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Michael d'Estries

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Ithaca
As seen in: Tree Hugger, MSN, Yahoo Life, Business Insider, Yahoo News Malaysia, Yahoo Singapore, Aol, Flipboard, Yahoo, Travel + Leisure, Yahoo Style Singapore and
Covers:  sustainability, renewable energy, arts and culture, space, research and innovation, science, history and technology
Writer, left-handed. Go Bills.
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The Dawn of the Electric Highway

The Dawn of the Electric Highway

www.ecomagination.com — To better understand the present, sometimes one must turn to the past. For those interested in the evolution of the electric car industry, it's useful to turn the dial back over one hundred years to the dawn of the automobile. In 1900, there were 20 million horses and only 4,000 cars in the United States. Urban planners were desperately attempting to deal with the dire issue of "horse pollution"; mainly defined by worsening manure and urine on city streets. If you wanted to fill up, you drove to your local general store or kerosene refinery with a bucket.
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California is generating so much solar energy, it's paying other states to take it

California is generating so much solar energy, it's paying other states to take it

Mother Nature Network — The Golden State may want to consider changing its nickname to the Solar State. According to a recent expose in the Los Angeles Times, California's solar boom is growing so fast and with such intensity that utility regulators are frequently paying neighboring states to absorb surplus production.
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Guide to Saltwater Rods, Reels & Accessories

Guide to Saltwater Rods, Reels & Accessories

Academy.com — Ready to jump into the exciting sport of fishing? Our guide will have you on the water and reeling in your first catch in no time. (Third-party contract to create a guide on fishing rods, reels, and other accessories.)
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Which budget-friendly 4K drone is right for you?

Which budget-friendly 4K drone is right for you?

Mother Nature Network — It's been well over a year since I first reviewed DJI Phantom 2 Vision+, an aerial drone that served as my introduction to this exciting, nerve-wracking, always-evolving industry. Since then, a flurry of new and improved models have debuted from both DJI and up-and-coming competitors, such as Yuneec and 3DR. Both DJI and Yuneec were kind enough to send me review units to try for the purpose of this comparison.
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Operation Sustainability: U.S. Military Sets Ambitious Environmental Goals

Operation Sustainability: U.S. Military Sets Ambitious Environmental Goals

www.ecomagination.com — With personnel nearly the population of Chicago and a fleet of over 500,000 aircrafts, vessels, and vehicles, the U.S. Department of Defense is a massive and energy-hungry institution. In 2009 alone, the military consumed some 375,000 barrels of oil per day, more than three-quarters of all other countries on the planet. To put that in perspective, Nigeria-with a population of more than 140 million-consumes about the same amount. During the decades of cheap fuel and easy access, feeding this complex system spread over 820 global installations was of little concern. In today's economic climate, however, the Department of Defense (DoD) has had to adapt its energy strategy.
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How desalination will ease California's drought woes

How desalination will ease California's drought woes

fromthegrapevine.com — The Golden State looks to the sea for a stable source of clean water. As California's historic drought enters its fourth year, officials are searching for solutions to help ease the transition to what Gov. Jerry Brown described earlier this month as "the new normal."
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New Zealand's '8th Wonder of the World' rediscovered

New Zealand's '8th Wonder of the World' rediscovered

Mother Nature Network — Were they still around today, the Pink and White Terraces of New Zealand would likely share court with such natural attractions as the Grand Canyon, Great Barrier Reef and Victoria Falls. These two stunning geological formations, formed over thousands of years, were regarded by many as the eighth wonder of the world, inspiring tourists in the 19th century to make extraordinary journeys to witness their beauty.
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A glowing invasion of 'fire bodies' is underway in the Pacific

A glowing invasion of 'fire bodies' is underway in the Pacific

Mother Nature Network — Bizarre, gelatinous, and glowing jellyfish-like organisms known as a pyrosomes are showing up in massive numbers never before recorded off the U.S. West Coast. And marine scientists are completely stumped as to why. "It's really weird," Jennifer Fisher, a faculty research assistant with Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center, told National Geographic.
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How will the Great American Eclipse affect the solar industry?

