Apollo News Snippets – February 2021

It’s tech time as usual, my favorite article of the month, so here we go!
Significant improvement for wearable batteries announced.
Next-generation nickel batteries are one step closer to the market.
A living solution to our renewable energy storage needs.
Carbon-neutral jet fuel produced from carbon dioxide.
Improved zinc-air battery design.

The December 2020 Temperature Departure map has a bit less dark red than we are used to seeing with the most record warmth in central Africa along the Equator; and then a large region of cool weather over central Asia.

As per usual, the December 2020 NOAA Global Climate report shows that the warming trend continues, shocking! This past December was the 8^th warmest December on record at 1.40°F (0.78°C) above the 20^th Century Average. One interesting trend is that only 3.68% of the planet experienced record warmth in the month, the lowest percentage since February 2019. But either way, we are encouraged by reports that the Biden administration will issue executive orders related to the climate early on.

February 11^th is Inventor’s Day! So in honor of all those who invent, our Google search of the month was, “Inventors and GIS.” And as you can imagine, we found a great 2019 book chapter on this topic by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. In this chapter, the authors explore how science moves forward, specifically the science of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), as well as offering several topic-specific case studies. Yay GIS!