs in Germany

Analysis into the use of robots in Germany's workplace has revealed that they haven't had any impact on human jobs. Over the past 20 years, no evidence was found to suggest that the introduction of robots in manufacturing have led to job losses.

However, while robotics doesn't appear to be causing job losses, it is changing the way in which people work. Job roles have changed as robots replace human workers in various aspects of manufacturing. While robots have led to a decrease in new job positions within manufacturing, they have led to an increase in service industry jobs.

So, the impact robots have had so far on the job market has been surprisingly low. However, experts do predict that the more robots are introduced into manufacturing, the more job losses will occur.

Technologies to adopt that ensure safety within an automated workplace

While there are significant benefits to implementing automated processes into the workplace, there are also some risks involved too. To ensure safety within an automated workplace, various technologies can be adopted such as light curtains.

Light curtain technologies from can help to shut down potentially hazardous machinery when motion and proximity sensors are triggered. This is particularly useful during routine maintenance, ensuring workers safety. 

Overall, robotics have become an important part of the manufacturing sector, particularly in Germany. They have had little impact on human jobs and have helped to boost efficiency and productivity. However, in order to benefit from automated processes, businesses need to ensure the safety of their workers. Adopting technologies such as light curtains, will help to ensure workers are safe when carrying out maintenance and working alongside robotics. 

Neuralink Co-Founder Said Robot Uprising Is Inevitable; AI Might Take Over Jobs, Not Adhere to Human Values

Max Hodak is one of the founders of the neurotechnology company Neuralink Corporation along with Elon Musk and others. According to Futurism, the departed Neuralink founder has a grim take on the fate of humanity as robots ad artificial intelligence become more famous. He said that a robot uprising is inevitable and will likely leave humans in the dust.

 Robot Uprising is Inevitable as AI Would Likely Not Follow Humans' Value Systems That Shaped Society, Neuralink Co-Founder Said
(Photo : Unsplash)
Robot Uprising is Inevitable as AI Would Likely Not Follow Humans' Value Systems That Shaped Society,
 Neuralink Co-Founder Said

Robots Will Wreak Humans

In a Twitter post last week, Hodak argued that AI would likely not adhere to the preconceptions of humans o the political and economic models that run the society. He said that incompatibility between robots and humans would lead to irreconcilable differences.

"Humans are objectively bad with socialism (and on the contrary, capitalism is amazingly effective at advancing humanity), but machines might end up reasoning about their identities and communities super differently," he wrote. "We are going to get so wrecked," Hodak added.

That means that the value systems that humanity has built throughout history would no longer be relevant soon, no matter how successful they were in the past.

In a follow-up tweet, Hodak emphasized that machines might end up having more flexibility on how they organize themselves compared to the system humans have developed throughout countless generations.

 His recent statements intrigue the public, given Hodak's previous work in Neuralink, which develops a brain-computer interface to blur the line between humans and machines.

For the billionaire CEO Elon Musk, that goal was always the priority. He often said that someday machines will come and get humanity, which should motivate scientists to get ahead of them and build cutting-edge technologies. Neuralink's entire mission statement of "if you can't beat em, join em," fully embodies this.

ALSO READ: Will Robots Take Over the World? Chinese Firm's Squadron of Four-Legged Robots Moving in Unison [WATCH]

Will Robots Take Over Jobs?

In a 2019 report of CNBC, they cited a study that claims robots will take over 20 million manufacturing jobs in the world by 2030. The study, titled "How Robots Change the World: What Automation Really Means For Jobs and Productivity" from Oxford Economics, predicted that there will be 14 million robots put to work in China alone in the next decade.

Economists said that workplace automation will increase in that timeline, noting that there was already a threefold increase in the number of robots put to work worldwide in the past two decades and now has reached the number of 2.5 million.

Despite the benefits of using robots, particularly in terms of production and economic growth, researchers estimated that the drawbacks of using robots will arise simultaneously. Study authors said that the increased automation will result in tens of millions of jobs lost, especially in economies that greatly rely on skilled workers, and will lead to income inequality.

But researchers also urged lawmakers to not prohibit the use of automation or robots in the workplace. They suggested that governments could incentivize companies and employees for their effort in retraining workers. More so, they called on lawmakers to develop programs that will counteract the negative impacts of automation.


