Energy
Lightning and gases from volcanic eruptions could have given rise to the first life on Earth, according to a new analysis of samples from a classic origin-of-life experiment by NASA and university researchers. The NASA-funded result is the subject of a paper in Science appearing October 16.
"Historically, you don't get many experiments that might be more famous than these; they re-defined our thoughts on the origin of life and showed unequivocally that the fundamental building blocks of life could be derived from natural processes," said lead author Adam Johnson, a graduate student with the…
Simple. Have you heard that a National Biofuels Action Plan (NBAP) was released on 7 October 2008 in the midst of comparisons being made of the presidential-candidate positions on energy?
The NBAP was developed by the Biomass Research and Development Board (the Board)—co-chaired by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)— to accelerate the development of a sustainable biofuels industry.*
The Board establishes that enhanced inter-agency collaboration is required among the senior decision makers from ten federal agencies and the White House. The NBAP…
Researchers in Greece report design of a new material that almost meets the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 2010 goals for hydrogen storage and could help eliminate a key roadblock to practical hydrogen-powered vehicles. Their study on a way of safely storing hydrogen, an explosive gas, is scheduled for the Oct. 8 issue of ACS' Nano Letters.
Georgios K. Dimitrakakis, Emmanuel Tylianakis, and George E. Froudakis note that researchers long have sought ways of using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to store hydrogen in fuel cell vehicles. CNTs are minute cylinders of carbon about 50,000 times thinner…
Given that "Being Green Causes Happiness - Study"(1), then a green job is bound to make a person happy, right?
U.S. Conference of Mayors released today a report that predicts 4.2 million new green jobs in the next 30 years.(2) I thought to connect some dots here in the energy picture to shape a new workforce for a future green economy.
The Mayors' study first examined "the economic benefits of the Green Economy - that part of economic activity which is devoted to the reduction of fossil fuels, the increase of energy efficiency, and the curtailment of greenhouse gas emissions."
Hence, we can…
Researchers in Pennsylvania report results of laboratory tests and road tests verifying that a simple, inexpensive device attached to a car engine's fuel injector can boost gas mileage by up to 20 percent. That translates into several more miles per gallon, they say, and publish their study in the November 19 issue of Energy & Fuels.
In the study, Rongjia Tao and colleagues describe development and testing of a new fuel economy booster. 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. The device…
Masdar, Abu Dhabi's program to develop sustainable solutions to meet the world's future energy demand, has established an international awards program designed to recognize innovation and leadership in the global search for future energy solutions -- the Zayed Future Energy Prize.
The Zayed Future Energy Prize recognizes individuals, organizations, companies and NGOs who are advancing innovation in the field of clean energy and sustainable development. A jury of international experts chaired by Nobel Laureate Dr. R.K. Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will…
It's easy to blame Republicans for our environmental troubles but this ethanol stuff was trumpeted by Al Gore and environmental groups for 15 years, and they only figured out it must be stupid when Republicans agreed and made it into law.
It's only getting worse. A bill approved today by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee will expand ongoing efforts by Brazil and the United States to promote the production and use of biofuels, according to the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association.
The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) represents the top producers of sugar and…
Two research teams are announcing this month that they have successfully converted sugar-potentially derived from agricultural waste and non-food plants-into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and a range of other valuable chemicals.
Chemical engineer Randy Cortright and his colleagues at Virent Energy Systems of Madison, Wisc., and researchers led by NSF-supported chemical engineer James Dumesic of the University of Wisconsin at Madison are now announcing that sugars and carbohydrates can be processed like petroleum into the full suite of products that drive the fuel, pharmaceutical and chemical…
Endeavour International Corporation today announced a discovery at the site of its Noatun C prospect located in PL107 in the Norwegian North Sea. The well encountered a gas condensate column in the targeted Middle to Lower Jurassic sandstone. The drilling of a sidetrack will begin immediately to locate the gas water contact and further determine the size of the discovery.
The Noatun C was drilled to a total depth of 5,110 meters (16,765 feet) below sea level in approximately 293 meters (958 feet) of water. Logging and formation tests confirm the presence of gas condensate. The prospect is one…
A team of scientists from the University of Sunderland have developed a hydrogen-powered car that they believe is a significant step forward in creating a mass-produced 'green' machine.
The team, led by Dirk Kok from the Institute of Automotive and Manufacturing Advanced Practice (AMAP), in partnership with the Centre for Process Innovation at Wilton and Lambda One Autogas at Gateshead, have successfully adapted a Nissan Almera to run on hydrogen so that it only emits water from its exhaust.
The HyPower Nissan Almera will be unveiled at the Partners4Automotive 2008 conference September 17th…