Transport & Infrastructure News and Discussions

[weatheriscool]

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

Newcastle's Farrell Centre explores if we can grow houses from fungus

5 days ago



A new £4.6m architecture centre is opening with an exhibition showing how we might soon be able to grow buildings from fungus, and other innovative ways to reduce cities' environmental impact.

The Farrell Centre, set up and partly funded by architect Sir Terry Farrell, opens in Newcastle on Saturday.

Its opening exhibition sees four architecture studios offer visions for making buildings more sustainable.

They include a structure grown from mycelium, the root network of fungus.

The mycelium has been grown on a knitted canopy made from sawdust and paper waste, creating strong, light, self-repairing and fully compostable walls.

That is "completely at odds with how most buildings are built, which usually involves lots of concrete and steel and glass", said Farrell Centre director Owen Hopkins.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65346052

[Tadasuke]

Newcastle's Farrell Centre explores if we can grow houses from fungus

Morrowind anyone?

[Tadasuke]

Total railway freight traffic in the United States of America in:
● 1865 - 3.15 billion metric ton per km
● 1895 - 124 billion metric ton per km
● 1925 - 609 billion metric ton per km

Total air freight traffic in the United States of America in:
● 1935 - 0.0076 billion metric ton per km
● 1965 - 2.95 billion metric ton per km
● 1995 - 21 billion metric ton per km

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

Gas Car Sales Collapsing in China first and then in Europe
May 4, 2023 by Brian Wang
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2023/05/g ... urope.html

There were 3.4 million cars on dealer lots in February 2023 and there were about 4 million at the end of March 2023. 75% of the cars are ICE (Internal combustion engine).

Ford revealed their EV division financials for Q1 2023. Ford is taking about $110,000 to make $55,000 BEVs. Ford is losing about $50,000 to $60,000 for each electric car that they make. GM and Renault and other legacy car makers are also losing massive amounts for each electric car that they make. Ford is the second largest electric car maker by unit volume in for US sales.

The China market is about one to two years ahead of Europe in the transition to EVs and about three to four years ahead of the United States. The US needs large volumes of big electric pickups and large electric SUVs. Japanese car makers make almost no BEVs. Japanese car makers have already lost over 30% of their car sales in China. All legacy car makers of gasoline cars will lost another 20% of their China sales in the remainder of 2023. China ICE sales will be halved again in 2024.

[Time_Traveller]

[wjfox]

[Powers]

What about motorbikes?

[Nanotechandmorefuture]

Newcastle's Farrell Centre explores if we can grow houses from fungus

Morrowind anyone?

Idk about that being cool y'all can try it out. The Telvanni were not appealing due to how they behaved which ranged from passive aggressive to outright hostility. The only thing they had was the magic powers to keep you safe from pretty much everything. Besides that I believe they were correctly placed in the worst area to have a base in.

House Hlaalu of Crassius Curio the nobleman you get naked for man or woman fame is the better option. While the Imperials may be a little underpowered compared to everyone else they are the most pleasant to be around and their base is nicer by Sedya Neen.

Gamer convo aside pass lol maybe others can try it out if they want to.

[wjfox]

The New Longest Flight in the World Is 20 Hours

By Bailey Berg
• May 10, 2023

In 20 hours, you could bicycle the entire 200 miles from Baltimore, Maryland, to New York City (and maybe even have a couple hours to spare). You could watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy back to back. Or you could take the world’s longest flight.

Starting in late 2025, Australian flag carrier Qantas Airways will launch the world’s longest nonstop route from Australia’s Sydney Airport to London’s Heathrow Airport, an effort Qantas has dubbed Project Sunrise. The flight route will cover 10,576 miles and will take so long that passengers can see two sunrises while onboard (it will be crossing time zones in a way that allows for a double sunrise).

The flights will take place on Airbus A350-1000s, the airline industry’s largest wide-body aircraft. Though that aircraft model typically accommodates between 350 and 410 passengers, the Project Sunrise planes will only have 238 seats, including 6 first-class suites, 52 business-class suites, 40 premium economy seats (in a two-four-two configuration), and 140 economy seats (in a three-three-three configuration). All passengers will also be able to access an onboard “Wellbeing Zone, ” which, according to Qantas, will be a dedicated space for movement with a self-service snack bar. There’s no word yet about how much Qantas will charge per ticket or what the in-flight service will look like.

John Grant, a partner with aviation consulting group MIDAS Aviation, told AFAR that the technology to operate super-long-haul flights has been here for a few years. The issue of implementing it has been more about waiting for aircraft deliveries and proving the concept will sell, which Qantas has been doing with its Perth, Australia, to London service for the past few years.

“The route has to be operated with fewer seats than what would be the normal configuration, which reduces the weight of the aircraft and extends the range,” Grant said. “But for that to happen and for the service to operate profitably, there needs to be confidence that Qantas can fill those seats with premium traffic. The response from the Perth service has proven that the demand is there, so moving forward on the Sydney route makes sense.”

