Thursday, December 25, 2008
Bulbs with halogen insert save electricity
Thursday, December 18, 2008
NEC unveils Eco Centre energy-saving server news
NEC India today unveiled its energy saving Eco Centre server, which cuts power consumption by 55 per cent. NEC said the power saving server also occupies upto 50 per cent less space and is approximately 58 per cent lighter than conventional servers.
The server supports "Windows Server 2003," "Windows Server 2008," and "Red Hat Enterprise Linux," NEC India said in a statement.
"Loaded with a-cut-above technology, it assists our customers in cutting their power consumption costs and space costs significantly,''said Abhilesh Guleria, country manager, IT platform business, NEC India Pvt. Ltd. He added that NEC had concluded development on the Eco Centre.
The Eco Centre uses highly efficient batteries and incroporates optimum cooling functions of high-density packaging and the adoption of advanced low-power CPUs, chipsets and memory. It is said to achieve maximum energy-saving benefits by capitalising on the optimisation technology of NEC's "Sigma System Centre" integrated with VMware's "VMware ESX 3.5" to streamline allocation of operations in response to hardware demands.
With energy-saving IT devices attracting considerable attention in the battle against global warming, NEC intends to actively market the product as the core product in its "Real it cool project," an initiative that aims to cut the power used by customer IT platforms by 50 year on year, and to realise a cumulative reduction in CO2 emissions from IT devices by approximately 910,000 tons by 2012.
NEC says the new server is ideally suited for the large-scale application servers and Web servers being used in major enterprises and government agency data centres.
NEC India Pvt. Ltd is a joint venture between NEC Asia Pte Ltd HQ in Singapore and NEC Corporation HQ in Japan, and was established in New Delhi in August 2006.
The server supports "Windows Server 2003," "Windows Server 2008," and "Red Hat Enterprise Linux," NEC India said in a statement.
"Loaded with a-cut-above technology, it assists our customers in cutting their power consumption costs and space costs significantly,''said Abhilesh Guleria, country manager, IT platform business, NEC India Pvt. Ltd. He added that NEC had concluded development on the Eco Centre.
The Eco Centre uses highly efficient batteries and incroporates optimum cooling functions of high-density packaging and the adoption of advanced low-power CPUs, chipsets and memory. It is said to achieve maximum energy-saving benefits by capitalising on the optimisation technology of NEC's "Sigma System Centre" integrated with VMware's "VMware ESX 3.5" to streamline allocation of operations in response to hardware demands.
With energy-saving IT devices attracting considerable attention in the battle against global warming, NEC intends to actively market the product as the core product in its "Real it cool project," an initiative that aims to cut the power used by customer IT platforms by 50 year on year, and to realise a cumulative reduction in CO2 emissions from IT devices by approximately 910,000 tons by 2012.
NEC says the new server is ideally suited for the large-scale application servers and Web servers being used in major enterprises and government agency data centres.
NEC India Pvt. Ltd is a joint venture between NEC Asia Pte Ltd HQ in Singapore and NEC Corporation HQ in Japan, and was established in New Delhi in August 2006.
MIT research enables harnessing solar power at night
Until now, solar power has been a daytime-only energy source, because storing extra solar energy for later use is prohibitively expensive and grossly inefficient. With today's announcement, MIT researchers have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy.
Requiring nothing but abundant, non-toxic natural materials, this discovery could unlock the most potent, carbon-free energy source of all: the sun. "This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," said MIT's Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper describing the work in the July 31 issue of Science. "Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon."
Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, Nocera and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in Nocera's lab, have developed an unprecedented process that will allow the sun's energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen may be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night.
The key component in Nocera and Kanan's new process is a new catalyst that produces oxygen gas from water; another catalyst produces valuable hydrogen gas. The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode, placed in water. When electricity -- whether from a photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine or any other source -- runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen gas is produced.
Combined with another catalyst, such as platinum, that can produce hydrogen gas from water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis.
The new catalyst works at room temperature, in neutral pH water, and it's easy to set up, Nocera said. "That's why I know this is going to work. It's so easy to implement," he said.
'Giant leap' for clean energy
Sunlight has the greatest potential of any power source to solve the world's energy problems, said Nocera. In one hour, enough sunlight strikes the Earth to provide the entire planet's energy needs for one year.
James Barber, a leader in the study of photosynthesis who was not involved in this research, called the discovery by Nocera and Kanan a "giant leap" toward generating clean, carbon-free energy on a massive scale.
"This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind," said Barber, the Ernst Chain Professor of Biochemistry at Imperial College London. "The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem."
Currently available electrolyzers, which split water with electricity and are often used industrially, are not suited for artificial photosynthesis because they are very expensive and require a highly basic (non-benign) environment that has little to do with the conditions under which photosynthesis operates.
More engineering work needs to be done to integrate the new scientific discovery into existing photovoltaic systems, but Nocera said he is confident that such systems will become a reality.
"This is just the beginning," said Nocera, principal investigator for the Solar Revolution Project funded by the Chesonis Family Foundation and co-Director of the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center. "The scientific community is really going to run with this."
Nocera hopes that within 10 years, homeowners will be able to power their homes in daylight through photovoltaic cells, while using excess solar energy to produce hydrogen and oxygen to power their own household fuel cell. Electricity-by-wire from a central source could be a thing of the past.
The project is part of the MIT Energy Initiative, a program designed to help transform the global energy system to meet the needs of the future and to help build a bridge to that future by improving today's energy systems. MITEI Director Ernest Moniz, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, noted that "this discovery in the Nocera lab demonstrates that moving up the transformation of our energy supply system to one based on renewables will depend heavily on frontier basic science."
