Energy

Way back in 1982 in USA  I had a chance to discuss with the old botanist Laetsch  who published scholarly research paper detailing structure of chloroplasts in C4 plant using electron microscope and most of his pictures find way in most of the text books. He clearly demonstrated spatial separation of enzymes in mesophyll and bundle sheath cells . The mesophyll cells have PEPcase enzyme in their cytoplasm and initially fix the Carbon di oxide from HCO3  into Oxaloacetate which is rapidly converted into malate . I further recall a discussion reportedly between Melvin Calvin from…

Renewable energy for climate change mitigation andsustainable development. Ashwani Kumar The continued use of fossil fuels willrequire a significant amount of carbon dioxide to be removed by either physicalcapture and storage geologically or in the deep oceans or through biologicalcapture at the source as algae. Renewable energy technologies are being calledupon to reduce the release of carbondioxide into the atmosphere throughdevelopment of a more sustainable energy system, and are expected to play arole in “energizing” the development process for both large and smalldeveloping countries.…

Whether you agree or not, the funding machine for solar and wind energy is in motion and it is hard to stop - look at the debate over ending ethanol subsidies. One way to make an informed policy decision is to truly know just how much solar energy will be provided in a 'smart' grid scenario, beyond optimistic projections by lobbyists.   U.C. San Diego Professor Jan Kleissl and Matthew Lave, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Jacobs School, say they can do it. They developed a software program that allows power grid managers to predict…

Politicians do not really understand science, they are in the policy business.  And environmental activists do not understand science, they are in the advocacy business.  Both claim to love science when it suits their agenda.  When they are together, as with recent tax schemes designed to penalize carbon usage, it can be very bad.    But everyone knew this except politicians and activists, who only believe in 'the miracle of capitalism' while they are legislating the parts they don't like out of society and insisting it will flourish if they control it. Zero-carbon…

Global climate change has stimulated efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. Photosynthetic organisms use solar energy to generate reducing equivalents and incorporate atmospheric CO2 into organic molecules. Cellular phenotype is a manifestation of gene expression levels, metabolic demand, resource availability, and cellular stresses. Currently, cellulosic biofuels and algal biodiesels are prominent biological approaches to sequester and convert CO2. Today, ethanol and biodiesel are predominantly produced from corn kernels, sugarcane or soybean oil. However another biofuel feedstock,…

A cold turkey approach to energy is a ridiculous idea endorsed only by the truly militant but it is clear we have to migrate from high-pollution solution fossil fuels while science advances on energy generation that is clean and cost-effective enough that we don't create energy ghettos where only the rich can be warm or own cars, like we would have with silly windmills or solar panels using current technology. Chris Mims, writing at the Txchnologist, engages in some funny framing worthy of anyone from his Scienceblogs.com days, but he asks a reasonable question; is natural gas as good as…

We've been skeptical of the Three Gorges Dam project for a number of years.   It isn't that dams are a bad idea, they are a great idea, it's just the the ecologists who endorsed the thing invented the absolutely perfect outcomes and assumed it would happen. What they needed, was a little falsification (see Falsification - Why Women And Scientists Make The Best Chess Players) but instead what they used was irrational sunny optimism (see US Ecologist Tells 1.5 Million Displaced Chinese Peasants To Find A Silver Lining In Three Gorges Dam) and now, it turns out, it has increased pollution,…

This is totally cool! Scotland's leading marine energy test centre has opened its doors to a new generation of developers to test prototype machines, one of which is aiming to harness wave energy using a design based on the humble squid. . . . SQUID, which looks somewhat reminiscent of its namesake, has an inflatable absorber similar to a large balloon which fills with sea water. Sitting just under the surface, the absorber is moved by passing waves and the energy from this motion drives a generator to produce electricity. I'm not exactly sure how this is inspired by squid, and I can't…

Could the key to our hydrogen future be a black stain on rocks? Using sunlight to split water in a cheap, efficient way is the goal of true renewable energy that won't involve ghastly wind vanes or porkbarrelled government funding of ethanol.  The obstacle is splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen and researchers have been looking into complex catalysts that mimic what plants use - but a new study says that there might be much simpler alternatives. Birnessite, an oxide mineral of manganese along with calcium, potassium and sodium, is a very simple mineral commonly seen as a black…

Oil has been the strategic asset since it was discovered.  The price of oil reflects everything from the underlying value of the US dollar, to the general level of industrial economic activity and development at any given time in aggregate for the world. Prices are moved by events such as economic releases, and political events.  Demand for oil arises not just from Gasoline and other fuel oils such as deisel.  Demand for oils also arises from power plants, and chemical industries, with petroleum being one of the hydrocarbon inputs for many chemical prices.  Oil is…