How will the Great American Eclipse affect the solar industry?

Mother Nature Network — A map showing how the Great American Eclipse will appear from different points in the United States. (Photo: NASA) When the Great American Eclipse passes over the United States on Aug. 21, it will bring with it a major test for the modern utility grid.
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Iceland and Hollywood: An unfolding love story

Iceland and Hollywood: An unfolding love story

Mother Nature Network — There's an urban legend about Iceland that explains how the island nation - composed of dramatic landscapes that are fiery, icy, and green - received its name as a sort of marketing ploy to discourage early immigration. Why move to Iceland when there's another island more comfortably called "Greenland" (composed of 85 percent ice, no less) just a short jaunt away?
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The true story of a legendary coyote is coming to Hollywood

The true story of a legendary coyote is coming to Hollywood

Mother Nature Network — Of all the wild animals to come under the sweeping hand of mankind, few have managed to weather the storm of encroachment as well as the versatile coyote. Once relegated to Americana tableaus of the Wild West, coyote populations today span a majority of regions from northern Alaska to Panama in Central America.
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Big in Japan: High-Speed Magnetic Levitation Trains

Big in Japan: High-Speed Magnetic Levitation Trains

www.ecomagination.com — If you had the power to travel over 300 miles in less time than it takes to watch the nightly news, without using a single tank of gas, how would that change your life? Would it be easier to maintain business relationships or stay connected with loved ones? Japanese citizens are about to find out. After decades of research and development, delays, and financial hand-wringing, Japan has finally given the green light for construction of a high-speed magnetic levitation line connecting the cities of Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka.
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This beautiful tidal road is Britain's deadliest

This beautiful tidal road is Britain's deadliest

Mother Nature Network — For anyone who enjoys wandering out onto coastal flats during low-tide to explore the terrain, Britain's Broomway has all the appearances of the perfect gateway. The tidal foot path, so-named for the hundreds of broomsticks that once marked its boundaries, has for nearly 600 years provided access from Essex, England to the farming communities of nearby Foulness Island. The Broomway, however, is more dangerous than its name implies.
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Jezero Crater will host NASA's next Mars rover

Jezero Crater will host NASA's next Mars rover

Mother Nature Network — After years of meetings and countless hours spent scouring surface images of Mars, NASA has finally picked the landing site for its next $2.1 billion robotic mission to the red planet.
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From deadly hailstorm, Skeleton Lake was born

From deadly hailstorm, Skeleton Lake was born

Mother Nature Network — About 1,200 years ago, high in an uninhabited region of the Himalayan mountains of India, there was a pilgrimage of men, women and children. While the group's origin and destination remain a mystery, their final resting place is anything but a secret.
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NASA's 'Mars Helicopter' aces tests ahead of historic flight

NASA's 'Mars Helicopter' aces tests ahead of historic flight

Mother Nature Network — NASA's Mars Helicopter has earned a ticket to the red planet. The space agency last week announced that the diminutive aircraft, in development since 2014, earlier this year aced a series of rigorous flight tests under conditions mimicking the Martian atmosphere. The successful proof-of-concept was met with thumbs-up, smiles, and hugs from the team behind the four-pound, solar-powered copter.
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Amelia Earhart's final SOS calls detail her haunting last days

Amelia Earhart's final SOS calls detail her haunting last days

Mother Nature Network — During a summer afternoon in July 1937, 15-year-old Betty Klenck was sitting on the floor of her home in St. Petersburg, Florida, when something occurred that would stay with her the rest of her life.
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What I learned from test-driving an aerial drone

What I learned from test-driving an aerial drone

Mother Nature Network — DJI, a commercial and recreational manufacturer of unpiloted aerial vehicles (UAVs), was kind enough to send me its Phantom 2 Vision+ for testing. The all-white quadcopter features a camera and gimbal system capable of 14 megapixel shots and 1080p HD video. When I received it, I literally felt like a kid at Christmas — albeit with the hesitation of a 36-year-old who understands he’s about to send a $1,300 camera into the sky.
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