The success of the Nocera lab shows the impact of a mixture of funding sources - governments, philanthropy, and industry. This project was funded by the National Science Foundation and by the Chesonis Family Foundation, which gave MIT $10 million this spring to launch the Solar Revolution Project, with a goal to make the large scale deployment of solar energy within 10 years.
Requiring nothing but abundant, non-toxic natural materials, this discovery could unlock the most potent, carbon-free energy source of all: the sun. "This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," said MIT's Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper describing the work in the July 31 issue of Science. "Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon."
Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, Nocera and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in Nocera's lab, have developed an unprecedented process that will allow the sun's energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen may be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night.
The key component in Nocera and Kanan's new process is a new catalyst that produces oxygen gas from water; another catalyst produces valuable hydrogen gas. The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode, placed in water. When electricity -- whether from a photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine or any other source -- runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen gas is produced.
Combined with another catalyst, such as platinum, that can produce hydrogen gas from water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis.
The new catalyst works at room temperature, in neutral pH water, and it's easy to set up, Nocera said. "That's why I know this is going to work. It's so easy to implement," he said.
'Giant leap' for clean energy
Sunlight has the greatest potential of any power source to solve the world's energy problems, said Nocera. In one hour, enough sunlight strikes the Earth to provide the entire planet's energy needs for one year.
James Barber, a leader in the study of photosynthesis who was not involved in this research, called the discovery by Nocera and Kanan a "giant leap" toward generating clean, carbon-free energy on a massive scale.
"This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind," said Barber, the Ernst Chain Professor of Biochemistry at Imperial College London. "The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem."
Currently available electrolyzers, which split water with electricity and are often used industrially, are not suited for artificial photosynthesis because they are very expensive and require a highly basic (non-benign) environment that has little to do with the conditions under which photosynthesis operates.
More engineering work needs to be done to integrate the new scientific discovery into existing photovoltaic systems, but Nocera said he is confident that such systems will become a reality.
"This is just the beginning," said Nocera, principal investigator for the Solar Revolution Project funded by the Chesonis Family Foundation and co-Director of the Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center. "The scientific community is really going to run with this."
Nocera hopes that within 10 years, homeowners will be able to power their homes in daylight through photovoltaic cells, while using excess solar energy to produce hydrogen and oxygen to power their own household fuel cell. Electricity-by-wire from a central source could be a thing of the past.
The project is part of the MIT Energy Initiative, a program designed to help transform the global energy system to meet the needs of the future and to help build a bridge to that future by improving today's energy systems. MITEI Director Ernest Moniz, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, noted that "this discovery in the Nocera lab demonstrates that moving up the transformation of our energy supply system to one based on renewables will depend heavily on frontier basic science."
The success of the Nocera lab shows the impact of a mixture of funding sources - governments, philanthropy, and industry. This project was funded by the National Science Foundation and by the Chesonis Family Foundation, which gave MIT $10 million this spring to launch the Solar Revolution Project, with a goal to make the large scale deployment of solar energy within 10 years.
ITC pioneers chlorine-free technology to kake eco-friendly paper news
lTC has introduced the environment friendly paper, "Paperkraft Premium Business Paper," which has been crafted by ITC using a pioneering technology, the first of its kind in India called "ozone treated elemental chlorine-free technology".
ITC says Paperkraft is a superior and environmentally-friendly, multipurpose paper for offices and homes, and helps consumers "go green".
Better known for its luxury hotels and top of the line cigarettes - ITC is India's largest tobacco company - the company says the paper has been launched in line with its triple-bottom line commitment to building economic, environmental and social capital for the nation.
It said development of the eco-friendly paper is an integral part of its initiatives to augment natural and resources.
The Paperkraft premium business paper is being marketed by the education and stationery products business of ITC, which has a widespread distribution network across the country, through which it delivers its student stationery products branded as "Classmate".
In terms of quality, Paperkraft is said to be the whitest and brightest 75 grams per square inch (GSM) business paper manufactured in India. A proprietory chemical treatment has enabled it to become an eco- friendly paper with a higher archival life.
Conventional paper production involves the use of elemental chlorine in the bleaching process during manufacture. The byproducts of this process include large number of organo-chlorine chemicals, which are toxic and adversely impact the environment.
ITC's ECF technology virtually eliminates the production of such toxins by substituting elemental chlorine with chlorine dioxide. This "ozone treatment", is an advance over ECF, resulting in even lower chemical usage and reduced water pollution.
These efforts encompass all critical elements of environmental sustainability and have led ITC to be the only company in the world, of its size and diversity, to achieve the milestones of being carbon positive, water positive and achieving close to 100 per cent solid waste recycling. Furthermore, ITC sources the raw material from its social and farm forestry project, which covers over 85,000 hectares and has created over 35 million mandays of employment.
ITC says Paperkraft is a superior and environmentally-friendly, multipurpose paper for offices and homes, and helps consumers "go green".
Better known for its luxury hotels and top of the line cigarettes - ITC is India's largest tobacco company - the company says the paper has been launched in line with its triple-bottom line commitment to building economic, environmental and social capital for the nation.
It said development of the eco-friendly paper is an integral part of its initiatives to augment natural and resources.
The Paperkraft premium business paper is being marketed by the education and stationery products business of ITC, which has a widespread distribution network across the country, through which it delivers its student stationery products branded as "Classmate".
In terms of quality, Paperkraft is said to be the whitest and brightest 75 grams per square inch (GSM) business paper manufactured in India. A proprietory chemical treatment has enabled it to become an eco- friendly paper with a higher archival life.
Conventional paper production involves the use of elemental chlorine in the bleaching process during manufacture. The byproducts of this process include large number of organo-chlorine chemicals, which are toxic and adversely impact the environment.