Read more: https://www.afar.com/magazine/qantas-ab ... t-20-hours

[caltrek]

Railway Safety Act Under Consideration
by Paula Pecorella and Andrew Rivera
May 12 , 2023

Introduction:

(More Perfect Union) An unlikely coalition of Republicans and Democrats are taking on railroad companies’ greed.

Recently, following a disastrous crash in East Palestine, OH, there has been increased attention on railroad safety — or lack thereof. Workers have been sounding the alarm to warn that major rail companies have been running barebones crews and neglecting safety in order to rake in record profits.

Senators JD Vance (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) are leading an effort to protect communities like East Palestine. They introduced a bill, the Railway Safety Act, that would ban 1-person crews, mandate new safety technology, and increase fines that railroads could pay for safety violations by 10,000%.

They face an uphill battle to get their bill passed. Railroad companies spent $25 million last year to buy off Congress and protect their bottom line. Over the past four years, they spent $100 million on lobbying. Now the industry’s corrupt investments will be put to the test.

Read more here: https://perfectunion.us/

[wjfox]

New York City is sinking due to its million-plus buildings, study says

By Jacopo Prisco, CNN
Updated 12:16 PM EDT, Tue May 23, 2023

New York City is sinking under the collective weight of all of its buildings, a new study has found.

This gradual process could spell trouble for a city around which the sea level has been rising more than twice as fast as the global rate — and is projected to rise between 8 inches and 30 inches by 2050.

[...]

The researchers calculated the mass of the 1,084,954 buildings that existed across the five boroughs of New York City at the time, reaching the conclusion that they weighed about 1.68 trillion pounds (762 billion kilograms) — equivalent to roughly 1.9 million fully loaded Boeing 747-400s.

The study team then used simulations to calculate the effects of that weight on the ground, comparing that with satellite data showing actual surface geology. That analysis revealed the rate at which the city is sinking: “The average is about 1 to 2 millimeters a year, with some areas of greater subsidence that are up to about 4½ millimeters a year,” Parsons said.

Subsidence is the technical term for the sinking or settling of Earth’s surface due to natural or artificial causes. A September 2022 study found that 44 of the 48 most populous coastal cities have areas that are sinking faster than sea levels are rising. This latest study’s novel approach is to take into account specifically the weight of New York City’s buildings and how they are contributing to the subsidence of the land beneath them.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/23/worl ... index.html

[weatheriscool]

[Time_Traveller]

New York City is sinking due to its million-plus buildings, study says

By Jacopo Prisco, CNN
Updated 12:16 PM EDT, Tue May 23, 2023

New York City is sinking under the collective weight of all of its buildings, a new study has found.

This gradual process could spell trouble for a city around which the sea level has been rising more than twice as fast as the global rate — and is projected to rise between 8 inches and 30 inches by 2050.

[...]

The researchers calculated the mass of the 1,084,954 buildings that existed across the five boroughs of New York City at the time, reaching the conclusion that they weighed about 1.68 trillion pounds (762 billion kilograms) — equivalent to roughly 1.9 million fully loaded Boeing 747-400s.

The study team then used simulations to calculate the effects of that weight on the ground, comparing that with satellite data showing actual surface geology. That analysis revealed the rate at which the city is sinking: “The average is about 1 to 2 millimeters a year, with some areas of greater subsidence that are up to about 4½ millimeters a year,” Parsons said.

Subsidence is the technical term for the sinking or settling of Earth’s surface due to natural or artificial causes. A September 2022 study found that 44 of the 48 most populous coastal cities have areas that are sinking faster than sea levels are rising. This latest study’s novel approach is to take into account specifically the weight of New York City’s buildings and how they are contributing to the subsidence of the land beneath them.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/23/worl ... index.html

Could there be a possible ban on highrise buildings in New York or will they find a way in fixing the subsidence problem in the years to come.

[wjfox]

Could there be a possible ban on highrise buildings in New York or will they find a way in fixing the subsidence problem in the years to come.

I doubt they'll ban tall buildings, but they might have to update their building regulations, e.g. using lighter materials and/or stronger foundations in all new buildings, and possibly retrofitting the older ones. And if certain parts of the city are sinking faster than others, perhaps these areas could be rezoned for low-rise. Land reclamation could also raise the city's elevation, although this would be expensive.

[wjfox]

The future of travel: 10 concepts that will change the way we experience the world

Published 11:09 PM EDT, Mon June 19, 2023

Travel has come a long way since the age of Silk Road caravans, daunting sea voyages and steam locomotives -– and will continue to transform in years to come.

Concepts that feel plucked from sci-fi novels and films are quickly making their way into mainstream travel, shaping every step of the journey.

Sooner rather than later, we could be piloting passenger drones around Singapore or rocketing into Earth’s orbit to admire the world from the edge of space.

From autonomous taxis to passenger drones, biometric immigration tunnels, instant translation and hotels, here’s a peek at what’s coming down the runway.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/future-o ... index.html

[wjfox]

[wjfox]