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A UK startup is close to full-scale commercial production of solar trees that serve as clean energy charging stations for electric cars, according to the company’s chief executive. SolarBotanic Trees, which was founded last year, is developing two different sized versions of the tree, one 5.5 metres tall tree and another 3.5 metres tall, with the first installations planned for early next year in Oxford. “The idea is to put solar panels on a domed surface like the canopy of a tree, and then place a battery storage system into the trunk,” Chris Shelley, CEO of SolarBotanic, told The Independent. “Putting solar cells and batteries into the same structure is very practical, as it allows them to store excess energy without having to solely rely on its backup grid supply.” The number of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the UK has risen by more than a third over the last year in an effort to keep up with growing demand. There are now more than 25,000 locations as of May 2023, according to EV mapping service Zapmap, though this is still well short of the 325,000 charging points that the UK’s Climate Change Committee claims will be necessary by 2032. SolarBotanic already has deals in place with EV infrastructure suppliers to build trees for several sites in the UK, Mr Shelley said, including an order of 200 trees from the Raw Charging Group. The initial idea was to create a structure capable of harvesting both solar and wind energy, using photovoltaic leaves that flutter in the wind to generate additional power. Preliminary research found that wind harvesting via this method is not sufficiently advanced at present to be commercially viable in the near term, however it remains a prospect fot the future. For now, SolarBotanic’s focus is on entering production later this year in order to deliver the solar trees to UK customers at the start of 2024. From there, the company plans to enter other markets, including Europe and the US, as well as develop customisable structures to suit other applications. These include large trees with integrated seating underneath to be used in town squares or pub gardens, with people able to charge their phones or even warm themselves up from inbuilt infrared heating fixtures. “There are quite alot of variations on the core theme,” Mr Shelley said. “Offgrid versions that don’t need to meet the electricity demands of an electric vehicle could serve as work or social areas in town squares with telephone and laptop charging, seating and shelter. “Beyond commercial and municipal uses, the trees could go in people’s gardens to supplement rooftop solar panel setups, or several of them could even meet the annual electrical requirement of a medium-sized house.” Read More Scientists figure out how to turn rocks into batteries Japan aims to beam solar power from space by 2025 Scientists break world record for solar power window material Electric cars could save more than 100,000 lives, study claims Scientists smash world record for solar power window material Instagram has stopped working properly

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There is no clear link between mobile phones and the internet and a negative impact on mental wellbeing, the authors of a major new study have found. Researchers took data on two million people aged between 15 and 89, from 168 countries. While they found that negative and positive experiences had both increased, they found little evidence that was the result of the prevalence of the internet. The results from the major study, led by the Oxford Internet Institute, contradict widespread speculation that the internet – and especially its widespread availability through mobile devices – has damaged mental wellbeing. The researchers said that if the link between internet use and poor health were as universal and robust as many think, they would have found it. However, the study did not look at social media use, and although the data included some young people, the researchers did not analyse how long people spent online. Professor Andrew Przybylski, of the Oxford Internet Institute and Assistant Professor Matti Vuorre, Tilburg University and Research Associate, Oxford Internet Institute, carried out the research into home and mobile broadband use. Prof Przybylski, said: “We looked very hard for a ‘smoking gun’ linking technology and wellbeing and we didn’t find it.” He added: “The popular idea that the internet and mobile phones have a blanket negative effect on wellbeing and mental health is not likely to be accurate. “It is indeed possible that there are smaller and more important things going on, but any sweeping claims about the negative impact of the internet globally should be treated with a very high level of scepticism.” Looking at the results by age group and gender did not reveal any specific patterns among internet users, including women and young girls. Instead, the study, which looked at data for the past two decades, found that for the average country, life satisfaction increased more for females over the period. Data from the United Kingdom was included in the study, but the researchers say there was nothing distinctive about the UK compared with other countries. Although the study included a lot of information, the researchers say technology companies need to provide more data, if there is to be conclusive evidence of the impacts of internetuse. They explain: “Research on the effects of internet technologies is stalled because the data most urgently needed are collected and held behind closed doors by technology companies and online platforms. “It is crucial to study, in more detail and with more transparency from all stakeholders, data on individual adoption of and engagement with internet-based technologies. “These data exist and are continuously analysed by global technology firms for marketing and product improvement but unfortunately are not accessible for independent research.” For the study, published in the Clinical Psychological Science journal, the researchers looked at data on wellbeing and mental health against a country’s internet users and mobile broadband subscriptions and use, to see if internet adoption predicted psychological wellbeing. In the second study they used data on rates of anxiety, depression and self-harm from 2000-2019 in some 200 countries. Wellbeing was assessed using data from face-to-face and phone surveys by local interviewers, and mental health was assessed using statistical estimates of depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and self-harm in some 200 countries from 2000 to 2019. Read More Software firm Cloudsmith announces £8.8m investment No ‘smoking gun’ linking mental health harm and the internet – study Young people the biggest users of generative AI, Ofcom study shows Software firm Cloudsmith announces £8.8m investment No ‘smoking gun’ linking mental health harm and the internet – study Young people the biggest users of generative AI, Ofcom study shows

By Christian Ruano PUERTO VALLARTA (Reuters) -Hurricane Lidia slammed into Mexico's Pacific coast late on Tuesday as an "extremely dangerous

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TL;DR: As of May 28, you can snag the Bellboy 5-in-1 Wireless Apple Charging Station

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