Noting that the word "computer" is disappearing from technologists' vocabularies, science fiction author and futurist Bruce Sterling believes that as the Internet subsumes computing, we are truly on the path toward a highly embedded wireless network in which nearly everything is a node:

In 2007 the computer gave up taking over the world. Instead the world took over the computer. The Internet became a wholly owned subset of Reality 2.0. When the actual world invades the virtual world, it scatters the computer into tiny physical pieces, some no bigger than dust. “Intelligent printing,” another modern darling, is semiconductor ink sprayed on cardboard. There’s never been a humbler, cheaper “computer.”

Sterling envisions a world in which the chips that drive it are powered by tiny amounts of ambient energy -- nearly any form of heat or light will do. Such chips would have such low power requirements that they wouldn't need a dedicated power source, and would use up hardly any natural resources.

Source: Futurismic

If news websites can allow users to subscribe to certain news categories, will TV news be able to do the same thing someday? Dave Winer of Scripting News muses on the possibilities, including the ability to block out categories in which the user has no interest. He even provides a mockup of an interface.

If the internal combustion engine is the technology environmentalists love to hate, the electric car is the technology everyone else hates to love. Electrics have long had the reputation for being underpowered, inefficient, and no more eco-friendly than any other type of car, as the electricity needed to run them normally comes from fossil fuels.

Enter Tesla Motors, a California-based startup that has developed the Tesla Roadster, a stylish, high-performance electric car that can reportedly go from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds and travel up to 250 miles between charges. The Roadster is still in the prototype stage, but just as important as the car itself is the way that Tesla proposes to fuel it. Tesla envisions a distributed network of charging stations that draw power from sustainable, environmentally friendly sources.

Source: Long Tail

A clinical trial involving patients with type 1 diabetes (aka: juvenile diabetes) and stem cell therapy has shown that treatment with stem cells can help such patients produce their own insulin.

The stem cells, created from the patients' own blood, proved effective in 13 of 15 subjects in the trial, who no longer need daily insulin injections. However, more studies are needed to verify the findings and learn more about exactly how the therapy works. Experts believe that a widely-available stem cell treatment for type 1 diabetes is at least five years away. The research, furthermore, does not address type 2 diabetes.

The findings were published in the most recent edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Source: London Times

Ever dreamed of having your own mobile phone network? If so, Sonopia offers customizable, "virtual" mobile networks for small businesses and nonprofit groups. Partnering with Verizon, Sonopia has offered networks to churches, rock bands, sports teams, and the National Wildlife Fund. Nonprofits can offers as an incentive to prospective customers a donation of profits to charitable causes.

Sonopia charges no setup fees, so even the smallest groups -- and even individuals -- can establish their own mobile networks.

Source: Springwise

Live Science has ranked the top ten emerging environmental technologies in a slide show format. Among the top-rated concepts (not all of which are new) that have the promise to reduce waste, conserve energy and protect natural resources are electronic paper, decontaminating microbes, and energy from waves and ocean temperature.

In trying to analyze future threats to Britain's armed forces, the UK Ministry of Defence has created a chilling future scenario of global instability and devastating weapons.

Taking into account familiar threats such as global warming and the growing population in political "hot spots" such as the Middle East, the study also notes threats such as:

• Self-directed weapons that need little or no human control
• Implanatable information chips wired directly to the brain
• "Flashmobs" that could be mobilized instantly by criminal or terrorist groups
• A revival of Marxism and other radical political movements
• The continued growth of militant Islam

Much of this instability will be driven by declining resources coupled with increasing numbers of people living in cities.

Source: Guardian

Mark your calendar for Saturday, June 11 -- that's the date that Cingular has announced that it will begin selling Apple's long-anticipated iPhone. That date is also the first day of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.

Source: Crave

Chinese scientists have reportedly been able to control a pigeon's flight remotely through electrodes that stimulated different parts of the bird's brain. Scientists at the Robot Engineering Technology Research Center at Shandong University were able to send the pigeon commands to fly left, right, up and down. It is reportedly the first such successful experiment in the world, and could have important implications for neurology and even remote mind control.

Source: MSNBC

Sounds icky, but it's true -- the FDA has approved a polymer suture made from modified bacteria using recombinant DNA technology.

The material in Tepha Medical Devices' TephaFLEX Absorbable Suture breaks down in the body as a deep wound or surgical incision heals, improving the healing process and preventing infection. Recombinant DNA allows the manufacture of materials from organisms that would be difficult if not impossible to produce otherwise.

