NTNU in Norway was given the task of creating a model for a new water turbine. At the end they were given the model for studies, but not all the parts. They came up with the idea that it might be possible to screw the parts together instead of having it all in one part.

The design (which is patented) worked very well. It also solved another problem which is to make the turbines withstand erosion from particles in water. In the monsoon the rivers fill with sand particles and they will destroy the turbines.

By having the turbine in parts, they could cover them with a 0.3mm layer of tungsten carbide. SN Power have turbines that are installed in Peru and they had to change the turbines every three months during the monsoon. They tested the turbines from NTNU and they were hardly affected by the particles at all.

The commercialization of the new turbine design is now handled through the company DynaVec AS outside of Trondheim in Norway.

SINTEF has tested a new technology that is a "bubble curtain" that can stop oil spill from spreading.

How it function is very simple. It is a square that is twelve meter long and 1.5 meter wide and it has hoses that let out compressed air. It was lowered down to about 2 meters and the air bubbles will press the oil back.

The test showed that it can hold the oil spill back in streams that are up to 70 centimeters/second. Oil barriers on the market can handle streams up to 40-50 cm/second. They estimate that by increasing the compressors, they can handle even stronger streams.

Another big plus is that boats can pass through which is not possible with current equipment. For those that want to buy it, you have to wait a little longer. They are now working on making it into a commercial system.

After China decided to reduce their export of rare metals in 2010, many became concerned as there is a big need for these metals in the industry. An example is that the price of ceriumokside increased in price from $4,70 per kilo til $36/kilo.

SINTEF IKT and the company Titech is developing new xray machines that will make it possible to reuse these metals from scrap. Metals like ceriumoksid, gold, copper, silver, arsen (LED monitors etc) and others are valuable and will be the most interesting in the first place.

Maybe the next "gold-mine" will be to go through the waste deposits with these machines?

Scientists from Delaware State University, USA said at a meeting in the American Chemical Society (spring 2008) that they have looked into studies from old farming sites in Amazonas. These sites are considered the most fertile in the world and they have found that the reason they are so fertile is because they have been mixed with charcoal made from bark, bones and other biological sources. The terms used are "terra preta" and "black gold agriculture".

To create charcoal from biological sources you need a metal container and burn it within there. It will also bind CO2 and in that way help our atmosphere. It is also proven that burning will affect how much rain is falling over that area.

The soil get very fertile when mixing in the charcoal and can change soil that is fatigued to be the most valuable. It is more effective than using compost and any fertilizers and it is not broken down as fast. It can last for hundreds of years (maybe thousands). The coal also make the soil more airy and let it take up more water.

Just think about what can be done in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, or your own back yard! However, I do recommend that you let the trees be there so that they can produce more leaves and branches! Just take what have fallen on the ground or dead branches from the trees.

When I was a kid I was always told that sugar made holes in my teeth. Now it appears that it is protecting the wood from getting holes.

I had to check this out and it seems that the company, Wood Polymer Technologies ASA, has made a product from sugar cane and corncobs that is stable and is working great. The product is environmentally friendly and is not poisonous as many of the existing products used today. Most of the green wood we buy today has to be handled as highly poisonous material because of the toxins. The ash from burning green wood can be deadly if it is eaten.

The good news is also that existing plants that today are protecting wood using chemicals can easily change to this new technology. I say that if this is true, we can go into a time where one industry can go "green"!

If you are interested in finding out more, go to their web site http://www.wpt.no. They have great information in English.

I must say that I really like to see that people look at nature in order to find new and better solutions. In this case it can help us all to get a lot more out of our energy resources as well. 20% of all energy today is used for pumping liquid. This pump is using 30% of the energy a normal pump.

Typical use for a pump like this is to pump water, oil or being used in medical equipments. Oil reservoir spesialists believe that this pump can get out almost twice as much oil from a reservoir than traditional pumping systems. That could probably solve a lot of our anxiety about oil reservs today, but we have to change our attitude about energy anyway.

He used 12 years to develop this antenna and to find the right material to use. They have now tested the antenna in tunnels and under water and it is working well. The Norwegian helicopter rescue service, the Danish rescue service and Royal Navy are all among the users of this antenna.

Fred Olsen is a man with visions for the future and he is becoming more and more concerned about Mother Earths health. Based on this concern he has started to look into how we can continue to live on this planet responsibly. One of his ways of doing this is to look into different renewable energy sources.