Earth & Environment - Nov 11, 2010 16:32 - 4 Comments

Will oil run out 90 years too soon?

UC DAVIS (US) — At the current pace of research and development, global oil will run out 90 years before replacement technologies are ready, says a study based on stock market expectations. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Oct 13, 2010 12:25 - 2 Comments

Kinder, faster biodiesel conversion

BROWN U. (US) — Researchers have demonstrated a streamlined way to convert waste vegetable oil into biodiesel, eliminating the need for corrosive chemicals to perform the reactions. (more…)

Science & Technology - Sep 30, 2010 11:34 - 0 Comments

Material acts like hydrogen sponge

RICE (US) — A class of material known as metallacarborane taps the power of transition metals scandium and titanium to hold a load of hydrogen molecules—but not so tightly they can’t be extracted. (more…)

Science & Technology - Aug 10, 2010 11:04 - 0 Comments

Affordable, stable fuel cells from platinum

CORNELL (US)—Researchers have discovered that platinum nanoparticles could be the catalyst that make fuel cells more stable, cost-effective, and more resistant to carbon monoxide poisoning. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jun 15, 2010 11:33 - 3 Comments

Climate change remains hot topic in UK

CARDIFF U. (UK)—Despite a decline in concern about climate change, the majority of the British public still believe the climate is changing and are prepared to act, a new survey shows. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Mar 15, 2010 10:39 - 2 Comments

Cobalt catalyst could propel solar energy

EMORY (US)—Chemists have developed what they say is the most potent homogeneous catalyst known for water oxidation, considered a crucial component for generating clean hydrogen fuel using only water and sunlight. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jan 7, 2010 16:43 - 8 Comments

Pulling the plug on hybrid myths

U. CHICAGO—What’s the real deal with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles? Vehicle systems engineer Forrest Jehlik from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory would like to dispel some commonly held myths. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Dec 30, 2009 11:35 - 6 Comments

Race to replace gas with green batteries

U. CHICAGO (US)—Researchers are exploring the promise of lithium-air battery technology as an environmentally sound way to fuel the world’s ever-growing transportation needs. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Oct 5, 2009 11:30 - 0 Comments

Bioengineer a better hydrocarbon?

IOWA STATE (US)—Researchers are looking to plants and algae as a source of green, renewable hydrocarbons—and second-generation biofuels. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Sep 23, 2009 4:38 - 2 Comments

A better way to turn out turbine blades

IOWA STATE (US)–Researchers are working to develop new, low-cost manufacturing systems that could improve the productivity of turbine blade factories by as much as 35 percent. (more…)

Science & Technology - Sep 17, 2009 19:27 - 7 Comments

Nanotubes may yield greener solar cells

In a carbon nanotube-based photodiode, electrons (blue) and holes (red) release their excess energy to efficiently create more electron-hole pairs when light is shined on the device. (Credit: Nathan Gabor)

Earth & Environment - Aug 11, 2009 4:00 - 0 Comments

Wind energy that’s for the birds

“Conducting this research will help the wind industry make informed, science-based decisions about where future wind energy projects can be built and how they can be operated to minimize the impact on migrating wildlife, while still providing much-needed alternative energy,” explains John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Earth & Environment - Aug 5, 2009 13:13 - 0 Comments

Solar cells with perfect mix of plastics

David Ginger, a University of Washington associate professor of chemistry, displays the tiny probe for a conductive atomic force microscope, used to record photocurrents on scales of millionths of an inch in carbon-based solar cells. (Credit: Mary Levin/University of Washington)

Earth & Environment - Jul 31, 2009 15:33 - 0 Comments

Solar energy solution buried in the mud

“We envision producing hydrogen in a photochemically driven process, where the electrons and protons needed to produce the hydrogen are furnished by water,” chemist Brian Dyer explains. “You could then burn the hydrogen as fuel and get water back. It would be a perfectly clean cycle.”

Earth & Environment - Jul 10, 2009 11:50 - 0 Comments

Pairing radar, acoustics to track birds near wind farms

This animation illustrates the use of a network of surveillance weather radar to record nocturnal migrating birds, bats, and insects in the continental U.S. from sunset to sunrise Oct. 1, 2008. The blocky green, yellow, and red patterns, especially visible on the east coast, represent precipitation; but within an hour after sunset, radar picks up biological activity, as seen in the widening blue and green circles spreading from the east across the country. The birds, bats, and insects take off, fly past, and get sampled by the radar beam. Note, the black areas on the map do not represent places without birds, necessarily, but rather places where radar does not sample.

Earth & Environment - Jul 6, 2009 16:51 - 0 Comments

Could ocean wind be an energy bonanza?

A new study finds wind energy over the planet’s oceans is a vastly underutilized renewable resource.

Earth & Environment - Jun 29, 2009 16:49 - 2 Comments

As global temps rise, will winds stall?

IOWA STATE (US)—Declining wind speeds in parts of the United States could affect more than the wind power industry, according to climate researchers from Iowa State University. They say new study findings raise questions, including concerns about global warming’s role. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jun 24, 2009 11:08 - 2 Comments

Will biofuels drain the nation’s water supply?

RICE (US)—The new emphasis on biofuels as an alternative to foreign oil must be carefully weighed against the potential damage to the nation’s water resources, scientists warn in a new report. (more…)

Posts Tagged ‘alternative energy’