The incandescent electric light was one of the paradigm-shifting inventions of the last 125 years, transforming the way people live, work and play. But the era of the incandescent light bulb may be drawing to a close.

Though more expensive up front, compact flourescent light bulbs are far more efficient -- and environmentally friendly -- than incandescent bulbs, using less electricity and lasting longer while providing the same amount of light. For that reason, local and state governments have been encouraging the adoption of compact flourescent bulbs, largely through subsidizing their cost. However, Australia is moving toward banning incandescent bulbs altogether by 2010. By enforcing minimum energy performance standards, selling incandescent bulbs would effectively be illegal. In the US, California is considering a similar measure that would outlaw sales of incandescent lights by 2012. The measure is significant because, as the nation's most populous state, California is a trendsetter in environmental and health legislation. Indeed, state governments in Connecticut and New Jersey (ironically, where Edison developed his light) are considering similar bans on incandescent lights.

The private sector is also jumping on the compact flourescent bandwagon. Retailers plan to increase shares of the bulbs substantially, and light bulb manufacturer Philips will stop manufacturing incandescent bulbs by 2016.

By switching to compact flourescent bulbs on a national level, Australia could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by four tons per year.

Source: International Herald Tribune

Here is more proof that at least some Democrats still have a functioning backbone and stand up to obstructionists when necessary.  Senator Boxer is the majority chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee.  For the last few days only one Republican has decided to show up for scheduled hearings, in order to stop movement on the bill.  Two minority reps. are necessary for progress to continue, so the Republicans decided to deliberately obstruct the process. 

“A [...]

Climate talks in Barcelona are going about as well as the previous talks went.  Too much focus on economics and blame, and this focus is unfortunately ignoring the serious climate change problem itself. We all hope the negotiators can get beyond their differences very soon . . . it also appears that the problem of holding back the talks described in the post below this one is working, based on the quote from a delegate from one of the [...]

Short-sighted, Small-minded Backlash against Climate Legislation by Business, Industry

Eight-Country Investigation Reveals Forces Moving to Undermine Copenhagen.

It’s hard to imagine how business thinks it can do business in a world without civilization and/or people without an economy.

WASHINGTON — Global attempts to craft a pivotal new climate treaty in Copenhagen this December are being stymied by a far-reaching, multinational backlash led by fossil fuel industries and other heavy carbon emitters, according to The Global Climate Change Lobby, [...]

“Canada faces a dilemma as it prepares for next month’s UN climate summit in Copenhagen. It wants to present itself as environmentally responsible but also wants the profits from the tar sands, which cover an area of Alberta’s natural coniferous forest larger than England.”

Yeah, that’s a problem.  Coal + Oil shale + Tar Sands = end of human civilization and most species on earth in 200 years or less.  We have [...]

Groggy delegates and observers arriving today in Barcelona for the final round of negotiations prior to Copenhagen were welcomed by TckTckTck’s cacophony of 1,000 ringing alarm clocks piercing the morning air in front of the Fira Gran Via conference hall.

The chattering alarm clocks served as a literal “wake up call” to the climate negotiators, many of whom veered off the path to the front door to snap pictures and watch the [...]

The Denialus cricetus Cretin (common Denialist)

In response  to a loud but minor Denialist movement made up of creatures who don’t understand or believe in science, (many of them also think the world is 6,000 years old and evolution isn’t true either)  I’m printing the following from the Union of Concerned Scientists.  The Denialists claim they are able to google, but since they can’t even find the tabs on this website explaining global warming, it’s [...]

Kilimanjaro's Snows are Melting Away. Mount Kilimanjaro in June 2001 (left) and July 2009 (right). The satellite images show a vastly decreasing amount of snow.

“The snows of Mount Kilimanjaro will be gone within two decades, according to scientists who say that the rapid melting of its glacier cap over the past century provides dramatic physical evidence of global climate change.”  Read this story here.

“Climate change is already [...]

Climate change skepticism seems to be growing, at least online. In the mainstream media, the so-called “debate” seems to be finally disappearing and global warming is now taken as truth by the media,  but they still don’t talk about it enough.  It gets a mere mention now and then.

George Monbiot, a well-known writer and activist in the UK, wrote an article recently that puts out a theory as to why climate change skepticism seems to [...]

I’m podcasting every day this week,  so check out the podcast site at Futurism Now Radio.  That means my writing here will be less labor-intensive than usual, but there will still be as much daily news here as we can come up with, with a little help from our fellow climate writers.

Image of the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite

The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched a 315 million Euro ($465 [...]