Energy

Science And Oil

Summertime, and the livin' is easy, wrote Ira Gershwin and Du Bose Heyward in 1933. The current gasoline prices are not easy on the budget because they are rising again. According to the New York Times of 8 June 2009: "Gas prices have risen 41 d ...

Article - Hatice Cullingford - Jul 12 2009 - 12:33pm

New Power Plants Get Virtual 3-D Engineering

Designing a new hydroelectric power station can be a laborious task- the pressures, temperatures and fluid flows can be simulated but the actual results outside FEA showbiz graphics will still be columns of numbers or a one-dimensional representation which ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 13 2009 - 12:06pm

Wood Burning Stoves Making A Comeback?

It will enrage our fellow Californians, who regard the wholesomeness and warmth of the in-home hearth as akin to fratricide, but when it comes down to it, people in the Third World, like the US is becoming economically, are going to respond to the stress o ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 14 2009 - 1:54pm

Want Biofuels Success? Focus On New Technologies, Don't Subsidize Old Ones

The worst thing that can happen to the American economy is a tax on current carbon-using businesses that then subsidizes flaky alternatives that already don't work, like current ethanol and solar panels. It may be too late but Richard Hess from the Id ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 16 2009 - 12:36pm

New Technique May Give Geothermal Energy A Competitive Boost

Even in the scramble to get clean energy funding, it's not a bad idea to devote money to research technology that isn't "shovel ready" science and technology, or even available everywhere, but can still help some regions pursue alternat ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 16 2009 - 1:43pm

ExxonMobil Puts Money Behind Biofuels, Photosynthetic Algae And Craig Ventner

Synthetic Genomics Inc. (SGI), a privately held company co-founded by Craig Ventner in the business of applying genomic-driven commercial solutions to challenges like energy and the environment, announced a multi-year research and development agreement wit ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 17 2009 - 2:43pm

Acoustic Stove Converts BioMass To Electricity- SCoRE Enters Test Phase

A low-cost generator could be a boon for people in the world’s poorest countries.   The Score project, led by The University of Nottingham, is developing a biomass-burning cooking stove which also converts heat into acoustic energy and then into electricit ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 17 2009 - 9:04pm

New Consensus Wants To Replace Old Consensus On Biofuels

It isn't often that the government gets it right and the energy/climate change policies being jammed through Congress while there is no way to block them could be with us for a long time. ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 18 2009 - 12:42pm

Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Use 'Bioinspired' Dyes For Unmanned Vehicles

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), expected to power Air Force unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the future because they are an optimum energy harvesting source that may lead to longer flight times without refueling, have gotten a boost  by using a flexi ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 18 2009 - 3:08pm

Grassoline- Second Generation Biofuels Get Ionic Liquid Boost

Before we can begin to implement sustainable, carbon-neutral gasoline- "grassoline"- from inedible plant material like fast-growing weeds and agricultural waste, some technology hurdles have to be overcome.  Namely, finding better ways to break l ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 19 2009 - 5:56pm