Latest Posts by mothymyths - Page 3
Sputnik 2, launched on November 3, 1957, carried the dog Laika, the first living creature to be shot into space and orbit Earth. Laika was a stray dog found on the streets of Moscow. There were no plans to return her to Earth, and she lived only a few hours in orbit. …
taken from @gallivantsofgillis on tiktok
From the article:
From Europe to North America, an energy revolution is breathing new life into empty, long-forgotten coal mine shafts — by repurposing them into places to store renewable energy. Using “gravity batteries,” these underground facilities aim to tackle one of renewable energy’s greatest challenges: storage. The method is simple: Excess renewable energy is used to power winches that lift heavy weights — such as containers filled with sand or rock — up the mine shaft. When additional energy is needed, these weights are released, generating power as they descend. This approach not only gives these disused mines a second life but also offers economic and environmental benefits to communities once reliant on coal. Hundreds of thousands of abandoned mines — about 550,000 in the U.S. alone — pose economic, environmental and safety risks. In some areas, these old shafts have caused collapses or polluted groundwater, while in others, the loss of mining jobs has hit local economies hard. Meanwhile, as renewable energy scales up, storage limitations become a pressing issue, especially with solar and wind, which are naturally intermittent. This year, solar is expected to surpass coal as a leading global power source, according to the International Energy Agency, highlighting the need for reliable storage to balance supply and demand. During the U.K.’s 2020 lockdown, for example, National Grid warned of potential blackouts when energy demand dropped by 20 percent, leading to excess renewable power that went unused.
Gravity batteries offer a straightforward but powerful — and cost-effective — way to address both of these problems at once. Their potential is already being realized. In Rudong, near Shanghai, the first commercial grid-scale gravity battery was connected to the grid in December 2023. Capable of storing up to 100 megawatt hours of energy, it can power nine homes for an entire year using only stored electricity. Across China, nine additional projects are in development, while in Switzerland, a commercial demonstration unit has been connected to the national grid for testing since 2019, showcasing the technology’s promise on a global scale. And now, other countries, from Finland to Australia, are getting on board.
"In Australia, a man was kept alive for 100 days on an artificial heart made of titanium while a donor heart was eventually found.
This is the longest-ever period that a man has been kept alive by an artificial heart, giving its developers encouragement that it can play a major role in supporting waiting list patients whose hearts are failing.
5 months ago, a man in his forties received the BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH) after experiencing heart failure. The TAH has no pumps, valves, or other moving parts susceptible to wear. Instead, magnetic levitation permits a single rotor to pump blood to the body through both ventricles.
He was able to leave the hospital even, before a donor heart was found that was transplanted successfully.
In a statement, BiVACOR, St. Vincent’s Hospital where the surgery was carried out, and Monash University which provided the grant funding for the development of the TAH, said that the result is a sign the artificial heart could potentially offer a long-term option for people suffering from heart failure.
BiVACOR’s founder, Australian bioengineer Daniel Timms, who invented the device, said it was “exhilarating to see decades of work come to fruition.”
“The entire BiVACOR team is deeply grateful to the patient and his family for placing their trust in our Total Artificial Heart,” he said in the statement. “Their bravery will pave the way for countless more patients to receive this lifesaving technology.”
In the United States, there are around 3,500 donor hearts made available every year for more than 4,400 people who join the waiting list.
The TAH has already been tested in an early feasibility study in search of eventual FDA approval. 5 patients received the device, CNN reports, with the first being last July, when a 58-year-old man suffering end-stage heart failure received the implant during surgery at Texas Medical Center.
The four others also received it successfully, and organizers hope to expand it to 15 patients."
-via Good News Network, March 18, 2025
being weird and full of love can save you
and it might save those around you, too
https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/12/29/the-japanese-micro-forest-method-is-transforming-cities
The Japanese ‘micro-forest’ method is transforming cities
This machine kills AI
🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️
HAPPY STAB JULIUS CAESAR DAY
🗡️🗡️🗡️
You won’t see this every day but making sure the system cannot proceed unless women have a seat at the table is the best possibly thing you can do in a place of privilege.
From the article:
“Today’s ruling by Judge (William) Alsup is an important win for National Park Service employees who were wrongfully terminated,” said Phil Francis, chair of the executive council of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks. “These probationary employees must now be reinstated immediately and can return to the important business of protecting the irreplaceable resources and stories found at over 430 units of the National Park System. We know there are more fights ahead and we are grateful for the continued dedication and passion of our NPS employees who continue to protect our parks for future generations.”
"Polish presidency of the EU Council announced breakthrough in early hours after marathon overnight talks on food waste reduction targets and measures to limit a throwaway clothing culture.