ITC's ECF technology virtually eliminates the production of such toxins by substituting elemental chlorine with chlorine dioxide. This "ozone treatment", is an advance over ECF, resulting in even lower chemical usage and reduced water pollution.
These efforts encompass all critical elements of environmental sustainability and have led ITC to be the only company in the world, of its size and diversity, to achieve the milestones of being carbon positive, water positive and achieving close to 100 per cent solid waste recycling. Furthermore, ITC sources the raw material from its social and farm forestry project, which covers over 85,000 hectares and has created over 35 million mandays of employment.
New power for a powerless world rises from the ocean
Green energy, a term used as an antidote to fossil fuels that have worsened global warming, takes on a new form as it suddenly seems plausible to harness the smallest of currents to produce a lot of energy. Scientists claim that a revolutionary device operating on slow-moving rivers and ocean currents could provide enough power for the entire world.
Existing technologies require an average current of five or six knots to operate efficiently, while most of the earth's currents are slower than three knots. The new technology device can generate electricity in water flowing at a rate of less than one knot - about one mile an hour - meaning it could operate on most waterways and sea beds around the globe.
The new device - inspired by the mechanism used by fish to swim against great currents - consists of a system of cylinders attached to springs and positioned horizontal to the water flow. Gushing water leads to vortices that push and pull the cylinder up and down. The mechanical energy in the vibrations can then be converted into electricity. Cylinders arranged over a cubic metre of the sea or riverbed in a flow of three knots produce up to 51 watts. Seemingly more efficient than similar-sized turbines or wave generators, the amount of power produced is likely to increase sharply if the flow is faster or if more cylinders are added.
A "field" of cylinders built on the seabed over a 1km by 1.5km area, and the height of a two-storey house, with a flow of just three knots, could generate enough power for around 100,000 homes. Just a few of the cylinders, stacked in a short ladder, could power an anchored ship or a lighthouse.
The technology has been developed in research funded by the US government and scientists say that potential costs would be as low as 3.5 pence per kilowatt-hour, compared to about 4.5p for wind energy and between 10p and 31p for solar power. They add the technology would require up to 50 times less ocean acreage than wave power generation. The system, conceived by scientists at the University of Michigan, is called Vivace, or "vortex-induced vibrations for aquatic clean energy".
Eddies or vortices, formed in the water flow, can move objects up and down or left and right. Fish curve their bodies to glide between the vortices shed by the bodies of the fish in front of them. Their muscle power alone could not propel them through the water at the speed they go, so they ride in each other's wake. Leonardo DaVinci first observed such vibrations 500 years ago in the form of ''Aeolian Tones''.
With about 0.1 per cent of the energy in the ocean, the energy needs of 15 billion people could be taken care of. The technology is less likely to be harmful to aquatic wildlife than dams or water turbines. And as the installations can be positioned far below the surface of the sea, there would be less interference with shipping, recreational boat users, fishing and tourism.
The engineers are now deploying a prototype device in the Detroit River, which has a flow of less than two knots. Their work, funded by the US Department of Energy and the US Office of Naval Research, is published in the current issue of the quarterly Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering.
Existing technologies require an average current of five or six knots to operate efficiently, while most of the earth's currents are slower than three knots. The new technology device can generate electricity in water flowing at a rate of less than one knot - about one mile an hour - meaning it could operate on most waterways and sea beds around the globe.
The new device - inspired by the mechanism used by fish to swim against great currents - consists of a system of cylinders attached to springs and positioned horizontal to the water flow. Gushing water leads to vortices that push and pull the cylinder up and down. The mechanical energy in the vibrations can then be converted into electricity. Cylinders arranged over a cubic metre of the sea or riverbed in a flow of three knots produce up to 51 watts. Seemingly more efficient than similar-sized turbines or wave generators, the amount of power produced is likely to increase sharply if the flow is faster or if more cylinders are added.
A "field" of cylinders built on the seabed over a 1km by 1.5km area, and the height of a two-storey house, with a flow of just three knots, could generate enough power for around 100,000 homes. Just a few of the cylinders, stacked in a short ladder, could power an anchored ship or a lighthouse.
The technology has been developed in research funded by the US government and scientists say that potential costs would be as low as 3.5 pence per kilowatt-hour, compared to about 4.5p for wind energy and between 10p and 31p for solar power. They add the technology would require up to 50 times less ocean acreage than wave power generation. The system, conceived by scientists at the University of Michigan, is called Vivace, or "vortex-induced vibrations for aquatic clean energy".
Eddies or vortices, formed in the water flow, can move objects up and down or left and right. Fish curve their bodies to glide between the vortices shed by the bodies of the fish in front of them. Their muscle power alone could not propel them through the water at the speed they go, so they ride in each other's wake. Leonardo DaVinci first observed such vibrations 500 years ago in the form of ''Aeolian Tones''.
With about 0.1 per cent of the energy in the ocean, the energy needs of 15 billion people could be taken care of. The technology is less likely to be harmful to aquatic wildlife than dams or water turbines. And as the installations can be positioned far below the surface of the sea, there would be less interference with shipping, recreational boat users, fishing and tourism.
The engineers are now deploying a prototype device in the Detroit River, which has a flow of less than two knots. Their work, funded by the US Department of Energy and the US Office of Naval Research, is published in the current issue of the quarterly Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering.
US company tapping waste heat for electricity generation
A US company is in the process of harnessing waste heat, which is produced as a result of some other process and is not utilised, for electricity generation.
Ener-G-Rotors, based in Schenectdy, New York, is in the process of developing technology that will harness this waste heat that is usually generated in relatively low temperature ranges between 65 and 150 degrees centigrade.