Bubba Wallace wins at Talladega, first Black driver to win NASCAR Cup Series race since 1963



Updated: Oct 4, 2021

TALLADEGA, Ala. —

Racing history was made at Talladega Superspeedway on Monday! Bubba Wallace won the YellaWood 500, marking his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series victory. Wallace became just the second Black driver to win a race at the Cup Series level. Learn more about Bubba's big win in the video above.

The last time a Black driver won a race at NASCAR's top level was nearly six decades ago on Dec. 1, 1963, when Wendell Scott earned a victory in the Jacksonville 200 at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida.

The race on Sunday was initially postponed to Monday after bad weather, and then was shortened for the same reason on Monday.


Bubba Wallace first black driver in 58 years to win NASCAR Cup Series

05 Oct 2021

Alabama-born Bubba Wallace became the first black driver since 1963 to win a NASCAR Cup Series race. The racer accomplished the feat in a race affected by rain and had to be cut short due to inclement weather. The African-American last winner of the NASCAR Cup Series Wendell Scott accomplished the feat 58 years ago. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Michael Jordan owns the car in which Bubba participated in the race.

This is for all those kids out there who want to have an opportunity in whatever they want to achieve and be the best at what they want to do. You've always got to stick true to your path and not let the nonsense get to you. Stay strong. Stay humble. Stay hungry. There have been plenty of times when I wanted to give up. And you surround yourself with the right people, and it's moments like this that you appreciate.

Bubba Wallace

Bubba Wallace win inspires young Alabama race car drivers to keep going

Oct 5, 2021

WVTM 13 News

Jolynn "JoJo" Wilkinson. She's a busy 17 year old. When she's not in school or at cheerleading practice for Hueytown High she's on the race track perfecting her craft. She believes Bubba Wallace win will inspire young people to join the sport. 

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Two former Hong Kong leaders named in Pandora Papers leak

CY Leung accused of failing to disclose sale of company shares while Tung Chee-hwa allegedly set up offshore companies to skirt taxes.

Former Hong Kong chief executives CY Leung, left, and Tung Chee-hwa, centre, toast with current leader Carrie Lam during the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China last year 
[File: Anthony Wallace/AFP]

5 Oct 2021

Two former leaders of Hong Kong have been named in the Pandora Papers leak, the most extensive global data drop detailing secretive financial dealings by the world’s wealthiest people that aim to conceal their assets.

Leung Chun-ying, or CY Leung, reportedly did not declare his income from the sale of shares of a Japanese company while still serving as the Chinese territory’s chief executive. Tung Chee-hwa, a billionaire, allegedly set up offshore companies after he retired from office.
KEEP READINGHong Kong: Tiananmen vigil group disbands after police probeHong Kong elite choose Leung as leaderHK falls out of love with Leung

CY Leung was Hong Kong’s leader between 2012 and 2017, while Tung was the city’s first chief executive after Hong Kong’s handover to China in 1997. He remained in charge until 2005.

Both men are now serving as senior members of an advisory committee for the Chinese government and there are reports that CY Leung could seek a political comeback as the term of the current Hong Kong chief executive, Carrie Lam, comes to an end.

The landmark investigation involved 600 journalists from 150 news organisations in 117 countries, sorting through about 11.9 million files from more than a dozen financial institutions. It is estimated that the world leaders in business and politics are linked to offshore wealth amounting to trillions of dollars.

The opening of offshore accounts is not prohibited by law. But if the purpose of those accounts is to avoid taxes in their respective countries, then that could be deemed illegal.

Aside from CY Leung and Tung, some 35 current and former world leaders, including the Russian President Vladimir Putin and King Abdullah II of Jordan, were also named.

According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), CY Leung failed to declare the sale in 2015 of an estimated 2.3m Hong Kong dollars ($295,000) worth of shares of the company DTZ Japan Ltd. ICIJ collaborated with Hong Kong’s Stand News in the investigation.

Stand News said CY Leung reportedly held 30 percent of shares in the company through two offshore firms.

The report also said that even after he took office as Hong Kong’s chief executive on July 1, 2012, Leung continued to serve as director of three offshore companies and only quit his posts in August that same year.

