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The limitations of climate models

How accurate is the latest generation of climate models? Climate physicist Reto Knutti from ETH Zurich has compared them with old models and draws a differentiated conclusion: while climate modelling has made substantial progress in recent years, we also need to be aware of its limitations.

Nov 5th, 2012

Carbon buried in the soil rises again

A research team that includes a University of California, Davis, plant scientist has identified a source of carbon emissions that could play a role in understanding past and future global change.

Nov 5th, 2012

University of British Columbia files patent on battery type solar/light conversion cell

The University of British Columbia (UBC) announces the international patent filing for a Battery type Solar/Light conversion cell. This unique generator and storage approach allows both solar power generation and storage within a single cell. Based on photosynthesis, it can be implemented using abundant and readily replenished and renewable biomaterials.

Nov 2nd, 2012

From rocket fuel to clean cars

Austrian manufacturer MagnaSteyr has adapted technology developed for the Ariane rocket to build clean-burning cars that can use hydrogen instead of petrol for fuel.

Nov 2nd, 2012

Scientists harness the power of photosynthesis

A team of researchers at UMass Lowell are now able to replicate photosynthesis in the laboratory, with the goal of someday storing solar energy on a commercial scale.

Nov 1st, 2012

Bulletin: German nuclear exit delivers economic, environmental benefits

A special issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by SAGE, ?The German Nuclear Exit,? shows that the nuclear shutdown and an accompanying move toward renewable energy are already yielding measurable economic and environmental benefits, with one top expert calling the German phase-out a probable game-changer for the nuclear industry worldwide.

Nov 1st, 2012

Researchers propose new building guidelines to clean up city air

The huge energy needs of skyscrapers mean that these towers are not only office buildings, they're polluters with smokestacks billowing out toxins from the rooftop. Our cities are dirtier than we think. New research from Concordia University just might clean them up.

Nov 1st, 2012

Biofuels from algae hold potential, but not ready for prime time

Scaling up the production of biofuels made from algae to meet at least 5 percent ? about 10 billion gallons ? of U.S. transportation fuel needs would place unsustainable demands on energy, water and nutrients, says a new report from the National Research Council.

Nov 1st, 2012

Wind energy yields major environmental and public health benefits for Colorado

Wind energy in Colorado each year saves a billion gallons of water while avoiding emissions of air pollutants equivalent to that produced by half a million cars. Between 2000 and 2011, production of electricity from wind energy in Colorado grew from zero to 4.7 million megawatt-hours (MWh), and is now producing nearly 10 percent of the state's electricity.

Nov 1st, 2012

Environmentally-friendly, quality products from rubber residues

Rubber residues can be downcycled to floor coverings and safety crashpads, and for the first time, also processed into high-quality plastics. A new kind of material makes it possible: the environmentally-friendly material mix is called EPMT.

Oct 31st, 2012

The energy of stunt kites

It may seem as though the German plains are all but tapped out when it comes to wind energy production. To refute this theory researchers are sending stunt kites into the skies to harness the wind and convert the kinetic energy generated into electricity.

Oct 31st, 2012

New study to examine ecological tipping points in hopes of preventing them

A new project of scientists at UCSB's National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and partners aims to synthesize existing research on tipping points in marine ecosystems and conduct case studies to devise a set of early warning indicators and management tools that may help to predict, even prevent, threatened systems from falling off the precipice.

Oct 30th, 2012

New enzyme 'produces more fuel from less corn,' Danish company says

Danish industrial enzymes maker Novozymes on Tuesday launched an enzyme that it said produces more ethanol from corn, addressing concern that growth in biofuels has come at the expense of food production.

Oct 30th, 2012

The end of cheap oil calls for a balanced approach to energy production

Weaning America off fossil fuels and investing in renewable energy is the best path for the future, say Stanford researchers.

Oct 29th, 2012

Efforts to mitigate climate change must target energy efficiency (w/video)

Much more must be done to develop energy efficient cars, buildings and domestic appliances to address climate change - according to new research from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.

Oct 26th, 2012

Researchers invent safe wireless vehicle charging technology (w/videos)

University of British Columbia researchers have invented a safe, efficient technology to wirelessly charge electric vehicles using "remote magnetic gears" and successfully tested it on campus service vehicles.

Oct 26th, 2012

Paper waste could be the solution to oil spills

Researchers from the Technological, Environmental and Logistics Centre (TEC Ltd) in Slovenia have successfully transformed waste from paper mills into a product that can effectively soak up fuel from leaks or oil from spills.

Oct 24th, 2012

Scientists retrieve important ocean acidification data from antarctic waters (w/video)

A research team led by a scientist from UC Santa Barbara and supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) has retrieved data from a sensor in Antarctic waters that survived the harsh polar winter. The information it gathered will provide critical baseline data on the changes in chemistry, or acidification, of those remote seas.

Oct 23rd, 2012