The company says that most existing heat-harvesting technologies are efficient at temperatures only above 150 degrees centigrade. Therefore, it plans to replace the turbine that generates electricity in a typical generator with a device called a gerotor.
The company claims that this device is "near frictionless." The technology is based on the Rankine cycle, in which heated fluid flowing through a tube heats a pressurised fluid in a second tube via a heat exchanger.
The second tube is a closed loop. The working fluid flowing through it, in the case of Ener-G-Rotors, a refrigerant with a low boiling point, vaporises and travels into a larger space called an expander, where it expands, exerting a mechanical force that is converted into electricity.
The expanding vapour in Ener-G-Rotors' system turns the gerotor, which are two concentric rotors. The inner rotor is attached to an axle, while the outer rotor is like a collar around it. The rotors have mismatched gear teeth, which the vapour passing between forces apart, causing the gears to mesh, and thereby turning the rotor.
The company says that since the rotor design is simpler than that of a turbine, it would be potentially easier and cheaper to manufacture, while being much more durable. It says it has also come up with a proprietary way of mounting the rotor on rolling bearings that makes movement nearly frictionless, allowing it to turn more easily so the gas doesn't need to exert too much force to generate electricity.
Altogether, the system combines its synergies to work at lower temperatures, imparting less energy to the gas.
According to the company's CEO Michael Newell, it would be able to convert 10 to 15 per cent of low-temperature waste heat into electricity, delivering a payback in two years or less in most cases. Ener-G-Rotors plans to market its systems to customers directly, as well as operate its own systems and sell power.
On its initial marketing plan are industries such as chemicals, paper, oil, and food that use a lot of energy, and in the process also generate large amounts of waste heat. Thereafter, the company plans to participate in solar-thermal and geothermal projects, and target end consumers with a one-kilowatt system.
The company's first beta unit, a five-kilowatt system, is destined for a combined heat-and-power plant at Harbec Plastics. It is also installing beta systems at a steam plant for New York utility Consolidated Edison and at a landfill-gas-burning plant for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
In need of funding, Ener-G-Rotors has managed to raise "a few hundred thousand" in grants and angel funding, and is now seeking $5 million for the first tranche of a $20 million venture-capital round.
The going too is getting tougher, with competition in the space heating up as a clutch of companies, both large and small, work on similar lines. United Technologies is one of them, which makes aircraft, aerospace systems, and air conditioning. Another is a smaller companies called ElectraTherm, with systems already installed.
CEO Newell says his company can stand out, as its technology is more efficient and simpler than ''anything else out there right now." He says that there are not many technologies that are going to work, and his company has the ''lowest cost of any of the technologies out there."
Ener-G-Rotors, based in Schenectdy, New York, is in the process of developing technology that will harness this waste heat that is usually generated in relatively low temperature ranges between 65 and 150 degrees centigrade.
The company says that most existing heat-harvesting technologies are efficient at temperatures only above 150 degrees centigrade. Therefore, it plans to replace the turbine that generates electricity in a typical generator with a device called a gerotor.
The company claims that this device is "near frictionless." The technology is based on the Rankine cycle, in which heated fluid flowing through a tube heats a pressurised fluid in a second tube via a heat exchanger.
The second tube is a closed loop. The working fluid flowing through it, in the case of Ener-G-Rotors, a refrigerant with a low boiling point, vaporises and travels into a larger space called an expander, where it expands, exerting a mechanical force that is converted into electricity.
The expanding vapour in Ener-G-Rotors' system turns the gerotor, which are two concentric rotors. The inner rotor is attached to an axle, while the outer rotor is like a collar around it. The rotors have mismatched gear teeth, which the vapour passing between forces apart, causing the gears to mesh, and thereby turning the rotor.
The company says that since the rotor design is simpler than that of a turbine, it would be potentially easier and cheaper to manufacture, while being much more durable. It says it has also come up with a proprietary way of mounting the rotor on rolling bearings that makes movement nearly frictionless, allowing it to turn more easily so the gas doesn't need to exert too much force to generate electricity.
Altogether, the system combines its synergies to work at lower temperatures, imparting less energy to the gas.
According to the company's CEO Michael Newell, it would be able to convert 10 to 15 per cent of low-temperature waste heat into electricity, delivering a payback in two years or less in most cases. Ener-G-Rotors plans to market its systems to customers directly, as well as operate its own systems and sell power.
On its initial marketing plan are industries such as chemicals, paper, oil, and food that use a lot of energy, and in the process also generate large amounts of waste heat. Thereafter, the company plans to participate in solar-thermal and geothermal projects, and target end consumers with a one-kilowatt system.
The company's first beta unit, a five-kilowatt system, is destined for a combined heat-and-power plant at Harbec Plastics. It is also installing beta systems at a steam plant for New York utility Consolidated Edison and at a landfill-gas-burning plant for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
In need of funding, Ener-G-Rotors has managed to raise "a few hundred thousand" in grants and angel funding, and is now seeking $5 million for the first tranche of a $20 million venture-capital round.
The going too is getting tougher, with competition in the space heating up as a clutch of companies, both large and small, work on similar lines. United Technologies is one of them, which makes aircraft, aerospace systems, and air conditioning. Another is a smaller companies called ElectraTherm, with systems already installed.
CEO Newell says his company can stand out, as its technology is more efficient and simpler than ''anything else out there right now." He says that there are not many technologies that are going to work, and his company has the ''lowest cost of any of the technologies out there."
Thursday, November 20, 2008
X Prize competition for 100 MPG vehicle includes two biofuel teams
FROM BLOG: Biofuels Digest - Biofuels Digest - daily biofuels business and financial news.