The EU has set its first ever legally binding targets for member states to cut food waste, with lawmakers agreeing on a 30% cut across retailers, restaurants, caterers and households by the end of the decade.
For food processors and manufacturers, the 2030 goal is a 10% reduction, with both targets based on the average in the three years to 2023. EU estimates suggest that over 59 million tonnes of food is shovelled into dustbins every year, representing a loss of €132 billion.
Reforms to the EU’s waste framework directive, agreed this morning [February 19, 2025] after a marathon negotiating session behind closed doors between MEPs and government delegates, also target the textiles industry.
New harmonised rules on extended producer responsibility (EPR) mean textile producers and fashion brands will have to pay a fee to help fund waste collection, sorting and recycling, based on how circular and sustainable their products are.
In a measure directly targeting ‘fast fashion’ practices such as cheap, almost disposable clothes from online platforms, EU governments are also empowered to adapt these fees based on the durability of garments.
“The rapidly growing e-commerce market brings many opportunities, but also represents a significant challenge, especially in terms of environmental protection,” the agreed text runs.
The legislation gives leeway to penalise aggressive marketing strategies that encourage clothes to be discarded before they are worn out, practices that according to the legislation are “likely resulting in an overconsumption of textile products and, consequently, an overgeneration of waste”.
Criteria that can be considered include the width of the product range offered by a retailer, and the provision or lack of a repair services and incentives.
Anti-waste campaigners welcomed EU action, but were disappointed by the level of ambition reflected in the headline targets.
“The EU and its member states committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals 10 years ago, including a 50% reduction of food waste across the entire supply chain,” said Theresa Mörsen, a policy officer at the Brussels-based NGO Zero Waste Europe...
The agreement is provisional, subject to a rubber stamp from government ministers at an EU Council summit – a procedure which is normally a formality."
-via EuroNews, February 19, 2025
Hey did you know there's a tell all book about the behind the scenes of Meta and the author is forbidden from promoting it?
The good news is however that it's already published and can't be stifled and whoever didn't sign the NDA can promote it as much as they want.
If anyone was wondering, Duolingo just got even worse.
Dudebro: "Debate me on why marginalized groups of people deserve equal rights!!! Society demands you treat me with equal courtesy despite my aggressively asshole-ish behavior and beliefs!!!"
Dudebro in the next second: "WHY ARE YOU PUNCHING ME???" 😭😭😭
Have and Have Not (2006) Crystal Schenk
Just wanted to share some shockingly good news in these difficult times. The full article is really worth reading. [Find it here]
I haven't purchased a HP item in close to a decade - I use the books I already had as doorstops or to prop a laptop up for meetings nowadays.
There is NO "death of the author" with JK Rowling - she controls and continues to profit from her IP, and uses that money to fund hate groups.
i guess i'm not as despairing as many people about the future of the planet simply because the fact that we're not in way worse shape today suggests the earth is crazy resilient
Reading anything about environmental history is like "and by 1956 the river was so full of uranium and bubonic plague that the only living organism found in it was an single amoeba which died immediately after being documented" and I'm like okay maybe today's problems aren't necessarily uniquely disastrous and unsolvable
"what's it like being a writer" um every night I'm tormented by dreams of a fake world with dragons and wizards. so like, I might be crazy idk.
i feel like this is important enough to put on here.
if you have any videos on youtube make sure this is unchecked
Always worth re-sharing this.
Just wanted to share some shockingly good news in these difficult times. The full article is really worth reading. [Find it here]
Part 8 in my weekly poster series of 2025
“what republicans really mean when they say they’re against DEI is—“
their hatred of DEI isn’t even a dogwhistle. DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. it is what it says on the tin.
republicans do not want diversity; they want hegemony where they end up on top
republicans do not want equity; they want inequality where they end up on top
republicans do not want inclusion; they want to exclude others from the country, from access to their own rights, from power; they want to push out everyone that isn’t them so that they end up on top
simple as. there’s nothing to decode.
The United States is not uniquely capable of destroying the world via environmental disasters, no matter who gets elected.
There are so many other countries and regions doing so much good. And the US has already set a lot of good things in motion, especially at the state and local levels.
I think a lot of people get their perspective skewed by the idea of American exceptionalism, honestly.
Because thinking that we're guaranteed a climate apocalypse just because of the fuckers that won the US election is also a kind of American exceptionalism - just one where the US is uniquely evil instead of uniquely good
what advice would you give to someone who just turned 20?
turn 30
These men just stole the personal information of everyone in America AND control the Treasury. Link to article.
Akash Bobba
Edward Coristine
Luke Farritor
Gautier Cole Killian
Gavin Kliger
Ethan Shaotran
Spread their names!
