January 12/19, 2009
Perspective
"There is no leadership at
the national level and the misinformation that is spread by the
existing energy companies and special interest groups is exceptionally
misleading. On the other side, media hype based on press releases
or other non-refereed reports can lead to unrealistic expectations."
- from Q&A
with Robert Birkmire
|
News
RESEARCH - WIND
 Let
a wind turbine speed up when the wind is stronger than average and
you have a way to store wind energy and smooth the flow of electricity
from wind farms to the grid. [more]
RESEARCH - SOLAR CELLS
Combine carbon, marine sediment, seawater and light and you've got
a simple way to generate electricity from sunlight. [more]
RESEARCH - FUEL CELLS
Combine a tiny fuel-cell-on-a-chip with an equally tiny hydrogen generator
and you have a self-contained power source smaller than the smallest
watch battery. [more]
RESEARCH - FUEL CELLS
Make a tiny fuel cell with the right kind of yeast and you have an
implantable power source that runs on blood. [more]
RESEARCH - BATTERIES AND CAPACITORS
Carefully build up of layers of multiwall carbon nanotubes and you
have highly efficient electrodes for fuel cells, batteries and supercapacitors.
[more]
RESEARCH - SOLAR CELLS
Line up tiny lenses over holes in a mirror and you can boost the power
output of inexpensive plastic solar cells. [more]
RESEARCH - BIOFUELS
Tap the power of fungi to digest wood and you have a simple way to
produce biofuel feedstock. [more]
RESEARCH - ENERGY SCAVENGING
Add nanoparticles to a mix of silicon and germanium and you can more
than double the amount of electricity the material generates from
heat. [more]
FUNDING - ENERGY SCAVENGING
The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of Michigan's
Pramod Sangi Reddy $403,138 to study the thermal and electronics properties
of molecular junctions. [more]
Features
The return of science, the enormous task, the Apollo-like effort required,
and ideas for remaking the nation's energy infrastructure.
|
January
6, 2009
With all the talk about the need for an Apollo-like effort to develop
sustainable energy sources, it’s instructive to look at the amount
of money the US has spent on space and energy over the last half-century.
[more]
Features
Q&As
Special Report
Energy
in transition: researchers talk about Obama and our future
Feeds
News  | Blog
E-mail
headlines
Technology Research News
News and views from elsewhere
Greentech Media
Obama
Calls for Doubling Renewable Energy in Three Years
Dow Jones
ExxonMobil
CEO Urges CO2 Tax Instead Of Cap-And-Trade Law
Technology Review
Fuel from
Coal-Eating Microbes
Earth2Tech.com
Feds
Could Have Saved $25.9B Since 2001: Report
Detroit News
Battery
funds may be in mix
Cnet
Firm
claims silver bullet for 'vampire loads'
Technology Review
Omnivorous
Fuel Cells
Earth2Tech
Nuclear
Energy More Expensive Than Some Clean Power, Study Says
The Guardian
Tidal
power gets a boost from propeller and wind turbine techonology
Los Angeles Times
Sempra
solar energy project makes advances in costs
Technology Review
The Year
in Energy
Greentech Media
A
Record Year In Greentech Investing — $7.7B in 2008
U.S. Department of the Interior
Federal
Agencies Move to Ease Development of Geothermal Energy and Increase
Power Generation
Green Car Congress
“Nature
Does Not Provide Bailouts”: Tällberg Provocation Calls for Complete
Decarbonization of Industrialized Countries by 2050
George Monbiot
At
Last, A Date
New Scientist
Green
fuel technologies pick up speed in 2008
New York Times
Searching for Solutions in the Face of Unsustainable
Mobility
Wired
It's
Time to Raise the Gas Tax
Earth2Tech
Mapping
the Global Ebb and Flow of Oil
Greentech Media
For 2009, It's All About Smart Grid and Storage
Wired
World
Coal Reserves Could Be a Fraction of Previous Estimates
Greentech Media
Hansen
Calls for Carbon Tax to Drop CO2 Below Today's Levels
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