X Prize for aviation biofuels: “The race to refuel American aviation is on,” Transportation Secretary says LiquidMaze expects to receive air permit; water permit next for long-delayed Colorado ethanol project North Dakota gives $50,000 to Lakota Biofuels for feasibility study John Deere debuts corn ethanol contract insurance; will permit farmers to make higher delivery commitments Biofuels Stock and Financial Outlook for October 18: Stock futures mixed as banking sector weighs on Dow; more plant delays and cancellations announced by ethanol producers
In California, 22 auto teams have applied and been accepted for the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE competition to develop the first production-scale vehicle that achieves a fuel economy rating of 100 mpg. Among the contenders for the price are two biofuels teams: North Carolina’s Nelson Tywa Power with its EMC2 Plus, and Florida’s Millmac with its Ceata. A total of $10 million in prize money will be awarded to winners of the competition.
New Mercedes BlueTEC engines: Diesel Engines Greening SUVs
FROM BLOG: EcoFuss - Ecofuss is an environmental-friendly blog with daily posts written by our dedicated writers. We speak about environmental issues and ways to get the Earth greener.
While Detroit automakers GM, Ford, and Chrysler are literally on the verge of bankruptcy or another reckless government bailout, BMW is still trucking along, and doing so in a manner that consumers actually demand and appreciate unlike their domestic competitors. BMW is promoting their new, innovative diesel engines which are some of the most efficient and cleanest diesel engines in the world.
These beastly green machines are Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC engines.
So for the facts:
- When the BlueTEC engine was used first in 2007 in a Canadian Mercedes, and the vehicle was voted “World Green Car of the Year” due to it’s clean, efficient characteristics
- The engine is 20-40% more fuel efficient than its comparable gas counterparts
- It reduces the polluting nitrogen oxide normally released in emissions by an astounding 80%
Currently, the engine is utilized in Canadian Mercedes models, and is supposedly one of the only vehicles to meet the future, stricter emissions standards.
So a quiet running, fuel efficient, green, low emissions [renewable] diesel powered vehicle. You’re thinking, great, but I cannot afford it. Which is the same thing I’m thinking, but….
Mercedes is not keeping their innovative engine technology proprietary, but they’re instead opening up the technology to other car manufacturers. Presumably, they’ll license this great technology as a socially responsible company so it could potentially be available to the masses very soon.
While diesel technology inherintly has its drawbacks like every current, plausible energy source, it does have its environmentally sound niche as shown by BlueTec. So if/once US automakers get on the right foot and begin making green cars people want, lets hope that BluTEC esque technology finds its ways into our automobiles.
Should cloning be used to resurrect extinct species?
FROM BLOG: The Conservation Report - The Conservation Report presents the latest environmental news and comment from a moderate perspective. From air pollution to zoonotic diseases and everything else in between.
Should science resurrect extinct species? Some scientists think so. I find megafauna like mammoths and elephant birds fascinating, but I also realize that one of the greatest challenges today is protecting living flora and fauna from human expansion and habitat degradation, loss, and fragmentation—so I don’t know. On one hand it would be remarkable, but then again those resources can be used to conserve living wildlife. From the New York Times, United States:
Scientists are talking for the first time about the old idea of resurrecting extinct species as if this long time staple of science fiction were a realistic possibility, saying that a living mammoth could perhaps be regenerated for as little as $10 million.
The same technology could be applied to any other extinct species from which one can obtain hair, horn, hooves, fur or feathers, and which went extinct within the last 60,000 years. Though the stuffed animals in natural history museums are not likely to burst into life again, these old collections are full of items that may contain ancient DNA which can be decoded by the new generation of DNA sequencing machines.
If the genome of an extinct species can be reconstructed, biologists can work out the exact DNA differences with the genome of its nearest living relative. There are now discussions of how to modify the DNA in an elephant’s egg so that generation by generation it would progressively resemble the DNA in a mammoth egg. The final stage egg could then be brought to term in an elephant mother, and mammoths might once again roam the Siberian steppes. The same would be technically possible with Neanderthals, whose full genome is expected to be recovered shortly, but ethically more challenging.
A scientific team headed by Stephan C. Schuster and Webb Miller at Pennsylvania State University report in today’s issue of Nature that they have recovered a large fraction of the mammoth genome from clumps of mammoth hair. Mammoths were driven to extinction toward the end of the last ice age, some 10,000 years ago, after the first modern humans learned how to survive and hunt in the steppes of Siberia.
Re-Charge Your Battery in 20 Minutes
FROM BLOG: Hybrid Car Reviews - Hybrids are the latest rage in the auto industry. And unlike all the other alternatives, hybrid cars are available today. Find out more about how this affects you at hybridreview.blogspot.com
Ener1 and Kyushu Electric have signed a a memorandum of understanding to work together on creating a rapid recharging systems for the next generation of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. (source: press release found via GreenCarCongress) The system is target to re-charge lithium-ion batteries up to 80% of capacity in less than 20 minutes.
Currently, reported re-charging times are 6-8 hours through common house-hold plugs.
The companies are targeting the first integrated systems for March, 2009. They are hoping the relationship will accelerate the development of charging systems to match the 'anticipated growth' in electric vehicles.
Ener1 and KEPCO will work together to create and manufacture rapid recharging systems for electric vehicles. KEPCO has already developed one of the most advanced rapid charging stands and plans to customize that solution with the EnerDel High Energy Pack System. KEPCO's next-generation electric vehicle rapid charging station has exhibited one of the highest levels of performance for rapid charging in Japan.