Leung never publicly acknowledged his role and duties in the three companies, according to the report.

Leung furious

Leung characterised the Stand News report as misleading and warned against fanning the “flames of irresponsible journalism” in a series of posts on social media.

Writing on Facebook, he said he was only required to declare shares he owned directly owned, and not those in subsidiaries of companies.

“Possession and transactions of share in subsidiaries need not be declared,” he said, adding that he did not exercise decision-making rights in the companies mentioned, including DTZ Japan.

He also justified his continued presence as director of the three companies into his term as Hong Kong leader, saying there were different procedures in contracts, and in some instances, resignations did not take effect immediately.

“I activated all resignation procedures before I took office as the chief executive,” he said

.
Leung reacted angrily to the Pandora Papers leak and warned against fanning the ‘flames of irresponsible journalism’ following the expose of his business transactions [File: Anthony Wallace/AFP]

Leung came under investigation following allegations published in the Sydney Morning Herald in 2014 that he had received 50m Hong Kong dollars ($6.4m) in connection with bidding for property firm DTZ that he did not declare.

The report said that Leung was paid the sum to stop him from taking a position with DTZ’s competitor. The complaint against him was dropped in 2018, with the justice department citing insufficient evidence.

He was also investigated for alleged potential conflict of interest and tax evasion, but those cases were dropped in 2020.

The Stand News report also said that both CY Leung and Tung were clients of Trident Trust, an international company that manages trusts and funds. The paper alleged both men used intermediaries to register offshore accounts and shell companies around the world for themselves and family members to shelter them from taxes.

Meanwhile, Tung also reportedly set up at least seven offshore companies after he left office. Using one of those companies, an account was opened with HSBC with an estimated $1m (7.8m Hong Kong dollars) in assets.

Tung and his family members also opened up to 72 offshore company accounts.

According to Forbes Magazine, which charts the fortunes of the world’s richest people, Tung’s wealth is estimated at $2.6bn.

Tung and his family have yet to respond to the report.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

 

Maine Proposes U.S.’s First Floating Wind Research Site

Maine proposes first U.S. offshore research site for floating wind turbines
Maine previously demonstrated a prototype for its offshore wind farms (New England Aqua Ventus)

PUBLISHED OCT 4, 2021 7:45 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

In an effort to launch the U.S.’s first floating offshore wind research site in federal waters, Maine has submitted an application to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) that will begin a multi-year review process. The proposed lease for a 15.2-square-mile area nearly 30 miles offshore in the Gulf of Maine would be the next step in research ongoing for more than a decade at the University of Maine to develop floating concrete hull technology for offshore wind turbines.

Maine is proposing to deploy a small-scale research array of 12 or fewer wind turbines on innovative floating hulls designed at the University of Maine. This project will advance UMaine’s patented technology known as VolturnUS and will foster leading research into how floating offshore wind interacts with Maine’s marine environment, fishing industry, and shipping and navigation routes. Floating platforms are considered essential technology to develop deep-water offshore wind energy.

"This small-scale research array is a significant next step in the evolution of the University of Maine's patented floating offshore wind technology and our commitment to Maine’s future," said Joan Ferrini-Mundy, president of the University of Maine and the University of Maine at Machias, and vice chancellor for research and innovation for the University of Maine System. "VolturnUS represents the work of so many people at UMaine to develop a renewable energy and economic development solution focused on Maine's unique needs and environment. They are contributing to the development of knowledge to advance offshore wind in Maine, the United States, and the world."

Under the proposal to BOEM, the research area would be limited to 15.2 square miles, which is smaller than initial projections. This limited site is also 29 miles from the nearest mainland point of Cape Small, and 45 miles from Portland. It was selected following an extensive public outreach process, which included an analysis by the Maine Department of Marine Resources that helped identify areas that minimized known potential impacts on the fishing industry.

“This small-scale research site 30 miles off the coast will become home to innovative technology developed here in Maine,” said Governor Janet Mills. “The research project will help establish the best way for our state to embrace the vast economic and environmental benefits of offshore wind. Fundamentally, I believe that offshore wind and Maine’s fishing industry can not only coexist but can help us build a stronger economy and a brighter, more sustainable future for Maine people.”

