Science Round up Inspiration 14

As anyone who has read my science round-ups in the past will know I peruse a number of sites on a regular basis.  These are fascinating in their own right, however, as a scifi writer (and even if you’re not) I believe they are a great source of inspiration.  I know I haven’t done one for a while so I thought it was about time.

I normally start with items from beyond our planet and then come down to earth.  In this round-up however I will concentrate on efforts to solve some of the pressing issues that face us here on good old terra firma.

Trapping CO2 and turning it into stone.

While I fully support all efforts to reduce our global output of CO2, progress in setting and complying with any limits that will reduce the amounts we send into the atmosphere is painfully slow.  So to my mind we have to look at other ways of reducing CO2 in the atmosphere.  Researchers have succeeded in turning carbon dioxide (CO2) into solid rock.  They inject volcanic basalt rock with pressurised liquid CO2, chemical reactions then trigger the transformation.

This at least gives scientists another option for capturing and storing the excess CO2.   It might even be possible to scale up the process to take significant levels of carbon out of circulation.

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One writer's resolutions for 2017

I do this every year and yes looking back I don’t always follow all my resolutions.  However, at the beginning of the year it’s not a bad idea to review what you did last year (my last blog) and think of what you might like to change / achieve / try in the coming year.  For me writing them down, whether you call them resolutions or not, makes them more than just a passing thought.  So here are mine for 2017

Finish and implement the Slight Edge.

I mentioned this in my 2016 round-up.  It’s a book by Jeff Olsen which is all about doing to those small things consistently over a long period of time that will make a big difference.  Also not giving up on them.  Obviously there is more to it than that, after all it is a book.  However, I admit that over the holidays I have let it slip.  For me it’s all about my profile as a writer and of course selling more books.  I need to decide which of those “small actions” are the ones that are going to make the difference and then stick to them for long enough to tell if I’m right.  At least if I follow the advice I will be taking positive steps and not just letting things drift.

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