"Drivers need to know they can recharge an electric car as easily as they fill the tank in today's conventional vehicles," said Ener1 Chairman and CEO Charles Gassenheimer. "The batteries are here. What we need is the infrastructure to charge them quickly. We have often suggested that the customer for electric drive is not just the auto manufacturers, but also the integrated power and utility companies. Together with ITOCHU Corporation, we are privileged to work with such prestigious partners on this important project. The opportunity underscores Ener1's strategy to be a total systems and solutions provider in pioneering the electrification of the automobile."
"We are excited to be working with Ener1, which we consider to be an early leader in the development of this industry," said Toshiro Noguchi, General Manager of the Research Laboratory at KEPCO. "We believe that Ener1's state of the art technology is now ready for rapid adoption and are excited to be partnering with them at this critical time."
More Hybrid Car information can be found at http://hybridreview.blogspot.com
Ener1 and Kyushu Electric have signed a a memorandum of understanding to work together on creating a rapid recharging systems for the next generation of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. (source: press release found via GreenCarCongress) The system is target to re-charge lithium-ion batteries up to 80% of capacity in less than 20 minutes.
Currently, reported re-charging times are 6-8 hours through common house-hold plugs.
The companies are targeting the first integrated systems for March, 2009. They are hoping the relationship will accelerate the development of charging systems to match the 'anticipated growth' in electric vehicles.
Ener1 and KEPCO will work together to create and manufacture rapid recharging systems for electric vehicles. KEPCO has already developed one of the most advanced rapid charging stands and plans to customize that solution with the EnerDel High Energy Pack System. KEPCO's next-generation electric vehicle rapid charging station has exhibited one of the highest levels of performance for rapid charging in Japan.
"Drivers need to know they can recharge an electric car as easily as they fill the tank in today's conventional vehicles," said Ener1 Chairman and CEO Charles Gassenheimer. "The batteries are here. What we need is the infrastructure to charge them quickly. We have often suggested that the customer for electric drive is not just the auto manufacturers, but also the integrated power and utility companies. Together with ITOCHU Corporation, we are privileged to work with such prestigious partners on this important project. The opportunity underscores Ener1's strategy to be a total systems and solutions provider in pioneering the electrification of the automobile."
"We are excited to be working with Ener1, which we consider to be an early leader in the development of this industry," said Toshiro Noguchi, General Manager of the Research Laboratory at KEPCO. "We believe that Ener1's state of the art technology is now ready for rapid adoption and are excited to be partnering with them at this critical time."
More Hybrid Car information can be found at http://hybridreview.blogspot.com
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Honda’s natural gas car named “Greenest Vehicle of 2008”
Honda’s Civic GX natural gas car has been named by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) as the greenest vehicle of 2008 for the fifth consecutive year.
According to a report in ENN (Environmental News Network), three other Honda vehicles also featured in the top list of the ACEEE.
In the 11th annual ACEEE's ranking of environmentally responsible vehicles, the natural gas-powered Civic GX ranked first with the gasoline Civic, Fit and Civic Hybrid joining the list of the 12 most environmentally-conscious vehicles available to the public.
This is the eighth year in a row that a Honda vehicle received the number one ranking and the seventh consecutive year that Honda vehicles held at least four positions in the top 12, an impressive one-third of all vehicles on the list.
For determining the rankings, the ACEEE used a singular measure that incorporates fuel economy, health-related pollution impacts and global warming emissions.
All vehicles are then analyzed and given a "Green Score." This score is used in ACEEE's ranking system, resulting in a ranking of each vehicle's total environmental performance, including a list of the 12 "greenest" and 12 "meanest" vehicles.
According to the report, the Civic GX, first introduced in 1998, is the cleanest internal combustion vehicle certified by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and is 90% cleaner than the average gasoline-powered car on the road today.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Soleckshaws hit city streets
It's being touted as the poor man's Nano. Powered by solar energy and pedals, eco-friendly Soleckshaw rickshaws hit the streets on Thursday.
Designed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in eight months, these rickshaws will be battery operated. "The battery that's inbuilt will be charged by solar energy. It will transmit the energy to a gear system which will move the three wheels of the rickshaw. Though pedalling is not required, if pedalled the Soleckshaw will gain more power,'' said A Roy, who was part of the team that developed the rickshaw.
Hailing the innovation, Union science and technology minister Kapil Sibal said: "There is a need for urban transport which is comfortable and affordable for the poor. The Soleckshaws will be their Nano.''
Swifter and environment-friendly, Soleckshaws are, therefore, being seen as the new face of urban transport for short distance rides to neighbourhood schools and nearby Metro stations from home. Inaugurating the Soleckshaw at Chandni Chowk, chief minister Sheila Dikshit said: "It's a sturdy mode of transport which is functioning on clean energy. We will discuss with the police on where all it can ply and for how much distance.''
Hoping that the corporate sector will step in to manufacture these rickshaws for their low pricing and environment-friendly technology, Sibal said: "They can be used near the Taj Mahal and other monuments as their carbon foot print is zero. It is expected that the rickshaw-puller will be able to earn more than Rs 4000 a month and these rickshaws will not be as physically taxing for them.'' Complete with mobile recharging facilities and FM radio, these rickshaws cost Rs 7,000 the same as the old ones.
In Delhi, the Centre for Rural Development (CRD), an NGO, will drive the pilot project. Dr Pradip Kumar Sarmah, CRD executive director, said: "We are hoping to start using the four rickshaws launched today between Red Fort and Old Delhi Railway Station and the charge will be Rs 15. This will be a pre-paid service.''
Director general, CSIR, Samir K Brahmachari said: "The advanced versions of the Soleckshaws will have better aesthetics and a speed of 15kmph and will be ready for a full-fledged launch before the Commonwealth Games 2010. This pedicab is easy to drive on plain as well as uphill roads.'' The Soleckshaws were flagged off at Durgapur on August 17.
