Sir Richard Branson and Al Gore are setting up a new Global science and technology prize – The Virgin Earth Challenge – in the belief that history has shown that prizes of this nature encourage technological advancements for the good of mankind. The Virgin Earth Challenge will award $25 million to the individual or group who are able to demonstrate a commercially viable design which will result in the net removal of anthropogenic, atmospheric greenhouse gases each year for at least ten years without countervailing harmful effects. This removal must have long term effects and contribute materially to the stability of the Earth’s climate.
Sir Richard also announced that he would be joined in the adjudication of the Prize by a panel of five judges - all world authorities in their respective fields: Al Gore, Sir Crispin Tickell, Tim Flannery, Jim Hansen and James Lovelock. The panel of judges will be assisted in their deliberations by The Climate Group and Special Advisor to The Virgin Earth Prize Judges, Steve Howard (see Editors notes for biographies).
The timing of the announcement of the Virgin Earth Challenge was particularly apt given the recent findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes, which last week announced that temperatures on earth could increase by as much as 6.4C by the end of this Century.
The report, the most comprehensive to date from a UN Agency detailed the catastrophe results which even seemingly small temperature raises could have on our planet: at + 2.4C coral reefs around the world would become extinct; + 3.4C would result in the rain forests becoming deserts; an increase of + 4.4C would result in the ice caps melting and severe heat waves across the globe displacing millions; the IPCC further predicted that sea levels could rise by 5 metres if temperatures reached + 5.4C which would result in ten of millions of climate refugees.
For the first time ever a 6.4C raise was mentioned within UN predictions. If this were to occur it would result in most of life on our planet being exterminated.
The Virgin Earth Challenge will initially be open for five years; the judges will meet annually to determine whether a design has been submitted during the previous year that in their view should win the prize and, if so, they may award the prize without waiting for the five year period to elapse. If no winner has been selected at the end of five years, the judges may decide to roll the prize forward for a further period on the same.
The creation of the Virgin Earth Prize is one of a number of initiatives including investment in renewable energy research, development and production as part of Virgin Group's "Gaia Capitalism" project and 3 billion dollar Clinton Initiative pledge of September 2006.
Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, have created a new high-performance mirror that could dramatically improve the design and efficiency of the next generation of devices relying upon laser optics, including high-definition DVD players, computer circuits and laser printers.
The new mirror packs the same 99.9 percent reflective punch as current high-grade mirrors, called distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs), but it does so in a package that is at least 20 times thinner, functional in a considerably wider spectrum of light frequencies, and easier to manufacture. All these characteristics present critical advantages for today's ever smaller integrated optical devices.
Every day we plan numerous actions, such as to return a book to a friend or to make an appointment. How and where the brain stores these intentions has been revealed by John-Dylan Haynes from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, in cooperation with researchers from London and Tokyo. For the first time they were able to "read" participants’ intentions out of their brain activity. This was made possible by a new combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging and sophisticated computer algorithms (Current Biology, 20th February 2007, online: 8th February).
Honda Aircraft Company, Inc., plans to establish its world headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina, with construction of a new 215,000 square foot headquarters facility and hangar at Piedmont Triad International (PTI) airport. The company also confirmed plans to manufacture its advanced light jet, HondaJet, at a new plant to be constructed adjacent to its new headquarters. Further details about the production facility, including the size, scope of operations and construction timetable, will be announced at a later date. Honda plans to begin delivery of HondaJet to customers in 2010.
The U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology held the first Congressional conversation with climate scientists who authored that 2007 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report released last weekend in Paris (2/2/07).
The report, entitled Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis of Climate Change, prepared by Working Group I of (IPCC), has been widely acknowledged as a comprehensive appraisal of the current state of scientific knowledge of climate change. Over 400 other scientists served as contributing authors. In total, the Working Group One assessment received over 30,000 comments, testified Dr. Susan Solomon, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group I.