global briefs
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Algae Alchemy Dutch Turn Seaweed into 3-D Household Items Dutch designers Eric Klarenbeek and Maartje Dros have been cultivating live algae and processing it into material that can be used for 3-D printing. This algae polymer can be turned into everyday items from shampoo bottles to bowls and trash bins. They hope it could replace petroleum-based plastics to help alleviate our unsustainable consumption of fossil fuels. They have also experimented with other biopolymers such as mycelium (fungi), potato starch and cocoa bean shells. The pair now operate a research and algae production lab at the Luma Foundation, in Arles, France. They point out that their creations do more than just replace plastic—algae can also suck up carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas driver of global climate change. They explain, “The algae grow by absorbing the carbon and producing a starch that can be used as a raw material for bioplastics or binding agents. The waste product is oxygen—clean air.”
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Pooch Patrol Smart Vest Could Increase Neighborhood Safety Thailand is the home of a new “smart vest” that could turn stray dogs into personal guardians. Equipped with a hidden video camera, vest sensors transmit live streaming videos when the dog barks, showing what it sees via a smartphone app. Pakornkrit Khantaprap, on the creative team at Samsung, says, “It’ll make people feel that stray dogs can become night-watches for communities.” More tests are needed before the vest can be introduced into additional communities for trial runs.
Loving It Fast Food Giants Finally Address Plastic Pollution In a win for the health of the world’s oceans, McDonald’s says it will end the use of harmful polystyrene foam packaging globally by year’s end. Rarely recycled, the material used in beverage cups and takeout containers is a frequent component of beach litter, degrading into indigestible pellets that marine animals mistake for food, resulting in injury or death. The company says, “The environmental impact of our packaging is a top priority.” The International Agency for Research on Cancer has determined that styrene, used in the production of polystyrene, is also a possible human carcinogen. Dunkin’ Donuts is also phasing out its polystyrene foam cups in favor of paper cups. A planned worldwide project completion by 2020 will prevent nearly 1 billion foam cups from entering the waste stream each year. Customers may still opt for the restaurant’s mugs or bring their own thermos. The foam cups will be replaced with double-walled paper cups made with paperboard certified to Sustainable Forestry Initiative standards.
Hepsharat Amadi, M.D., L.Ac Wholistic Family Practice Physician Specializing in: • lntegrative/Functional Medicine • Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement & Western Medicine • Detoxification • Health Optimization & Anti-Aging • Quantum Biofeedback • Medical Marijuana • Allergy Testing & Treatment
Dr. Hepsharat Amadi by appointment only
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10189 West Sample Rd, Coral Springs, Florida 33065
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