The battery re-charge station has been made near the Chandni Chowk Metro station and a rickshaw-puller will be given an alternative battery while his battery is being re-charged. It will cost Rs 45 to get the battery re-charged which can run till 70 km before dying out.
Said Brahmachari: "The designs of the rickshaws can be copied by anyone. But quality control will be done as the motors will bear the logos along with the batteries. We hope that the cost of the rickshaws is around the same as that of the current rickshaws at Rs 7,000 as we will earn carbon credits for them.'' CSIR is also looking at possibilities of modifying the rickshaws plying currently so that they can be made battery-operated.
Designed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in eight months, these rickshaws will be battery operated. "The battery that's inbuilt will be charged by solar energy. It will transmit the energy to a gear system which will move the three wheels of the rickshaw. Though pedalling is not required, if pedalled the Soleckshaw will gain more power,'' said A Roy, who was part of the team that developed the rickshaw.
Hailing the innovation, Union science and technology minister Kapil Sibal said: "There is a need for urban transport which is comfortable and affordable for the poor. The Soleckshaws will be their Nano.''
Swifter and environment-friendly, Soleckshaws are, therefore, being seen as the new face of urban transport for short distance rides to neighbourhood schools and nearby Metro stations from home. Inaugurating the Soleckshaw at Chandni Chowk, chief minister Sheila Dikshit said: "It's a sturdy mode of transport which is functioning on clean energy. We will discuss with the police on where all it can ply and for how much distance.''
Hoping that the corporate sector will step in to manufacture these rickshaws for their low pricing and environment-friendly technology, Sibal said: "They can be used near the Taj Mahal and other monuments as their carbon foot print is zero. It is expected that the rickshaw-puller will be able to earn more than Rs 4000 a month and these rickshaws will not be as physically taxing for them.'' Complete with mobile recharging facilities and FM radio, these rickshaws cost Rs 7,000 the same as the old ones.
In Delhi, the Centre for Rural Development (CRD), an NGO, will drive the pilot project. Dr Pradip Kumar Sarmah, CRD executive director, said: "We are hoping to start using the four rickshaws launched today between Red Fort and Old Delhi Railway Station and the charge will be Rs 15. This will be a pre-paid service.''
Director general, CSIR, Samir K Brahmachari said: "The advanced versions of the Soleckshaws will have better aesthetics and a speed of 15kmph and will be ready for a full-fledged launch before the Commonwealth Games 2010. This pedicab is easy to drive on plain as well as uphill roads.'' The Soleckshaws were flagged off at Durgapur on August 17.
The battery re-charge station has been made near the Chandni Chowk Metro station and a rickshaw-puller will be given an alternative battery while his battery is being re-charged. It will cost Rs 45 to get the battery re-charged which can run till 70 km before dying out.
Said Brahmachari: "The designs of the rickshaws can be copied by anyone. But quality control will be done as the motors will bear the logos along with the batteries. We hope that the cost of the rickshaws is around the same as that of the current rickshaws at Rs 7,000 as we will earn carbon credits for them.'' CSIR is also looking at possibilities of modifying the rickshaws plying currently so that they can be made battery-operated.
Honda Insight's Disappointing Mileage
FROM BLOG: EcoGeek.org - EcoGeek - Technology for the Environment
Honda has just released a smattering of new details on it's all-new Insight. The car will be the cheapest hybrid vehicle available when it goes on sale in the spring of 2009, but it won't be the most efficient.
I was truly hoping that the new Insight would take after its father. And while, obviously, it couldn't have hit the ridiculous numbers (beyond 70 mpg) of the original, tiny, two-seater Insight, I was at least hoping it would beat the Prius. But alas, the Insight will come in right around Honda's current hybrid offering, the hybrid Civic, about 42 mpg.
So what makes this car so great then, if it has the same mileage as a hybrid Civic and worse than the Prius?
Well, a few things, actually.
- It's cheaper than either the Prius ($22k) or the Civic Hybrid ($23.5k). So despite being less efficient, it might be more green just because more people will buy them. Honda is banking on selling 200,000 of them per year...a lofty goal.
- It's a dedicated hybrid...the only one besides the Prius (and the old Insight, if you want to count it.) Which isn't important at all for the environment, but it's important for people's desire to want to buy them. It's like having the whole car be a bumper sticker that says "I'm on the cutting edge of green technology!"
- It's pretty. Again, not important for the environment, but important when you're trying to sell 200,000 of them a year.
- Going from 40 to 50 mpg doesn't actually save all that much gas. Don't believe me, see our article on why MPG is a stupid measurement.
So yes...we want one. But we'd actually rather have a Volt, or some other car that doesn't burn any gas at all under normal circumstances. But I predict broad consumer appeal for the Insight...I think my wife is harboring a secret desire for one, so that may be a point of conflict between us.
Google Attempts To Do Something Good in Addition to Doing No Evil
FROM BLOG: PROFY - Multi-author blog about Web 2.0.
In addition to increasing its internet power, Google has decided now is a good time to help save the Earth until it is too late. So yesterday Google has come up with a $4.4 trillion Clean Energy 2030 plan. The plan is intended to solve many of the acute energy and environmental problems in the country. Google suggests this plan for the public discussion which could eventually make the US government implement some of the plan’s ideas.
According to this plan green living will arrive only 22 years and 4.4 trillion dollars later but it does not sound too ambitious and many of the ideas look to be absolutely realistic - so implementing them must be possible if the next administration chooses environment as one of its priorities.
