TechKnow 108: NASA's flying laboratory & bikes made from bamboo

October 20, 2013 4:00PM ET

Flying with NASA's climate laboratory and a small town's economy gets a boost from bamboo bikes

Topics:
Science
Technology
Climate Change

Join our expert contributors Phil Torres, Rachelle Oldmixon and Marita Davison as they explore new technology that impacts our lives. Phil takes a ride with NASA in a flying science lab that measures evidence of climate change. Plus Rachelle looks at how residents in Greensboro, Ala., use bamboo, which grows locally, to make innovative bicycles, a much-needed jumpstart for the local economy.

MORE ON NASA SEAC4RS AND BAMBOO BIKES

SEAC4RS

NASA's Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds, and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) utilizes a climate laboratory built inside a DC-8 to study the effects of pollution and climate change on the atmosphere.  

HERObike

HERObike is a division of the Hale Empowerment & Revitalization Organization, a non-profit dedicated to ending poverty in rural Alabama. HERObike partnered with MakeLab to create the Semester Bike, an innovative new bicycle design made from local bamboo. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, HERObike plans to ramp up production towards the end of 2013, creating a new job in the local economy for every 50 bikes sold.

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