New technique measures evaporation globally
Researchers at Columbia Engineering and Boston University have developed the first method to map evaporation globally using weather stations, which will help scientists evaluate water resource management, assess recent trends of evaporation throughout the globe, and validate surface hydrologic models in various conditions.
Posted: Apr 12th, 2013
Read moreCO2 removal can lower costs of climate protection
Directly removing CO2 from the air has the potential to alter the costs of climate change mitigation. It could allow prolonging greenhouse-gas emissions from sectors like transport that are difficult, thus expensive, to turn away from using fossil fuels. And it may help to constrain the financial burden on future generations, a study now published by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research shows.
Posted: Apr 12th, 2013
Read moreA solar booster shot for natural gas power plants
PNNL's concentrating solar power system reduces greenhouse emissions - at a price that's competitive with fossil fuel power.
Posted: Apr 11th, 2013
Read moreBetter monitoring and diagnostics tackle algae biofuel pond crash problem (w/video)
Sandia National Laboratories is developing a suite of complementary technologies to help the emerging algae industry detect and quickly recover from algal pond crashes, an obstacle to large-scale algae cultivation for future biofuels.
Posted: Apr 11th, 2013
Read moreMassive energy cost hidden in wireless cloud boom
Australian research shows public debate has missed the point on making cloud services more energy efficient.
Posted: Apr 11th, 2013
Read moreInnovative self-cooling, thermoelectric system developed
Researchers at the UPNA/NUP-Public University of Navarre have produced a prototype of a self-cooling thermoelectric device that achieves 'free' cooling of over 30ºC in devices that give off heat. It is a piece of equipment that acts as a traditional cooler but which consumes no electricity because it obtains the energy it needs to function from the very heat that has to be dissipated.
Posted: Apr 11th, 2013
Read moreNew centre to focus on harvest and storage of solar energy
Imagine a car coated with a surface that can simultaneously capture and store energy from the sun's rays. It would solve one of the main problems associated with solar cells - they don't work at night or in foul weather.
Posted: Apr 10th, 2013
Read moreUnderstanding the life of lithium ion batteries in electric vehicles
Scientists today answered a question that worries millions of owners and potential owners of electric and hybrid vehicles using lithium-ion batteries: How long before the battery pack dies, leaving a sticker-shock bill for a fresh pack or a car ready for the junk heap?
Posted: Apr 10th, 2013
Read moreLimiting greenhouse gas emissions from land use in Europe
New research presented by IIASA researcher Hannes Bottcher at the EGU General Assembly this week estimates future land use emissions for the European Union, showing that Europe could potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions from land use by more than 60 percent by 2050.
Posted: Apr 10th, 2013
Read moreDiatoms explain release of CO2
Scientists have found unexpectedly high concentrations of opal, a mineral containing silicate, in marine sediments during the transition periods from ice ages to warm phases. The explanation as to what caused these high concentrations can also clarify how oceans release sequestered carbon dioxide. The underlying mechanism is still unexplained today.
Posted: Apr 10th, 2013
Read moreNREL launches initiative to build solar performance database
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has launched an initiative to build an open-source database of real-world performance from solar facilities across the country.
Posted: Apr 9th, 2013
Read moreNew wind harvesting invention to bring cities to life
Is this what the cities of the future will look like? Towering skyscrapers fitted with softly rotating panelled windows that harness wind energy and convert it into electricity?
Posted: Apr 9th, 2013
Read more'Artificial leaf' gains the ability to self-heal damage and produce energy from dirty water
Another innovative feature has been added to the world's first practical 'artificial leaf', making the device even more suitable for providing people in developing countries and remote areas with electricity, scientists reported here today. It gives the leaf the ability to self-heal damage that occurs during production of energy.
Posted: Apr 9th, 2013
Read moreGlobal solar photovoltaic industry is likely now a net energy producer
The rapid growth of the solar power industry over the past decade may have exacerbated the global warming situation it was meant to soothe, simply because most of the energy used to manufacture the millions of solar panels came from burning fossil fuels. That irony, according to Stanford University researchers, is coming to an end.
Posted: Apr 8th, 2013
Read moreHydrogen from methane without CO2 emissions
Production of hydrogen from methane without carbon dioxide emissions is the objective of a project in which KIT is a major partner. At KALLA, the Karlsruhe Liquid-metal Laboratory, researchers are setting up a novel liquid-metal bubble column reactor, in which methane is decomposed into hydrogen and elemental carbon at high temperature.
Posted: Apr 8th, 2013
Read moreSmog-eating pavement on 'greenest street in America'
The big rigs rattling past smokestacks sure don't make this Chicago roadway look like the greenest street in America.
Posted: Apr 7th, 2013
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