Algae Plastics, Drone Hunting, and Fresh Farm Food

tech meets the farm

Nov 08, 2021

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

It feels like Christmas keeps being pushed back earlier and earlier every year. Heck, we just did our Christmas shopping for the kids this weekend.

We started early because of the supply chain crunch. The shelves are looking sad - and it’s only November.

Personally - I’m excited about the large bag of mega blocks we bought for our daughter. Though I haven’t played with legos in almost a decade - building stuff was always my favorite.

I’ll be able to build lots of towers for the kids to knock down!

Is it just me, or does it feel like Web3 is actually coming to stay this time? I guess 2017 was a test run . . .

I say that because I’m starting to see useful projects like ourspaces.xyz

You can message people at their ethereum address, or create a group chat based on their ethereum address . . .

Cool stuff! Message me if you get a chance. Would love to try this out with a fellow crypto friend.

I discovered this really cool Twitter account that shares “things that changed the web” and it brings out a lot of nostalgia!

For example . . .

Things That Changed The Internet @ShapedInternet

Remember Cicada 3301? That was some crazy stuff!

Anyhow, let’s hop on into today’s topics, shall we?

🦠Algae Based Plastics

Plastic has transformed the way we live over the past decades - enabling us to preserve foods, build awesome stuff . . . heck it’s used for everything.

However, it’s downright AWFUL for the environment - as the miles of trash in our oceans can attest to.

Yeah. It’s not good.

The question becomes - How can we preserve the benefits of plastic without further destroying our environment?

The answer may lay in our green friend algae - like the stuff that grows in the pool.

UK-based plastic technology specialist Symphony Environmental has teamed up with the French biotech company Eranova to create a new “smart plastic” bag using upcycled green algae. The technology aims to not only reduce the environmental impact of fossil fuel-intensive plastic but also create new uses for green algae. (source)

How does it work?

Eranova’s process extracts starch from the algae to produce a biodegradable and compostable resin, which is then used to manufacture packaging and other products. The biomass can also be used to produce biofuel, proteins for food and animal feed, as well as by-products for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. By using algae, Eranova is able to produce a fossil-fuel-free bioplastic that does not rely on food crops, making it a win-win for sustainability. (source)

This way we can manufacture plastic like material - that is also biodegradable.

This really neat video by Eranova dives into the some of the benefits of using green algae for alternative plastic.

Go check out more about the green algae plastic at the links!

Eranova

Symphony Environmental

🐝Drone Hunting

It’s the year 2028 and you’re walking past the local power grid. You squint and look up at the Drone turrets. They kinda look like they’re out of Star Wars don’t they?

What the heck are you talking about.

I’m talking about the scary dystopian future in which drones are used to wage warfare by striking power grids or other strategic locations.

Yeah, I know this stuff is kinda freaky - but it’s important to be aware of!

Apparently a drone was used to attack a US substation in Pennsylvania . . .

IN JULY OF last year, a DJI Mavic 2 drone approached a Pennsylvania power substation. Two 4-foot nylon ropes dangled from its rotors, a thick copper wire connected to the ends with electrical tape. The device had been stripped of any identifiable markings, as well as its onboard camera and memory card, in an apparent effort by its owner to avoid detection. Its likely goal, according to a joint security bulletin released by DHS, the FBI, and the National Counterterrorism Center, was to “disrupt operations by creating a short circuit.” (source)

That’s nuts. We’re entering a world in which drones are actively being weaponized.

I think it’s only a matter of time until we see anti drone tech start popping up in places like electric substations or government buildings.

Heck, this guy made his own anti drone nerf gun . . . imagine what a defense contractor with a 50 caliber bean bag gatling gun could do.

It’s kind of bizarre to be living in a world where we actually have to start thinking about the threat of drones. Isn’t it? Woah COD is starting to become real life bois.

Don’t even get me started on the Spot robots with sniper rifles . . .

or the Rex MKII

At least we don’t have to worry about flesh eating drones yet!

Fahrenheit 451’s Mechanical Hound is DEFINITELY within our lifetime. Gives RUN Spot RUN a new meaning doesn’t it?

The mechanical Hound slept but did not sleep, lived but did not live in its gently humming, gently vibrating, softly illuminated kennel back in a dark corner of the fire house. The dim light of one in the morning, the moonlight from the open sky framed through the great window, touched here and there on the brass and copper and the steel of the faintly trembling beast. Light flickered on bits of ruby glass and on sensitive capillary hairs in the nylon-brushed nostrils of the creature that quivered gently, its eight legs spidered under it on rubber padded paws. (Excerpt)

Read more about this power station attacking drone at the link!

And remember, if you work in an industry where you have serious reason to be concerned about bad drones and have the legal authority to do something, you could always pick up one of these bad boys.

One Drone - One Net?

Drone

🍅Farm Fresh Food

The dream of eating LOCAL farm fresh food on a regular basis . . .

It soon won’t be just a dream if Milkrun gets its way!

Milkrun is a food delivery app built around getting YOU fresh fruits, veggies, meats, and more from local farmers.

Here’s a bit of its mission statement

We are determined to build a future with fewer complications. A future rooted in nostalgia, led by a new generation of farmers. We share a belief that a shared meal proudly grown and personally prepared matters. It’s essential. Human. Fragile too. A heartbeat from extinction in the drive towards commodity, industrialized, cheap, faceless, and fast. (source)

Currently, Milkrun is only available in Austin, Portland, and Seattle, but more cities are soon to come.

You can subscribe to deliveries of different items. For example, you could subscribe to this large box of vegetables.

They’ll even send you a list of the farms that each item came from. That’s pretty legit!

Here’s another example.

localmilkrun

A post shared by MilkRun (@localmilkrun)

Honestly, this takes the idea of Whole Foods to the next level. To know exactly where my meat and produce came from creates a whole new connection between me and the food. Milkrun strives to keep their food to within a 150 mile radius of you when possible.

To enjoy a locally grown potato is a much different experience than buying that mass produced bag at the grocery store.

It’s awesome that Milkrun is doing something that really hasn’t been tried too hard in the past 20 years of the net. After all, bringing local food to tables is a massive logistical undertaking. You have to account for much smaller harvests and many other factors!

I will admit - Milkrun’s prices are pretty expensive - and you’d probably need to supplement your Milkrun food with the grocery store - but the value of eating locally grown food can’t be matched.

Check out Milkrun at the link!

Milkrun