Believe it or not! Army lab develops 'self-healing' paint
Many of the soldiers with painting duty for the U.S. Army may need to be reassigned if an innovation developed by researchers with the Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) becomes routinely used. The lab has been testing a paint and other surface coatings with special properties that make it "repaint" itself to cover scratches and dings. Program manager Ashok Kumar and project manager Dave Stephenson have now tested the technology in the field on steel water tanks and on pipes at a tank wash (like a jumbo car wash). They're now working on commercializing it not only for military use, but for use on automobiles, large steel structures such as bridges and oil rigs, air conditioning units, wooden houses, and many other potential applications.
Dow Chemical is reportedly considering a partnership with the Army to develop the "self-healing" paints and coatings and bring it to the marketplace. The CERL research falls under the Defence Department's Corrosion Prevention and Control Program, which has a history of active involvement in tech transfer, according to a spokeswoman for the lab. And by already completing field testing and proof-of-concept, much of the risk has been eliminated for potential commercial developers, Kumar noted. "If companies think this makes sense to them, they'll run with it," he said.
Kumar and Stephenson have been working on self-healing coatings for about a decade and have filed two patents. The technology relies on tiny capsules 60 to 100 microns in size -- considerably smaller than a grain of fine sand -- with liquid materials inside. The capsules developed by Kumar and Stephenson contain an anti-corrosive, which keeps a scratch, for instance, from rusting while a film-forming sealant, also part of the package, flows over the blemish and cures. When a surface gets scratched, dented or otherwise damaged, some of the capsules rupture and the healing materials are released. "The scratch will heal itself rather than expanding," Kumar said. The capsules don't yet work with all commercially available paints -- a chief remaining commercialization challenge -- though some off-the-shelf products, including those used in field testing, are already compatible.
Another story provided by Glen Moore of the innovative and interactive Wollongong Science Centre and Planetarium. For details of the Centre go to: http://sciencecentre.uow.edu.au
Organic farming to mitigate climate change
A 30-year scientific trial shows that organic practices can counteract up to 40% of global greenhouse gas output.
“A scientific trial of organic and conventional farming practices has proved that organic practices can be the single biggest way to mitigate climate change,” Organic Federation of Australia chairman Andre Leu said.
“Scientists at the Rodale Institute in the US have proved that organic farming practices can remove about 7000 kilos of carbon dioxide from the air each year and sequester it in a hectare of farmland.”
The scientists estimated that if all of America’s 100 million hectares of cropland were converted to organic practices, it would be the equivalent of taking 217 million cars off the road. This is nearly 88% of all cars in the US and more than a third of all the cars in the world.
"We've shown that organic practices can do better than anyone thought at sequestering carbon, and could counteract up to 40% of global greenhouse gas output," Dr Paul Hepperly, PhD, research director at The Rodale Institute and Fulbright Scholar, said.
“The important point about this groundbreaking research is that the amount of CO2 sequestered is based on what has been achieved through current organic farming practices. This is not a theoretical estimate as in some of the tree plantation models or unproven like the millions of dollars being spent on clean coal or mechanical geo sequestration trials,” Leu said.
“This is being achieved now by organic farmers in the US, Australia and around the world. Adopting organic practices on our farmland in Australia is a proven way to remove huge quantities of greenhouse gases and help in the fight against climate change.
“There is no other proven method that is as effective as organic farming in removing such large quantities of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and sequestering them into the soil. The Australian government and industry need to start seriously investing in organic farming for the benefit of the whole planet.” Report from www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au
What links an Airline, Billboards and Schools?
Jetstar has found the answer!
Jetstar’s outdoor advertising materials will be converted into education-based products that will be donated to Australian and New Zealand schools. The company previously had no recycling strategy for the 1,500 posters and billboards that are produced annually for display at bus shelters and on road sides across Australia and New Zealand.
A Melbourne-based company, Haul, a Good Environmental Choice Australia accredited organisation, will now convert Jetstar’s advertising billboard vinyl into school bags, laptop cases, exercise book protectors and pencil cases. Recycled, based in New Zealand, will transform bus shelter advertisements into presentation folders and notepads for Jetstar to provide to schools. All Australian and New Zealand schools will be invited to apply for a selection of the products for their students. Story from www.EnvironmentalManagementNews.net
Imagine, Create, Evolve… Home-based Business Week 2008
Home-based businesses are again the target of a week-long calendar of events during May. The Department of State and regional Development will stage its third ‘Home-based Business Week’ over the week beginning Monday 19 May through Friday 23 May. Over 30 workshops and seminars are on offer across metropolitan and regional NSW. The Week will showcase new initiatives, business products and services for home-based operators and aims to raise the profile of home-based business. For further information about all the events go to http://hbb.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/Events.aspx or call 1300 134 359.
