As you probably know already, today (Thursday, April 22) is Earth Day, which means it’s time to celebrate the achievements of environmental engineers everywhere.  So here’s a collection of news items highlighting the efforts of engineers to improve the state of our home planet. For more information about Earth Day events in your area, check the official Earth Day Network site.

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Filed under: Aerospace, Agricultural, Chemical, Computer, Electrical, Environmental, Ocean, e-News | Comment »

Tags: Aerospace, Agricultural, Competitions for Students, Computer, Energy, Environmental, Ocean, Volcanoes

When it comes to helping the global community recover from natural disasters, engineers are at a distinct advantage. Not only can they build survivor-seeking robots and provide food and clean water for those affected, but they also have the ability to analyze the aftermath of a storm or a quake and help communities be better prepared for such events. Engineering students and professionals across the country are now using their skills to help rebuild the countries of Haiti and Chile after their recent devastating earthquakes.

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Filed under: Agricultural, Architectural, e-News | Comment »

Tags: Agricultural, Architectural, Giving Back

These days, living inside a bubble is beginning to look more and more attractive. South Korea is planning to construct a series of giant eco domes that mimic the world’s ecosystems while providing a place for scientists and regular citizens to study the environment.

We’ve written about smog-eating cement and vertical farms, but now, green buildings may have the ability to recreate entire ecological environments. Designed by SAMOO Architects and Engineers, the Ecorium Project spans 33,000 square meters and will feature an education center, a wild plant area, a wetland reserve, an environmentally-focused think tank, and a large system of interconnected greenhouses.

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Filed under: Agricultural, Architectural, Environmental, e-News | 1 Comment »

Tags: Agricultural, Architectural, Environmental

The future may look greener for New York City: Belgian firm Vincent Callebaut Architectures has designed a winged vertical farm for Roosevelt Island in NYC, called the Dragonfly. This funky, wind and solar-powered structure would stand over 600 meters (close to 2,000 feet) and house the equivalent of 28 agricultural fields. Read more here.

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Tags: Agricultural, Architectural, Environmental

With 2010 fast approaching, it’s about time we came up with some New Year’s resolutions (for the engineering world, of course). What can engineers improve on? What should they improve on? Here’s our list:

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Filed under: Agricultural, Architectural, Electrical, Mechanical, e-News | 5 Comments »

Tags: Fun Stuff, Green Technology

SMOS over Earth – via ESA

As anyone who’s been caught in a sudden rainstorm can attest that predicting the weather can be dodgy business. Global warming has produced more erratic weather patterns, making this task even more difficult. Recent large-scale natural disasters, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, highlight the need for better climate-monitoring systems.

Fortunately, this past month the European Space Agency launched the Soil Moisture and Salinity (SMOS) probe, a $460 million satellite that promises to help predict floods and droughts across the globe.

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Filed under: Aerospace, Agricultural, Environmental, Mining, e-News | 3 Comments »

Tags: Aerospace, Agricultural, Environmental, Mining

In a timely update to our last featured story, Where’s the Turkey, Dutch scientists have reportedly succeeded in growing pork in a lab for the first time. [PopSci]

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Filed under: Agricultural, Biomedical, e-News | Comment »

Tags: Agricultural, Biomedical