Zinc based flow batteries for medium and large scale energy storage

With blistering summer temperature around much of Europe, it may be hard to convince people to think about heat pumps . But a push for more renewable energy plus the ongoing war in Ukraine and the curtailing of Russian gas and oil means there has hardly been a more pressing time. A heat pump is a system that moves around thermal energy. There are a number of different types of devices based on what they use, including exhaust air, ground and water. Ground-source heat pump equipment taps into the nearly constant temperature below the soil's surface. These geothermal heat pumps draw heat into a building in winter and remove warm air in summer, acting like an air-conditioner. This type of system uses a network of water-filled pipes that are either laid horizontally a few feet underground or pipes drilled vertically much deeper into the Earth's core. Advocates say the systems can be used nearly anywhere and are cheaper to run than other heating and air-conditioning systems like … [Read more...] about Can heat pumps be the answer to higher energy costs?

By Hannah Richardson & Tom Oakley Published 1 hour ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing A "£20m" painting claimed to be the most valuable in Leicester's public should not be hidden in storage, a councillor said. Lying Figure No1 by Francis Bacon used to be on display at the Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, but it is not currently on show. Nigel Porter, Liberal Democrat councillor, questioned why such a work was "sitting in a basement". The council blamed limits on space and said it would eventually reappear. "I think a lot of people would like to see it," said Mr Porter at a scrutiny meeting. "It's a very valuable, very important painting and I'm sure a lot of people would visit Leicester just to come and look at it. It must be the most valuable painting we have got in the museum. "Rather than having this £20m painting stuck in some basement, what … [Read more...] about ‘£20m’ painting owned by Leicester council being kept in storage

Restitution activist Njobati Sylvie could not hide her joy when Germany's Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation announced that a statue of Ngonnso would be returned to Cameroon. Ngonnso is a mother deity of the Nso people in northwestern Cameroon. A statue of her was taken by Kurt von Pavel, a German colonial officer in Cameroon, who subsequently donated her to Berlin's Ethnological Museum in 1903. "I feel super elated, it has been a journey that has culminated to a win for the Nso community, Cameroon and by and large the entire African continent," Njobati told DW. Ngonnso has a central role for the Nso as she is considered a mother deity The restitution journey Njobati started the Twitter campaign #BringBackNgonnso in 2020, which played a large part in raising awareness for the restitution cause. But her activism actually started before that — when she decided to reconnect with her Nso heritage and trace her roots. Njobati grew up in Cameroon's Anglophone region … [Read more...] about Cameroonian activist pushed for restitution of deity

Nashville: Shocking aftermath of explosion in Downtown Sign up for our news briefing, including a daily special Russia-Ukraine edition SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Mr Cooper approved Executive Order 12 to impose a state of civil emergency in downtown Nashwille with a curfew starting at 4.30pm, December 25. The curfew will be lifted on sunday, December 27, at 4.30pm with Metro resources summoned to provide relief support. Trending Chief of Police John Drake said "we have found tissue" that "could be" human remains near the site where an explosion went off earlier today, according to AP news agency. Authorities believe the blast was "an intentional act". Three people have been hospitalised, but none of … [Read more...] about Nashville explosion: Mayor implements ‘state of civil emergency’ and curfew

How many of us have tried to improve our diet only to throw in the towel just days or weeks down the line? There are so many tips out there about what foods to eat - and which to avoid - it can be mind-bogglingly difficult to find out what works the best for you. As such it can all become rather overwhelming, but thankfully help is at hand. Before putting things right with your diet, it's vital look at what's wrong with it. Here, nutrition expert Lauryn Lax at BreakingMuscle.com outlines the main reasons why your diet isn’t working - and how to fix it. Want to get the latest health news direct to your inbox? Sign up for the Mirror Health newsletter HERE A great addition to your diet - avocados are rich in potassium, fibre and vitamins B, E and C ( Image: Getty Images) You’re not eating enough fat Diets that exclude or drastically limit fat tend to replace all those missing calories with carbohydrates, which sets you up to ride the blood sugar … [Read more...] about Nutrition expert explains why your diet isn’t working from stress to not chewing