The governor is expressing her strong support for the project saying it would address fundamental questions about how offshore wind can exist in the Gulf of Maine. In July, responding to protests from the fishing industry, the governor signed legislation prohibiting new offshore wind projects in state waters, which extend three miles from shore.

There is no specific timeline required for the application review by BOEM, which is a separate process from the state’s work to date, but it is expected to take several years before all permitting is secured and construction could begin. 

 

The Cumbre Vieja Volcano is Making the Island of La Palma Bigger

la palma
Courtesy Instituto de Ciencias Marinas de Andalucía (ICMAN- CSIC)

PUBLISHED OCT 4, 2021 6:32 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

The massive volcanic eruption on the southern end of La Palma is actually expanding the island's landmass. A molten lava flow has reached the land's end and is pouring over a cliff edge, hardening as it hits the water. 

About 80 new acres have been formed so far, according to local officials, making La Palma (and Spain) ever so slightly larger. Plans for utilizing, selling or developing the extra space have not yet been announced. 

The volcano has been spewing molten rock for about two weeks, but the end of the flow began moving towards the sea more quickly over the weekend. Two new vents have opened up on the side of the Cumbre Vieja caldera, sending lava gushing out at an accelerated pace. 

6,000 people were evacuated in advance of the eruption, and no fatalities have been reported. The lava has destroyed an estimated 1,050 residences and other buildings, buried nearly 1,100 acres under solid rock, and cut off roads and other infrastructure in a continuous east-west line across the island's west side. The end is not yet in sight, local officials said. 

"It doesn't look like it's close to ending yet, because of the millions of cubic meters of lava that the volcano is throwing out," Canary Islands President Ángel Víctor Torres told media on Sunday. 

Spain's government has promised about $240 million in assistance for La Palma, including aid for rebuilding local water supply infrastructure. It will also provide employment aid for those affected by the eruption: the blast has effectively shut down the area's tourist industry, and recent photos show completely-vacant boardwalks at the popular black sand beaches of Puerto Naos, located north of the lava flow.

The volcano is also emitting tremendous amounts of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, and scientists expect that the pollutants will spread as far west as the Caribbean. Despite early concerns that the lava would generate large quantities of health-hazardous gases when it reached the sea, the air quality is still safe in areas that have not been evacuated, according to local officials. 

 

Wave Energy Converter Doubles Power Generation in Lab Tests

ocean wave power converter
(file photo)

PUBLISHED SEP 30, 2021 8:28 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Researchers in Australia and China have developed a prototype technology that they believe can double the power harvested from ocean waves. In laboratory tests they report that they have been successful at increasing the power drawn from the ocean with a design that is simpler and less cost-intensive to deploy. If successful in a full-scale model test, the researchers believe that their technology could be the key to the commercialization of power generation from ocean waves.

“Our prototype technology overcomes some of the key challenges that have been holding back the wave energy industry from large-scale development,” said lead researcher Professor Xu Wang at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. “With further development, we hope this technology could be the foundation for a thriving new renewable energy industry delivering massive environmental and economic benefits.

According to Professor Wang and his collaborators from Beihang University in China, the challenges of developing technologies that can be efficient extracting the natural power and withstanding the harsh environment have “kept wave energy stuck at the experimental stage.”

Most of the concepts being explored for wave energy generation use a buoy-type device that harvests energy by moving up and down with the waves, but need to be synchronized with the wave movement. This involves a series of sensors, actuators, and control processors.

The RMIT prototype naturally floats up and down without the need for sensors. It uses counter-rotating dual turbine wheels. Two turbine wheels are stacked and rotate in opposite directions. They are connected to a generator through a shaft and belt-pulley driven transmission system. The generator is inside a buoy above the water to keep it out of corrosive seawater.

“We know it works in our labs, so the next steps are to scale this technology and test it in a tank or real-life ocean conditions,” said Wang. During the lab tests, the RMIT-created wave energy convertor was twice as efficient at harvesting power as any similar technology developed to date. 

According to RMIT, wave energy could play a significant role in renewable power generation. They reported that it has been estimated that each year power from coastal waves around the world is equivalent to annual global electricity production.