Residential solar panels and battery backups are becoming more and more popular as efficiency rises and costs sink. This explosion in distributed solar makes a new idea possible: virtual power plants, or a smart network of individual solar panels that can act like a big power plant when electricity is needed most. And as extreme weather threatens many communities, this idea is arriving in the nick of time.
Learn more: https://www.theverge.com/e/21288017
Often regarded as the most haunted city in the U.S., New Orleans has a deep history of ghosts, pirates, murder, and mayhem. Join our local expert for a guided walking tour of the infamous French Quarter and its most notorious landmarks to see why it’s been a hotspot for ghost enthusiasts from all over the world.
Video Timestamps: 0:00 Murder and Mayhem in the French Quarter 0:29 Andrew Jackson Hotel 2:27 Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar 5:00 The Palace, aka The Sultan’s House 7:35 Lalaurie Mansion
We recorded this 4k ultra hd video during our trip to Lisbon, Portugal on July 2020. Located on the westernmost front of Continental Europe, Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal. It is also one of the oldest cities in the world, and the second-oldest European capital city (after Athens). In 1755 a massive earthquake, and subsequent tidal wave and fire, killed 40,000 and completely destroyed much of the Lisbon lower central districts. Our guided walking tour is about 4.66 miles (7.5 km) long, starts at Commerce Square (Praça do Comércio) and covers most attractions and historic sites of Lisbon.
Video Timeline Links: 00:00 – Lisbon, Portugal Walking Tour Intro 01:10 – Commerce Square 11:06 – Santa Justa Lift 16:43 – Carmo Square 17:36 – Carmo Convent 32:22 – Luís de Camões Square 38:08 – Church of Saint Roch 42:19 – Miradouro de Sao Pedro de Alcantara 45:37 – Gloria Funicular 51:02 – Restauradores Square 56:26 – Rossio Square 1:01:21 – Square of the Fig Tree (Figueira) 1:05:25 – Fado Vadio Graffiti 1:17:48 – São Jorge Castle 1:24:05 – Portas do Sol Viewpoint 1:27:57 – Santa Luzia Viewpoint 1:37:07 – Lisbon Cathedral 1:38:11 – Santo António Church 1:43:26 – House of Spikes
Wuhan, the city at the center of the coronavirus pandemic, had the most tourists of any Chinese city during a public holiday in October. Wuhan is overcoming its pandemic past and benefiting from its hero-city status to become a top travel destination.
Photo: Getty Images
Filmed and Edited by: Tom Butler
Varanasi is chaotic, intense, and beautiful. The ancient city is situated on the banks of the River Ganges and is often considered the spiritual home of India. A place where you see and feel the morning and evening rituals, where pilgrimages are made to bathe in the holy waters at sunrise to purify, where many cremations take place along the river’s edge, and where it is believed moksha — an escape from the cycle of reincarnation — can be achieved. It was truly mesmerising to be in the presence of Mother Ganga and experience the weight of Varanasi first hand.
The Ganges (or Ganga is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh. The 2,704 km (1,680 mi) river originates from the Gangotri Glacier of western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of India and Bangladesh, eventually emptying into the Bay of Bengal.
Varanasi is a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh dating to the 11th century B.C. Regarded as the spiritual capital of India, the city draws Hindu pilgrims who bathe in the Ganges River’s sacred waters and perform funeral rites. Along the city’s winding streets are some 2,000 temples, including Kashi Vishwanath, the “Golden Temple,” dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
This film was shot back in February 2020, before the travel restrictions were in place due to the pandemic.
The Balkans are one of the Europe’s most beautiful and fascinating regions. From the Coast of Croatia, to the medieval bridges of Bosnia, the Balkans have so much to offer. I’ve traveled to the South Eastern Europe several times and I want to show you my favorite places!
Filmed and Edited by: Fenchel & Janisch
Paris, France’s capital, is a major European city and a global center for art, fashion, gastronomy and culture. Its 19th-century cityscape is crisscrossed by wide boulevards and the River Seine. Beyond such landmarks as the Eiffel Tower and the 12th-century, Gothic Notre-Dame cathedral, the city is known for its cafe culture and designer boutiques along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
Filmed and Edited by: Ryan Shirley
Top 10 Capital Cities in Europe including London, Moscow and Paris.
Produced and Directed by: Yiannis Biliris (Visual Suspect)
Produced by: Gwendoline Biliris
Music by: Tokyo Rose
The major highways, the arteries and veins of our cities.
BiodiverCity is conceived as an Urban Mosaic of three diverse islands, and a set of urban design guidelines for mixing programs, addressing pedestrian and mobility networks, building sustainably and harvesting resources. The three islands bring together mixed-use districts, establishing habitat connectivity and supporting edge ecologies in reserves, parks, corridors and urban plazas.
The Channels, BiodiverCity’s first island, is constructed in three complementary phases: in Phase 1, Active Destinations include a wave pool and technology park; in Phase 2, a Civic Heart establishes governance and research institutions in the area; and in Phase 3, a Cultural Coast builds upon the heritage and vibrant creative energy of Penang’s George Town to create a regional and international draw.
As the heart of the district, the Channels’ 500-acre digital park includes spaces for research, development and local business opportunities. The Mangroves, BiodiverCity’s second and central island dedicated to businesses, is organized around a network of sheltered urban wetlands, creating suitable environments for its namesake Mangrove forests—an important natural infrastructure that doubles as effective powerhouses for sequestering more than four times as much carbon as a typical forest.
At the center of the Mangroves, the Bamboo Beacon hosts meetings, conferences and major events—broadcasting the knowledge developed in BiodiverCity out to the world. The buildings in BiodiverCity will be designed to perform efficiently and will to a large extent be constructed by low-carbon materials such as bamboo and Malaysian timber in combination with green concrete, a sustainable alternative comprised of industrial waste and recycled materials. By encouraging green roofs, facades, public and private open spaces, the islands can form a nearly continuous habitat mosaic feeding back into the forests, beaches, riparian zones and estuaries at the island’s edges.
The Laguna, BiodiverCity’s westernmost island, is an oasis for ecological living, organized around a central marina. Eight smaller islands form a miniature archipelago, where floating, stilted and terraced housing takes advantage of the natural setting of Tanjung Gertak Sanggul.
Source by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group.
Boomers Daily 