I have created a flyer for non-profit organization SHUP. They provide food to kids in need!
By – Arushi Aggarwal
Bioplastic
Our world currently produces 300 million tons of plastic each year. With an estimated 50% of it being used once and then thrown away. Approximately 100 million marine animals die each year from plastic pollution. Almost 34% of the leatherback turtles have ingested plastic, leading to 1,000 deaths per year. I think that it is safe to say that plastic is harmful to our environment and will continue to destroy our surroundings if left unmanaged.
About one trillion single-use plastic bags are used annually across the globe. That’s nearly 2 million bags every minute. More than half a billion plastic straws are used around the world. It would be unrealistic to hope that all of the plastic in our lives just disappear. This would be an enormous change in our lives, even if it is for the better. Plastic will have to be slowly taken away. The United Nations has pledged to reduce plastic by 2030. One hundred and seventy countries have pledged to “significantly reduce” the use of plastics by 2030. There have been other initiatives like the Canadian goal to ban single-use plastic by 2021. Peru’s ban on single-use plastic. San Diego’s ban on styrofoam containers, D.C’s plastic straw ban, etc. Even after all of these actions that have significant differences. Plastic pollution is still a major dilemma in our world today.
Scientists are actively working on finding replacements for plastic. Though it seems like a viable solution was found during the early 1920s by Maurice Lemoigne. In 1926, he discovered the first known bioplastic. Biodegradable plastic only takes three-six months to fully degrade, which is much faster than the original rate. This could be a potential replacement for plastic, and while it is not perfect, it is much easier to work with. Bioplastic can be made from agricultural by-product and from used plastic bottles and other containers using microorganisms.
While bioplastics are made from raw materials and are renewable and sustainable. They are non-toxic and compostable. Personally, I think that bio-plastic is great for a short-term solution. Scientists and engineers are constantly collaborating to work towards an environmentally-friendly future and I think that bio-plastic is a great start.
By Sarah Masih
Sources:
https://greenhome.co.za/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-bioplastics/
https://www.zdnet.com/article/10-technologies-most-likely-to-help-save-planet-earth/
SuperGlass
Imagine looking out of a skyscraper. Seeing hundreds of cars. Various other buildings, Stoplights, signals, advertisement boards. Now imagine, all of those being powered by the energy provided by a single building. The one you’re looking out of.
In 2018, a company named Ubiquitous Energy introduced the ‘Solar Glass’. This invisible solar cell absorbs solar rays and converts them to solar energy. All this, while remaining almost invisible to the human eye.
According to projections from Michigan State University, 5 to 7 billion square meters of usable window space exists, enough to power a full 40% of US energy needs. This glass can be used for windows in offices, homes and other buildings. It can be the sunroof of your eco-friendly Tesla. Every glass surface that you encounter can most probably be replaced by solar glass panels.
Adding solar glass had other benefits, other than obviously, powering cities. As I found quite interesting, solar glass can also provide cooler interiors, glare filters, UV protection, and low energy consumption. It’s like a planet-saving package deal!
This achievement is quite recent and not fully developed. The dilemma is efficiency. In order to remain transparent, the glass has to let some light pass through. “High-performance solar cells can achieve 25% efficiency or greater, but maintaining transparency means sacrificing the efficiency with which light is converted into electricity,” says Greg Nichols. An article claims that the University of Michigan is developing more efficient solar glass panels.
As a science-fiction enthusiast, scientist, and T.V show host, Arthur Clarke once said: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Article By :
Sarah Masih
Pic Credit: http://ubiquitous.energy/windows/
Merging Minds
“Technology is not just a tool. It can give learners a voice that they may not have had before”
-George Couros
Elon Musk has planned to introduce a revolutionary computer chip to start off in 2020. He claims “the technology will help “solve brain disorders of all kinds” and allow humans to merge with artificial intelligence.” “This will help people not only with a brain disorder but also with paralysis. It will help them access their phones and other technologies. “These devices allow links to be made between the nervous system and the peripheral world by decoding neural signals from the brain and effectively translating them into limb movements.” This brain implant may change the world. It is not only making advancements in the medical field, but also in the IT world.
This chip measures 4X4 millimeters. It will connect to a thousand microscopic threads that enter the brain through four holes drilled in the skull. Electrodes on this thread would be able to monitor “neural spikes” (electrical signals recorded from individual neurons.) This chip would be able to read those signals, influence behavior and feed the information onto a smartphone app.
“Advanced versions of the chip will allow brains to link with computers, increasing their intelligence and allowing them to compete with superhuman artificial intelligence.” Scientists have never been completely able to make robots compete with human intelligence. I believe that it is because humans have never been able to truly understand the power of their minds. If we are not able to understand our power, we can’t teach other things. The average human uses only 10% of their brains. We have accomplished so much already in the past years, if we can access the other 90%, maybe we can go much further.
There is a lot of debate in this world about whether or not AI will take over the world. I don’t mean globalization. Robots taking over the world has been an idea in our generation for quite a while. Robots are programmed to be better, smarter, faster and more efficient than us. There are robot-building robots in this world. Eventually, robots won’t need us to do their work. With Mr. Musk’s microchip, he has found a solution. It is inevitable that AI will become stronger than us, but with this chip, it is possible for us to compete with them. We have the option of merging with AI.
It is no joke that this computer chip will give us superhuman intelligence. It will access parts of the brain, that we don’t have the ability to. It seems both exciting and scary that such an invention exists. There are so many things that this chip can make possible, but like most things in this world, this invention has a dark side. This power given to bad people can destroy good things. Elon Musk claims that this chip can be inserted into a person’s brain when they are just born. By the time they are adults, the chip will contain all the information in their brains and choose to have their brains removed. An article from Observer contains evidence on how that could end a person’s life. Humans cannot function without their brains, and I am yet to be convinced about how a chip can do the work of the most powerful thing on the planet.
Suspicions aside, the computer chip is a revolutionary invention. It can and will change the way we live. A good way or bad way? That’s up to us to decide.
By – Sarah Masih
Bibliography:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/07/17/neuralink-elon-musk-unveils-brain-microchip-treat-diseases-let/
Elon Musk’s ‘Brain Chip’ Could Be Suicide of the Mind, Says Scientist
Free Coding Workshops by Arushi Aggarwal – September Month
iNCLUSIVE CODING FOR KIDS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS by Arushi Aggarwal
Code Fun Games – Free workshop Hopewell Library by Unknown16.com
Coding Contest by Unknown16 and Stempedia
Online Hackathon by Unknown16 and Stempedia
Hackathons – Bringing Revolution!
There are many events everywhere that include coding but what is the benefit? Teaching kids coding at a young age encourages STEM careers and opens many possibilities for their future along with giving them a motivation. Adding on, teaching coding, especially to girls is important because it shows them that anyone can do it and even if they are a minority in that career, it doesn’t mean they can’t achieve their goals. This leads more females into the STEM worlds so they too can make a difference. Hackathon Continue reading “Hackathons – Bringing Revolution!”