Monthly Archives: October 2009
The term "blue energy" refers to salinity gradient power – the energy retrieved from the difference in the salt concentration between seawater and river water. The power is generated using osmosis with ion-specific membranes. Jan Post, at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, has researched the global potential for electric power generated in this way. His research into the practical applicability, techniques and preconditions for large-scale energy generation from salinity gradients, has shown that very high yields are possible. In the laboratory, it is possible to recover more than 80% of the energy from salinity gradients. In practice, the technical feasibility … Continue Reading
Robert and Brenda Vale, two architects who specialise in sustainable living at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, have given a new meaning to the term "pet food" in their new book, "Time to Eat the Dog". The book compares the ecological footprints of popular pets with those of various other lifestyle choices. New Scientist have added to the debate with research from John Barrett at the Stockholm Environment Institute in York, Englend and David Mackay, the UK government’s energy adviser. So what are the results? According to the Vales, a medium size dog has a larger eco-footprint than a … Continue Reading
Ford has showed off a prototype of what is being called called the Model T of the company’s electric car strategy – the battery-powered Focus sedan. To keep costs down, the Focus will be built on the company’s global “C” platform, which is used in two million cars a year. “This is about affordable transportation for the masses – this is not about a small niche,” said Nancy Gioia, Ford’s director of global electrification. “The assembly line in Michigan will produce the battery-electric Focus and also, with minor modifications, the gas Focus, We can change production as the market shifts.” … Continue Reading
It is generally argued that livestock are the cause of about 18% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. The figure comes from a 2006 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation report titled "Livestock’s Long Shadow". A new study by Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang, published in Worldwatch magazine, argues that this greatly understimates the impact of livestock and that the real figure should be about 50%. Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang argue that the FAO underestimated the impact of livestock in serveral ways:
Stanford civil and environmental engineering Professor Mark Z. Jacobson and University of California-Davis researcher Mark Delucchi.have written an article for Scientific American analysing how the world could achieve 100% clean energy by 2030. Their analysis concluded that the key factor is eliminating all forms of combustion as a way of generating power. The reason for this is the inefficiency of the use of fossil fuel and biomass combustion.. For example, when petrol is used to power a vehicle, at least 80 percent of the energy produced is wasted as heat. On the other hand, in electric vehicles roughly 80 percent … Continue Reading
Tie Jun Cui and Qiang Cheng at the Southeast University in Nanjing, China, have built a "black hole" for microwave frequencies. The device may soon be extended to trap visible light, leading to an entirely new way of harvesting solar energy to generate electricity. The electromagnetic "black hole" is made of 60 annular strips of so-called "meta-materials", which has previously been used to make invisibility cloaks. Each strip takes the form of a circuit board etched with intricate structures whose characteristics change progressively from one strip to the next. The outer 40 strips make up the shell and the inner … Continue Reading
The US Department of Energy is beginning a program to demonatrate a way in which the oil industry can produce useful power from waste heat. When drilling oil and gas wells and on exploration drilling rigs, fluids are used to provide pressure, to keep the drill bit cool and clean and to carry the drill cuttings out of the bore hole. Because these wells are often deep the fluids are hot when they reach the surface. In the average US oil well, ten times as much hot fluid is produced as oil. The Department of Energy intends to demonstrate how … Continue Reading
The French Government has announced plans to invest €1.5 billion ($au 2.5 billion) in infrastructure for the two million electric and hybrid cars it wants on the road by 2020. The plan includes industrial research, making batteries, producing clean cars and building a nation-wide network of battery-charging stations. Under the plan, a million battery-charging points will be built by 2015. From 2012 all new apartment blocks with parking lots will have to include charging stations. The network will grow to a total of four million points by 2020. Funds will also be provided for the development of elecric cars by … Continue Reading
Update to "Where Have All the Anthems Gone?" Do we finally have a worthy green anthem in the Time for Climate Justice campaign’s reworking of Midnignt Oil’s "Beds Are Burning"?
Scientists at a conference in London have concluded that global warming could result in increased volcanic activity, earthquakes and tsunamis. The conference on Climate Forcing of Geological and Geomorphological Hazards suggests that climate change could tip the planet’s delicate balance and unleash a host of geological disasters – and that attempts to stall global warming by burying carbon dioxide could make matters worse. Simon Day from Oxford University and Bill McGuire and Serge Guilla from University College, London, have shown that there is a link between the arrival of El Niño every few years and a greater frequency of underwater … Continue Reading
Videos
Renewables News- Vic Council Approves Wind Farm with Community SharesBuloke Shire has approved a planning permit for a five-turbine wind farm spanning 5.t hectares at Coonooer Bridge, west of Bendigo..It is the first wind farm planning permit approved since 2011 when the Victorian Government introduced tough planning laws that … Continue Reading → […]
- NZ Electricity Co Offers Solar PV with BatteryVector Limited, the largest electricity and gas distribution company in New Zealand, is offerring a "home solar power solution", incorporating intelligent battery storage into a traditional solar PV system. In the introductory phase of the programme, a limited number of … Continue Reading → […]
- Sydney City Revises Trigen Power PlanThe City of Sydney has decided not to pursue its plan for a trigeneation power precinct at Green Square at this time but has re-affirmed its commitment to cutting carbon emissions using trigeneration, among other technologies, The decision to halt … Continue Reading → […]
- Vic Council Approves Wind Farm with Community Shares
