[About the Project] [About the ApocaDocs] [About Equal Share] [TwitterFollow: apocadocs] SEARCH More than 6,000 stories! OUR BOOK IS NOW IN PRINT! Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies 94 color pages $24.99 Read FREE online! Explore: Play: It's weekly, funny, and free! Play: Click for paper-free fun! Ads for potentially microfunding this site: Apocadocument Weekly Archives: Sep 26 - Dec 31, 1969 Sep 19 - Sep 26, 2011 Sep 12 - Sep 19, 2011 Sep 5 - Sep 12, 2011 Aug 29 - Sep 5, 2011 Aug 22 - Aug 29, 2011 Aug 15 - Aug 22, 2011 Aug 8 - Aug 15, 2011 Aug 1 - Aug 8, 2011 Jul 25 - Aug 1, 2011 Jul 18 - Jul 25, 2011 Jul 11 - Jul 18, 2011 Jul 4 - Jul 11, 2011 Jun 27 - Jul 4, 2011 Jun 20 - Jun 27, 2011 Jun 13 - Jun 20, 2011 Jun 6 - Jun 13, 2011 May 30 - Jun 6, 2011 May 23 - May 30, 2011 May 16 - May 23, 2011 May 9 - May 16, 2011 May 2 - May 9, 2011 Apr 25 - May 2, 2011 Apr 18 - Apr 25, 2011 Apr 11 - Apr 18, 2011 Apr 4 - Apr 11, 2011 Mar 28 - Apr 4, 2011 Mar 21 - Mar 28, 2011 Mar 14 - Mar 21, 2011 Mar 6 - Mar 14, 2011 Feb 27 - Mar 6, 2011 Feb 20 - Feb 27, 2011 Feb 13 - Feb 20, 2011 Feb 6 - Feb 13, 2011 Jan 30 - Feb 6, 2011 Jan 23 - Jan 30, 2011 Jan 16 - Jan 23, 2011 Jan 9 - Jan 16, 2011 Jan 2 - Jan 9, 2011 Dec 26 - Jan 2, 2011 Dec 19 - Dec 26, 2010 Dec 12 - Dec 19, 2010 Dec 5 - Dec 12, 2010 Nov 28 - Dec 5, 2010 Nov 21 - Nov 28, 2010 Nov 14 - Nov 21, 2010 Nov 7 - Nov 14, 2010 Nov 1 - Nov 7, 2010 Oct 25 - Nov 1, 2010 Oct 18 - Oct 25, 2010 Oct 11 - Oct 18, 2010 Oct 4 - Oct 11, 2010 Sep 27 - Oct 4, 2010 Sep 20 - Sep 27, 2010 Sep 13 - Sep 20, 2010 Sep 6 - Sep 13, 2010 Aug 30 - Sep 6, 2010 Aug 23 - Aug 30, 2010 Aug 16 - Aug 23, 2010 Aug 9 - Aug 16, 2010 Aug 2 - Aug 9, 2010 Jul 26 - Aug 2, 2010 Jul 19 - Jul 26, 2010 Jul 12 - Jul 19, 2010 Jul 5 - Jul 12, 2010 Jun 28 - Jul 5, 2010 Jun 21 - Jun 28, 2010 Jun 14 - Jun 21, 2010 Jun 7 - Jun 14, 2010 May 31 - Jun 7, 2010 May 24 - May 31, 2010 May 17 - May 24, 2010 May 10 - May 17, 2010 May 3 - May 10, 2010 Apr 26 - May 3, 2010 Apr 19 - Apr 26, 2010 Apr 12 - Apr 19, 2010 Apr 5 - Apr 12, 2010 Mar 29 - Apr 5, 2010 Mar 22 - Mar 29, 2010 Mar 15 - Mar 22, 2010 Mar 7 - Mar 15, 2010 Feb 28 - Mar 7, 2010 Feb 21 - Feb 28, 2010 Feb 14 - Feb 21, 2010 Feb 7 - Feb 14, 2010 Jan 31 - Feb 7, 2010 Jan 24 - Jan 31, 2010 Jan 17 - Jan 24, 2010 Jan 10 - Jan 17, 2010 Jan 3 - Jan 10, 2010 Dec 27 - Jan 3, 2010 Dec 20 - Dec 27, 2009 Dec 13 - Dec 20, 2009 Dec 6 - Dec 13, 2009 Nov 29 - Dec 6, 2009 Nov 22 - Nov 29, 2009 Nov 15 - Nov 22, 2009 Nov 8 - Nov 15, 2009 Nov 1 - Nov 8, 2009 Oct 26 - Nov 1, 2009 Oct 19 - Oct 26, 2009 Oct 12 - Oct 19, 2009 Oct 5 - Oct 12, 2009 Sep 28 - Oct 5, 2009 Sep 21 - Sep 28, 2009 Sep 14 - Sep 21, 2009 Sep 7 - Sep 14, 2009 Aug 31 - Sep 7, 2009 Aug 24 - Aug 31, 2009 Aug 17 - Aug 24, 2009 Aug 10 - Aug 17, 2009 Aug 3 - Aug 10, 2009 Jul 27 - Aug 3, 2009 Jul 20 - Jul 27, 2009 Jul 13 - Jul 20, 2009 Jul 6 - Jul 13, 2009 Jun 29 - Jul 6, 2009 Jun 22 - Jun 29, 2009 Jun 15 - Jun 22, 2009 Jun 8 - Jun 15, 2009 Jun 1 - Jun 8, 2009 May 25 - Jun 1, 2009 May 18 - May 25, 2009 May 11 - May 18, 2009 May 4 - May 11, 2009 Apr 27 - May 4, 2009 Apr 20 - Apr 27, 2009 Apr 13 - Apr 20, 2009 Apr 6 - Apr 13, 2009 Mar 30 - Apr 6, 2009 Mar 23 - Mar 30, 2009 Mar 16 - Mar 23, 2009 Mar 9 - Mar 16, 2009 Mar 1 - Mar 9, 2009 Feb 22 - Mar 1, 2009 Feb 15 - Feb 22, 2009 Feb 8 - Feb 15, 2009 Feb 1 - Feb 8, 2009 Jan 25 - Feb 1, 2009 Jan 18 - Jan 25, 2009 Jan 11 - Jan 18, 2009 Jan 4 - Jan 11, 2009 Dec 28 - Jan 4, 2009 Dec 21 - Dec 28, 2008 Dec 14 - Dec 21, 2008 Dec 7 - Dec 14, 2008 Nov 30 - Dec 7, 2008 Nov 23 - Nov 30, 2008 Nov 16 - Nov 23, 2008 Nov 9 - Nov 16, 2008 Nov 2 - Nov 9, 2008 Oct 27 - Nov 2, 2008 Oct 20 - Oct 27, 2008 Oct 13 - Oct 20, 2008 Oct 6 - Oct 13, 2008 Sep 29 - Oct 6, 2008 Sep 22 - Sep 29, 2008 Sep 15 - Sep 22, 2008 Sep 8 - Sep 15, 2008 Sep 1 - Sep 8, 2008 Aug 25 - Sep 1, 2008 Aug 18 - Aug 25, 2008 Aug 11 - Aug 18, 2008 Aug 4 - Aug 11, 2008 Jul 28 - Aug 4, 2008 Jul 21 - Jul 28, 2008 Jul 14 - Jul 21, 2008 Jul 7 - Jul 14, 2008 Jun 30 - Jul 7, 2008 Jun 23 - Jun 30, 2008 Jun 16 - Jun 23, 2008 Jun 9 - Jun 16, 2008 Jun 2 - Jun 9, 2008 May 26 - Jun 2, 2008 May 19 - May 26, 2008 May 12 - May 19, 2008 May 5 - May 12, 2008 Apr 28 - May 5, 2008 Apr 21 - Apr 28, 2008 Apr 14 - Apr 21, 2008 Apr 7 - Apr 14, 2008 Mar 31 - Apr 7, 2008 Mar 24 - Mar 31, 2008 Mar 17 - Mar 24, 2008 Mar 10 - Mar 17, 2008 Mar 2 - Mar 10, 2008 Feb 24 - Mar 2, 2008 Feb 17 - Feb 24, 2008 Feb 10 - Feb 17, 2008 Feb 3 - Feb 10, 2008 Jan 27 - Feb 3, 2008 Jan 20 - Jan 27, 2008 Jan 13 - Jan 20, 2008 Jan 6 - Jan 13, 2008 Dec 30 - Jan 6, 2008 Dec 23 - Dec 30, 2007 Dec 16 - Dec 23, 2007 Dec 9 - Dec 16, 2007 Dec 2 - Dec 9, 2007

DocWatch efficiency increase Twitterit? News stories about "efficiency increase," with punchlines: http://apocadocs.com/d.pl?efficiency+increase Related Scary Tags: technological innovation  ~ alternative energy  ~ renewable energy  ~ smart policy  ~ carbon emissions  ~ sustainability  ~ climate impacts  ~ technical cleverness  ~ low-energy future  ~ anthropogenic change  ~ global warming   Wed, Jan 27, 2016 from IEEE Spectrum: NOAA Model Finds Renewable Energy Could be Deployed in the U.S. Without Storage The majority of the United States's electricity needs could be met with renewable energy by 2030--without new advances in energy storage or cost increases. That's the finding of a new study conducted by researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The key will be having sufficient transmission lines spanning the contiguous U.S., so that energy can be deployed from where it's generated to the places where its needed. Reporting their results today in Nature Climate Change, the researchers found that a combination of solar and wind energy, plus high-voltage direct current transmission lines that travel across the country, would reduce the electric sector's carbon dioxide emissions by up to 80 percent compared to 1990 levels. ... Alas, only rational humans will listen to the fruitless bleatings of scientists and engineers. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Jul 11, 2015 from Grist: This cleantech expert lays down the facts on solar and natural gas ... A materials scientist and professor of engineering at MIT, Trancik would rather help humanity beat the clock by speeding up the development of clean energy technologies and sounding the alarm when a technology looks like it isn't going to scale effectively. In short, she's a cleantech efficiency expert. Whether it's solar cells, wind turbines, electric vehicles, natural gas biofuels, or that "miracle energy" your uncle emailed you about, Trancik wants to know: what materials does it require, how much do those materials cost, how much would we have to use the technology in order to meet emissions targets, how much would materials extraction and refinement have to go up accordingly, how much would that cost, and -- most importantly -- is this a smart or realistic path to go down? ... Using science to inform policy: so crazy that it might just work! ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Sep 19, 2014 from The Hill: Proposed air conditioner rules could yield biggest savings The Department of Energy (DOE) said Thursday it will propose efficiency standards for commercial air conditioners that could yield the most energy savings of any appliance standard. The agency said the standards for commercial unitary air conditioners, which are usually housed on the roofs of large buildings, will save 11.7 quads of energy over the lifetimes of units sold for 30 years.... "If finalized, it would also help cut carbon pollution by more than 60 million metric tons, and could save consumers nearly $10 billion on their energy bills through 2030," the White House said. ... Something tells me we're going to need air conditioning in the future. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Sep 17, 2014 from The Hill: GAO: More coal power plants to retire than previously thought The Government Accountability Office (GAO) increased the amount of coal-fired power plants that it estimates will be retired by 2025. The GAO, which serves as a watchdog for Congress, said Monday that the most current data points to 13 percent of 2012's coal-fueled electric generating capacity being retired by 2025, due to environmental regulations, increase competition from falling natural gas prices and decreasing demand for electricity. ... Will all those retired coal plants go play golf in Florida? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Sep 8, 2014 from Guardian: The similarity between circular economy and water stewardship How will the new fad - these circular models - improve a company's water management? Circular economies, the theory says, produce virtually no waste, as all raw materials are re-used and recycled continuously to form a closed loop. It's a dramatic shift from our current linear economy, in which we take, make, consume and dispose, drawing regularly on our natural resources to create products that eventually end up as trash. From a conservation perspective, a closed loop system is obviously better for the environment. But is that it? Does it really have the potential to transform business markets? It might. When circular economy thinking is applied to business operations, it is surprisingly synergistic to water stewardship. For both water stewardship and circular models, efficiency isn't the end game. Yes, it's important to reduce the water required to make and dispose of products. Water efficiency also tends to carry additional benefits, such as increased profits and energy savings. But from a natural resources management perspective, there's much more to do. ... I'm more accustomed to circular reasoning, like "there's no point in trying to save the planet, because we're utterly screwed, so let's use it up faster." ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Aug 4, 2014 from Washington Post: Water utilities charge more to offset low-flow toilets, faucets and shower heads Federally mandated low-flow toilets, shower heads and faucets are taking a financial toll on the nation's water utilities, leaving customers to make up the shortfall with higher water rates and new fees that have left many paying more for less. Utility officials say they understand that charging more for water because demand has dropped might seem to violate a basic premise of Economics 101. But utilities that generally charge by the number of gallons used are beginning to feel the financial pinch of 20 years of environmentally friendly fixtures and appliances, as older bathrooms and kitchens have been remodeled, utility experts say. ... The shareholders are thirsty for profit. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Apr 29, 2014 from Quad-City Business Journal: Feedlot uses cattle waste to produce energy In 2007, farmer Bryan Sievers began researching an idea for a large cattle feedlot and came up with a plan that makes the entire enterprise "green." Along with his wife, Lisa; son, Jon; and his father, Glenn, the family came up with a way to turn the feedlot waste into electricity. In this instance, it is the cattle waste they are using. Sievers uses the manure from the cows to feed into a biomass digester, the methane from which is used generate electricity for the feedlot. What is left over from the production of electricity is fertilizer for the corn and soybean crops.... The digester is producing about 650 kilowatts of electricity an hour, which could power about 450 homes, he said. It is running at about two-thirds of its 1-megawatt capacity. ... Now if we could just sequester cow farts. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Mar 18, 2014 from CBS Detroit: Consumers Energy, Green Building Council Sponsor Energy Contests Consumers Energy is encouraging businesses from the Indiana line to the Upper Peninsula to save energy by sponsoring the West Michigan Battle of the Buildings, a friendly competition that will run through the rest of this year. ... Glad it's friendly. Would hate for buildings to be destroyed! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Mar 6, 2014 from Des Moines Register: Iowa gets about 27 percent of energy from wind, report says Iowa received about 27 percent of its energy from wind generation last year, placing it first in the nation, ahead of South Dakota at 26 percent, a new report today shows. The American Wind Energy Association said Iowa generated enough wind last year to power 1.4 million homes, second only to Texas, which generated enough wind energy to power 3.3 million homes. Iowa has 5,117 megawatts of installed wind energy capacity, with 1,055 megawatts under construction. The report said Iowa ranks third in the nation for the number of jobs — up to 7,000 direct and indirect, based on 2012 data — that are tied wind generation. ... What with all that wind, the hair salon industry is getting a boost as well! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Mar 6, 2014 from The Hill: House passes bill on energy efficiency The House passed a bipartisan package on Wednesday intended to up energy efficiency in homes and federal agencies. The legislation, authored by Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and David McKinley (R-W.Va.), aims to boost energy conservation with a program called Tenant Star, which provides incentives to landlords and tenants who up their energy savings. The package, which passed 375 to 36, also promotes energy efficiency in federal agencies under a provision added by Rep. Anna Eschoo (D-Calif.) ... This news comes from a parallel universe where politicians do the right thing. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Mar 3, 2014 from Yale360: In a Host of Small Sources, Scientists See Energy Windfall Computers feasting on their own exhaust heat. Super-efficient solar panels snaring lost thermal energy and recycling it into electricity. Personal electronics powered by stray microwaves or vibration-capturing clothing. Cellphones charged with a user's footsteps. These and more innovations may be possible with free, green energy that is now going to waste. Ubiquitous sources like radio waves, vibration and pressure created by moving objects, heat radiating from machines and even our bodies -- all have the potential to produce usable electric power. Until recently, ambient energy was largely squandered because of a lack of ways to efficiently exploit it. Now, advances in materials and engineering are providing tools to harvest this abundant resource and transform it into cheap, clean electricity. "This power is simply available and it's not doing anything right now, so it's truly being wasted," said Steven Cummer, a Duke University electrical and computer engineering professor working on harvesting ambient electromagnetic radiation to power electronic devices. "And as people think of useful things to do with it, then you're doing those things with available power instead of requiring new power." ... It's like we're partnering with Sir Isaac Newton! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jan 13, 2014 from Midwest Energy News: Study: Air travel outpacing driving in fuel efficiency gains Conventional wisdom says that driving a relatively fuel-efficient car is usually better for the environment than flying. That may no longer be the case, though, according to new calculations from the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute.... matching the fuel intensity of an average flight now requires a car get at least 33.8 mpg or have more than two occupants. ... Still, astral projection beats all. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jan 9, 2014 from Nature: Cheap battery stores energy for a rainy day Power harvested from the Sun and wind is pouring into electricity grids by the gigawatt. That makes it ever more important to find an efficient and convenient way to store renewable energy for those times when the breeze dies or the skies cloud over. "Now we have a good chance of solving that problem," says Michael Aziz, a materials scientist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His solution is a flow battery that packs a high energy density with no need for the expensive metals found in other models... The big advantage of flow batteries is that the chemicals can be stored in tanks outside the battery assembly. Increasing capacity is simply a matter of building larger tanks, making flow batteries particularly suitable for large-scale energy storage. ... Goin' with the flow... ApocaDoc permalink Want more context? Try reading our book FREE online: Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies! More fun than a barrel of jellyfish! Fri, Jan 3, 2014 from North Carolina State, via EurekAlert: Researchers find simple, cheap way to increase solar cell efficiency Researchers from North Carolina State University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have found an easy way to modify the molecular structure of a polymer commonly used in solar cells. Their modification can increase solar cell efficiency by more than 30 percent. Polymer-based solar cells have two domains, consisting of an electron acceptor and an electron donor material. Excitons are the energy particles created by solar cells when light is absorbed. In order to be harnessed effectively as an energy source, excitons must be able to travel quickly to the interface of the donor and acceptor domains and retain as much of the light's energy as possible.... PBT-OP was not only easier to make than other commonly used polymers, but a simple manipulation of its chemical structure gave it a lower HOMO level than had been seen in other polymers with the same molecular backbone. PBT-OP showed an open circuit voltage (the voltage available from a solar cell) value of 0.78 volts, a 36 percent increase over the ~ 0.6 volt average from similar polymers. ... I chalk it up to the smart branding of Exciton™! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Dec 16, 2013 from Bloomberg News: Buffett's MidAmerican Awards Siemens Biggest Wind-Turbine Order MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., the power unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (A:US), agreed to buy wind turbines valued at more than $1 billion from Siemens AG (SIE) for five projects in Iowa, in the supplier's biggest order to date for land-based wind equipment. Siemens will provide 448 of its 2.3-megawatt turbines with total capacity of almost 1,050 megawatts, enough to power about 320,000 households... "The U.S. is leading the way toward grid parity," Tacke said, the point when the price for power from renewable sources becomes competitive with conventional sources of energy such as natural gas and coal. "The industry needs volume and these large orders help drive down the costs of wind power." ... When we hit grid parity let's throw a grid party! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Dec 5, 2013 from BBC: Meet the US Army's hybrid hellion A fuel-efficient, lightweight hybrid vehicle that could keep soldiers safe? It might sound like mission impossible, but such a machine is already roaming the earth -- albeit on a tight leash....it's a fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle, its rear-mounted lithium-iron phosphate battery charged by a 175-horsepower Subaru turbodiesel boxer engine. And although it is smaller and lighter than other similar Army vehicles, such as the long-serving Humvee, it still offers vanguard blast-mitigation and survivability features. ... Next thing you know, soldiers will be drinking iced lattes. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Nov 23, 2013 from Denver Post: Wind and solar were the fastest growing sources for electricity generation in 2012 Wind and solar were the fastest growing technologies for electricity generation in 2012, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Wind capacity grew 28 percent to 60 Gigawatts in 2012 and photovoltaic panels were up 83 percent to 7.3 GWs compared to 2011.... Between 2008 and 2012, the United States doubled renewable electricity generation from a combination of wind, solar and geothermal technologies. ... Whatever happened to the promise of switchgrass? ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Nov 23, 2013 from New York Times: Bloomberg Wants Restaurants to Compost Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who is slowly bringing New Yorkers around to the idea of recycling their food scraps, is trying to expand his composting campaign by bringing it to large restaurants. The mayor said on Friday that he was proposing a bill to require restaurants that generate more than a ton of food waste a week -- about 1,200 establishments -- to separate their food waste from the rest of their garbage so it could be sent to a composting plant. There, the food scraps would be converted to fertilizer or energy, part of the mayor's long effort to divert more of the city's trash from landfills... The city already collects food scraps in a pilot program from roughly 31,000 homes in about a dozen neighborhoods in the Bronx, in Brooklyn and on Staten Island. By 2015, the city plans to expand the program to 100,000 single-family homes and 70 high-rise buildings across the city. ... Dispose of that Big Apple core responsibly. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Nov 20, 2013 from GreenTech Media: More Evidence That America May Have Reached "Peak Car" ...According to research from the Public Interest Research Group, young Americans between the ages of 16 and 34 are driving 23 percent less than they did in 2001. All Americans are driving less, but the decline is even steeper for Millennials. In study after study, the trend is stark. But researchers are still trying to figure out whether the decline in driving is due to a post-recession hangover, or caused by structural long-term changes that mean "peak car" has arrived.... "The findings of the present study indicate that the corresponding rates for fuel consumed also reached their maxima during [2003-2004]. Thus, the combined evidence from these three studies indicates that -- per person, per driver, and per household -- we now have fewer light-duty vehicles, we drive each of them less, and we consume less fuel than in the past," concluded Sivak. ... This is bad news for the proposed car, the "Toyota Peak." ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Nov 20, 2013 from Associated Press: Hyundai to sell hydrogen-powered SUV in 2014 For years, the joke in the auto industry was that a mass-produced car that runs on hydrogen was always a decade away. That will change next year when Hyundai starts selling a Tucson SUV powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. It will be the first mass-market vehicle of its type to be sold or leased in the U.S. ... All I can say is hyundrogenai. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Nov 7, 2013 from Stanford University: The world can be powered by alternative energy, using today's technology, in 20-40 years, says Stanford researcher Mark Z. Jacobson A new study - co-authored by Stanford researcher Mark Z. Jacobson and UC-Davis researcher Mark A. Delucchi - analyzing what is needed to convert the world's energy supplies to clean and sustainable sources says that it can be done with today's technology at costs roughly comparable to conventional energy. But converting will be a massive undertaking on the scale of the moon landings. What is needed most is the societal and political will to make it happen.... The world they envision would run largely on electricity. Their plan calls for using wind, water and solar energy to generate power, with wind and solar power contributing 90 percent of the needed energy. Geothermal and hydroelectric sources would each contribute about 4 percent in their plan (70 percent of the hydroelectric is already in place), with the remaining 2 percent from wave and tidal power. ... But if Exxon loses market share, won't that mean we won't have jobs or an economy ever again? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Oct 17, 2013 from Columbus Business First: AEP takes coal "out of the picture" as it plans for future American Electric Power Company Inc. CEO Nick Akins shared his vision for where the Columbus-based utility is headed Wednesday, and his priority list didn't include coal, AEP's traditional go-to fuel source for its power plants. "We see the future for us being natural gas, energy efficiency, smart-grid activities and renewables," he said during a Columbus Metropolitan Club program. Akins didn't seem happy about leaving coal off the list, but he said it is being "taken out of the picture" as a fuel for power plants because of federal air quality regulations, especially proposed rules on carbon dioxide emissions. ... Another one bites the toxic dust. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Oct 7, 2013 from Minneapolis Star Tribune: Solar power for the do-it-yourselfer A Minnesota entrepreneur has brought the assemble-it-yourself concept to solar power. The SolarPod developed by Mouli Engineering of Eagan comes with four solar panels and related parts, including a rack, that its developer says are no more challenging to assemble than furniture from Ikea. "Two guys can put that thing together in an afternoon," said Nick Tamble of HGVids, who assembled one for a how-to video on a retail website. ... Two guys... and a case of beer. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Oct 5, 2013 from University of Alberta: An important step toward cheap spray-on solar cells University of Alberta researchers have found that abundant materials in the Earth's crust can be used to make inexpensive and easily manufactured nanoparticle-based solar cells. The discovery, several years in the making, is an important step forward in making solar power more accessible to parts of the world that are off the traditional electricity grid or face high power costs, such as the Canadian North, said researcher Jillian Buriak, a chemistry professor and senior research officer of the National Institute for Nanotechnology based on the U of A campus. Buriak and her team have designed nanoparticles that absorb light and conduct electricity from two very common elements: phosphorus and zinc. Both materials are more plentiful than scarce materials such as cadmium and are free from manufacturing restrictions imposed on lead-based nanoparticles. ... Hey! You! Get off my status quo! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Sep 30, 2013 from Australian Associated Press: Girls 'go for men with green cars' GIRLS go for men with "green" cars rather than those with gas-guzzlers, according to a British survey. More than half of women reckon drivers of expensive sports cars are arrogant, the poll from Motors.co.uk found. But many women, and men too, found drivers of eco-friendly cars such as the Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius to be conscientious, intelligent and safe motorists. ... Real men are concerned about their emissions. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Sep 30, 2013 from The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology: Novel Technology to Produce Gasoline by a Metabolically-Engineered Microorganism Scientists succeeded in producing 580 mg of gasoline per litre of cultured broth by converting in vivo generated fatty acid... The research team engineered the fatty acid metabolism to provide the fatty acid derivatives that are shorter than normal intracellular fatty acid metabolites, and introduced a novel synthetic pathway for the biosynthesis of short-chain alkanes. This allowed the development of platform E. coli strain capable of producing gasoline for the first time. Furthermore, this platform strain, if desired, can be modified to produce other products such as short-chain fatty esters and short-chain fatty alcohols. ... No shit! ApocaDoc permalink You're still reading! Good for you! You really should read our short, funny, frightening book FREE online (or buy a print copy): Humoring the Horror of the Converging Emergencies! We've been quipping this stuff for more than 30 months! Every day! Which might explain why we don't get invited to parties anymore. Fri, Sep 6, 2013 from Midwest Energy News: In unlikely alliance, Wisconsin Libertarians back solar plan A group of conservative Tea Party activists in Atlanta turned heads this summer when they announced a partnership with the local Sierra Club chapter to help pressure Georgia's largest electric utility to boost its investment in solar power. Six weeks later, solar power picked up another unexpected supporter in Wisconsin, where on Aug. 20 the state's Libertarian Party endorsed a clean energy group's proposal to let customers lease solar panels and other small renewable generators. ... Who says there's nothing new under the sun? ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Aug 7, 2013 from BBC: South Korean road wirelessly recharges OLEV buses South Korea has switched on a road which can recharge electric vehicles as they drive over it. The project's developer says the 12km (7.5 miles) route is the first of its kind in the world. It means vehicles fitted with compatible equipment do not need to stop to recharge and can also be fitted with smaller than normal batteries. Two public buses are already using the technology and there are plans to add 10 more by 2015. ... If only the road could serve me some hamburgers and fries. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jul 18, 2013 from The Hill: Hoeven predicts efficiency bill will collapse without Keystone pipeline attached Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) predicted Wednesday that bipartisan energy efficiency legislation heading to the Senate floor faces a grim future unless it eventually includes language to advance the Keystone XL oil pipeline. A broad energy efficiency bill sponsored by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is believed to be coming to the Senate floor in late July. Hoeven, who is weighing offering a Keystone amendment to the bill, said there's not enough Republican support for the legislation on Capitol Hill unless it includes Keystone. ... Dude, we are all facing a grim future. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Apr 24, 2013 from NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Galaxy Goes Green in Burning Stellar Fuel Astronomers have spotted the "greenest" of galaxies, one that converts fuel into stars with almost 100-percent efficiency. The findings come from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the IRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer in the French Alps. "This galaxy is remarkably efficient," said Jim Geach of McGill University in Canada, lead author of a new study appearing in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. "It's converting its gas supply into new stars at the maximum rate thought possible." ... And it all probably started with recycling. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Feb 21, 2013 from E&E Publishing: Rural China tries to break its coal addiction by using straw This is not the equivalent of Silicon Valley. There isn't a lab in sight or a high-tech industrial park in the area. What attracts most of the attention is a two-floor factory building with a signboard that reads "Shangqiu Sanli New Energy Demonstration." Still, this is a noteworthy place. It is healing one of China's long-standing headaches. That headache is straw, basically an agricultural waste collected from nearby farms. Workers here chop it, compress it, then heat it slowly in sophisticated, oxygen-free ovens to produce biochar, a sort of charcoal that can be used as soil amendments. What remains -- two types of liquids called wood tar and wood vinegar -- are removed to sealed vessels and are sold as eco-friendly pesticides and soil conditioners. Through this, the factory produces industrial goods worth nearly $10 million per year. The process also produces a combustible gas that it converts into electricity -- to run the machinery. ... Still, you gotta expect there are going to be a lot of camels with broken backs. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Feb 4, 2013 from Bloomberg News: U.S. Renewable-Energy Capacity Doubled From 2009-2012, BNEF Says Renewable-energy capacity in the U.S. almost doubled from 2009 to 2012, helping reduce the nation's carbon-dioxide emissions last year to the lowest since 1994, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance report. The cumulative installed solar, wind, geothermal and biomass-based energy sources in the U.S. climbed to 85.7 gigawatts in 2012, compared with 43.5 gigawatts in 2008, the London-based research company said in a report today. Because the U.S. has reduced carbon emissions by 13 percent from a high of 6.02 gigatons in 2007, it's gained credibility in global negotiations aimed at curbing climate change, Ethan Zindler, a New Energy Finance analyst based in Washington, said yesterday. Natural gas consumption increased as the use of coal and oil declined, according to the report. ... Am I dreaming? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Feb 4, 2013 from E&E Publishing: Chu announces resignation after tumultuous term promoting clean energy agenda Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced his resignation today, marking the end of a tumultuous tenure atop the department during which he won plaudits for a reinvigorated effort to promote clean energy and address climate change but was panned for shortfalls in that same push, notably the bankruptcy of solar panel manufacturer Solyndra. ... Another half-assed federal eco-advocate bites the dust. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Dec 3, 2012 from Battle Creek Enquirer: Catching waste energy with common materials Researchers at Michigan State University are working on a new low-cost approach to recapturing the heat energy that is lost in car exhaust and many other industrial processes, in search of a way to improve efficiency and decrease waste. The team is using a material based on very common naturally occurring minerals called tetrahedrites to make thermoelectric materials that have the ability to convert heat into electricity. ... Waste nothing! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Dec 3, 2012 from New York Times: Solar Industry Borrows a Page, and a Party, From Tupperware ... Environmentalists, government officials and sales representatives have been trying to get Americans to go solar for decades, with limited success. Despite the long push, solar power still represents less than 1 percent of electricity generated in the United States. Home solar panel setups, which typically run $25,000 or more, are considered by many consumers to be the province of the rich or idealistic. So now solar companies are adhering to a path blazed by Tupperware decades ago, figuring that the best sales people are often enthusiastic customers willing to share their experiences with friends and neighbors -- and perhaps earn a referral fee on any sales that result. ... Sounds like a ponzi scheme! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Nov 27, 2012 from CNN: Hydrogen fuel-cell cars look to overtake electric autos As electric cars try to forge more than just a niche in the market, the auto industry is already looking to another form of clean technology that could overtake today's battery-powered vehicles. Commitments by automobile manufactures to develop hydrogen fuel-cell cars have surged in recent months. Toyota, Hyundai, Daimler and Honda announced plans to build vehicles that run on the most abundant element in the universe and emit only water vapor as a byproduct. ... As long as my status as a sex symbol is upheld who cares what fuels it! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Nov 13, 2012 from American Technion Society : New Way to Split Water Molecules Into Hydrogen and Oxygen: Breakthrough for Solar Energy Conversion and Storage? Using the power of the sun and ultrathin films of iron oxide (commonly known as rust), Technion-Israel Institute of Technology researchers have found a novel way to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The breakthrough, published this week in Nature Materials, could lead to less expensive, more efficient ways to store solar energy in the form of hydrogen-based fuels. This could be a major step forward in the development of viable replacements for fossil fuels....these cells could store solar energy for on demand use, 24 hours per day. This is in strong contrast to conventional photovoltaic cells, which provide power only when the sun is shining (and not at night or when it is cloudy). ... I've heard it said rust never sleeps. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Nov 5, 2012 from Reuters: Unprecedented world carbon emissions cuts needed by 2050: PwC The world will have to cut the rate of carbon emissions by an unprecedented rate to 2050 to stop global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees this century, a report released by PwC on Monday showed.... Global temperatures have already risen by about 0.8 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times. Almost 200 nations agreed in 2010 at United Nations climate talks to limit the rise to below 2 degrees C (3.6 Fahrenheit) to avoid dangerous impacts from climate change. Carbon intensity will have to be cut by over 5 percent a year to achieve that goal, the study said. That compares with an annual rate of 0.8 percent from 2000 to 2011. ... Guess we better get in gear. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Sep 18, 2012 from CNN Money: Young Americans ditch the car America's young people just aren't buying cars like they used to. The share of new cars purchased by those aged 18-34 dropped 30 percent in the last five years, according to the car shopping web site Edmunds.com. mostly it's the explosion of social media. Car ownership just may not be as socially important as it used to be. "What we used to do in cars, young people are now doing online," said one analyst at a recent oil conference. The ability to meet and interact with people on the Internet is largely replacing the need to hop in a car and cruise down the strip. ... Plus, the internet can get you laid. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Sep 4, 2012 from Minneapolis Star Tribune: Eco-Village: Sustainable, affordable ...The project is the largest of its kind in the nation for Habitat for Humanity, the sixth-biggest U.S. home builder last year ... It'll also serve as a national model, showing for-profit developers that homes can be both energy-efficient and economical on a large scale... Susan Roeder, manager of corporate affairs for Andersen Corp., and more than 50 volunteers from that company were recently on-site, helping ready the concrete foundations. They installed trusses and floor decking as well as set up the wall system. Roeder said the company's foundation donated $100,000, along with energy-efficient windows for all 18 homes. The company will also make ... The City of River Falls donated the 7.5-acre parcel. ... It takes, um, a village. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Sep 3, 2012 from New Scientist: Waste water harnessed to make electricity and plastics TREATING waste water is energy intensive. In the US, it sucks up the equivalent output of four of the country's biggest power plants every year. But it needn't be such a drain on resources - soon it might be able to earn its keep. A team led by Hong Liu from Oregon State University in Corvallis has plans for microbial fuel cells that will reclaim energy from waste water and produce around 2.87 watts per litre of waste water. That is almost double the amount of electrical power usual for such a cell. And its by-products could be harnessed to create cheap, biodegradable plastics. ... I suggest we stop calling it waste water. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Aug 28, 2012 from Wall Street Journal: Obama Administration to Finalize Fuel Efficiency Standards The Obama administration today will make final new fuel efficiency standards for passenger cars, pickup trucks, and sport-utility vehicles, according to people briefed on the matter. The people said the final rule will set an average fuel economy requirement of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 for each auto maker's fleet, the same level the administration initially proposed in November 2011. ... "The people" have spoken. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Aug 28, 2012 from New Scientist, via Paul Smedberg: Nanocrystalline Cellulose (NCC): Why wood pulp is world's new wonder material Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), which is produced by processing wood pulp, is being hailed as the latest wonder material. Japan-based Pioneer Electronics is applying it to the next generation of flexible electronic displays. IBM is using it to create components for computers. Even the US army is getting in on the act, using it to make lightweight body armour and ballistic glass.... So why all the fuss? Well, not only is NCC transparent but it is made from a tightly packed array of needle-like crystals which have a strength-to-weight ratio that is eight times better than stainless steel. Even better, it's incredibly cheap. "It is the natural, renewable version of a carbon nanotube at a fraction of the price," says Jeff Youngblood of Purdue University's NanoForestry Institute in West Lafayette, Indiana.... "Anyone who makes a car or a plastic bag will want to get in on this," he says. In addition, the human body can deal with cellulose safely, says Jones, so NCC is less dangerous to process than inorganic composites. "The worst thing that could happen is a paper cut," he says. ... Uh-oh. Paradigm shift ahead! ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Jul 27, 2012 from DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, via EurekAlert: Photovoltaics from any semiconductor A technology that would enable low-cost, high efficiency solar cells to be made from virtually any semiconductor material has been developed by researchers.... This technology opens the door to the use of plentiful, relatively inexpensive semiconductors, such as the promising metal oxides, sulfides and phosphides, that have been considered unsuitable for solar cells because it is so difficult to taylor their properties by chemical means.... "Our technology requires only electrode and gate deposition, without the need for high-temperature chemical doping, ion implantation, or other expensive or damaging processes," says lead author William Regan.... This makes it possible for electrical contact to and carrier modulation of the semiconductor to be performed simultaneously."... In one configuration, working with copper oxide, the Berkeley researchers shaped the electrode contact into narrow fingers; in another configuration, working with silicon, they made the top contact ultra-thin (single layer graphene) across the surface. With sufficiently narrow fingers, the gate field creates a low electrical resistance inversion layer between the fingers and a potential barrier beneath them. A uniformly thin top contact allows gate fields to penetrate and deplete/invert the underlying semiconductor. The results in both configurations are high quality p-n junctions. ... Ubiquitous p-n junctions give me the Palpably Next-era Jazz! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, May 22, 2012 from Yale University: Americans Support National Clean-Energy Standard The average U.S. citizen is willing to pay 13 percent more for electricity in support of a national clean-energy standard (NCES), according to Yale and Harvard researchers in Nature Climate Change. Americans, on average, are willing to pay $162 per year in higher electricity bills to support a national standard requiring that 80 percent of the energy be "clean," or not derived from fossil fuels. Support was lower for a national standard among nonwhites, older individuals and Republicans. ... America... the Land of Sacrifice! ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Apr 13, 2012 from ScienceDaily: Artificial Photosynthesis Breakthrough: Fast Molecular Catalyzer Researchers from the Department of Chemistry at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden, have managed to construct a molecular catalyzer that can oxidize water to oxygen very rapidly. In fact, these KTH scientists are the first to reach speeds approximating those is nature's own photosynthesis. The research findings play a critical role for the future use of solar energy and other renewable energy sources.... The speed with which natural photosynthesis occurs is about 100 to 400 turnovers per seconds. The KTH have now reached over 300 turnovers per seconds with their artificial photosynthesis.... "I'm convinced that it will be possible in ten years to produce technology based on this type of research that is sufficiently cheap to compete with carbon-based fuels. This explains why Barack Obama is investing billions of dollars in this type of research," says Licheng Sun. ... Replacing Mother Nature is just around the corner. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Mar 19, 2012 from ClimateProgress: James Hansen's Must-See TED Talk: Starting To Reduce CO2 In 10 Years Is Too Late Favorite denier myths such as "it's the Sun" and "CO2 lags temperature" were addressed by Dr. Hansen and shown to be wrong or irrelevant. He also discussed how amplifying feedbacks in the past took small changes in temperature due to slight changes in the Earth's orbit and either initiated or ended ice ages. He then said these same amplifying feedbacks will occur today if we do not stop the warming. "The physics does not change." Besides the impacts that are already occurring, Dr. Hansen said that if we do not stop the warming, we should expect sea levels to rise this century by 1 to 5 meters (3 to 18 feet), extinction of 20 to 50 percent of species, and massive droughts later this century. He said that the recent Texas heat wave, Moscow's heat wave the year before, and the 2003 heat wave in Europe we "exceptional" events that now occur 25 to 50 times more often than just 50 years ago. Therefore, he concluded, we can say with high confidence that these heat waves were "caused" by global warming. A key solution to climate change, Dr. Hansen said, is to out a simple, honest price on carbon. He proposed a "Fee and Dividend" approach where an increasing fee on CO2 is paid by fossil fuel companies and 100 percent of the proceeds are distributed to every legal resident. Besides lowering carbon emissions, this will also stimulate innovation and create millions of jobs. ... Benefiting everyone equally? That's not fair! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Mar 14, 2012 from New York Times: An Inconvenient Statement, Retracted Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Tuesday walked away from his oft-quoted pre-Cabinet statement that the United States should deliberately raise gasoline prices to discourage consumption. In a 2008 interview with The Wall Street Journal before he was appointed President Obama's energy secretary, Dr. Chu, then the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, said, "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels of Europe." Dr. Chu, a winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, has spent much of his career seeking alternative forms of energy to try to mitigate the global warming effects of the burning of fossil fuels.... So in a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, Dr. Chu walked away from his earlier comment. "I no longer share that view," he said. "Of course we don't want the price of gasoline to go up. We want it to go down." ... These are not the droids Chu is looking for. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Feb 23, 2012 from EnvironmentalResearchWeb: Drexel engineers develop cement with 97 percent smaller carbon dioxide and energy footprint Drexel University engineers have found a way to improve upon ordinary Portland cement (OPC), the glue that's bonded much of the world's construction since the late 1800s. In research recently published in Cement and Concrete Composites the group served up a recipe for cement that is more energy efficient and cost effective to produce than masonry's most prevalent bonding compound. Drexel's "green" variety is a form of alkali-activated cement that utilizes an industrial byproduct, called slag, and a common mineral, limestone, and does not require heating to produce. According to Dr. Michel W. Barsoum, A.W. Grosvenor professor in Drexel's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, this alternative production method and the ubiquity of the mix ingredients, lessens the cost of materials for Drexel's cement by about 40 percent versus Portland cement and reduces energy consumption and carbon dioxide production by 97 percent. ... Now that's a foundation to build upon! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Feb 13, 2012 from New Scientist: Charging up an all-electric 320 km/h racing car HOW do you get more power out of an electric car than its main battery pack can deliver? Simple, turn the car's very bodywork into a battery, extract power from every bounce of its suspension system and, while you're at it, suck energy from the road surface too. Such are the measures being built into an electric racing car capable of reaching 320 kilometres (200 miles) per hour by a UK-based consortium. Their aim is to perfect a multitude of novel electric-vehicle (EV) technologies and ultimately to transfer them to road cars. ... Don't forget to use methane emissions from the driver, too! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jan 11, 2012 from New York Times: A Fine for Not Using a Biofuel That Doesn't Exist When the companies that supply motor fuel close the books on 2011, they will pay about $6.8 million in penalties to the Treasury because they failed to mix a special type of biofuel into their gasoline and diesel as required by law. But there was none to be had. Outside a handful of laboratories and workshops, the ingredient, cellulosic biofuel, does not exist. ... We'll laugh about this sort of thing ... in the post-Apocalypse. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Jan 3, 2012 from Mother Nature Network: Mitt Romney slams the Chevy Volt When it comes to the American auto industry, Mitt Romney believes its investment in a fuel-efficient future is a joke. The 64-year-old Republican presidential candidate and former governor of Massachusetts responded with dismissive laughter when recently asked what he thought of the Chevy Volt, adding that the plug-in hybrid is an "idea whose time has not come." His campaign later went on to defend the statement as reflective of the car's slow sales - but critics were quick to pounce. ... Funny. Mr. Flip-flop married a Volt a couple years ago. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Jan 3, 2012 from Berkeley Lab News Center: E. Coli Bacteria Engineered to Eat Switchgrass and Make Transportation Fuels A milestone has been reached on the road to developing advanced biofuels that can replace gasoline, diesel and jet fuels with a domestically-produced clean, green, renewable alternative. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have engineered the first strains of Escherichia coli bacteria that can digest switchgrass biomass and synthesize its sugars into all three of those transportation fuels. What's more, the microbes are able to do this without any help from enzyme additives. ... This sounds E. licious! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Dec 28, 2011 from Wall Street Journal: Forget the Prius. The Future Of Electric Is the School Bus As long as Americans love to drive far and fast, electric cars may never be the perfect answer to the country's green transportation needs. But the routine runs of electric school buses are another thing altogether. Bus maker Trans Tech Bus this year said it would start making an electric school bus in a partnership with Smith Electric Vehicles. The eTrans bus is one of a new generation of zero-emission electric and hybrid-electric models that are slowly making their way to school districts around the county. ... If only the children were electric, too. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Dec 23, 2011 from ClimateWire: The 'Wild West' of waste treatment makes energy and profits from sewage plants Most Americans flush the toilet without thinking twice about where the contents end up, but a handful of companies are paying close attention to what goes down the drain. They argue it should be seen as a resource rather than waste... That's where sewage-to-energy comes in. Industry estimates show that if all biosolids in the United States were converted into biomass energy, they would produce 7 million to 7.6 million megawatts of power. By way of comparison, the current installed capacity of wind power in the United States is around 43,000 MW. ... You can take my biosolids when you pry them from my cold, dead hands. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Dec 19, 2011 from University of Texas at Austin: Discovery of a 'Dark State' Could Mean a Brighter Future for Solar Energy The efficiency of conventional solar cells could be significantly increased, according to new research on the mechanisms of solar energy conversion led by chemist Xiaoyang Zhu at The University of Texas at Austin. Zhu and his team have discovered that it's possible to double the number of electrons harvested from one photon of sunlight using an organic plastic semiconductor material...Zhu and his team ... discovered that a photon produces a dark quantum "shadow state" from which two electrons can then be efficiently captured to generate more energy in the semiconductor pentacene. ... I will kid you not, an encouraging development, this is. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Dec 19, 2011 from Governing: Red States, Green Jobs ... The green economy already employs 2.7 million workers nationwide, half a million more jobs than the so-called fossil fuel economy. More surprising still, the region with the most green jobs is the South. "It turns out that the largely 'red' South is surprisingly green, at least when it comes to the production side of the clean economy," observes Mark Muro, a senior fellow and one of the authors of a recent report on green jobs by the Brookings Institution and Battelle's Technology Partnership Practice. He notes that of the 21 states with at least 40,000 clean economy jobs, seven are in the South. The South's emergence as a green jobs powerhouse raises several questions. One is about the necessity of policies, such as renewable energy portfolios and generous rebates that several states -- California, Colorado, New Jersey and New York, among them -- have long insisted are necessary to support the emergence of green tech companies. The other poses a serious challenge for Republican governors in states such as Tennessee: Many voters in Southern states are against federal stimulus programs, deeply suspicious of renewable energy and downright angry about the use of taxpayer dollars to create green jobs. ... All this color confusion is making me feel orange. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Dec 14, 2011 from London Guardian: Cycle like the Danes to cut carbon emissions, says study Europe could cut its transport greenhouse gas emissions by more than 25 percent if every population cycled as regularly as the Danes, according to a pioneering study which tracks the environmental impact of cycling down to the extra calories consumed by riders. If the EU cycling rate was the same as it is in Denmark, where the average person cycles almost 600 miles (965km) each year, then the bloc would attain anything from 12 percent to 26 percent of its targeted transport emissions reduction, depending on what forms of transport the cycling replaced, according to the report by the Brussels-based European Cycling Federation (ECF). This figure is likely to be a significant underestimate as it deliberately excludes the environmental impact of building road infrastructure and parking, or maintaining and disposing of cars. ... As long as I can text while I bike, I'm in! ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Nov 20, 2011 from The Market Oracle: The Electric Car Paradox: Can We Switch To Electric Cars ? Not now and... not nearly The simple answer is no - and the complicated answer is also no.... What we find is a reality wall for EVs so high that "The Switch" (to a fully motorised all electric car future) is such pure fantasy it is avoided - even by its most blustering shills. These, like Renault's Carlos Ghosn talk loudly about attaining production rates of 1 million EVs per year "by about 2016". The quantum leap they would need to match the world's current output of OVs, about 75 million per year, and then replace the existing stock of around 950 - 975 million OVs, growing at about 55 million a year (after the scrapping of about 20 million a year), is so far beyond their admittedly world class ability to lie, boast and brag - that only fantasy will suffice. As we know from the first table, for every ton of global oil production, we produce 5 kilograms of aluminium, less than 2 kgs of copper, a half kilo of lead, and so on down the scale - to lithium. Like we also know, lithium is the Holy Grail for EV boomers, who can present this light metal as relatively "eco friendly', or relatively non-toxic, but this does nothing to change its rarity. To be sure, it is fun to know the world's oceans contain an estimated 230 billion tons of lithium - dissolved in about 1450 billion cubic kilometres of water - which means there is about 140 kgs of lithium in every cubic kilometre of seawater ! More seriously, we need to know the world's mineable and extractible reserves of lithium. These are mainly located in Bolivia, Argentina, Portugal and Russia and their exact extent is most certainly a controversial subject, but the US Geological Survey in 2007 estimated these may be as little as 13.75 million tons. The most optimistic estimates, assuming a large increase in lithium prices, extend this to about 29 Mt. ... But surely, the invisible hand of the marketplace will become visible under duress, right? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Sep 29, 2011 from KGW.com: Eco-friendly gas station opens in Beaverton BEAVERTON, Ore. - A gas station is probably the last place one would think of as being "eco-friendly" but a new Beaverton Chevron station meets that description. There are 75 solar panels on its rooftop that the station's owner said can generate enough energy to power the entire service station, and more. Some of the excess power is sent back to the utility company, and some goes into an electric vehicle charging station, according to owner Bob Barman. The gas station offers electric vehicle drivers a free recharge. "Since we generate more than we can use we're going to give it back to the consumer," Barman said. All the station's lights are LED, which cuts its energy use by some 70 percent. All of its coolers use geothermal technology.... The station also offers biodiesel, Barman said, even though it's not a Chevron product. ... Even Ecuadorians gotta love this! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Sep 15, 2011 from Wired: Cars don't waste fuel. Drivers waste fuel Researchers at the University of California, Riverside's Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CERT) are developing a new way of boosting fuel efficiency by as much as 30 percent without changing a car's powertrain at all. Their secret? Finding ways to change our behavior so we're more attuned to maximizing their mileage while behind the wheel... the researchers at CERT have to find the best way to change driver behavior. That means creating a system that immediately emphasizes the benefits of efficient driving without creating a needless distraction or aggravation. ... By any and all means, let's hold on to our cars until the bitter dead end. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Sep 10, 2011 from Charles Eisenstein, via The Oil Drum: Weekend Read: Peak Oil, Peak Debt, and the Concentration of Power Both the energy system and the money system are based on accumulation and the concentration of power. Not only our energy infrastructure, but our dominant yet invisible way of thinking about energy, presupposes a centralized system of distribution based on a highly concentrated energy source. Many alternative energy technologies have made little headway, not because they are technologically unfeasible, but because they don't fit into our present physical, financial, and psychological infrastructure. There is a causal as well as a metaphorical parallel between the concentration of power in oil and in money. A concentrated power source that can be stored allows social and political power to concentrate in the hands of those who control it. It generates very different social dynamics from an energy source that is universally distributed and constantly renewed. For one thing, the profit potential of the latter is intrinsically less. Once you have sold the geothermal pump or the PV array, the buyer is self-sufficient, unlike the electrical power consumer who has to pay the metered rate in perpetuity. Energy dependency and economic dependency are closely linked. ... My corporate masters want me to listen, but that elephant over there keeps distracting me. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Aug 16, 2011 from New York Times: With Post-Its and Checklists, Schools Cut Their Energy Bills Simple yellow Post-it notes with the message "When not in use, turn off the juice," pointedly left on classroom computers, printers and air-conditioners, have helped the Mount Sinai School District on Long Island save $350,000 annually on utility bills. Energy consumption in New York City's 1,245 school buildings is down roughly 11 percent since 2008, as motion detectors have been installed on classroom lights and unused refrigerators and freezers have been unplugged for the summer.... As part of the Bloomberg administration's campaign to reduce the municipal government's energy consumption and carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2017, the city awarded $100,000 in May to schools that voluntarily decreased their energy use in a monthlong competition. Martin Luther King Jr. Educational Campus in Manhattan won top honors with a 35 percent reduction. And this fall, rooftop solar panels are being installed on three school buildings.... In New Jersey, the schools in Holmdel Township have lowered their electric and gas bills by about half since 2009, to $1 million annually. In environmental terms, that breaks down to 3.5 million fewer kilowatts of power and 240,000 fewer therms of heat a year. "We're focused on energy reduction like crazy," said Dennis M. Walcott, the city's schools chancellor, who regularly checks on schools that he sees lighted up at night. ... When school administrators become as bright as their students, who needs electricity? ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Aug 16, 2011 from Bloomberg: EPA's Outdated Tests Leave American Cars Guzzling Gas: View At issue is how federal regulators calculate each automaker's Corporate Average Fuel Economy. Obscure as these CAFE ratings may be, their public policy impact is vast. Whenever the U.S. government tells automakers to boost their CAFE scores -- as it did this summer -- it transforms the next generation of cars Americans drive. The trouble is, the tests used to gauge fuel efficiency don't reflect the way we actually drive, especially on the highway. The government's highway test involves a top speed of 60 mph, an average speed of 48.3 mph, no use of heaters or air conditioners and an achingly slow initial acceleration in which it takes more than a minute to go from zero to 50 mph.... It would be one thing if this exercise in pokey driving produced equally distorted scores for all models. But the outmoded CAFE process risks short-changing cars with smart fuel- saving features in favor of others that are engineered for the test.... Under the current tests, the stated goal of 54.5 mpg by 2025 is a number that will be achieved only on paper, car experts say. In practical terms, hitting the CAFE target is likely to produce a more modest 40 mpg to 42 mpg in real-life driving, analysts say. ... These are the consequences of the No Automobile Left Behind Act. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Aug 4, 2011 from Technology Review: New Process Could Make Canadian Oil Cheaper, Cleaner New technology for extracting oil from oil sands could more than double the amount of oil that can be extracted from these abundant deposits. It could also reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from the process by up to 85 percent. The technology was developed by N-Solv, an Alberta-based consortium that recently received $10 million from the Canadian government to develop the technology.... The idea of using solvents to get at oil sands was proposed in the 1970s, but early experiments showed that the process couldn't produce oil quickly enough. Two things changed that, according to N-Solv. First, horizontal drilling technologies now make it possible to run a solvent injection well along the length of an oil sands deposit, increasing the area in contact with the solvent, thus increasing production. Second, N-Solv determined that even small amounts of methane--a by-product of using a solvent--could contaminate the propane and degrade its performance. So N-Solv introduced purification equipment to separate methane from the propane before it is reused. The separated methane can also be used to heat the propane, further reducing energy costs. N-Solv's process requires less energy because it uses a solvent rather than steam to free the oil, says Murray Smith, a member of N-Solv's board of directors. The solvent, such as propane, is heated to a relatively low temperature (about 50 deg C) and injected into a bitumen deposit. The solvent breaks down the bitumen, allowing it to be pumped out along with the propane, which can be reused. The solvent approach requires less energy than heating, pumping, and recycling water for steam. And because the heaviest components of the bitumen remain underground, the oil that results from the solvent process needs to be refined less before it can be transported in a pipeline. ... Is cognitive dissonance is the sound of three hands clapping? ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jun 29, 2011 from Oregon State University, via EurekAlert: Inkjet printing could change the face of solar energy industry Engineers at Oregon State University have discovered a way for the first time to create successful "CIGS" solar devices with inkjet printing, in work that reduces raw material waste by 90 percent and will significantly lower the cost of producing solar energy cells with some very promising compounds. High performing, rapidly produced, ultra-low cost, thin film solar electronics should be possible, scientists said.... Part of the advantage of this approach, Chang said, is a dramatic reduction in wasted material. Instead of depositing chemical compounds on a substrate with a more expensive vapor phase deposition - wasting most of the material in the process - inkjet technology could be used to create precise patterning with very low waste. "Some of the materials we want to work with for the most advanced solar cells, such as indium, are relatively expensive," Chang said. "If that's what you're using you can't really afford to waste it, and the inkjet approach almost eliminates the waste." ... Guess I'll stop investing in traditional solar, since a revolution is just around the corner. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jun 22, 2011 from ClimateProgress: Another U.S. Coal Plant to Shutter. Will Renewables and Efficiency Fill the Gap? A municipal utility in Texas said this week that it plans to shut down an 871-MW coal plant within the next 7 years to avoid spending $3 billion for pollution controls. The Deely plant, operated by CPS Energy, has been running for more than 30 years - making it a candidate for environmental upgrades to comply with pending federal standards for mercury and air toxics. Rather than invest in a new coal plant, however, the company plans on making up for the production loss by investing in 780 MW of energy efficiency capacity and 1,500 MW of renewable energy, including 44 MW of contracts from solar PV plants. Sierra Club issued a statement this week celebrating the planned closure, saying that solar "will replace that dirty electricity and bring clean energy jobs to Texas."... What will fill in the gap? The contracts from CPS Energy are likely a good indicator of how that gap will be filled: Some efficiency, a mix of renewables, a good amount of natural gas, and, potentially, some cleaner coal electricity from new plants (if they get built.) According to data from the solar industry, the dropping costs of solar PV make the resource competitive with new coal plants that will be built over the next 8 years. These are solar PV plants in areas with high solar resources, not everywhere in the country. If that's the case, solar and other renewables will likely make up a larger portion of new contracts. ... Seven years? No problem. We can wait. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, May 16, 2011 from FAO: Cutting food waste to feed the world Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year -- approximately 1.3 billion tonnes -- gets lost or wasted, according to an FAO-commissioned study.... The report distinguishes between food loss and food waste. Food losses -- occurring at the production, harvest, post-harvest and processing phases -- are most important in developing countries, due to poor infrastructure, low levels of technology and low investment in the food production systems. Food waste is more a problem in industrialized countries, most often caused by both retailers and consumers throwing perfectly edible foodstuffs into the trash. Per capita waste by consumers is between 95-115 kg a year in Europe and North America, while consumers in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia each throw away only 6-11 kg a year. Total per capita food production for human consumption is about 900 kg a year in rich countries, almost twice the 460 kg a year produced in the poorest regions. In developing countries 40 percent of losses occur at post-harvest and processing levels while in industrialized countries more than 40 percent of losses happen at retail and consumer levels. ... The American waste of life is non-negotiable. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Apr 27, 2011 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology via ScienceDaily: Solar Power Goes Viral: Researchers Use Virus to Improve Solar-Cell Efficiency Researchers at MIT have found a way to make significant improvements to the power-conversion efficiency of solar cells by enlisting the services of tiny viruses to perform detailed assembly work at the microscopic level...that's where viruses come to the rescue. Graduate students Xiangnan Dang and Hyunjung Yi -- working with Angela Belcher, the W. M. Keck Professor of Energy, and several other researchers -- found that a genetically engineered version of a virus called M13, which normally infects bacteria, can be used to control the arrangement of the nanotubes on a surface, keeping the tubes separate so they can't short out the circuits, and keeping the tubes apart so they don't clump. ... What could go wrong? ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Apr 20, 2011 from Fast Company: The Sharing Economy vs hyperconsumption In late 2009, he started Shareable, a not-for-profit web hub that provides individuals and groups with a playbook for how to build systems for sharing everything from baby food and housing to skills and solar panels. "Business has spent centuries making buying really easy," says Gorenflo. "We're just at the beginning of making sharing easy." Gorenflo is a leading proselytizer of a global trend to make sharing something far more economically significant than a primitive behavior taught in preschool. Spawned by a confluence of the economic crisis, environmental concerns, and the maturation of the social web, an entirely new generation of businesses is popping up. They enable the sharing of cars, clothes, couches, apartments, tools, meals, and even skills. The basic characteristic of these you-name-it sharing marketplaces is that they extract value out of the stuff we already have. Many of these sites depend on millennials disenchanted by the housing bubble and the banking crisis, or uninterested in traditional icons of success such as house or auto ownership. But the number of people who have quietly begun tapping in is impressive: Already, more than 3 million people from 235 countries have couch-surfed, while 2.2 million bike-sharing trips are taken each month. Contends Rachel Botsman, coauthor of the recently published What's Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption: "This could be as big as the Industrial Revolution in the way we think about ownership." ... I think I'll borrow that idea. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Apr 14, 2011 from Chemical Science, via EurekAlert: A chance discovery may revolutionize hydrogen production Producing hydrogen in a sustainable way is a challenge and production cost is too high. A team led by EPFL Professor Xile Hu has discovered that a molybdenum based catalyst is produced at room temperature, inexpensive and efficient. The results of the research are published online in Chemical Science Thursday the 14th of April. An international patent based on this discovery has just been filled. Existing in large quantities on Earth, water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen. It can be broken down by applying an electrical current; this is the process known as electrolysis. To improve this particularly slow reaction, platinum is generally used as a catalyst. However, platinum is a particularly expensive material that has tripled in price over the last decade. Now EPFL scientists have shown that amorphous molybdenum sulphides, found abundantly, are efficient catalysts and hydrogen production cost can be significantly lowered. The new catalysts exhibit many advantageous technical characteristics. They are stable and compatible with acidic, neutral or basic conditions in water. Also, the rate of the hydrogen production is faster than other catalysts of the same price. The discovery opens up some interesting possibilities for industrial applications such as in the area of solar energy storage. ... Looks like the American Way of Life is not only Non-Negotiable, it's possibly Catalyzable. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Apr 12, 2011 from New York Times: Study: Pot Growers Inhale 1 percent of U.S. Electricity, Exhale GHGs of 3M Cars Indoor marijuana cultivation consumes enough electricity to power 2 million average-sized U.S. homes, which corresponds to about 1 percent of national power consumption, according to a study by a staff scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.... Researcher Evan Mills' study notes that cannabis production has largely shifted indoors, especially in California, where medical marijuana growers use high-intensity lights usually reserved for operating rooms that are 500 times more powerful that a standard reading lamp.... Narrowing the implications even further reveals some staggering numbers. Mills said a single marijuana cigarette represents 2 pounds of CO2 emissions, an amount equal to running a 100-watt light bulb for 17 hours. Mills, a member of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, drew his data from open literature and interviews with horticultural equipment retailers. ... Dude, you are totally killing my buzz. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Apr 1, 2011 from PhysOrg: Human-powered drill for clean water in developing nations built by student engineers Other water-drilling alternatives in the region either can't dig deep enough or cost too much, sometimes upwards of $15,000. But the team's device has the potential to drill a 150- to 250-foot-deep hole in a matter of days--all for about $2,000. The drill was created for a year-long engineering capstone project that has students solving real engineering problems with real clients. The team created the drill for WHOLives.org, a nonprofit dedicated to providing clean water, better health and more opportunities to people living in impoverished communities. The organization is currently focusing its drilling efforts on Tanzania, but it has plans to expand its operations to other countries.... The BYU team also had to operate within a number of strict parameters set by WHOlives.org so that the final product can be easily built and maintained in developing countries. The drill uses no gears or customized parts, and it can easily be taken apart, transported in the bed of a truck and reassembled within an hour. The drill can be operated by four people. Three spin the wheel that turns the bit, and the fourth lifts the bit up and down when necessary to punch through tough spots. A water pump system removes the dirt from the six-inch-wide hole. ... Don't they realize that capitalism wants to treat clean water as a commodity?? ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Mar 23, 2011 from Telegraph.co.uk: A global energy war looms HSBC has calculated what would happen to energy consumption by 2050 given plausible forecasts for economic growth and assuming no constraint on resources, or that humans carry on using energy in the "taken for granted" way they do at the moment. As you can see, demand in China, India and other emerging markets soars, but there is also quite considerable growth from advanced economies too. The big picture is that with an additional one billion cars on the road, demand for oil would grow 110pc to more than 190 million barrels per day. Total demand for energy would rise by a similar order of magnitude, doubling the amount of carbon in the atmosphere to more than three and a half times the amount climate change scientists think would keep temperatures at safe levels. It scarcely needs saying that regardless of the environmental consequences, energy industries would struggle to cope, and more likely would find it impossible. We may or may not already be perilously close to peak oil - or maximum productive capacity - but nobody believes the industry could produce double what it does at the moment, however clever it becomes in tapping previously uncommercial or inaccessible reserves. If something can't happen, then it won't, so is all that forecast growth in the developing world just a question of wishful thinking that will soon be dashed by the constraints of finite energy? Not necessarily, says HSBC's economics team. The world can still accommodate high growth, but only if there is a collective change in behaviour, including much greater energy efficiency, a big change in the energy mix, and urgent development of carbon capture technologies so as to limit the damage of fossil fuel usage. ... When there's wars, there'll be big profits! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Mar 9, 2011 from NUVO Newsweekly: Greening the faith ... Last Saturday, leaders from 16 Christian denominations, along with Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and Unitarian leaders, gathered at First Baptist Church of Indianapolis to celebrate the inauguration of Hoosier Interfaith Power & Light. The organization is an affiliate of the national Interfaith Power & Light (IPL) organization, founded in 1998, which considers itself the "religious response to global warming." Its goal is to educate religious congregations on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and conservation. "The first goal of Hoosier Interfaith Power & Light is to reduce our carbon use, our energy use, within our places of worship," explained Luke Gascho, board chair of the new organization and director of the Merry Lea Environmental Center at Goshen College, to the gathering of about 200 Indiana church leaders.... "Every mainstream religion that I know of has a mandate to care for the earth," said Interfaith Power & Light's founder Rev. Bingham. "For Christians who are commanded to love God and love our neighbors, it could not be clearer... If you love your neighbor, love one another, you don't pollute your neighbor's air and water." ... I don't believe in God, but I believe in Reverend Bingham. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jan 20, 2011 from California Institute of Technology via ScienceDaily: New Reactor Paves the Way for Efficiently Producing Fuel from Sunlight Using a common metal most famously found in self-cleaning ovens, Sossina Haile hopes to change our energy future. The metal is cerium oxide -- or ceria -- and it is the centerpiece of a promising new technology developed by Haile and her colleagues that concentrates solar energy and uses it to efficiently convert carbon dioxide and water into fuels...For all of this to work, the temperatures in the reactor have to be very high -- nearly 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. At Caltech, Haile and her students achieved such temperatures using electrical furnaces. But for a real-world test, she says, "we needed to use photons, so we went to Switzerland." ... I sooo wish I was in college again... ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jan 3, 2011 from Virginia Tech via ScienceDaily: Enzyme Cocktail Could Eliminate a Step in Biofuel Process Tomorrow's fuel-cell vehicles may be powered by enzymes that consume cellulose from woodchips or grass and exhale hydrogen. Researchers at Virginia Tech, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and the University of Georgia have produced hydrogen gas pure enough to power a fuel cell by mixing 14 enzymes, one coenzyme, cellulosic materials from nonfood sources, and water heated to about 90 degrees (32 C). The group announced three advances from their "one pot" process: 1) a novel combination of enzymes, 2) an increased hydrogen generation rate -- to as fast as natural hydrogen fermentation, and 3) a chemical energy output greater than the chemical energy stored in sugars -- the highest hydrogen yield reported from cellulosic materials. ... 4) The opportunity to use the words "cocktail" and "pot" in a biofuel story. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Dec 12, 2010 from PRI: Italy says addio to bottled water That's because Italians drink more bottled water, or acqua minerale, than anyone else in the world -- about 55 gallons per person each year, more than 3 billion gallons country-wide. Many Italians think it tastes better. Or that it's chic. One thing's for sure: Bottled water has a big environmental impact. To try to cut back on the pollution caused by all the plastic bottles, and from transporting the water across long distances, Italy's biggest retailer is doing something virtually unheard of in the corporate world. It recently launched an ad campaign to convince consumers to stop buying the bottled water it sells. Or at least to buy water that comes from nearby. "We did a life-cycle analysis of mineral water in bottle and we discovered strongest impact is made by the transportation", says Marisa Parmigiani, the social policy director for the Co-op supermarket. As its name indicates, the chain is a Co-operative, and a powerful one, with 20 percent of the Italian supermarket share. ... Commerce as if our lives depended on it. How weird is that? ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Dec 7, 2010 from New York Times: Britain Aims for Radical Power Market Reform in Push for Low-Carbon Energy The U.K. power market is about to face the most radical reform in decades as it becomes increasingly clear that progress toward decarbonizing its energy system in the face of climate change is moving at a snail's pace when it really needs to move like the wind, experts say. Next week, the government will produce a consultation paper on what needs to be done to bring forward the new low-carbon power plants the country urgently needs as many old ones face closure and with emission reduction targets that ministers say, with increasing signs of desperation, are seriously challenging. Today, the Committee on Climate Change -- set up under the 2008 Climate Change Act to monitor government progress toward the 80 percent carbon emission cut from 1990 levels by 2050 stipulated in the legislation -- issued its most urgent call for action to date.... Fuel poverty is defined as a household's having to spend 10 percent or more of its income on power. The government is known to favor a full system of feed-in tariffs for low-carbon energy, extending the current household scheme that came in nine months ago to cover utilities, as well, offering an attractive price for producing electricity to the grid, but at the same time pushing up prices for consumption. There is no ducking the dilemma. ... Here in the States, we're champeen dilemma-duckers. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Nov 23, 2010 from TreeHugger: $3k Website Connects Farms to Restaurants, Creating Virtual Coop From beekeepers using the internet to fight colony collapse disorder, through crop mob and other new agrarians organizing online, to wireless soil sensors optimizing farm resources, a return to sustainable farming does not mean a rejection of what technology has to offer. Inspired by the death of his granddaughter, one retired telecommunications analyst has set about using the power of the internet to promote social justice, reverse the decline in small farming, and create a vibrant food economy for his community.... Knowing that despite the high levels of poverty, some 6000 families owned between 5 and 20 acres of land in his community, and knowing that chefs in nearby Charlotte were itching to buy high-quality, sustainable local produce, Tim figured it was pretty much a case of connecting the dots. So Will created a $3000 website called Farmers Fresh Market where farmers could market produce direct to restaurants, and he created sustainable agriculture and computing courses to help farmers figure out what to grow and how to sell it. ... Hey! Stop that! Only the big guys get to use technology! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Nov 22, 2010 from Journal of Electronic Publishing: University Presses in the Ecosystem of 2020 In the short term--perhaps the next three to seven years--we'll be able to continue to pretend that everything's normal--just like we've been pretending, in policy and practice, that 95 percent of climate scientists might have it wrong. However, I've come to believe that the marketplace, the economy, the basis on which we have been making so many of our decisions, actually has no clothes, and that the greater likelihood is one of dramatic nakedness. This will have profound effects on university presses--not to mention effects on this essay.... Overall, we've overshot our world's resources, using them up much faster than they can recover. And in the boom times of the last few decades, we've put systems in place--profit motives, giant centralization, organizational inertia--that virtually guarantee that we'll continue to overshoot, and virtually guarantee, I fear, that we'll be facing a collapse of the economy that we've mistaken for an ecosystem.... Further, this essay is not the natural place to address the interrelationships of warming oceans, dying coral, monocrops and corporate farming, antibiotic resistance, hermaphroditic fish, amphibian collapse, climate chaos, dead zones, and the rest. This is, after all, an essay about university presses. But for the purposes of this essay, let's imagine I'm possibly right, that a thousand days of daily investigation may lead to useful conclusions, and let's then explore the possible impacts of an ecosystem and economic collapse on university presses, over the next decade or two. ... What are ya thinking? Now you'll never get tenure. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Nov 20, 2010 from USA Today: Kimberly-Clark rolls out tube-free Scott toilet paper On Monday, Kimberly-Clark, one of the world's biggest makers of household paper products, will begin testing Scott Naturals Tube-Free toilet paper at Walmart and Sam's Club stores throughout the Northeast. If sales take off, it may introduce the line nationally and globally -- and even consider adapting the technology into its paper towel brands. No, the holes in the rolls aren't perfectly round. But they do fit over TP spindles and come with this promise: Even the last piece of toilet paper will be usable -- without glue stuck on it.... The 17 billion toilet paper tubes produced annually in the USA account for 160 million pounds of trash, according to Kimberly-Clark estimates, and could stretch more than a million miles placed end-to-end. That's from here to the moon and back -- twice. Most consumers toss, rather than recycle, used tubes, says Doug Daniels, brand manager at Kimberly-Clark. "We found a way to bring innovation to a category as mature as bath tissue," he says. ... And if sales don't take off, maybe you can just do the right thing anyway? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Nov 19, 2010 from Earth Institute: 'Small is Also Beautiful' - Appropriate Technology Cuts Rice Famers' Water Use by 30 Percent in Punjab, India But the Green Revolution in Punjab came with a heavy price. Even as yields per acre shot up year after year, heavy use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizer and tube-irrigation soared as well, contributing to cancer, degrading the natural capital of the soil and-perhaps most importantly-depleting non-renewable underground aquifers at staggering speed. Now, even as agricultural productivity has plateaued, a dropping water table now puts the food security of the entire country at risk.... The team then installed the tensiometers in rice fields. In order to get accurate results, farmers were instructed to irrigate only one acre of their fields based on the tensiometer readings, and to use the other fields as control plots. Initial results were remarkable. On average, farmers irrigated the tensiometer fields 30 to 35 percent less than on control plots--with no adverse impact on yield. In fact, anecdotal reports suggested that in some cases yield actually improved, as farmers were able to minimize some pest diseases associated with excessive standing water. ... "Appropriate technology" seems so appropriate! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Nov 15, 2010 from Agence France-Press: Hong Kong's first green jail sparks controversy Hong Kong's first environmentally-friendly prison has stirred up a debate in one of the world's most densely populated cities where many live in dingy and overcrowded high-rise flats. Billed as the jail of the future, the sprawling 1.5 billion Hong Kong dollar (200 million US) facility was built based on a sustainable concept that promotes open space with green and energy-efficient features. Authorities said the Lo Wu prison, the newest of the city's 16 prisons, which opened in August, aims to provide more humane living conditions for some 1,400 female inmates as the city moves to ease prison overcrowding. The prison boasts advanced features such as a "green" roof to lower temperature, rooftop solar panels, a natural lighting system, high-headroom spaces and large dormitory blocks to enhance natural ventilation. ... The Shawshank Recyclables ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Nov 11, 2010 from Yale360: China Turns to Biogas to Ease Impact of Factory Farms His farm is also different than the American pig farms you usually detect with your nose before you see any animals: it smells only faintly of waste. He says that's because it's an ecological CAFO, which sounds a bit like an oxymoron. "The whole system is pollution-free, zero-emission, and energy saving," says Ye. "The key is the biogas digester." Biogas digestion takes the nuisances of most large animal farms -- solid, liquid, and gaseous wastes -- and turns them into resources that farmers can use and even sell. Raw pig waste is usually a liability for farmers: It's full of pathogens and compounds like ammonia that can ruin crops and soil if applied directly. It also is prone to running off into waterways and leaching into groundwater.... The South China Sea today is largely a dead zone with frequent red tides and little remaining life because of run-off from upstream agriculture.... Ye thinks his biogas digester may be part of the solution. It cost about $600,000, but Ye only paid for half while the central, provincial, and local governments picked up the rest with subsidies.... To avert future environmental disasters like leaks or spills of wastewater from large farms and to capture methane, the government has decreed that all farms with more than 1,000 cows, 10,000 pigs or 100,000 chickens must install biogas digesters. In Zhejiang province, one of China's richest and most environmentally progressive, the local government recently decided that all farms with more than 50 pigs must have biogas digesters. ... Y'know, in this country we'd call that socialism. We like our freedom to do whatever the hell we want to others. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Nov 6, 2010 from Mother Jones: Should You Shut Down Your Computer or Put It to Sleep? You're just about to don your coat and head out into the evening--but your computer's still on. Should you turn it off, or leave it in "sleep" mode? Some say it's better to shut down, since that way it won't be using any power while you're not around. But others say that the process of shutting down and starting up again uses more power than letting your machine sleep. Who's right?... According to energy efficiency expert Michael Bluejay, while in use, the average laptop requires 15-60 watts, while desktops use 65-250 watts, plus an additional 15-70 for the monitor. In sleep mode, however, most laptops use a measly two watts, and desktops with monitors use 5-10 watts, says Nordman.... The bottom line: Before you obsess over unplugging your computer every night, first make sure your computer is set to go into a power-saving mode after a short amount of idle time. (The EPA recommends 15 minutes for your monitor and 30 minutes for your computer.) Then, if you remember to unplug at night, give yourself an extra pat on the back. ... I keep my monitor showing flying toasters all night long. Kinda like a night light, but with animation! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Nov 2, 2010 from Wired.co.uk: First electric road car body produced with a 3D printer A prototype for an electric vehicle -- code named Urbee -- is the first to have its entire body built with a 3D printer. Stratasys and Winnipeg engineering group Kor Ecologic have partnered to create the electric/liquid fuel hybrid, which can deliver more than 200 miles per gallon on the motorway and 100 miles per gallon in the city. The two-passenger hybrid aims to be fuel efficient, easy to repair, safe to drive and inexpensive to own.... "Other hybrids on the road today were developed by applying 'green' standards to traditional vehicle formats," says Jim Kor, president and chief technology officer, Kor Ecologic. "Urbee was designed with environmentally sustainable principles dictating every step of its design." ... Is it possible to design as if future life mattered? ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Nov 2, 2010 from Monthly Review: Capitalism and the Curse of Energy Efficiency The curse of energy efficiency, better known as the Jevons Paradox--the idea that increased energy (and material-resource) efficiency leads not to conservation but increased use--was first raised by William Stanley Jevons in the nineteenth century. Although forgotten for most of the twentieth century, the Jevons Paradox has been rediscovered in recent decades and stands squarely at the center of today's environmental dispute.... Economists and environmentalists who try to measure the direct effects of efficiency on the lowering of price and the immediate rebound effect generally tend to see the rebound effect as relatively small, in the range of 10 to 30 percent in high-energy consumption areas such as home heating and cooling and cars. But once the indirect effects, apparent at the macro level, are incorporated, the Jevons Paradox remains extremely significant. It is here at the macro level that scale effects come to bear: improvements in energy efficiency can lower the effective cost of various products, propelling the overall economy and expanding overall energy use. ... I just got an ultra-efficient refrigerator, so now my old one's in the basement, keeping the beer cold! ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Oct 31, 2010 from Reuters, via Yahoo: World Bank launches scheme to green government accounts The World Bank on Thursday launched a program to help nations put a value on nature just like GDP in a bid to stop the destruction of forests, wetlands and reefs that underpin businesses and economies. The five-year pilot project backed by India, Mexico and other nations aims to embed nature into national accounts to draw in the full benefits of services such as coastal protection from mangroves or watersheds for rivers that feed cities and crops. "We're here today to create something that no one has tried before: a global partnership that can fundamentally change the way governments value their ecosystems," World Bank President Robert Zoellick told reporters in the Japanese city of Nagoya.... "For economic ministries in particular, it's important to have an accounting measure that they can use to evaluate not only the economic value but the natural wealth of nations," Zoellick told Reuters in an interview. "It's not a silver bullet. It's a way of trying to help people understand better in economic terms the value of natural wealth." While economists try to get a handle on the value of nature, scientists are struggling to get a full picture of the variety of wildlife species around the globe as climate change, exploitation and pollution threaten "mass extinctions," a series of studies published on Wednesday showed. ... OMG! The foundations of consumer society are being threatened, with the support of the World Bank! ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Oct 3, 2010 from ACS, via EurekAlert: A painless way to achieve huge energy savings: Stop wasting food Scientists have identified a way that the United States could immediately save the energy equivalent of about 350 million barrels of oil a year -- without spending a penny or putting a ding in the quality of life: Just stop wasting food.... people in the U.S. waste about 27 percent of their food. The scientists realized that the waste might represent a largely unrecognized opportunity to conserve energy and help control global warming.... That represents about 2 percent of annual energy consumption in the U.S. ... But just think of the lost agribusiness profits! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Sep 30, 2010 from Climatewire: Obama Promises to Push Climate Policies 'in Chunks' Next Year President Obama's newest pledge to resume an "urgent priority" on climate change next year could mark a new direction by Democrats that veers away from the politically hazardous effort to cut the bulk of national carbon emissions in one sprawling measure... "We may end up having to do it in chunks, as opposed to some sort of comprehensive omnibus legislation," he added. "But we're going to stay on this because it is good for our economy, it's good for our national security, and, ultimately, it's good for our environment." ... This approach makes me want to contribute my own chunks. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Sep 29, 2010 from Stanford University via ScienceDaily: Solar Cells Thinner Than Wavelengths of Light Hold Huge Power Potential Ultra-thin solar cells can absorb sunlight more efficiently than the thicker, more expensive-to-make silicon cells used today, because light behaves differently at scales around a nanometer (a billionth of a meter), say Stanford engineers. They calculate that by properly configuring the thicknesses of several thin layers of films, an organic polymer thin film could absorb as much as 10 times more energy from sunlight than was thought possible. ... Less is always more. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Sep 17, 2010 from Low Tech Magazine: Low-Tech Magazine Low-tech Magazine refuses to assume that every problem has a high-tech solution. A simple, sensible, but nevertheless controversial message; high-tech has become the idol of our society.... The Museum of Old Techniques: For almost every electronic device or oil driven machine there used to be a low-tech alternative that was powered by human muscles, water or wind..... Wind powered factories: The Netherlands had 5 times more windmills in 1850 than it has wind turbines today. One of the most spectacular developments of industrial wind power technology occurred in the Zaan district, a region situated just above Amsterdam in the Netherlands. ... Isn't it more efficient to burn coal to make steam to turn turbines to power my electric scissors? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Sep 3, 2010 from PhysOrg: Cheaper, better solar cell is full of holes A new low-cost etching technique developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory can put a trillion holes in a silicon wafer the size of a compact disc. As the tiny holes deepen, they make the silvery-gray silicon appear darker and darker until it becomes almost pure black and able to absorb nearly all colors of light the sun throws at it. At room temperature, the black silicon wafer can be made in about three minutes. At 100 degrees F, it can be made in less than a minute. The breakthrough by NREL scientists likely will lead to lower-cost solar cells that are nonetheless more efficient than the ones used on rooftops and in solar arrays today.... Could the same black-silicon etching result be achieved by substituting the inexpensive chloroauric acid for costly colloidal gold, and then mixing it as before with hydrogen peroxide and hydrofluoric acid? Yost and Branz wondered. Yes, it worked. "Chloroauric acid is much cheaper than colloidal gold," Branz said. "In essence, by skipping a few steps, they were able to make gold nanoparticles from the chloroauric acid at the same time as they were etching holes into the silicon with the gold they had made."... NREL estimates that the black silicon can reduce cell conversion costs by 4 to 8 percent, while using widely available industrial materials and equipment. "That's big," Goodrich added. "The people who are interested in this technology recognize that that difference is valuable real estate." ... That's an Au-ful big step! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Aug 25, 2010 from Guardian: British Gas launches solar panels scheme with '1000 pounds a year profit' claim More than 12 million homeowners would be in line to save up to 1,000 pounds a year, should they install solar panels, says British Gas. The utility firm is the latest in a host of companies offering to install electricity-generating systems on homes to take advantage of a government scheme that pays the owners of solar panels for the 'renewable' electricity they generate. The sudden allure of solar power is less to do with planet-saving and more to do with companies or individuals banking the lucrative feed-in-tariffs (Fits) for every unit of electricity generated - currently 41.3p per KWh, irrespective of whether you consume the power at the time or not. British Gas says the Fits payments can be worth 1,000 pounds per annum, though with export tariffs (for power not used) added, they can be worth even more. They are guaranteed by the government for 25 years, are payable via the utility company, and will rise in line with inflation. British Gas has entered the market with the launch of two schemes. If you opt for its "rent-a-roof" scheme, it will install solar panels on your roof for free and you will benefit from the electricity you generate during the day. The installation is free but you will not own the panels and so British Gas will pocket the Fits cash for the length of the scheme - 25 years. The rent-a-roof deal is limited to the first 1,500 British Gas customers who apply. Alternatively, you can install your own solar panels and British Gas will offer you a two-year interest-free loan, supplied by Hitachi Capital, with which to borrow the upfront costs. You will receive the feed-in-tariffs as well as benefit from the generation of cheaper power. BG says the upfront cost generally ranges from 10,000 pounds to 15,000 pounds depending on the size of the roof. ... Socialist energy? Not in America! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Aug 25, 2010 from New Scientist: Pee is for power: Your electrifying excretions Urine might not pack the punch of rocket fuel, but what it lacks in energy density it makes up for in sheer quantity. It is one of the most abundant waste materials on Earth, with nearly 7 billion people producing roughly 10 billion litres of it every day. Add animals into the mix and this quantity is multiplied several times over. As things stand, this flood of waste poses a problem. Let it run into the water system and it would wipe out entire ecosystems; yet scrubbing it out of waste water costs money and energy. In the US, for instance, waste water treatment plants consume 1.5 per cent of all the electricity the country generates. So wouldn't it be nice if, instead of being a vast energy consumer, urine could be put to use. That thought occurred to Gerardine Botte, a chemical engineer at Ohio University in Athens, during a discussion in 2002 with colleagues about possible sources of hydrogen for use in fuel cells. ... The answer was at our fingertips all along! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Aug 16, 2010 from New York Times: Portugal on track for 45 percent renewable energy this year Five years ago, the leaders of this sun-scorched, wind-swept nation made a bet: To reduce Portugal's dependence on imported fossil fuels, they embarked on an array of ambitious renewable energy projects -- primarily harnessing the country's wind and hydropower, but also its sunlight and ocean waves. Today, Lisbon's trendy bars, Porto's factories and the Algarve's glamorous resorts are powered substantially by clean energy. Nearly 45 percent of the electricity in Portugal's grid will come from renewable sources this year, up from 17 percent just five years ago. Land-based wind power -- this year deemed "potentially competitive" with fossil fuels by the International Energy Agency in Paris -- has expanded sevenfold in that time. And Portugal expects in 2011 to become the first country to inaugurate a national network of charging stations for electric cars. ... Gosh. I wonder if that could be done in America. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Jul 24, 2010 from FECYT, via EurekAlert: CO2 reduction policies in Spain strengthen the services sector A study by the Basque Center for Climate Change (BC3) has analysed the expected economic impact in Spain of the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs) set by the Kyoto Protocol for the period 2008-2012 and for the phase afterwards or post-Kyoto phase. In addition, the services sector will come out on top in comparison to sectors such as industrial or energy sectors. "CO2 restriction policies in Spain have an impact on the economy, in other words, making it lean more towards an economy of services. The weight of the industry and energy sectors is reduced, and this is due to the fact that there is a change in production and consumption patterns resulting from CO2 which will come at a price", Mikel Gonzalez-Eguino, author of the study and researcher for BC3 explains to SINC.... "The conclusion is that if technology evolves following the current trend the best option is above all to reduce emissions rather than postpone it in time because the difference in costs is relatively insignificant. However, if technology evolves in a more radical way and in the short-term, for example, with new batteries to produce electric cars that are much cheaper than the current ones or substantial advances arise in renewable energy to replace other technology, it would be more profitable to delay the reduction of emissions. ... So if we plan on a miracle occurring, then everything's just fine. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Jul 18, 2010 from London Independent: Waste Britain: UK's emissions could be cut at flick of a switch Simple measures such as turning electrical appliances off at the mains and installing energy-efficient lightbulbs could slash the UK's carbon dioxide emissions by about 40 megatonnes a year, or up to one third, according to new research which says that cutting electricity consumption is up to 60 per cent more effective than previously thought. Such basic lifestyle changes would be the equivalent of removing about 10 large gas-fired power stations from operation. ... Then let's make it mandatory, man. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jul 5, 2010 from Chemical and Engineering News: Power From Entropy During lectures, Bert Hamelers displays two photos side by side: One is of the Hoover Dam, a thundering cascade of water. The other is of the River Rhine flowing gently into the North Sea. It might not seem intuitive, but each system has comparable power-generating capacity, says Hamelers, an assistant professor at Wageningen University, in the Netherlands. The Hoover Dam already generates enormous amounts of hydroelectricity every day. Scientists could extract just as much power by harnessing the entropy created when the Rhine's fresh waters mix with salty waters, he says. In Environmental Science and Technology (DOI: 10.1021/es100852a), Hamelers and colleagues introduce a new technology to convert into electricity the entropy created when two solutions of different salt concentrations come together. ... I always rely on entropy for my energy needs. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Jul 3, 2010 from SolveClimate: IEA: $46 Trillion Roadmap for Halving Global Emissions a "Bargain" Memo to the planet from the International Energy Agency: Buckle down and speed up the nascent low-carbon revolution. Top thinkers from the energy watchdog presented an ambitious 40-year pathway to halve the world's carbon emissions during a Thursday rollout at the National Press Club. Indeed, weaning the globe of its fossil fuel dependency will require ingenuity, cooperation and tens of trillions of dollars. But IEA maintains that bumping up investments in renewables, nuclear power and a smart electric grid, and perfecting technologies such as carbon sequestration are the most reasonable and reachable course available to keep Earth's temperature stable and arrest the severe impacts climate scientists agree are imminent--and already occurring.... In addition, the plan counts on the rather rapid maturation of a technology still in the test phases--carbon capture and sequestration. The catch is that IEA's proposal calls for constructing 30 new nuclear plants and outfitting 35 coal-fired plants with the technology to capture carbon emissions and bury them underground every year through 2050. ... Some days these "all it would take to save the world is..." stories are the saddest of all. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Jun 15, 2010 from Politico: Henry Waxman puts Big Oil on trial Henry Waxman's war on Big Oil has begun. The California Democrat, along with Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), will force top oil executives to defend or condemn industry practices and profits, according to series of pre-hearing questions obtained by POLITICO, foreshadowing an intense, made-for-TV hearing Tuesday that could create an iconic Washington moment for the petroleum industry... BP may be first in the line of fire, but experts said the whole industry will be on trial Tuesday. Executives from BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron are scheduled to testify. ... The Waxman Cometh! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jun 14, 2010 from SciDev.net: Low-cost solar solution could empower off-grid poor A low-cost, plastic solar lamp could provide affordable lighting for millions living in rural off-grid areas across Africa. The lamp is made from polymer solar cells and although it is not as efficient as similar technologies, it could prove more affordable, according to its developers.... Several versions of the lamp are under development, following trials on a prototype in Zambia in 2009. One, a pocket-sized torch that could be used for night-time navigation, is ready to be rolled out commercially and Krebs is confident that it could be produced for as little as 3 Euros (around US$4). He suggested that 'microfinance' schemes, where people collaborate to buy a lamp which they can share, would be useful for people who cannot afford this initial outlay.... Solar lighting is an important alternative to the kerosene lamps currently used in off-grid developing areas, said David Battley from charity SolarAid, based in the United Kingdom, which promotes the use of solar energy to help reduce global poverty and climate change. ... This is dangerous. Before you know it, Africans are going to think "solar is the answer." ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jun 10, 2010 from PhysOrg: Professor to present vision for zero-carbon future for UK Professor Seamus Garvey, of the University's Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, will speak on the potential of vast floating offshore 'energy farms' off the UK coastline, which could produce 'green' electricity at a fraction of the cost of its nearest competitors. Professor Garvey said: "Imagine for a moment that renewable energy was the cheapest way to source power and that this power could be dispatched on demand. Imagine further that the landscape did not have to be blighted by man-made structures to gather that power. "The impact on the world would be profound: secure low-cost energy supplies for most countries, reduction in the environmental assault that is most mining and oil/gas extraction and some hope of curtailing climate change not dependant on politics."... The technology is centred on a simple premise -- using giant wind turbines to compress and pump air into huge undersea Energy Bags™ anchored to the seabed -- or geological formations where deep water is not available. The high pressure air would be expanded in special turbo-generator sets to provide electricity as required -- not just when the wind is blowing. ... What a gasbag! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jun 9, 2010 from Chatham House / Lloyd's of London: Sustainable Energy Security: Strategic Risks and Opportunities for Business # Businesses which prepare for and take advantage of the new energy reality will prosper - failure to do so could be catastrophic # Market dynamics and environmental factors mean business can no longer rely on low cost traditional energy sources # We are heading towards a global oil supply crunch and price spike # Business must address energy-related risks to supply chains and the increasing vulnerability of 'just-in-time' models # Investment in renewable energy and 'intelligent' infrastructure is booming. This revolution presents huge opportunities for new business partnerships ... Like I should listen to the oldest insurance company around's thinktank. Why would they care? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jun 7, 2010 from BusinessGreen: Clean tech patents enjoy record quarter The number of clean tech-related patents granted in the US hit record levels during the first quarter of the year, according to new figures released last week, further fuelling optimism that the sector is recovering strongly from the recession. The Clean Energy Patent Growth Index report from intellectual property law firm Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti found that 379 clean tech patents were granted in the US during the first three months of the year, representing the highest quarterly value since the index began. The performance marked an improvement of more than 50 per cent year on year and a 12 per cent increase in patents compared to the fourth quarter of 2009. According to the report, fuel cell technologies dominated the list, with 208 patents granted during the first quarter, while the number of patents granted to solar and hybrid and electric vehicle technologies also rose. ... All I want are technologies that don't suck. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Jun 6, 2010 from Guardian, via Amy H: The dark side of cloud computing: soaring carbon emissions The advent of web services that allow users to upload files has made it possible to leave behind (most likely in landfills) tapes and discs and instead throw all of our recorded information into one big digital cloud of computers. Cloud computing refers to today's predominant infrastructure and business model whereby information, software and other resources are delivered on-demand to users via the Internet. An ever-scalable collection of energy sucking data centres and server farms is required to deliver these services.... According to a recent Greenpeace report, Make IT Green: Cloud Computing and its Contribution to Climate Change, the electricity consumed by cloud computing globally will increase from 632 billion kilowatt hours in 2007 to 1,963 billion kWh by 2020 and the associated CO2 equivalent emissions would reach 1,034 megatonnes. ... Stop reading this! Now! ApocaDoc permalink Sat, May 29, 2010 from Chemical and Engineering News: Turning Plastic Trash Into Treasure? Plastic grocery bags are handy and durable, but after the bread and milk are put away, most of the bags wind up in landfills. Now Vilas Pol, a materials scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, has found a way to "upcycle" discarded plastics into carbon microspheres... For the new method, he places waste plastics, such as polyethylene bags and disposable polystyrene cups, into a closed, heatable reactor. Using mass spectrometry, Pol found that at 700 [degrees] C, the chemical bonds between the carbons and hydrogens break down. The products are solid carbon, as well as hydrogen and hydrocarbon gases. Pol says that the upcycling process could provide an environmentally friendly alternative to typical methods that produce solid carbon. He generates the same product but starts with discarded plastics instead of fossil fuels. ... Pol has soooo been smokin' pot! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, May 20, 2010 from CNN: Giant solar-powered yacht to circle globe Intensive trials are under way as the world's largest solar-powered yacht prepares to circumnavigate the globe. As heavy as a whale and 30 meters long, the vessel is adorned with 536 square-meters of photovoltaic panels -- enough to cover over two tennis courts -- which its crew hope will enable it to complete the 50,000 kilometre journey fueled by nothing but energy from the sun. "This is not just an adventure story," skipper Raphael Domjan told CNN. "We want to show the world that we have the technology right now to change how we do things." Energy captured from the sun and stored in the world's largest lithium ion battery will power a noise-free, pollution-free electric motor during an estimated 160 day voyage. The boat, christened "Turanor" after a word meaning "power of the sun" in JRR Tolkein's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, is Domjan's brainchild. ... And hey, on a cloudy day, if this yacht is anywhere near the Gulf it can just scoop up some stray oil. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, May 7, 2010 from Popular Science: Cheap New Metal Catalyst Can Split Hydrogen Gas From Water at a Fraction of the Cost But researchers at the DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have made a substantial leap toward a hydrogen-based future by devising a cheap, metal catalyst that can split hydrogen gas from water. The ability to pull apart H2O molecules into their constituent atoms is, of course, the key to creating a hydrogen-based energy economy. If we can do so in a cheap and energy efficient manner, we could potentially turn Earth's vast supply of water into our own vast supply of cheap, clean power.... What it can't be is cheap; electrolysis requires a catalyst to split water into oxygen and hydrogen gas, the most common of which is platinum, which retails at some $2,000 per ounce.... The catalyst requires no additional organic additives or solvents, can operate in neutral water (even if it's dirty) and works with sea water -- meaning we could literally be looking at oceans of cheap energy. Best of all: Mo-oxo is about 70 times cheaper than platinum.... Don't expect to see Mo-oxo splitting seawater into large volumes of hydrogen gas right away. The research is still preliminary and the Berkeley team is just getting into some of the more exciting chemistry. They're looking for additional similar metals that might generate hydrogen gas at even higher efficiency, so by the time this kind of tech is commercialized we may have found an even better catalyst. ... No hurry. We have all the time in the world. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Apr 30, 2010 from American Chemical Society, via EurekAlert: A roadmap for 'the only practical way to preserve the planet' The United States could completely stop emissions of carbon dioxide from coal-fired electric power plants -- a crucial step for controlling global warming -- within 20 years by using technology that already exists or could be commercially available within a decade.... Pushker Kharecha and colleagues say that the global climate change problem becomes manageable only if society deals quickly with emissions of carbon dioxide from burning coal in electric power plants. "The only practical way to preserve a planet resembling that of the Holocene (today's world) with reasonably stable shorelines and preservation of species, is to rapidly phase out coal emissions and prohibit emissions from unconventional fossil fuels such as oil shale and tar sands," they state.... They include elimination of subsidies for fossil fuels; putting rising prices on carbon emissions; major improvements in electricity transmission and the energy efficiency of homes, commercial buildings, and appliances; replacing coal power with biomass, geothermal, wind, solar, and third-generation nuclear power; and after successful demonstration at commercial scales, deployment of advanced (fourth-generation) nuclear power plants; and carbon capture and storage at remaining coal plants. ... That's too hard. Can't we just put up a big space umbrella over 10 percent of the globe? ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Apr 17, 2010 from Greenmonk: Are utility companies ready for full smart grids? Do utility companies have billing systems in place which are able to take in these vast quantities of data and output sensible bills? Today's bills are generated off that single monthly meter read, however bills generated from 2,880 meter-reads a month (or even 720 - one meter read per hour) will be very different. They should be easy to understand, reflect the intelligence gained from the extra information and offer customers ways to reduce their next bill based on this.... Consumers will need to be given ubiquitous, secure access to their energy consumption information. But more than that, consumers will also need to be given the tools to help them reduce their bills, without necessarily reducing their consumption (i.e. load shifting).... All of these changes require seismic shifts by utility companies both in terms of IT investments, but also in terms of their approach to customer care and communications. ... Rejiggering the energy system requires planning? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Apr 16, 2010 from DOE: DOE Awards Nearly $100 Million for Smart Grid Workforce Training DOE announced on April 8 it will award nearly $100 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to 54 Smart Grid workforce training programs that will help prepare the next generation of workers in the electric utility and electrical equipment manufacturing industries. Located in 32 states and the District of Columbia, the 54 training programs will leverage more than $95 million in funding from community colleges, universities, utilities, and manufacturers. The programs will train approximately 30,000 U.S. workers in Smart Grid technologies. The funding is the latest investment by the Obama Administration to develop the Smart Grid, and builds on the more than $4 billion in Recovery Act funding for Smart Grid deployment and demonstration projects throughout the country. The programs will focus on training activities that support electricians, line workers, technicians, system operators, power system engineers, cyber security specialists, and transmission planners. The selections include broad efforts to develop and deploy new training programs and curricula at a variety of educational institutions, as well as workforce programs conducted by electrical equipment manufacturers and electric utilities to train new hires and retrain current employees. The award selections include 33 projects at educational institutions and 21 training projects at electrical equipment manufacturers and electric utilities. ... Oh, so now you're going to discriminate against the dumb grid! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Apr 13, 2010 from New Scientist: Skip the hard cell: Flexible solar power is on its way So, the sceptics say, solar cells are only ever likely to be a small, disproportionately expensive part of our future energy mix. In the temperate, oft-cloudy climes of much of Europe and North America, satisfying the population's electricity needs with photovoltaics alone would mean plastering something like 5 to 15 per cent of the land surface with them. Such criticisms might be tempered by a new generation of solar cells about to flop off the production line. Slim, bendy and versatile, they consume just a fraction of the materials - and costs - of a traditional photovoltaic device. They could be just the fillip solar power needs, opening the way to a host of new applications: solar-charged cellphones and laptops, say, or slimline generators that sit almost invisibly on a building's curved surfaces or even its windows.... So why the fuss, if these devices are no more efficient than what went before? The key is that although these cells are merely as efficient as conventional devices, they use only about a hundredth of the material. What's more, they are highly flexible: grown on a bed of silicon, Atwater's microrod arrays can simply be peeled off and stuck pretty much wherever you want. "They could even be integrated into buildings, as components that match the shape of roof tiles," says Atwater. ... I'd even pay ten times a hundredth of the price. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Mar 20, 2010 from New York Times: Consumers Buy More Efficient Refrigerators, but Keep the Old Ones Humming Each year millions of Americans with old, inefficient refrigerators in their kitchens buy new, energy saving ones. That may sound like an efficiency boon, but what's vexing efficiency advocates is that an increasing number of consumers don't actually get rid of the old fridge. Instead, they move it to another area of the house and keep using it -- increasing their energy usage over all.... Further, every year about 10 percent of households that purchase new refrigerators keep their old units, a practice that is adding as many as one million secondary units to homes annually.... Individual owners could save from $420 to $750 in energy costs over the lifetime of an older, secondary unit by retiring it, depending on the age of the unit, the agency found. ... I love having that second fridge cold -- "just in case"! ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Mar 12, 2010 from University of Wisconsin-Madison via ScienceDaily: Scavenging Energy Waste to Turn Water Into Hydrogen Fuel Materials scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have designed a way to harvest small amounts of waste energy and harness them to turn water into usable hydrogen fuel. The process is simple, efficient and recycles otherwise-wasted energy into a useable form... The researchers, led by UW-Madison geologist and crystal specialist Huifang Xu, grew nanocrystals of two common crystals, zinc oxide and barium titanate, and placed them in water. When pulsed with ultrasonic vibrations, the nanofibers flexed and catalyzed a chemical reaction to split the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen... "This is a new phenomenon, converting mechanical energy directly to chemical energy," Xu says, calling it a piezoelectrochemical (PZEC) effect. ... Did somebody say something about pie? ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Mar 10, 2010 from DOE, via EurekAlert: 'The Rosenfeld' unit of savings named after California's godfather of energy efficiency "In keeping with the tradition among scientists of naming units in honor of the person most responsible for the discovery and widespread adoption of the underlying scientific principle in question," a group of scientists propose today in a refereed article in Environmental Research Letters to define the Rosenfeld as electricity savings of 3 billion kilowatt-hours per year, the amount needed to replace the annual generation of a 500 megawatt coal-fired power plant. That definition, explains lead author Jonathan Koomey, a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) scientist and consulting professor at Stanford University who was once a graduate student of Rosenfeld's, is classic Rosenfeld. "Power plants are what Art uses most often to explain to policy makers how much electricity can be saved by efficiency investments," Koomey said. ... Take a few hundred Rosenfelds and you might be able to call me in the morning. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Mar 8, 2010 from City of Edinburgh Council: Edinburgh is first UK city to launch BT carbon club initiative to tackle climate change A network of carbon clubs could be launched across Edinburgh to enlist citizens in the battle to save energy and tackle climate change. The City of Edinburgh Council is the first local authority in the UK to adopt an innovative carbon club scheme pioneered by BT.... BT has created a web site where council employees can form their own clubs and will manage the site during the pilot. Club members can access a library of information and energy savings tips, build their own micro-sites and pledge to undertake actions that will reduce their impact on the environment.... BT's carbon club initiative was launched in June 2007 as a way to bring people together to work on carbon reduction initiatives. The company now has more than 130 clubs in operation and more than 14,000 pledges have been made. The clubs are involved in an array of initiatives, from recycling and saving money through greener living to running a light bulb library and smart meter lending service, working with wildlife and community groups and providing electric scooters for use at one of its larger sites. ... And just how does neighbors helping neighbors save energy grow the economy? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Mar 8, 2010 from MIT, via EurekAlert: MIT researchers discover new way of producing electricity A team of scientists at MIT have discovered a previously unknown phenomenon that can cause powerful waves of energy to shoot through minuscule wires known as carbon nanotubes. The discovery could lead to a new way of producing electricity, the researchers say.... Like a collection of flotsam propelled along the surface by waves traveling across the ocean, it turns out that a thermal wave -- a moving pulse of heat -- traveling along a microscopic wire can drive electrons along, creating an electrical current.... After further development, the system now puts out energy, in proportion to its weight, about 100 times greater than an equivalent weight of lithium-ion battery. ... The race between human ingenuity and global limits just got a bit more interesting. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Mar 5, 2010 from MIT, via PhysOrg: Behavioral economics and the energy behavior The argument Sendhil and I make is that we have to compare across all of these classes and say, "What's cost-effective in terms of achieving our goals?" We use the results from recent large-scale energy conservation programs that were motivated by behavioral science to show that behavioral science R&D is an underexplored and potentially cost-effective approach.... There was an academic study by psychologist Bob Cialdini and co-authors that helped provide the proof-of-concept for the OPOWER program. In this study, the researchers left door-hangers at a group of households in California. Some of the door-hangers said, "Save money by saving energy," some of them said, "Save the environment," and some said, "Here's how much your neighbors are using." And the ones that said, "Here's how much your neighbors are using" had a much stronger impact on energy consumption. In the last couple of years that study in particular has had a lot of influence. ... It takes a village to raise a meme. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Mar 2, 2010 from CalTech, via Technology Review: Material Traps Light on the Cheap A new photovoltaic material performs as well as the one found in today's best solar cells, but promises to be significantly cheaper. The material, created by researchers at Caltech, consists of a flexible array of light-absorbing silicon microwires and light-reflecting metal nanoparticles embedded in a polymer. Computational models suggest that the material could be used to make solar cells that would convert 15 to 20 percent of the energy in sunlight into electricity -- on par with existing high-performance silicon cells. But the material would require just 1 percent of the materials used today, potentially leading to a dramatic decrease in costs.... But the wires are treated with an antireflective coating and coated in a rubbery polymer mixed with highly reflective alumina nanoparticles. Once the polymer sets, the entire thing can be peeled off like a sticker. Over 90 percent of the resulting material is composed of the cheap polymer, and the template can be used again and again. "These materials are pliable, but they have the properties of a silicon wafer," says Atwater. When light hits the composite solar mats, it bounces around, reflecting off the alumina particles until it can be absorbed by a microwire. ... Can we start pumping these out like paper, please? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Feb 25, 2010 from TIME: A Deal Sours, and the Hummer Bites the Dust GM's efforts to sell its Hummer brand to a little-known Chinese company have fallen apart, the U.S. automaker announced Wednesday. As a result, GM will begin to dismantle a brand of gas-guzzling SUVs that were synonymous with pre-financial crisis wealth and excess. Specific reasons for the failure of the deal, first announced last June, were not released. But Chinese regulators had frowned on the purchase for much the same reason that U.S. consumers shunned Hummer; the vehicle's size and poor fuel economy were incompatible in an era of high fuel prices, general economic weakness and greater concern about the harmful effects of vehicle emissions on the environment. ... My heart is breaking. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Feb 20, 2010 from New Scientist: Hey green spender IF YOU care about the environment, you may want to show that in the way you spend your money. Maybe you shop at an organic food store rather than a conventional supermarket. You probably look at energy efficiency labels before buying a new laptop. And if you're really serious, you may even be concentrating your nest egg into "green" investment funds. All of these decisions could help steer us towards a truly green economy - but only if consumers and investors have a good idea of which companies have genuinely minimised their impact on the environment. Do the corporations that benefit from our environmentally conscious purchasing and investment choices deserve their green halo?... To find out, New Scientist teamed up with two companies that have collected the most relevant data. Earthsense, based in Syracuse, New York, has polled US consumers on their perceptions of the "greenness" of various companies. Trucost, headquartered in London, has compiled an unparalleled quantitative assessment of companies' global environmental impact. ... I'm wondering what color our "consumption society" is. Ain't green yet. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Feb 16, 2010 from Science Daily: Energy-Efficient Lighting Made Without Mercury RTI International has developed a revolutionary lighting technology that is more energy efficient than the common incandescent light bulb and does not contain mercury, making it environmentally safer than the compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb.... When the two nanoscale technologies are combined, a high-efficiency lighting device is produced that is capable of generating in excess of 55 lumens of light output per electrical watt consumed. This efficiency is more than five times greater than that of traditional incandescent bulbs.... Additionally, RTI's technology produces an aesthetically pleasing light with better color rendering properties than is typically found in CFLs. The technology has demonstrated color rendering indices in excess of 90 for warm white, neutral white, and cool white illumination sources.... It is anticipated that commercial products containing this breakthrough will be available in three to five years. ... Faster! Get the lead mercury out! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Feb 16, 2010 from PhysOrg.com: Researchers create highly absorbing, flexible solar cells with silicon wire arrays Using arrays of long, thin silicon wires embedded in a polymer substrate, a team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology has created a new type of flexible solar cell that enhances the absorption of sunlight and efficiently converts its photons into electrons. The solar cell does all this using only a fraction of the expensive semiconductor materials required by conventional solar cells.... The silicon wire arrays created by Atwater and his colleagues are able to convert between 90 and 100 percent of the photons they absorb into electrons -- in technical terms, the wires have a near-perfect internal quantum efficiency. "High absorption plus good conversion makes for a high-quality solar cell," says Atwater. "It's an important advance."... The next steps, Atwater says, are to increase the operating voltage and the overall size of the solar cell. "The structures we've made are square centimeters in size," he explains. "We're now scaling up to make cells that will be hundreds of square centimeters—the size of a normal cell." ... Make it quickly mass-producable, at $25 a square meter, and you just might save the world. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Feb 15, 2010 from PhysOrg.com: Nanoscale carbon fibre flat batteries A nanoscale material developed in Britain could one day yield wafer-thin cellphones and light-weight, long-range electric cars powered by the roof, boot and doors, researchers have reported.... For now, the new technology -- a patented mix of carbon fibre and polymer resin that can charge and release electricity just like a regular battery -- has not gone beyond a successful laboratory experiment.... The new material -- while expensive to make -- is entirely synthetic, which means production would not be limited by availability of natural resources. Another plus: conventional batteries need chemical reactions to generate juice, a process which causes them to degrade over time and gradually lose the capacity to hold a charge. The carbon-polymer composite does not depend on chemistry, which not only means a longer life but a quicker charge as well. ... A wee, sleekit, tim'rous batt'ry. However, the best laid plans gang aft agley. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Feb 14, 2010 from Health Day: Witnessing Uplifting Behavior May Spur Good Deeds Seeing someone else do a good deed appears to inspire you to do the same by making you feel uplifted, new research suggests. In an experiment, researchers recruited volunteers who watched a "neutral" video clip of scenes from a nature documentary or a clip from "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in which musicians thanked their mentors. The participants then wrote essays about what they watched, were paid for their time and asked to indicate whether they'd want to take part in another study. Those who saw the Oprah Winfrey clip were more likely to volunteer to take part in another study. The positive, uplifting emotion that makes people feel good and may inspire them to help others is known as "elevation," the researchers explained in a news release about the experiment from the Association for Psychological Science. ... But what if it's only Oprah that has this power to inspire? ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Feb 13, 2010 from TED, via Mongabay: Bill Gates: ban coal and invest in clean energy technology The planet needs "energy miracles" to overcome the dual challenges of meeting energy demand and addressing climate change, said Microsoft founder Bill Gates during a speech Friday at the TED Conference in Long Beach, California. "What we're going to have to do at a global scale is create a new system," Gates said. "So we need energy miracles."... Gates said the world needs to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050 and suggested researchers spent the next 20 years developing new technologies and the following 20 years implementing them. He said coal and natural gas should be phased out by 2050 and touted carbon capture and storage technology and wind, solar photovoltaic and solar thermal, and nuclear power. According to CNN Gates focused on reprocessing reactor waste into clean energy. ... Let's make that "10 and 10," and zero by 2020, shall we? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Feb 11, 2010 from New Scientist: Sun-powered water splitter makes hydrogen tirelessly The inorganic materials used in the University of East Anglia's system are more resilient. Their first generation proof of concept is "a major breakthrough" in the field, they say, thanks to its efficiency of over 60 per cent and ability to survive sunlight for two weeks without any degradation of performance. "In fact the 60 per cent figure is probably a worst-case scenario," says Nann. "This is still a preliminary study."... By the standard measure of the probability that a material will absorb a photon that hits it, each cluster is 400 times better at netting photons than organic molecules used in previous systems. "That's why it works so well," says Nann. ... Let's throw money and minds willy-nilly at this! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Feb 3, 2010 from USA Today: Do you use more energy than your neighbors? More than 1 million U.S. households now receive reports on how their energy consumption compares with their neighbors as utilities encourage conservation, some with smiley faces for those doing well. The reports — deployed by 25 utilities, including six of the 10 biggest — have resulted in households cutting energy use an average of 2 percent to 3 percent, says Alex Laskey, co-founder of Opower, which provides the reports. While that may sound small, the savings add up. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which started sending the reports to 35,000 households in 2008, says the households saved enough energy in a year to power 800 homes for a year. Utilities use different ways to tell consumers where they stand. The Sacramento utility sent its first reports with frown faces for those consuming more energy than their neighbors. "They didn't like it," says project manager Alexandra Crawford. The utility dropped the frowns. ... Americans ... need to be treated special-like. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Jan 23, 2010 from Fast Company: Walmart's Sustainability Consortium Developing Green Label for Electronics Last year, Walmart announced that it was developing a Sustainability Index for every product on its shelves. At the same time, the retailer revealed that it was providing seed funding to the Sustainability Consortium, a group of NGOs, government organizations, retailers, and suppliers to help develop the lifecycle database for its products. And now the consortium has embarked on its first big project: a green standard for electronics. Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics, Energy Star, and the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) label are all decent starting points for determining the sustainability of different gadgets, but the consortium wants to make an all-encompassing green label that takes into account everything from labor conditions to end-of-life disposal. The label will also take into account criteria used by other standards, including EPEAT and Energy Star. The Sustainability Consortium is working quickly with partners including Best Buy, HP, Walmart, and Dell to research and publish lifecycle assessments for all types of electronics, starting with computers and monitors. Data from the first round of research will be released later this year. ... If the label could only say how quickly obsolete this crap will be. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jan 20, 2010 from Times Online (UK): Roof-mounted wind turbines 'no help in reducing carbon' Roof-mounted wind turbines and solar panels are "eco-bling" that allow their owners to flaunt their green credentials but contribute very little towards meeting Britain's carbon reduction targets, according to the Royal Academy of Engineering.... Field trials carried out last year by the government-funded Energy Saving Trust found that the most productive building-mounted wind turbines in urban or suburban areas generated only £26 of electricity a year. Many of these turbines, which cost about £1,500, were net consumers of electricity because their controls drew power from the grid when the wind was low.... Professor King said that for wind turbines on urban homes to be effective, they would have to be so big that their vibration would damage the building. He said that installing microgeneration devices could cost £10,000 to £12,000 per home and reduce its emissions by only a few per cent. He proposed an alternative policy under which developers would offset the entire emissions of new homes by contributing £3,000 per dwelling towards a wind farm on a hilltop. ... Eco-bling? I gotta wear shades for the sparkle. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Jan 17, 2010 from New York Times: Gaining a Toehold for the E-Bike ...At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this month, Sanyo, the Japanese electronics maker and a major producer of car batteries, showed off a sleek, lightweight e-bike called the Eneloop Hybrid Bicycle. The Eneloop, priced at $2,300, came to stores in the United States late last year. It operates like any normal bike and, save for the black lithium-ion battery strapped to the frame beneath the seat, looks exactly like one as well. But when you press a button on the left handlebar, a 250-watt motor gently kicks in, providing about twice the power as your own pedaling — and making you feel like Lance Armstrong on even the steepest slopes. ... In lieu of wings or jetpacks I guess this will have to do. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jan 11, 2010 from CNN: World warming to greener train travel Take more trains and fewer planes. That's what Sarah Kendrew pledged to herself a few years ago. An astronomer at the Netherlands' Leiden Observatory, she travels frequently to nearby countries on business -- and prefers to not leave vapor trails in the sky when doing so. "I've been making a conscious effort to take trains rather than fly," she told CNN, "for environmental reasons initially, but I've also found them to be much more comfortable and convenient -- so it's not really an effort anymore." Faced with global climate change, many around the globe -- from governments to companies to individuals -- have also warmed to train travel. Traveling by rail is on average three to 10 times less CO2-intensive compared to road or air transport, according to the UIC, a Paris-based international organization of the railway sector. ... Especially since we never got those jetpacks we were promised! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jan 7, 2010 from SolveClimate: 7 Energy Efficient Gadgets that Could Be 2010 Game-Changers The green ghetto is great, but this year it seems energy efficiency is a major selling point for all the vendors, not just those with an ostensibly green product. Perhaps more telling, the tech journalists and taste-makers covering the event also seem to be most interested in the products that are smaller, thinner and more energy efficient than their predecessors. In general, what happens at CES sets the tech and gadget trends for the year, so it's encouraging to see a general trend toward energy efficiency, helped along in part by the banner year smart grid had in 2009, the federal stimulus funds flowing toward various energy efficient technologies and California's recent move to put a cap on the energy consumed by televisions. Here's a peek at seven energy efficient CES debuts that could be game-changers in the coming year... ... Clever gadgets could save the world. And without any sacrifices at all! ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Jan 3, 2010 from The Economist: The seat of power ...Less and less waste, these days, is actually allowed to go to waste. Instead, it is used to generate biogas, a methane-rich mixture that can be employed for heating and for the generation of electricity. Moreover, in an age concerned with the efficient use of energy, technological improvements are squeezing human fecal matter to release every last drop of the stuff. Making biogas means doing artificially to faeces what would happen to them naturally if they were simply dumped into the environment or allowed to degrade in the open air at a traditional sewage farm—namely, arranging for them to be chewed up by bacteria. Capturing the resulting methane has a double benefit. As well as yielding energy, it also prevents what is a potent greenhouse gas from being released into the atmosphere. ... Our last hope: Shit. ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Dec 18, 2009 from Scientific American: IEA: Energy Revolution Required to Combat Climate Change COPENHAGEN—Revolutionizing the energy industry to achieve a target concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of no more than 450 parts per million (ppm) would require building 17 nuclear power plants a year between now and 2030; 17,000 wind turbines a year; or two hydropower dams on the scale of Three Gorges Dam in Chin, according to the International Energy Agency. Such an effort would require an investment of $10.5 trillion during the next 20 years but would ultimately yield savings of $8.6 trillion, the IEA estimated. ... Let's not forget to factor in a massive plague and the colonization of Mars! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Dec 16, 2009 from ACS, via EurekAlert: Toward home-brewed electricity with 'personalized' solar energy The report describes development of a practical, inexpensive storage system for achieving personalized solar energy. At its heart is an innovative catalyst that splits water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen that become fuel for producing electricity in a fuel cell. The new oxygen-evolving catalyst works like photosynthesis, the method plants use to make energy, producing clean energy from sunlight and water. "Because energy use scales with wealth, point-of-use solar energy will put individuals, in the smallest village in the nonlegacy world and in the largest city of the legacy world, on a more level playing field," the report states. ... That "level playing field" doesn't sound very lucrative. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Dec 16, 2009 from Green Bay Press Gazette: Energy-efficient traffic signals don't melt snow, are blamed for accidents MILWAUKEE -- Cities around the country that have installed energy-efficient traffic lights are discovering a hazardous downside: The bulbs don't burn hot enough to melt snow and can become crusted over in a storm -- a problem blamed for dozens of accidents and at least one death... Many communities, including Green Bay, are using LED bulbs in some of their traffic lights because they use 90 percent less energy than the old incandescent variety, last far longer and save money. Their great advantage is also their drawback: They do not waste energy by producing heat. ... We were led to believe this would solve problems, not create them! ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Dec 2, 2009 from BusinessGreen: Organic solar firm enjoys growing financial support German solar cell start-up Heliatek GmbH has announced that it has secured... a second round of financing that will allow it to begin work on a manufacturing facility near its Dresden headquarters. The company, which was founded in 2006 as a spin-off from the Universities of Dresden and Ulm, specialises in the development of so-called organic solar cells that use carbon and other organic materials to create dyes that convert sunlight to electricity. Advocates of the technology predict that the use of organic materials means it will ultimately prove more cost effective than both traditional silicon-based photovoltaic cells and emerging thin-film technologies. Organic solar cells are also extremely lightweight, with Heliatek claiming that its cells weigh just 500 grams per square metre, compared to about 20 kilograms per square metre for typical PV solar cells. The company predicts that as a result, the technology will prove well suited to building integrated and even mobile applications such as vehicles. ... Now there's an example of "growing our way out of a problem." ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Nov 30, 2009 from BBC (UK): Solar panel costs 'set to fall' in near future The cost of installing and owning solar panels will fall even faster than expected according to new research. Their tests show that 90 percent of existing solar panels last for 30 years, instead of the predicted 20 years. According to the independent EU Energy Institute, this brings down the lifetime cost. The institute says the panels are such a good long-term investment that banks should offer mortgages on them like they do on homes.... Heinz Ossenbrink, who works at the institute, said China had underpinned its solar industry with a big solar domestic programme which would keep prices falling. There are large-scale solar plans in the US and India too. ... Solar default swaps, anyone? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Nov 27, 2009 from Washington Post: 'Cash for Clunkers,' household edition In U.S. history, there may have been no better time to own a junk car, a rattling old fridge and a leaking dishwasher. On the heels of its ballyhooed "Cash for Clunkers" program for cars, the federal government is expected to finalize details in the coming weeks of another tax-supported shopping extravaganza, known as "Cash for Appliances." Supported by $300 million from the economic stimulus, the program will offer rebates to consumers who buy energy-efficient refrigerators, dishwashers, air conditioners and other appliances to replace their older models. ... Anything... to prop up this crumbling empire... just a little while longer. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Nov 22, 2009 from Science Daily: Toward Home-Brewed Electricity With 'Personalized Solar Energy' New scientific discoveries are moving society toward the era of "personalized solar energy," in which the focus of electricity production shifts from huge central generating stations to individuals in their own homes and communities.... The report describes development of a practical, inexpensive storage system for achieving personalized solar energy. At its heart is an innovative catalyst that splits water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen that become fuel for producing electricity in a fuel cell. The new oxygen-evolving catalyst works like photosynthesis, the method plants use to make energy, producing clean energy from sunlight and water. "Because energy use scales with wealth, point-of-use solar energy will put individuals, in the smallest village in the nonlegacy world and in the largest city of the legacy world, on a more level playing field," the report states. ... And just how has the developing world earned energy freedom? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Nov 20, 2009 from Arizona Daily Sun: Grand Canyon officials to tackle warming Officials at the Grand Canyon are proposing to make the national park one of at least 50 in the country that attempts to counter and respond to global climate change. Led in part by an administrator formerly charged with tackling global warming for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the national park is weighing how to recycle more, use less energy and water, and cut its greenhouse gas emissions. It will also likely become a hub for teaching the public about climate change, said Kathryn Parker, who is now the climate change coordinator at the park.... The changes come after Park Service and other agencies met recently to discuss climate change. Researchers from Northern Arizona University outlined scenarios in which the deserts move uphill, high alpine vegetation recedes, most of the Southwest warms at the fastest rates, and the Colorado River receives less run-off. ... Great. Now we have the Park Service behaving like environmentalists. What about the bottom line? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Nov 16, 2009 from New Scientist: How reputation could save the Earth HAVE you ever noticed a friend or neighbour driving a new hybrid car and felt pressure to trade in your gas guzzler? Or worried about what people might think when you drive up to the office in an SUV? If so, then you have experienced the power of reputation for encouraging good public behaviour. In fact, reputation is such an effective motivator that it could help us solve the most pressing issue we face -- protecting our planet.... Out in the real world, these experiments suggest a way to help make people reduce their impact on the environment. If information about each of our environmental footprints was made public, concern for maintaining a good reputation could impact behaviour. Would you want your neighbours, friends, or colleagues to think of you as a free rider, harming the environment while benefiting from the restraint of others? ... But what about my right to private profligacy? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Nov 5, 2009 from Telegraph.co.uk: Al Gore 'profiting' from climate change agenda The former US vice president is in line to make a large profit from a firm producing smart meters which monitor household electricity use. He is a partner in a Silicon Valley venture capital firm which invested $45 million in Silver Spring Networks, a small California company which has been developing technology to monitor household power use to make the electricity grid more efficient. Last week the US Energy Department announced $2 billion in grants and a proportion of that, thought to be more than $305 million, will go to utility operators with which Silver Spring has contracts. The venture capitalists who invested, including Mr Gore, now look set to receive a handsome return. ... In some circles, this is called "foresight." ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Oct 12, 2009 from Cleantech Blog: Energy Efficiency: How NOT To Do It On October 5, First Energy (NYSE: FE) announced a planned energy efficiency program, involving the delivery of two compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) to each of its residential and small commercial customers in Ohio.... the plan would have had each customer pay $21.60 on bill surcharges over 36 months for this package of two CFLs -- whether they were used or not, or even wanted or not.... The $21.60 in extra charges not only covered the cost to First Energy of acquiring and delivering the two CFLs, but also would reimburse First Energy for the reduction in revenue associated with the use of these more efficient CFLs in lieu of traditional incandescent bulbs. ... Paying for energy not used! What a great idea! ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Oct 9, 2009 from BusinessGreen: Norway First Rich Nation to Pledge 40 percent Reductions Norway yesterday became the first country to pledge to cut carbon emissions in line with climate scientists' most demanding recommendations, committing to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by 40 per cent on their 1990 level by 2020. Prime minister Jens Stoltenberg, who was re-elected last month, said the government was prepared to meet demands from developing nations for the rich world to take the lead in tackling climate change and would upgrade its existing 30 per cent target to 40 per cent.... The row continued to bubble away for a second day after the US yesterday said it would not sign up to any deal based on the Kyoto Protocol and called for a complete reworking of the draft Copenhagen Treaty based on countries setting their own emissions targets. ... Showoffs. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Sep 29, 2009 from Brigham Young University, via EurekAlert: Sugar plus weed killer equals potential clean energy source Researchers at Brigham Young University have developed a fuel cell -- basically a battery with a gas tank -- that harvests electricity from glucose and other sugars known as carbohydrates.... The effectiveness of this cheap and abundant herbicide is a boon to carbohydrate-based fuel cells. By contrast, hydrogen-based fuel cells like those developed by General Motors require costly platinum as a catalyst.... "We showed you can get a lot more out of glucose than other people have done before," said Dean Wheeler, lead faculty author of the paper and a chemical engineering professor in BYU's Fulton College of Engineering and Technology. "Now we're trying to get the power density higher so the technology will be more commercially attractive." Since they wrote the paper, the researchers' prototype has achieved a doubling of power performance. ... Finally we have a use for all that corn syrup we've been producing! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Sep 22, 2009 from Times Online (UK): President Hu Jintao commits China to carbon-cutting deal China pledged yesterday to slow the growth of its emissions despite the rapid expansion of its economy. President Hu Jintao told nearly 100 leaders at a UN summit on climate change that China would cut carbon dioxide emissions by a notable margin by 2020. "We have taken and will continue to take determined and practical steps to tackle this challenge," he said. China, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, is overwhelmingly dependent on coal. Mr Hu said that it would "vigorously develop" renewable and nuclear energy, try to increase the share of non-fossil fuels to 15 per cent by 2020 and plant 40 million hectares of forest to absorb carbon emissions. The speech is the clearest indication yet that Mr Hu would be prepared to sign a binding international agreement on emissions. China previously rejected carbon emissions caps or cuts. ... OMG! 1/6 of humanity, distilled to one person, commits to change! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Sep 22, 2009 from Journal of Consumer Research, via EurekAlert: Hummer owners claim moral high ground to excuse overconsumption "As we studied American Hummer owners and their ideological beliefs, we found that they consider Hummer driving a highly moral consumption choice," write the authors. "For Hummer owners it is possible to claim the moral high ground." The authors explain that Hummer owners employ the ideology of American foundational myths, such as the "rugged individual," and the "boundless frontier" to construct themselves as moral protagonists. They often believe they represent a bastion again anti-American discourses evoked by their critics. "Our analysis of the underlying American identity discourses revealed that being under siege by (moral) critics is an historically established feature of being an American," write the authors. "The moralistic critique of their consumption choices readily inspired Hummer owners to adopt the role of the moral protagonist who defends American national ideals." ... I assert my freedom every time I "jackrabbit start" my Hummer. And if you disagree with me, you're a terrorist. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Sep 9, 2009 from Washington Post: Coalition Launches Campaign to Pass Climate Bill A coalition of environmental, labor, veterans and religious groups formally launched a national lobbying campaign Tuesday aimed at mobilizing grass-roots support for passage of a Senate climate bill this fall. The group -- dubbed Clean Energy Works -- marks perhaps the most ambitious effort yet to enact legislation that would cap greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming. The coalition has enlisted organizers in 28 key states to help build support for a cap-and-trade bill, and is scheduled to launch paid television ads this week. It also plans to bring 100 veterans to Washington this week to lobby, and has held town halls and rallies in several states. ... If only we could remove the word "coal" from coalition. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Sep 7, 2009 from BusinessGreen: Solar panel maker to create 4,000 green jobs US solar specialist Solyndra has begun construction of a second fabrication plant, which it claims could result in 3,000 temporary jobs and 1,000 or more long-term positions in the new plant.... The company said that the new site will allow it to address its $2bn order backlog and could create enough solar panels, along with the existing facility, to cut more than 350 million metric tons of C02 or 850 million barrels of oil.... Solyndra, which gets its name from its cylindrical solar modules, also announced that it has become the first company to receive a loan -- of around $535m -- guaranteed by the US Department of Energy under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. ... Leeeeet the sun shine, leeeet the sun shine in! ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Sep 6, 2009 from GOOD: Redesign Your Farmers' Market Winners Our latest project, Redesign Your Farmers' Market, asked for design solutions that would help food grown by local farmers to be more effectively delivered and distributed to urban residents. We received 65 entries from as far away as Finland, England, New Zealand, and Lithuania. Our ten judges picked 22 finalists which were exhibited at the Los Angeles farmers' market celebration 30 Years & Growing, as well as three runners-up and one winner. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone who submitted for your thoughtful and passionate solutions. ... Corporate farming built this country. What are you, a socialist? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Aug 27, 2009 from New York Times: Solar Panels Drop in Price ...[T]he cost of solar panels has plunged lately, changing the economics for many homeowners. Mr. Hare ended up paying $77,000 for a large solar setup that he figures might have cost him $100,000 a year ago. "I just thought, 'Wow, this is an opportunity to do the most for the least,'" Mr. Hare said. For solar shoppers these days, the price is right. Panel prices have fallen about 40 percent since the middle of last year, driven down partly by an increase in the supply of a crucial ingredient for panels, according to analysts at the investment bank Piper Jaffray.... The price drops -- coupled with recently expanded federal incentives -- could shrink the time it takes solar panels to pay for themselves to 16 years, from 22 years, in places with high electricity costs, according to Glenn Harris, chief executive of SunCentric, a solar consulting group. ... I know! Let's turn all the credit default swaps into solar mortgages! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Aug 25, 2009 from University of Texas-Austin, via ScienceDaily: Lower-cost Solar Cells To Be Printed Like Newspaper, Painted On Rooftops Solar cells could soon be produced more cheaply using nanoparticle "inks" that allow them to be printed like newspaper or painted onto the sides of buildings or rooftops to absorb electricity-producing sunlight.... Brian Korgel, a University of Texas at Austin chemical engineer, is hoping to cut costs to one-tenth of their current price by replacing the standard manufacturing process for solar cells -- gas-phase deposition in a vacuum chamber, which requires high temperatures and is relatively expensive. "That's essentially what's needed to make solar-cell technology and photovoltaics widely adopted," Korgel said. "The sun provides a nearly unlimited energy resource, but existing solar energy harvesting technologies are prohibitively expensive and cannot compete with fossil fuels."... His team has developed solar-cell prototypes with efficiencies at one percent; however, they need to be about 10 percent. "If we get to 10 percent, then there's real potential for commercialization," Korgel said. "If it works, I think you could see it being used in three to five years." ... Why are so many tantalizing technologies always three to five years away? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Aug 20, 2009 from Earth2Tech: Why the Kindle Is Good for the Planet According to a fascinating report from the Cleantech Group, called The Environmental Impact of Amazon's Kindle, one e-Book device on average can displace the buying of about 22.5 physical books per year, and thus deliver an estimated savings of 168 kg of CO2 per year. the U.S. book and magazine sectors accounted for the harvesting of 125 million trees in 2008, and an average book has a carbon footprint of 7.46 kilograms of CO2 over its lifetime. A book's carbon footprint also can double if you drive to the store and buy it, versus having it shipped in the mail. So in a similar way to how downloading digital music and listening to it on your computer has a much better carbon footprint than driving to the store and purchasing a CD, the savings for e-Books are about both dematerialization and eliminating the need for transportation. ... I won't believe that until a see it in print. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Aug 19, 2009 from BBC: Bolivians look to ancient farming Poor farmers in the heart of Bolivia's Amazon are being encouraged to embrace the annual floods - by using a centuries-old irrigation system for their crops. They are experimenting with a sustainable way of growing food crops that their ancestors used. It could provide them with better protection against the extremes of climate change, reduce deforestation, improve food security and even promise a better diet.... About 400 families are now enrolled in the project in five locations, growing mainly maize, cassava and rice. Many of the sites are still in an experimental phase, but the early signs are promising. Productivity appears to be on the increase. ... If only they could get state-of-the-art robots to do the work for them! ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Aug 14, 2009 from Treehugger.com: US Has Gotten More New Energy from Efficiency Improvements Than All Supply Side Expansion Combined: Obama Science Advisor John Holdren: "[T]he cleanest, fastest, cheapest, safest, surest energy supply option continues to be increasing the efficiency of energy end use -- more efficient cars, more efficient buildings, more efficient industrial processes, more efficient airplanes. We have gotten more new energy out of energy efficiency improvements in the last 35 years than we've gotten out of all supply side expansion put together in the United States. That's even without trying all that hard. For most of that period, we haven't had anything that you could call a really coherent set of energy policies supporting increasing energy efficiency." ... Surely a more efficient title could have been used for this story. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jul 30, 2009 from American Chemical Society via ScienceDaily: 'Shrimp Shell Cocktail' To Fuel Cars And Trucks Call it a "shrimp cocktail" for your fuel tank. Scientists in China are reporting development of a catalyst made from shrimp shells that could transform production of biodiesel fuel into a faster, less expensive, and more environmentally friendly process. The researchers describe development of a new catalyst produced from shrimp shells. In laboratory tests, the shrimp shell catalysts converted canola oil to biodiesel (89 percent conversion in three hours) faster and more efficiently than some conventional catalysts. The new catalysts also can be reused and the process minimizes waste production and pollution, the scientists note. ... Were I a shrimp, I might find this environmentally UNfriendly! ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Jul 25, 2009 from TED talk, 2009: Seth Godin: The Tribes We Lead, and Leading Tribes We almost didn't view this TED video -- 'Doc Michael was talking about online "tribes" back in 1996 (http://www.nap.edu/staff/mjensen/tech6.htm), but we clicked anyway. As a consequence, we were illuminated: he is talking about operationalizing the tribe for a purpose. We were inspired. Because that is what, ideally, we ApocaDocs can do. Internally, we are setting our goals for 2012. Either society will have woken up and begun radically shifting gears, or it's Road Warrior time, ahead. 2009 through 2010 need to be the holyshit period -- the time when we as a society grapple with what we've been doing to ourselves. 2011 needs to be the "why the hell aren't we fixing it faster era. And finally, 2012 needs to be the breakthrough year. We don't know what that breakthrough will be, but we need to do all we can to build to breakthrough. The ApocaDocs, in three days, will have reached 3,000 stories identified, considered, recorded, and be-quipped, from the last 18 months. We have the data to help scare the hell out of people, in the next 18 months, if we have your help. We are beginning to Twitter our stories (twitter.com/apocadocs), and have had fits and starts with Facebook. The problem is, we both have more-than-fulltime jobs. We want to get the ideas out into the world as fast as we can, to catalyze the change that is required to have a livable world for our grandchildren. Over the next six months, we'll apply more tools for community, for outreach, for participation. But for now, if you're as panicked as we are, please follow us on Twitter and ReTweet or Facebook as much as you can, to your own networks. Add your own stories, and lead your tribe, so others can ReTweet and expand the tribe who understands what's going on. As you probably know, most everything is happening faster than expected. We need to react just as fast. ... Tribe? That sounds so primative. Oh, it's actually fundamental? ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Jul 25, 2009 from TED talk, 2009: Ray Kurzweil: Exponential solar Our favorite part of this TED talk (which is worth watching in its entirety), is the exponential photovoltaic efficiency increase (starting around 5:43), "eight doublings away from providing 100 percent of our energy needs." Currently PV is doubling in efficiency:price every two years; now that nanotechnology is being applied, doubling could increase dramatically, he implies. Would it not be fabulous if this is true? We could then have the energy to de-carbonize and de-methanize our atmosphere and possibly de-acidify the ocean with floating solar-powered smartboats. Eight to sixteen years? If, as Kurzweil posits, the other developments in computing, nanotechnology, information interpretation, and general progress grows exponentially..., then in eight years, a radically different world awaits. And how will we make it? ... And what will be left? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jul 23, 2009 from New Scientist: US vehicle efficiency hardly changed since Model T The average fuel efficiency of the US vehicle fleet has risen by just 3 miles per gallon since the days of the Ford Model T, and has barely shifted at all since 1991. Those are the conclusions reached by Michael Sivak and Omer Tsimhoni at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute in Ann Arbor. They analysed the fuel efficiency of the entire US vehicle fleet of cars, motorcycles, trucks and buses from 1923 to 2006.... Progress has stalled since then, though, despite growing environmental concerns. From 1991 to 2006 the average efficiency improved by only 1.8 per cent to 17.2 mpg (7.31 km/l). "We were in a period of complacency [during the 1990s]. There were no external prods to improve fuel economy," says DeCicco. ... Where's that ol' American ingenuity been? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jul 23, 2009 from Fast Company: Why the Microgrid Could Be the Answer to Our Energy Crisis ...if many of us see this moment as a defining one, a key opportunity to reassess how we create and use energy across the country, the federal government seems content to leave the owners of the old energy world in charge of designing the new one. Big utilities are pushing hard to do what they do best -- getting the government to subsidize construction of multi-billion-dollar, far-flung, supersize solar and wind farms covering millions of acres, all connected via outsize transmission lines.... The evidence is growing that privately owned, consumer-driven, small-scale, geographically distributed renewables could deliver a 100 percent green-energy future faster and cheaper than big power projects alone. Companies like GE and IBM are talking in terms of up to half of American homes generating their own electricity, renewably, within a decade. But distributed power -- call it the "microgrid" -- poses an existential threat to the business model the utilities have happily depended on for more than a century. No wonder so many of them are fighting the microgrid every step of the way. ... Microgrids give them nausea. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jul 22, 2009 from EnergyBoom.com, via HuffPost: New Technology Produces Hydrogen from Urine Until now, producing, storing and transporting hydrogen has been a costly process. Urea, a major component of urine, contains four hydrogen atoms per molecule, which are bonded to two atoms of nitrogen. The new technology uses electrolysis to break down the molecule using 0.37 volts which is applied across the cell. In comparison, extracting hydrogen from water uses large amounts of electricity; specifically, 1.23V is needed to split H20 molecules. Botte's method uses less energy than it takes to extract hydrogen from water. Simply put: by placing the inexpensive electrode into urine and applying current, hydrogen is released. Tests were performed using both synthetic urine, made from dissolved urea, and human urine. The device is also small enough to be used in vehicles. Botte estimates a fuel cell urine-powered vehicle could potentially travel up to 90 miles per gallon. The current prototype, which measures about 3 x 3 x 1 inches, can produce up to 500 milliwatts of power. The team is working on creating larger scale versions of the electrolyzer. The report was published in the Royal Society of Chemistry Chemical Communications. ... I'd love to pee-power my Prius! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jul 20, 2009 from London Financial Times: How to end America's deadly coal addiction Converting rapidly from coal-generated energy to gas is President Barack Obama's most obvious first step towards saving our planet and jump-starting our economy. A revolution in natural gas production over the past two years has left America awash with natural gas and has made it possible to eliminate most of our dependence on deadly, destructive coal practically overnight -- and without the expense of building new power plants... By changing the dispatch rule nationally to require that whenever coal and gas plants are competing head-to-head, gas generation must be utilised first, we could quickly reduce coal generation and achieve massive emissions reductions. In an instant, this simple change could eliminate three-quarters of America's coal-burning generators and save a fortune in energy costs. Around 920 US coal plants -- 78 per cent of the total -- are small (generating less than half a gigawatt), antiquated and horrendously inefficient. Their average age is 45 years, with many over 75. They tend to be located amidst dense populations and in poor neighbourhoods to lethal effect. ... Something tells me this idea is gonna get the coal industry steaming. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Jul 19, 2009 from Boulder Daily Camera: Boulder explores work weeks of four 10-hour days Working fewer, longer days each week could mean big savings for Boulder's energy bills, and happier workers, according to some city employees advocating for such a change. The city recently took a survey of its workers, asking them what they would change to become more efficient or cost-effective in the face of an expected $5 million budget shortfall next year. A resounding theme in the anonymous responses, according to city documents, is that managers should consider shortening the typical work week from the traditional five 8-hour days to four 10-hour days -- the theory being that shutting down city buildings could save energy. ... Three day weekends ROCK! ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Jul 17, 2009 from DOE, via EurekAlert: New geothermal heat extraction process to deliver clean power generation A new method for capturing significantly more heat from low-temperature geothermal resources holds promise for generating virtually pollution-free electrical energy. Scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will determine if their innovative approach can safely and economically extract and convert heat from vast untapped geothermal resources.... "By the end of the calendar year, we plan to have a functioning bench-top prototype generating electricity," predicts PNNL Laboratory Fellow Pete McGrail. "If successful, enhanced geothermal systems like this could become an important energy source."... "Some novel research on nanomaterials used to capture carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels actually led us to this discovery," said McGrail. "Scientific breakthroughs can come from some very unintuitive connections." ... Another transparent ploy to acquire more funding for basic research. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jul 16, 2009 from Federation of American Scientists, via EurekAlert: 34 US Nobel Laureates urge inclusion of $150 billion in climate legislation "The stable support this Fund would provide is essential to pay for the research and development needed if the U.S., as well as the developing world, are to achieve their goals in reducing greenhouse gases at an affordable cost," they wrote. "This stable R&D spending is not a luxury," they added. "[I]t is in fact necessary because rapid scientific and technical progress is crucial to achieving" U.S. goals in energy and climate and making the cost affordable. The letter notes that the House-passed climate bill, H.R. 2454, "provides less than one fifteenth of the amount" the president proposed "for federal energy research, development, and demonstration programs." The Senate is expected to consider its version of the climate legislation later this month. ... Only 34? I bet I could find one laureate who disagrees. Then we could have a one-on-one, fair and balanced debate on television! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jun 22, 2009 from EarthTronics: Introducing the Honeywell Wind Turbine The Honeywell Wind Turbine eliminates traditional wind turbine gear box, shaft and generators. The Honeywell Wind Turbine is a gearless, “free wheeling’’ turbine that generates power from the blade tips (where the speed lies) rather than through a complex slow center shaft. By practically eliminating mechanical resistance and drag, the Honeywell Wind Turbine creates significant power (2000 kWh/yr) operating in a greater range of wind speeds (2-45 mph) than traditional wind turbines. The highest output, lowest cost per kWh installed turbine ever made. ... A chicken in every pot! A turbine on every roof! ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Jun 5, 2009 from BusinessGreen: New standards pull plug on energy guzzling vending machines Vending machines for soda and other beverages would sip energy rather than guzzle it under new standards proposed by the US Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The proposed rules set energy conservation standards and consumption thresholds for refrigerated vending machines that dispense bottled or canned drinks. The measures would cut energy use of glass- or polymer-front machines by as much as 42 per cent compared to current energy consumption of such machines. Energy use in more traditional solid-front vending machines would be cut by about 15 per cent.... Over a 30-year period, the new standards could yield savings of as much as 10 billion kwh of electricity - about enough for 800,000 typical homes for a year, save vending machine property owners $250 million, and eliminate five million metric tons of CO2 emissions, according to the DOE's long-term projections. The 30-year estimate for CO2 reduction is roughly the equivalent of the CO2 emissions produced by a million cars during a year and has an estimated value of $96 million, the DOE said. ... Guilt-free junk food? What next, energy-efficient Big Macs? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jun 4, 2009 from Long Beach Press-Telegram: Oil tanker at Port of Long Beach is a green first The giant cable reeled into position, an engineer pulled the handle, and like that, pollution equivalent to 187,000 passenger cars was lifted from local skies. A 941-foot BP oil tanker that just arrived from the Alaskan frontier became the globe's first such vessel to plug into a dockside electrical outlet Wednesday - an engineering feat expected to cut at least 30 tons of emissions in the coming year... It took nearly five years and $24 million to design and build the dockside power outlet at Pier T, which every few days accommodates hulking tankers carrying a million-plus barrels of oil. The Navigator previously burned about 10,000 gallons of diesel each day in port to power massive pumps needed to off-load the oil. Electrification required port engineers to build a million-pound underwater outlet anchored by a series of 168-foot concrete pilings and holding a massive steel cable that connects to the ship. ... Fortunately, Paul Bunyon was out of work and thus available to plug it in. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Jun 3, 2009 from New Scientist: Methanol challenges hydrogen to be fuel of the future For years many companies, governments and researchers have predicted that our energy future must lie with the universe's simplest element. The mooted hydrogen economy would use the gas to store and transport renewable or low-carbon energy, and power fuel cells in the transport sector or in portable electronics. But creating the necessary society-wide infrastructure has proved difficult and expensive to get off the ground. And now a rival idea, first suggested in 2006 by Nobel chemistry laureate George Olah at the University of Southern California, has received a boost. The methanol economy, say its supporters, could be with us much sooner than the hydrogen one. Olah's rationale is that modifying our existing oil and petrol-focused infrastructure to run on methanol will be much easier than refitting the world's liquid-fuel-based economy to deal with an explosive gas. Methanol has already been used to power portable gadgets and could potentially power vehicles and other devices. Now US chemists have worked out the conditions needed to make the feedstock for methanol production using renewable energy. ... Now crystal methanol, that'll really be something. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jun 1, 2009 from Times Online (UK): Rebound effect will raise fossil fuel use Improvements in energy efficiency will lead to greater use of fossil fuels, according to research published this week.... He argues that what he calls a "rebound effect" has been seriously underestimated by policymakers, who will have to impose drastic measures such as high petrol taxes to tackle the problem.... The rebound effect works in several ways. Industry, for example, will save on fuel costs by taking measures such as insulating buildings or switching to hybrid cars. It can then pass the savings to customers through lower prices, leaving them with more cash to spend. Production will rise to meet the demand created by the extra spending. Barker said the effect will be much stronger in the developing world, where large populations are about to join the fossil-fuel economy and small improvements in disposable income can lead to big changes in consumption. ... There are no slam dunks in this game. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, May 26, 2009 from Times Online (UK): Steven Chu: paint the world white to fight global warming The Nobel prize-winning physicist appointed by President Obama as US Energy Secretary wants to change the colour of roofs, roads and pavements so they reflect more of the Sun's light and heat to combat global warming, he said today.... By lightening all paved surfaces and roofs to the colour of cement, it would be possible to reduce carbon emissions by as much as taking all the world's cars off the roads for 11 years, he said.... Pale surfaces reflect up to 80 per cent of the sunlight that falls on them, compared to about 20 per cent for dark ones, which is why roofs and walls in hot countries are often whitewashed. An increase in the number of pale surfaces would help contain climate change both by reflecting more solar radiation into space and by reducing the amount of energy needed to keep buildings cool by air-conditioning.... Professor Chu said: "There's a friend of mine, a colleague of mine, Art Rosenfeld, who's pushing very hard for a geo-engineering we all believe will be completely benign, and that's when you have a flat-top roof building, make it white. ... That's so reasonable it just... might... work! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, May 19, 2009 from Guardian (UK): China and US held secret talks on climate change deal A high-powered group of senior Republicans and Democrats led two missions to China in the final months of the Bush administration for secret backchannel negotiations aimed at securing a deal on joint US-Chinese action on climate change, the Guardian has learned. The initiative, involving John Holdren, now the White House science adviser, and others who went on to positions in Barack Obama's administration, produced a draft agreement in March, barely two months after the Democrat assumed the presidency.... The secret missions suggest that advisers to Obama came to power firmly focused on getting a US-China understanding in the run-up to the crucial UN meeting in Copenhagen this December, which is aimed at sealing a global deal to slash greenhouse gas emissions. In her first policy address the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said she wanted to recast the broad US-China relationship around the central issue of climate change.... Chandler said he and Holdren drew up a three-point memo which envisaged: * Using existing technologies to produce a 20 percent cut in carbon emissions by 2010. * Co-operating on new technology including carbon capture and storage and fuel efficiency for cars. * The US and China signing up to a global climate change deal in Copenhagen. "We sent it to Xie and he said he agreed," said Chandler. ... Backchannel, frontchannel, we don't care, just get moving! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, May 19, 2009 from Reuters: U.S. to propose most aggressive auto fuel standards President Barack Obama will propose on Tuesday the most aggressive U.S. auto fuel efficiency standards ever, a policy that also aims to resolve a dispute with the state of California over cutting tailpipe emissions. A senior administration official, speaking to reporters late on Monday on the condition of anonymity, said average fuel standards for all new light vehicles sold in the United States would rise by 10 miles per gallon over today's performance to 35.5 mpg between 2012-16. ... Gosharoonie: 35.5 mpg, in three years. What a stunning emphasis. Surely that means we will survive the climate chaos. See you on the other side of the crisis. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, May 9, 2009 from TIME Magazine: Another Blow to Ethanol: Biolectricity Is Greener Once touted as an environmental and economic cure-all, corn ethanol has had a rough year. The collapse in grain and oil prices, preceded by overinvestment in refineries over the past few years, badly hurt ethanol producers. Meanwhile, environmentalists have steadily chipped away at ethanol's green credentials. Far from being better for the planet than gasoline, many scientists now argue that ethanol actually has a sizable carbon footprint, because when farmers in the U.S. use their land to grow corn for fuel rather than food, farmers in the developing world end up cutting down more forests to pick up the slack. Now a new study makes the case that ethanol isn't even the greenest way to use biomass as a fuel. In an article published in the May 8 issue of Science, researchers from the Carnegie Institution, Stanford University and the University of California-Merced (UCM) used life-cycle analysis — which takes into account the entire impact of a biofuel from field to vehicle — to show that converting biomass to electricity (to power electric cars) produces 80 percent more transportation energy than turning it into ethanol (to power a flex-fuel car), with a carbon footprint that is half as small. ... Perhaps corn can back to doing what it does best: make corn syrup! ApocaDoc permalink Fri, May 8, 2009 from DOE, via EurekAlert: Report examines limits of national power grid simulations America's power grid today resembles the country's canal system of the 19th Century. A marvel of engineering for its time, the canal system eventually could not keep pace with the growing demands of transcontinental transportation. More than 150 years later, America's infrastructure is again changing in ways that its designers never anticipated. Distributed and intermittent electricity generation, such as wind power, is rapidly expanding, new smart meters are giving consumers more control over their energy usage, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles may someday radically increase the overall demand for electricity.... "Implementing smart grid technologies on a large scale will not be trivial," Petri added. "The challenges go beyond technical and economic issues. The smart grid technologies could fundamentally change how national power grid systems operate and respond to disruptions." ... Since when is smart anything trivial? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, May 7, 2009 from UCLA, via EurekAlert: UCLA physicists create world's smallest incandescent lamp The incandescent lamp utilizes a filament made from a single carbon nanotube that is only 100 atoms wide. To the unaided eye, the filament is completely invisible when the lamp is off, but it appears as tiny point of light when the lamp is turned on. Even with the best optical microscope, it is only just possible to resolve the nanotube's non-zero length. To image the filament's true structure the team uses an electron microscope capable of atomic resolution. With less than 20 million atoms, the nanotube filament is both large enough to apply the statistical assumptions of thermodynamics and small enough to be considered as a molecular — that is, quantum mechanical — system. "Because both the topic (black-body radiation) and the size scale (nano) are on the boundary between the two theories, we think this is a very promising system to explore," Regan said. "The carbon nanotube that is used as the lamp filament is ideal for their purposes because of its smallness and extraordinary temperature stability." ... Shouldn't we be replacing these incandescent lights with really tiny CFLs? ApocaDoc permalink Wed, May 6, 2009 from University of Montreal, via EurekAlert: Battery-powered vehicles to be revolutionized by Universite de Montreal technology "It's a revolutionary battery because it is made from non-toxic materials abundant in the Earth's crust. Plus, it's not expensive,'" says Michel Gauthier, an invited professor at the Université de Montréal Department of Chemistry and co-founder of Phostech Lithium, the company that makes the battery material. "This [LiFePO4] battery could eventually make the electric car very profitable."... "It is a battery that is much more stable and much safer," says Dean MacNeil, a professor at the Universite de Montreal's Department of Chemistry and new NSERC-Phostech Lithium Industrial Research Chair in Energy Storage and Conversion. "In addition, it recharges much faster than previous batteries." ... And what a great acronym! ApocaDoc permalink Fri, May 1, 2009 from BusinessGreen: Plastic bag charge hailed as a huge success Since launching a 5p charge for food bags last May as part of its Plan A scheme to reduce waste, Marks & Spencers says the number of bags taken to cart posh ready meals home has fallen by 80 per cent, from 460m bags a year to 80m. The National Trust, which introduced a charge on 1 May last year in its shops and garden centres, has managed to slash plastic bag usage by 85 per cent, or one million bags a year. It said just five per cent of its customers were now taking the disposable option.... Tesco, which offers one Green point to its clubcard customers for every bag they reuse, says it has cut bag use by 50 per cent since it launched the scheme in August 2006, saving three billion bags in the process. In the past year alone, 1.8bn bags have been saved. ... One small step for each person; one small leap toward survival. ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Apr 29, 2009 from BusinessGreen: Smarter grids could provide 700,000 UK job boost The UK's Digital Road to Recovery report models the likely economic impact of an additional £15bn investment in broadband networks, smart grid technologies, and intelligent transport systems, such as congestion management infrastructure. It concludes that the productivity boost digital networks can deliver for other businesses means that increased investment in ICT technology would prove more effective at creating jobs and boosting the economy than spending on physical infrastructure such as roads and bridges. The report calculated that an additional £5bn in broadband investment would help to create or retain 280,000 jobs, while £5bn for smart grid systems would create or retain 235,000 jobs, and investing the same sum in intelligent transport systems would result in 188,000 jobs. ... Will that mean we'll start seeing groups of four geeks by the roadside, with three of them watching the fourth one work? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Apr 17, 2009 from Naples Daily News: Babcock Ranch to be United States' first solar powered city LEE COUNTY -- Planned mega-development Babcock Ranch will be the world's first entirely solar-powered city, developer Syd Kitson and an official from Florida Power & Light announced Thursday morning during a Washington D.C. press conference. The ambitious Charlotte County development will draw all of its electricity from a 75-megawatt photovoltaic solar power plant to be built by FPL. Construction on the facility could start by the end of this year.... The facility will be carbon-free, use no water and produce no waste. It will avoid the 61,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions a fossil fuel plant of equal size would release each year...Plans for Babcock Ranch include 19,500 homes in neighborhoods situated around a city center... Population at build-out is expected to reach 45,000. ... Sounds freakin' utopian! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Apr 14, 2009 from BusinessGreen: "Kyoto box" wins startup funding A box designed to improve the efficiency of using firewood to boil water in developing countries won $75,000 in funding from sustainable development charity Forum for the Future last week. The Kyoto Box -- which costs about 5 euros to make -- uses a greenhouse effect to boil 10 litres of water in two hours, far more efficient than a standard fire. Kenya-based entrepreneur Jon Bohmer of startup Kyoto Energy said the box is targeted at the three billion people who use firewood to cook and has the potential to deliver huge environmental and social benefits. "We're saving lives and saving trees," he said. "I doubt if there is any other technology that can make so much impact for so little money." ... The "greenhouse effect" for good, rather than evil! ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Apr 10, 2009 from BusinessGreen: Chrysler moves electric car plans up a gear US car maker Chrysler's electric vehicle range has moved a step closer to reality as the company inked a major partnership with US battery specialist A123Systems. Under the terms of the deal, A123Systems will provide Chrysler with battery systems for its planned ENVI range of electric vehicles. First showcased at the North American motorshow in Detroit this year, Chrysler's entry into the electric vehicle market includes the Dodge Circuit EV, Jeep(R) Wrangler EV, Jeep Patriot EV, Chrysler Town & Country EV and the Chrysler 200C EV concept car. The company is expecting its first all-electric model to go into production early next year. ... Can I do some sweat equity? Send me the parts and we'll put 'em together! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Apr 7, 2009 from Greenwire: Scientists try tapping 'ice that burns' Researchers may have found a way to extract large amounts of natural gas from methane hydrates -- ice-like structures that might contain more energy than all the world's coal, oil and conventional natural gas combined. Massive amounts of frozen natural gas are buried far below the ocean floor and Arctic permafrost, but the compounds are highly unstable when they experience changes in temperature or pressure. Until now, scientists have struggled to find how to economically extract usable fuel from them. But Columbia University researchers believe they may have discovered ideal conditions for separating gas from the ice, and they have developed an apparatus to help them do that. Methane hydrates, also known as "ice that burns," form when natural gas from microbial activity or organic decomposition gets trapped within water molecules at low temperature and high pressure. ... Couple the 'ice that burns' with 'fire that chills' and now we're really talking! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Apr 6, 2009 from New Scientist: Bug eats electricity, farts biogas ...An intriguing new idea involves "feeding" surplus power to the microorganisms instead, which combine it with carbon dioxide to create methane. That could then be stored and burned when needed. The method is sustainable too, as the carbon is taken from the atmosphere, not released from long-term storage in oil or coal... The new method relies on a microorganism studied by Bruce Logan's team at Pennsylvania State University in University Park. When living on the cathode of an electrolytic cell, the organism can take in electrons and use their energy to convert carbon dioxide into methane... If the CO2 used to make the methane was captured from the flue pipes of power stations or even -- using more complex methods -- from the open air, the methane would become a carbon-neutral fuel. ... These microorganisms are called "barking spiders." ApocaDoc permalink Wed, Apr 1, 2009 from International Journal of Exergy, via EurekAlert: Waste not, want not Tapping industrial waste heat could reduce fossil fuel demands in the short term and improve efficiency of countless manufacturing processes, according to scientists in Japan writing in the International Journal of Exergy.... The team has investigated three promising technologies for heat recovery: latent heat, reaction heat, and the use of a thermoelectric device. The aim of their study was to find a way to capture the heat from industrial furnaces and other systems without the constraints of time and space associated with simply using the heat to produce steam to drive other processes at precisely the same site. They say their approach can "recuperate industrial waste heat beyond time and space." ... We so much need to get "beyond time and space." ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Mar 30, 2009 from US News and World Report: 6 Scientists on the Cutting Edge of Energy and Environmental Research Donald J. Hammerstrom envisions a day when every electrical appliance is wise to what's happening on the far side of the wall socket. The inexpensive device he and his Pacific Northwest National Laboratory colleagues in Richland, Wash., have developed, dubbed the Grid Friendly Appliance Controller, is designed to reduce reliance on backup generators and prevent power outages that can occur when the electrical grid suffers momentary capacity problems. The controller, which he says could be built into a water heater, clothes dryer, or other energy-hungry appliance for $5 or less, recognizes when telltale fluctuations in the current flowing through the socket indicate that the grid is straining to meet demand. The controller's response: briefly scale back the appliance's electricity use. That move, if multiplied by many appliances in thousands of homes and buildings, would be enough to relieve the strain on the grid, potentially averting a blackout. The grid would also need less 24-7 standby capacity (read, wastefully idling generators) to buffer the occasional unexpected fluctuation in electrical supply or demand. ... It better not know everything going on, on the far side of that wall socket! ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Mar 28, 2009 from Daily Kos: The Golden Days: Bedtime, 2020 Are you sure you want stories from way back then? It's so long ago. You're sure? Ok, then, my sweet one, here it is. Let me think back a bit: In those golden days, we had something called the "pilot light." It was a small flame burning in our stoves, all day and night long. It was natural gas, burned for our convenience -- to let us light other fires on our stoves, piped from hundreds, even thousands of miles away, for our convenience. Because of that pilot light, we didn't have to strike flint, or use a match. ... The future is just a figment of our imagination. I'm so sure of this. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Mar 26, 2009 from Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences , via EurekAlert: E-waste reduced by fees at time of purchase, says new study The large amount of waste that follows the sale of computers and electronics is reduced when states charge consumers a fee at the time of sale, according to [a recent study].... The fast pace of new product introduction in the electronics industry imposes high costs on manufacturers and the environment as consumers each year discard millions of tons of obsolete electronics containing toxic materials, by one estimate, more than one million tons of e-waste in the United States alone.... [T]he authors find that fees-upon-sale induce manufacturers to introduce products less frequently and, consequently, the quantity of e-waste decreases dramatically -- and manufacturers' profits may actually increase. In contrast, fees-upon-disposal reduce manufacturers' profits and fail to reduce the quantity of e-waste. ... You're saying everyone benefits if we produce and buy less crap? But what about consumer culture? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Mar 12, 2009 from New Scientist: 'Nanoball' batteries could recharge car in minutes Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have revealed an experimental battery that charges about 100 times as fast as normal lithium ion batteries. Their battery contains a cathode made up of tiny balls of lithium iron phosphate, each just 50 nanometres across. The balls quickly release lithium ions as the battery charges, which travel across an electrolyte towards the anode. As the battery discharges, the lithium ions move back across the cell to be re-absorbed by the nanoballs.... Bigger batteries for plug-in hybrid electric cars could charge in just 5 minutes -- compared with about 8 hours for existing batteries -- though this would require a very high-powered charger. ... Big cojones from some nanoballs! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Mar 10, 2009 from Christian Science Monitor: Colleges wean off fossil fuels More and more, colleges and universities are not only teaching about environmental issues, they’re “walking the walk” by changing they way they operate. In December 2006, 12 college and university presidents joined together to form the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. They pledged to set target dates for becoming carbon neutral – reducing the carbon emissions from their heating, cooling, electrical, and transportation needs as much as possible and then buying carbon offsets to complete the task. A little more than two years later, 614 colleges and universities in all 50 states have made the commitment. They represent about one-third of the student body at colleges and universities in the United States. ... At my frat we pump our own kegs! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Mar 2, 2009 from CNN: Can a 'smart grid' turn us on to energy efficiency? ... According to research sponsored by the U.S. Government, improving the efficiency of the national electricity grid by 5 percent would be the equivalent of eliminating the fuel use and carbon emissions of 53 million cars. For years environmentalists have been talking up the idea of a "smart grid" -- an electricity distribution system that uses digital technology to eliminate waste and improve reliability -- as a way of achieving this. Advocates of a "smart grid" also say that it would open up new markets for large and small scale alternative energy producers by decentralizing generation. "It would give consumers the potential to have a much more complex relationship with their energy supplier," says John Loughhead, Executive Director of the United Kingdom Energy Research Center. "Essentially, with a smart grid, traffic goes both ways. If you wanted to install some kind of micro-generation facility in your home, you could use it to sell to the grid and get money back." ... But what if .... my grid is dumb? ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Feb 24, 2009 from McGill University, via EurekAlert: Peptides-on-demand: McGill researcher's radical new green chemistry makes the impossible possible Fast and simple 'enabling technology' being offered to the world on open basis... McGill University chemistry professor Chao-Jun (C.J.) Li is known as one of the world leading pioneers in green chemistry, an entirely new approach to the science which eschews the use of toxic, petrochemical-based solvents in favour of basic substances like water and new ways of making molecules. The environmental benefits of the green approach are obvious and significant, but following the road less travelled is also paying off in purely scientific terms. With these alternative methods, Li and his colleagues have discovered an entirely new way of synthesizing peptides using simple reagents, a process that would be impossible in classical chemistry.... "This is really an enabling new technology," he added, "and since McGill has decided not to patent it, we're making our method available to everyone. We are paying the journal's open access fee, so anyone in the world can access the paper." ... A new kind of science... making the impossible possible... available to everyone... where's the money in that? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Feb 23, 2009 from Environment Magazine: The Short List: The Most Effective Actions U.S. Households Can Take to Curb Climate Change U.S. households account for about 38 percent of national carbon emissions through their direct actions, a level of emissions greater than that of any entire country except China and larger than the entire U.S. industrial sector. By changing their selection and use of household and motor vehicle technologies, without waiting for new technologies to appear, making major economic sacrifices, or losing a sense of well-being, households can reduce energy consumption by almost 30 percent -- about 11 percent of total U.S. consumption.... Table 3 below, based on Table 2, prioritizes actions in a few simple categories. It stands in contrast to common laundry lists by providing a short, prioritized, accurate, accessible, and actionable list of the most effective household actions to help limit climate change. ... Yes we might! ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Feb 21, 2009 from New York Times: E.P.A. Expected to Regulate Carbon Dioxide The decision, which most likely would play out in stages over a period of months, would have a profound impact on transportation, manufacturing costs and how utilities generate power. It could accelerate the progress of energy and climate change legislation in Congress and form a basis for the United States' negotiating position at United Nations climate talks set for December in Copenhagen.... "We here know how momentous that decision could be," Ms. Jackson said. "We have to lay out a road map." ... Nice to imagine an administration calling a toxin a toxin. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Feb 17, 2009 from Mother Jones: The Stimulus Goes Green The conference bill's near-final numbers contain $11 billion for the creation of a smart energy grid; $8.4 billion for public transit; $6.3 billion for state and local energy efficiency grants; $6 billion for the cleanup of contaminated Department of Defense sites; $4.5 billion to green federal buildings; and $1.2 billion for the EPA's cleanup programs. Loan guarantees for nuclear and so-called clean coal technology development -- included in the Senate bill -- were cut. Tax credit programs, incentivizing research and investment in clean renewable energy, will add further to the bill's green tally. "This is unbelievable," says Josh Dorner, a spokesman for Sierra Club. "This is an unprecedented investment in building a clean energy economy. The Clinton Global Initiative, about a year or so ago, their big challenge was to get spending on energy efficiency to reach $1.5 billion, total, in all of America. And this bill, just on federal buildings, has $4.5 billion. It's just kind of sinking in that this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and Congress and President Obama really stepped up to the plate." ... You mean... I... Can we... I mean... really!? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Feb 16, 2009 from BusinessGreen: Microsoft takes carbon reporting to the mainstream In contrast, Microsoft is going after the mainstream.... Microsoft's Dynamics AX 2009 business application suite -- to which it has just added a free Environmental Sustainability Dashboard capable of providing execs with access to data on their company's fuel consumption, energy use and carbon footprint, amongst other performance indicators -- is aimed squarely at midmarket firms... And once all executives, regardless of their company's size, know how much carbon their organisation is emitting they are in the perfect position to start doing something about it. ... And please, please start. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Feb 5, 2009 from University of Liverpool, via EurekAlert: Software could save organizations $19,000 each month Software designed by the University of Liverpool which automatically shuts down computer systems after usage, is saving large organisations up to £13,000 in electricity costs each month.... Using the University of Liverpool as a test model the team discovered that 1,600 library-based PC's alone were using 20,000 kW each week unnecessarily – equating to approximately £2,400 in current electricity prices. PowerDown has so far recovered 24 million hours of PC inactivity within the University. ... That's a lot of unplayed Solitaire! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jan 29, 2009 from New Scientist: Cheap, super-efficient LED lights on the horizon Although the ultimate dominance of LED lights has long been predicted, the expense of the super-efficient technology has made the timescale uncertain. The researchers now say LED bulbs based on their new process could be commercially available within five years. Gallium nitride (GaN) LEDs have many advantages over compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and incandescent bulbs. They switch on instantly, with no gradual warm-up, and can burn for an average of 100,000 hours before they need replacing -- 10 times as long as fluorescent lamps and some 130 times as long as an incandescent bulb. CFLs also contain small levels of mercury, which makes environmentally-friendly disposal of spent bulbs difficult. ... Let's get the LED out! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jan 15, 2009 from Yale, via EurekAlert: Yale survey: Americans eager to reduce their energy use Many Americans have already taken action to reduce their energy use and many others would do the same if they could afford to, according to a national survey conducted by Yale and George Mason universities. Roughly half of the 2,164 American adults surveyed last September and October said they had already taken important steps to make their homes more energy-efficient, and a substantial number -- between 10 and 20 percent -- said they planned to take action over the next year. Almost two-thirds of the respondents said that they would like to buy a fuel-efficient car, but over a third said they can't afford one. ... Now, if we could only mobilize that eagerness! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Jan 13, 2009 from SciDev.net: Solar house promises greener heating for Tibetans Chinese engineers have designed a solar house for Tibetans that aims to reduce their dependency on cattle dung for warmth. A typical Tibetan family living in a remote mountainous village burns 300 sacks of dung -- around 2,000 kilograms -- each year, half of which it must purchase. But burning dung is inefficient and, in winter, temperatures plunge indoors.... Zeng Yan, chief architect of the Institute of Solar Building Technology, part of CNECHS, said that the experimental house, to be built in May, is supported by three core techniques: insulation, energy collection and energy storage. The 100 square-metre house has an embedded greenhouse that collects the sun's energy, which can be transferred to the surrounding bedrooms and living room by opening connecting windows and doors.... But Xie Yuan, head of the Department of Science and Technology of Qinghai Province said that the houses might be unaffordable for local Tibetans. The annual personal income in a typical village is less than 1,700 Chinese yuan (around US$249), but the new house costs nearly 40,000 yuan (around US$5,850). ... I suspect this is a price point that would allow overnight shipping to the US. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Jan 11, 2009 from Guardian (UK): 20 big green ideas as Emma Howard Boyd, head of socially responsible investing at Jupiter Asset Management – sponsors of the Big Idea award, makes clear: "The urgency of what is required to combat issues such as climate change has not diminished as a result of the current financial crisis. We need big ideas -- and it is at times like these, when there is widespread disruption, that we see innovation and new thinking." Big ideas need not necessarily be a whistle-and-bells hi-tech response. At least one of our Big 20 can be described as an "ancient technique" on loan from the Aztecs. The modern genius lies in its rediscovery and deployment because, while it would be foolish to believe blindly in a silver bullet for all environmental problems, now is absolutely the time for faith in contemporary ingenuity. ... This story makes me feel like, y'know, Yes We Can. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Dec 27, 2008 from New York Times: No Furnaces but Heat Aplenty in "Passive Houses" ...Even on the coldest nights in central Germany, Mr. Kaufmann's new "passive house" and others of this design get all the heat and hot water they need from the amount of energy that would be needed to run a hair dryer...The concept of the passive house, pioneered in this city of 140,000 outside Frankfurt, approaches the challenge from a different angle. Using ultrathick insulation and complex doors and windows, the architect engineers a home encased in an airtight shell, so that barely any heat escapes and barely any cold seeps in. That means a passive house can be warmed not only by the sun, but also by the heat from appliances and even from occupants' bodies. And in Germany, passive houses cost only about 5 to 7 percent more to build than conventional houses. ... And I used to think "passive" was a bad thing! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Dec 4, 2008 from New York Times: Proposal Ties Economic Stimulus to Energy Plan WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama and leaders in Congress are fashioning a plan to pour billions of dollars into a jobs program to jolt the economy and lay the groundwork for a more energy-efficient one. The details and cost of the so-called green-jobs program are still unclear, but a senior Obama aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a work in progress, said it would probably include the weatherizing of hundreds of thousands of homes, the installation of “smart meters” to monitor and reduce home energy use, and billions of dollars in grants to state and local governments for mass transit and infrastructure projects. ... If not now... when? If not us, then who? ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Dec 2, 2008 from Guardian (UK): How changes in daily routine may become second nature Before going out you turn off the master switch for all your appliances. Then you climb into your electric car for the drive to work. The roads are noticeably quieter, and there have been studies showing asthma admissions are falling as petrol and diesel cars are replaced.... David Kennedy, the climate change committee's chief executive, said: "Let's not underestimate the energy efficiency that gives you more [savings] than lifestyle change, but there are things that can really make a difference, such as simply switching lights off when you leave the room and turning the thermostat down." There would likely be visible and audible changes: quieter streets, more wind turbines on the horizon, but also, as farmers use less fertiliser, more trout and salmon in rivers, while countryside bird populations should flourish. ... You mean I can make a difference with my personal life!? ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Oct 23, 2008 from UNSW, via EurekAlert: Magic solar milestone reached UNSW's ARC Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence has again asserted its leadership in solar cell technology by reporting the first silicon solar cell to achieve the milestone of 25 per cent effiency.... "Our main efforts now are focussed on getting these efficiency improvements into commercial production," he said. "Production compatible versions of our high efficiency technology are being introduced into production as we speak." ... Are we starting to see the light? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Oct 13, 2008 from New York Times: 'Black Silicon' increases efficiency Black silicon has since been found to have extreme sensitivity to light. It is now on the verge of commercialization, most likely first in night vision systems. "We have seen a 100 to 500 times increase in sensitivity to light compared to conventional silicon detectors," said James Carey, a co-founder of SiOnyx who worked on the original experiments as a Harvard graduate student.... As a result of his research, a number of academic and corporate research groups are still exploring the material, which absorbs about twice as much visible light as normal silicon... ... Leeeet the sun shine.... leeet the sun shine in...! ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Oct 4, 2008 from Networkworld, via PostCarbon Cities: Gas shortage spurs telework in southeast U.S. Gas shortages in the southeast United States are prompting companies to consider expanding their telework programs so employees can conserve fuel. Other options workers are weighing include greater use of carpools and public transit, along with alternative scheduling arrangements such as four-day work weeks. ... Say, that's taking lemons and making global lemonade! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Sep 29, 2008 from Times Online (UK): Freecycle: the big green giveaway If you haven't already come across Freecycle, the online recycling network - one of the biggest green initiatives of the past decade - it is a global network of message boards, with more than 450 groups in the UK. The beauty of it is that it transforms one person's trash into another's treasure. You sign up to your local group, where you can post messages to say what you're offering, or looking for. No money changes hands and it's up to the person who wants an item to collect it, so you don't have to stress about how you're going to heave an unwanted futon out of your home. ... The Docs give this a big thumbs-up. The downside, of course, is the collapse of the consumer culture. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Sep 27, 2008 from Wiley-Blackwell via ScienceDaily: New More Efficient Ways To Use Biomass Alternatives to fossil fuels and natural gas as carbon sources and fuel are in demand. Biomass could play a more significant part in the future. Researchers in the USA and China have now developed a new catalyst that directly converts cellulose, the most common form of biomass, into ethylene glycol, an important intermediate product for chemical industry. ... If they can use the cellulose in my thighs for fuel, they are welcome to it! ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Sep 25, 2008 from Temple University, via EurekAlert: Simple device which uses electrical field could boost gas efficiency According to Rongjia Tao, Chair of Temple's Physics Department, the small device consists of an electrically charged tube that can be attached to the fuel line of a car's engine near the fuel injector. With the use of a power supply from the vehicle's battery, the device creates an electric field that thins fuel, or reduces its viscosity, so that smaller droplets are injected into the engine. That leads to more efficient and cleaner combustion than a standard fuel injector, he says.... The results of the laboratory and road tests verifying that this simple device can boost gas mileage [up to 20 percent] was published in Energy & Fuels, a bi-monthly journal published by the American Chemical Society. ... Saaay... maybe I should take another look at that Hummer! ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Sep 20, 2008 from PC Magazine: Twelve-Year-Old May Hold Key to Solar Energy One significant problem with existing solar technology is that it's not terribly efficient at harvesting solar energy and turning it into electricity. Solar technology is improving all the time, but one 12-year-old boy may have the key to making solar panels that can harness 500 times the light of a traditional solar cell. William Yuan is a seventh grader in Oregon whose project, titled "A Highly-Efficient 3-Dimensional Nanotube Solar Cell for Visible and UV Light," may change the energy industry and make solar energy far easier to harness and distribute. ... Now that's what I call revenge of the pre-pubescent nerds! ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Aug 30, 2008 from NaturalNews.com: Broken Compact Fluorescent Lights Release Mercury Into the Air: Over 100 Times the EPA Limit "Compact fluorescent light bulbs can release dangerous amounts of mercury into the air when they break and must be disposed of very carefully, according to a report by the state of Maine. Compact fluorescent bulbs, which consume only about a quarter as much energy as traditional incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer, all use mercury to produce light." ... It seemed like a good idea. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Aug 11, 2008 from Times Online (UK): Recyclers are cashing in on the fortune in your bin ... Many are locked into 20 to 30-year contracts with recycling companies and are unable to cash in on the higher cost of plastic and copper. As the cost of commodities rises it increasingly makes sense for manufacturers to retrieve materials from rubbish instead of buying them new. Town hall leaders have told The Times that the sector is missing out on millions of pounds that would come from trading commodities themselves or negotiating better contracts. They said that such profits could go to improving local services and even cutting bills... Westminster council, which has a seven-year contract to share profits as prices rise, believes that town halls are sitting on a fortune. "Where there's muck there's brass," Mark Banks, Westminster's waste strategy manager, said. Any profit made will be ploughed back into services or to lower council tax rises, he said. ... Glad that recycling is becoming profitable. Can't wait for the "windfall recycling profiteering" legislation. ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Aug 10, 2008 from Associated Press: 7 in 10 try reduce carbon footprint "High energy prices are double-teaming with environmental concerns to prompt broad conservation efforts, with seven in 10 Americans saying they're trying to reduce their "carbon footprint," chiefly by driving less, using less electricity and recycling." ... That's a start, but something tells me most Americans don't realize that this is but the tip of the melting iceberg. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Aug 5, 2008 from San Francisco Chronicle: Newsom signs strict green building codes into law "San Francisco took a major step Monday to cement its reputation as the most environmentally progressive city in the United States, as Mayor Gavin Newsom signed into law stringent green building codes for new construction and renovations of existing structures in the city. The new codes focus on water and energy conservation, recycling and reduction of carbon emissions." ... Well, we sure hope that cement meets the new codes! ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Jul 28, 2008 from Great Lakes Radio Consortium: Online Hitchhiking "If you're really trying to save on gas you might like to know that there's a new way to hitchhike... ZimRide allows people to find rides online." ... My thumbs are not opposed to this! ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Jul 25, 2008 from Wall Street Journal: It's all about the lighting "Around the world, the night sky is vanishing in a fog of artificial light, which a coalition of naturalists, astronomers and medical researchers consider one of the fastest growing forms of pollution, with consequences for wildlife, people's health -- and the human spirit. About two-thirds of the world's population, including almost everyone in the continental U.S. and Europe, no longer see a starry sky where they live." ... The only connection we have with The Milky Way is as a candy bar. ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Jul 22, 2008 from Guardian (UK): Energy efficiency schemes 'could save British business 2.5 billion pounds a year' [Energy efficiencies] would also cut 22 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere.... "Our research shows that energy efficiency measures, not job cuts or salary freezes, are the cost-cutting steps businesses are considering first during this economically challenging time. It's an encouraging sign that wise companies are realising that cutting carbon and being green is the easiest way to make a business lean," he adds. ... Necessity is the brother of prevention. ApocaDoc permalink Sat, Jul 12, 2008 from BBC: Living in a world without waste "The Mayor of Kamikatsu, a small community in the hills of eastern Japan, has urged politicians around the world to follow his lead and make their towns "Zero Waste"... Kamikatsu may be a backwater in the wooded hills and rice terraces of south-eastern Japan but it's become a world leader on waste policy. There are no waste collections from households at all. People have to take full responsibility for everything they throw away. ... I see trees of green... red roses too... folks take care of their waste... how 'bout you?...And I think to myself... what a wonderful world... ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Jun 27, 2008 from NIST, via EurekAlert: Standards set for energy-conserving LED lighting These standards -- the most recent of which published last month -- detail the color specifications of LED lamps and LED light fixtures, and the test methods that manufacturers should use when testing these solid-state lighting products for total light output, energy consumption and chromaticity, or color quality. Solid-state lighting is expected to significantly reduce the amount of energy needed for general lighting, including residential, commercial and street lighting. "Lighting," explains NIST scientist Yoshi Ohno, "uses 22 percent of the electricity and 8 percent of the total energy spent in the country, so the energy savings in lighting will have a huge impact." ... The road to survival is paved with standards. Really! ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Jun 22, 2008 from Times Online (UK): Home-made energy to prop up grid Homeowners are to be offered extra financial incentives to fit their properties with solar panels and wind turbines in an ambitious green energy programme to reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels. At the heart of the £100 billion renewable energy strategy, due to be unveiled this week, is a proposal to encourage householders to generate their own power. They will be able to sell back surplus electricity at premium prices to the national grid. At present it can be sold only at market rates. ... Baby steps in Britain. In the US, bound feet. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jun 19, 2008 from Oxford Analytica, via Globe and Mail (Canada): Low carbon future depends on technology, reductions, efficiencies ... However, the report assumes that given the scale of the challenge, progress must be made on all viable technologies.... there is a disconnect between current energy sector investment plans worldwide and the requirements for transitioning to a low-carbon economy.... CONCLUSION: Conflicting political priorities suggest strongly that governments will be unable to act either individually or collectively with sufficient speed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to IPCC recommendations. ... Well, then we just have to change our governments. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Jun 12, 2008 from Geek.com: Xeros washing machine only uses a cup of water The huge saving in water has come about due to the introduction of plastic chips. Along with a cup of water each wash holds thousands of reusable plastic chips – roughly 20 kg per load, and detergent. The machine uses this combination to somehow remove everyday dirt and stains from the clothes just like a conventional machine. The bonus being 2 percent of the water and energy are used to do it plus, the clothes are left almost dry reducing the need for a drying appliance. ... Part of the two percent solution. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, May 15, 2008 from Science Daily (US): Light Emitting Diodes Save Energy And Can Now Concentrate Light Precisely Where Needed Light-emitting diodes are unbeatable in terms of energy efficiency. A one-watt LED delivers roughly the same optical output as a hundred-watt light bulb. If a high light output is required, however, the tiny light sources are not the preferred means of illumination. A novel optical component is set to change that situation. It directs the light to the exact spot where it is needed. In the case of a desk lamp, for instance, the light can be concentrated in such a way that only a DIN-A4-sized surface in the middle of the table is brightly lit. The LED evenly illuminates the required area, while everything else stays in the dark. ... I am LED to believe in this kind of lighting. Watt's slowing us down? ApocaDoc permalink Wed, May 14, 2008 from New York Times: A City Cooler and Dimmer, and, Oh, Proving a Point "JUNEAU, Alaska — Conservationists swoon at the possibility of it all. Here in Alaska, where melting arctic ice and eroding coastlines have made global warming an urgent threat, this little city has cut its electricity use by more than 30 percent in a matter of weeks, instantly establishing itself as a role model for how to go green, and fast.... the 31,000 residents ... are not necessarily doing it for the greater good.... Electricity rates rocketed about 400 percent after an avalanche on April 16 destroyed several major transmission towers that delivered more than 80 percent of the city’s power from a hydroelectric dam about 40 miles south." ... It takes a village avalanche to make the necessary changes. ApocaDoc permalink Thu, May 8, 2008 from ClimateChangeCorp: Ten eco-innovators to watch All of these innovative companies have something in common. They took an essential industry, such as clothing, housing, or energy, turned it upside down and gave it a shake. They shook out wasted energy, extra costs and excess materials, and in many cases they created something that stands to revolutionise the industry. ... Maybe if enough industries are revolutionized, society will be revolutionized. Wait, that's kinda Marxist, isn't it? ApocaDoc permalink Mon, May 5, 2008 from International Herald-Tribune: U.S. electric companies offer "smart" power meters As more utilities install "smart" power meters that track how much electricity flows into a home in real time, they are freer to offer alternatives to the average monthly rate that they traditionally charged to consumers.... Last year, about 95 percent of the participants saved money in ComEd's open-enrollment residential real-time pricing program, one of the first in the United States. The majority saved between 7 percent to 12 percent, the utility said. To date, about 4,000 of the utility's 3.3 million residential customers have signed up. ... Sometimes the market can work. But can it work fast enough? ApocaDoc permalink Fri, Apr 25, 2008 from Georgia Institute of Technology, via ScienceDaily: Energy Saving Lights: Organic Light Emitting Diode Made To Last Longer, Resist Moisture Researchers have developed an improved organic light emitting diode (OLED) sealing process to reduce moisture intrusion and improve device lifetime. OLEDs are promising for the next generation of displays and solid state lighting because they use less power and can be more efficiently manufactured than current technology. However, the intrusion of moisture into the displays can damage or destroy an OLED's organic material.... During testing, the SiON-encapsulated OLEDs showed no sign of degradation after seven months in an open-air environment, while the OLEDs without the coating degraded completely in less than two weeks under the same conditions. ... O, Led by SiON-tists, we see the light. ApocaDoc permalink Mon, Mar 24, 2008 from WattzOn.org: The Game Plan for changing energy use Remarkably thoughtful long powerpoint-like presentation by Saul Griffith, a MacArthur Grant recipient, with gorgeous graphics, detailed talking points, and a structured plan for remedying our path to overheating the world. Recommended. ... Yeah, but who will actually read anymore? Or sit through 45 minutes of thoughtful analysis? It's just a theory anyway! ApocaDoc permalink Sun, Mar 23, 2008 from ZDNet: The lightbulb of the future? Silicon Valley's Luxim has developed a lightbulb the size of a Tic Tac that gives off as much light as a streetlight. News.com's Michael Kanellos talks to the company about its technology and its plans to expand into various markets. ... Great! Now work on solar energy of an equivalent 10:1 ratio of efficiency! ApocaDoc permalink Tue, Feb 26, 2008 from Guardian (UK): CRAGs: carbon rationing action groups. "Some have described them as the 21st century's green equivalent of the Co-operative Movement. Others have likened them to the book club craze inspired by chat-show hosts Richard and Judy. Some bloggers have dismissed them as 'green authoritarians'. Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of the 'crags', or carbon rationing action groups. Crags are community groups that meet in one another's homes and local pubs and set themselves personal carbon targets for the year. Backsliding members who jet off on too many foreign holidays have to pay their colleagues a nominal fine or do green-style 'community service' to make up for their environmental transgressions. Only 17 of these groups are active globally, but 16 are in the UK." ... Time for a new meme: "gettin' craggy with that" ApocaDoc permalink Thu, Feb 14, 2008 from Financial Times: Study finds profit in cutting emissions "Half the cuts in greenhouse gas emissions needed to make the world safe can be achieved at a net profit to the global economy, a study has found. McKinsey, the consultancy, publishes a report on Thursday concluding that investment in energy efficiency of about $170bn a year worldwide would yield a profit of about 17 per cent, or $29bn. Diana Farrell, director of the McKinsey Global Institute, said: "It shows just how much deadweight loss there is in the economy in energy use." ... We can think of some other deadweight losses, too, such as people who idle their cars in drive-thru fast food lanes. ApocaDoc permalink Copyright 2009 The Apocadocs.com