Some events that may be of interest to I&I readers are:
Digital marketing and your business: To many people, digital marketing is a mystery. So what's it all about? How can you use digital technology to enhance and promote your business and your customer relationships - or is it just for the big end of town? This event is FREE to attend. Tuesday, 20 May 2008 9:15 AM at Villa D'oro, 39-41 Flinders St., Wollongong. Contact: Virginia Wren; Phone: 1300 650 058; Email: ibec@illawarraitec.com.au
Putting Ideas to Work - Innovation Workshop for Home-based Business: This workshop is specially developed for home-based and small businesses to assist in the creation and capture of bright ideas. It will investigate various methods and practical tools for generating ideas including brainstorming techniques, as well as ways to identify, collect and utilise ideas from a range of other sources. FREE. Tuesday, 20 May 2008 9:15 AM at Hamilton-Parkes Room, NSW Trade and Investment Centre, Level 47, MLC Centre, 19 Martin Place, Sydney. Contact: Maria Estrada. Phone: 02 9338 6611. Email: maria.estrada@business.nsw.gov.au
Exporting tips for beginners: This workshop has been coordinated specifically for home-based and small business operators and targets exporters new to the exporting game. FREE. Tuesday, 20 May 2008 2:00 PM at Hamilton-Parkes Room, NSW Trade and Investment Centre, Level 47, MLC Centre, 19 Martin Place, Sydney. Contact: Raji Bhatia. Phone: 02 9338 6958. Email: raji.bhatia@business.nsw.gov.au
Successfully Marketing Your Home-based Business: This informative three hour workshop will cover topics including the importance of branding, the development of marketing materials, maximising your website content and e-commerce. Plus participants will learn how to develop a marketing plan. FREE. Wednesday, 21 May 2008 1:00 PM at Seaspray Function Centre, Junction Road, Shellharbour (located next to Shellharbour Nth Beach Surf Club). Contact: Helen McCoola. Phone: 02 4221 6030. Email: helen.mccoola@shellharbour.nsw.gov.au
E-Marketing: Proven, practical tips that work!: This seminar will explain key principles of e-marketing, critical factors for e-marketing success, proven tips to make a difference to your business, how to assess paid search engine campaigns and maximise their effectiveness, AdWords campaigns with a focus on Google, do's and don’ts of AdWords campaigns and how to maximise your AdWords dollar spend. FREE.
This event is FREE to attend. Wednesday, 21 May 2008 8:00 AM at Western Sydney Business Centre, Level 2, 470 Church Street, North Parramatta. Contact: Mangala Srinivasan Phone: 02 8843 1116; Email: mangala.srinivasan@business.nsw.gov.au
Running a world class business from home: This informative half day seminar aims to show you how to run a world class business from home. Learn from successful home-based business operators and join in the panel discussion. There are also keynote speakers covering “Marketing Do’s and Don’ts Using Print Media” and “Effective Financial Analysis”. FREE. Thursday, 22 May 2008 9:00 AM at St George Leagues Club, Princes Highway, Kogarah
Contact: Maria Cook Phone: 02 9545 5900; Email: maria@becsmallbiz.com.au
The Digital Age Hits the Home/Sustainable Business Services: Two established City of Ryde home-based businesses - The Environmental Type (Business Services) and Cyrius Media Group (Websites and Digital Media) will present and showcase their businesses in a free seminar, designed to give other local home-based business operators skills and confidence, as well as a great networking opportunity to grow. FREE. Friday, 23 May 2008 9:30 AM at North Ryde RSL Community Club Ltd. Cnr Magdala & Pittwater Roads North Ryde. Contact: Paul William-Smith Phone: 02 9952 8051
Joint Ventures Made Easy: There are 8 simple steps to create a successful joint venture, and when used correctly, they can add 1000's or even millions to a business' bottom line, in many cases with very little outlay. Cost to attend: $25.00 Friday, 23 May 2008 9:30 AM at Level 19, 323 Castlereagh Street, Sydney. Contact: Yesim Soyak Phone: 02 9212 0555 Email: yesim@easternsuburbsbec.com.au
Your Ideas, Innovations or Events?
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