The world is currently witnessing biodiversity loss at a rate and scale unprecedented in human history. Over 1 million species are at risk of extinction. Many are disappearing before we have had a chance to discover them. Climate change, pollution and disappearing habitats are among the forces that have pushed nature toward a cliff edge. The situation is so severe that scientists say we are facing the " sixth mass die-off " ⁠— the scale of which has not been seen since the dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago. Yet 2022 presents a window of opportunity, with the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Canada set to bring together world leaders to discuss a road map to deal with the crisis in nature. In our latest Global Ideas web special we take a deep dive into why protecting biodiversity is so critical, and what the concrete and effective solutions are to tackling the problem. 'Biodiversity loss is the greatest threat to humanity' What impact does … [Read more...] about Nature in crisis: How can we prevent biodiversity loss?

Parents have resorted to dipping into their children ’s savings to afford to pay for the soaring cost of household bills , a poll has found. According to a survey for The Telegraph , Britons are lifting £8.5m a day from their children as the sprialling rate of inflation - which recently hit a 40-year high - continues to top up already sky-high domestic costs. The poll revealed that families had withdrawn almost £300 on average from their children’s savings so far this year. It found a third of the 2,000 people questioned had raided their children’s funds this year and suggested a total of £1.4bn has been withdrawn so far. Almost a quarter said they had extracted the funds to pay for increasingly expensive food shops, one in four said they had done so to help pay for exorbitant energy bills, while 6 per cent said they used their children’s savings to pay for travel. More than a quarter said they had either reduced the amount they were keeping aside for … [Read more...] about Parents dipping into children’s savings to pay soaring bills, poll finds

Hospitals across Britain face rises in power bills running into millions of pounds as the spiralling cost of living crisis hits NHS trusts. As household fuel bills climb to unprecedented levels, the health service also faces soaring charges as a result of the escalating cost pressures. A survey of NHS trusts across England and Scotland shows they are facing rises of up to £29 million in the three financial years to date. Sharp rises in energy costs caused by factors including the end of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine are also hitting the NHS, figures obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests by Metro.co.uk show. In Nottingham, costs for gas, electricity and oil combined rose from £8.8 million in 2020 and 2021 to £15.8 the following year. The budget, and therefore forecast, for the current financial year is £37.9 million. At St George’s Trust in London , which runs one of the largest hospitals in the UK, the bill for gas and electricity is due … [Read more...] about Soaring fuel bills add to ‘dire’ cost pressures facing NHS

When Bryce Stewart dived after the toothed, steel-weighted nets of a scallop dredger rumbling over the bottom of the Irish Sea 22 years ago, he witnessed destruction he could never have seen from a boat. "Half crabs. Smashed up sea urchins. Starfish missing some of their arms," said Stewart, a marine ecologist at the University of York. "There was literally a trail of dead and dying things on the seabed." Bottom trawling — a powerful practice in which heavy nets are dragged along the floor of the ocean to catch fish and seafood — is one of the most harmful ways to feed the world. It destroys ecosystems and sweeps up unwanted marine life that gets thrown overboard. From 1950 to 2014, bottom trawlers discarded $560 billion of bycatch, which was more than the value of all catches from longline fishers over the same period. Metal bars and toothed nets wreak havoc on ocean ecosystems Now scientists fear another environmental disaster bubbling under the surface: climate … [Read more...] about How bottom trawling hurts ocean life and speeds up climate change

Some 700,000 Ukrainian soldiers are now actively participating in defending the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a televised interview on Saturday. In comparison, Russia deployed anywhere between 100,000 to 190,000 troops when it launched its invasion on 24 February, with the exact numbers of currently active units unclear. Meanwhile, the Moscow forces continued their assault in the east after claiming victory in Mariupol on Friday as the last Ukrainian defenders holed up in Azovstal laid down their arms. Read more about the day's developments in our live blog below. 05.21.2022 10:03 Saturday's key points: Russia suspended its gas delivery to Finland on Saturday morning in response to the country's NATO membership bid. The Russian military says it has fully taken over the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol after the last Ukrainian fighters gave themselves up. Earlier, Moscow said more than 1,900 Ukrainian fighters … [Read more...] about 700,000 soldiers defending Ukraine now, Zelenskyy says, as battles rage in the Donbas