I’m always impressed by what algae can do. It can be used to generate electricity, make us healthier, it can function as a biofuel, and can be used to clean the air. Algae can almost solve all the worlds problems!

Some enterprising researchers have found out that algae can also be tweaked to create a lot of hydrogen. Hydrogen produced by algae can then be used as a power source elsewhere.

Melis has created mutant algae that make better use of sunlight than their natural cousins do. This could increase the hydrogen that the algae produce by a factor of three. It would also boost the algae’s production of oil for biofuels.

The new finding will be important in maximizing the production of hydrogen in large-scale, commercial bioreactors. In a laboratory, Melis says, “[we make] low-density cultures and have thin bottles so that light penetrates from all sides.” Because of this, the cells use all the light falling on them. But in a commercial bioreactor, where dense algae cultures would be spread out in open ponds under the sun, the top layers of algae absorb all the sunlight but can only use a fraction of it.

Kiwis like the environment so much that they want to make their country carbon neutral! For now, they have committed to produce 90% of their energy by using renewable resources. This is fantastic news that will hopefully inspire other developed nations to do the same.

The country already uses 70% renewable electricity, primarily hydro- and geothermal power and will continue to increase its use of renewables over the next 20 years.

Eventually, the Prime Minister would like to see the country carbon-neutral. “I have set out the challenge to our nation to become the first truly sustainable nation on earth…to dare to aspire to be carbon neutral,” Prime Minister Clarke said.

A recent study has looked at the effect of acupuncture treatments compared to more “conventional” treatments for lower back pain and have concluded that acupuncture is better. The German researchers split participants into many different groups receiving differnt kinds of treatment and those who received acupuncture got better results.

“The superiority of both forms of acupuncture suggests a common underlying mechanism that may act on pain generation, transmission of pain signals or processing of pain signals by the central nervous system and that is stronger than the action mechanism of conventional therapy,” the authors conclude.

There are already a lot of video sharing services out there on the internet, and some clever folks have caught onto this and have created a site dedicated to the environment.

green.tv is a web TV channel dedicated to the environment. The aim of green.tv is to raise awareness of environmental issues, especially climate change. We try to do this by collating watchable, engaging films and publishing them online.

It’s too bad that they don’t have embedable videos because I would have loved to put one here.

For me productivity and happiness don’t always go hand-in-hand, but for some people it does. For a writer over at Zen Habits these two elements are very important elements for a good life, so much so that a list of 52 tips for happiness and productivity was written.

Number 6:

Find your passion. Another indispensable tip. This might be the second on my list of priorities. Find something you love to do, and your life will become immensely improved. You will love your work, the thing that you spend 40 hours (or more) a week doing. You will become more productive, procrastinate less, be less stressed. You will produce something you are proud of, and happy about.

Number 42:

Lose arguments. I know someone who just celebrated his 50th anniversary, and I asked him for his secret to a long and happy marriage. He told me, that if I ever get into an argument with my wife, to just shut up. What he meant, I think, is that I shouldn’t try to be right in every argument. I think this is a reminder many of us need, not just the married ones. But instead of just giving up the argument, instead of trying to be right, instead seek to understand. Really try to understand the other person’s position, to see it from their point of view. This little tip can lead to much happiness.