The plan consists of a few basic ideas. First of all, the plan is aimed at reducing coal share in energy production by switching mainly to wind, solar, and geothermal energy sources. Another important factor is reducing oil and gas consumption - mainly by replacing existing cars with electric and hybrid ones by offering various incentives for citizens to purchase more environmentally friendly alternatives. Another aspect is to stimulate wiser consumption of energy by citizens by using smart meters at home so that we knew exactly what we consume. For further details everyone is invited to visit a dedicated Knol page where Google describes the clean energy plan in details (finally a reason to visit Knol, by the way).
Google’s concerns over environment are no doubt very timely given the fact that the US currently is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases (if not the largest - there is some serious uncertainty in the US and China competition in this dubious competition). Besides, the US is the only developed country that has not ratified the Kyoto protocol that is intended to help improve the global warming problem. So at least taking some actions locally sounds like a good idea - and something definitely very much needed.
It is of course quite difficult to imagine the government that is resisting all international attempts to make the US manufacturers reduce greenhouse gases emission to follow the green plan suggested by Google. But there could be some hope for the plan since the introduction blog post stated: “With a new Administration and Congress - and multiple energy-related imperatives - this is an opportune, perhaps unprecedented, moment to move from plan to action”. Hopefully this somehow means that Eric Schmidt and the energy team have some reasons to hope that his initiatives will have a chance for support with legislators - where everyone else (including the United Nations) failed.
Actually I seem to see slightly selfish aspect in the plan for Google as well. the thing is that such a plan is quite logical given the fact that Google itself has already invested some $45 million in various startups working with wind, solar, and geothermal energy. While it is obvious that any large-scale actions are supposed to happen with government support only, it is equally obvious that for such startups to start working efficiently (and generate revenue) it is a prerequisite that their technologies are needed in the country. So implementation of such a plan will probably also result in some additional income to Google through the startups it invested in.
Right now chances are the financial crisis will simply make manufacturers cut on emissions and the US will still have some fresh air to breath - at least until this plan (or some of the previously introduced similar plans) is implemented and the US energy consumption is all environmentally friendly. In the meanwhile I will stay wondering how long it will take Google to come up with some initiative to save our sinful souls (hopefully globally).
Capturing CO2 Directly from the Air
FROM BLOG: AccuWeather.com Global Warming Center - AccuWeather.com's Global Warming Center is an open forum that looks at every side of the issues of global warming and climate change with scientific clarity.
Researchers at the University of Calgary in Canada have developed a simple machine that directly pulls carbon dioxide from the air. Professor David Keith. The project is led by climate change scientist David Keith, who is also the director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy’s (ISEEE) Energy and Environmental Systems Group and a professor of chemical and petroleum engineering. Keith is also Canada's Research Chair in Energy and Environment. Air capture is different than the carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology which is a key part of the Alberta and federal governments’ strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CCS involves installing equipment at, for example, a coal-fired power plant to capture carbon dioxide produced during burning of the coal, and then pipelining this CO2 for permanent storage underground in a geological reservoir. Air capture, on the other hand, uses technology that can capture – no matter where the capture system is located – the CO2 that is present in ambient air everywhere, according to the University of Calgary press release. Keith and his team have shown that they can capture more CO2 than the energy needed to run the machine, which is very important. There are still some major issues with this project......... --Where would the captured CO2 be stored? One possibility would be Alberta's oil sands tar fields. --Potential high costs for the commercialization of this project. Nevertheless, the relatively simple, reliable and scalable technology that Keith and his team developed opens the door to building a commercial-scale plant. By the way, there is a link to the technical details of the project at the bottom of the press release.EcoJet: The Prius of the Skies
FROM BLOG: Scientific Blogging - 25 of the world's top scientists write on the latest developments in space, medicine, biology,earth science, physics and neuroscience.
As the global demand for air travel increases, so too does the demand to decrease the environmental impact of flight. The answer may lie in the technological advances made by the next generation of short-haul commercial aircraft currently in development by British low-cost airline, EasyJet. The unique design of EasyJet’s “EcoJet” promises a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2015.
The aircraft will incorporate the latest research by airframe and engine manufacturers around the world – all of which can be incorporated into an aircraft that should be in operation by 2015. The projection for the 50% CO2 reduction is based on the findings from the latest research by industry leaders and will come from the engines (25%), the lightweight airframe (15%) and from improvements to air traffic control technology and design (10%).
One of the key design changes made in the EcoJet, is the use of rear-mounted “open-rotor” engines. The reason behind this is simple physics. The environmental performance (fuel efficiency) of a modern jet engine is related to the mass of air that the fan can move, which is driven by the rotor diameter of the fan blades - the larger the fan, the greater the propulsive efficiency. Conversely, containing such a large diameter fan in a casing would have significant weight and drag penalties. In the short-haul sector of the market, unducted fan (open rotor) engines offer unrivalled environmental performance due to their higher propulsive efficiency. However, there are significant design penalties in fixing such a large engine under a wing of such a small aircraft, making rear mounting of the engines the optimum solution.
The EcoJet also employs an efficient forward-swept wing design. One of the primary methods of reducing fuel burn is by reducing drag. Conventional jet aircraft currently suffer increased drag from turbulent airflow over their wings.
A forward swept wing however, enables airflow from wing tip to wing root; and a wing profile that provides laminar flow over a significant proportion of the wing.
Laminar flow is the smooth, uninterrupted flow of air over a wing, and is essential to lift. When the smooth flow of air is interrupted over a wing section, turbulence is created which results in a loss of lift and a high degree of drag. The EcoJet’s use of a forward-swept configuration will prolong laminar flow and greatly reduce drag during cruising speeds.
The requirements of a laminar flow wing will dictate a slightly slower design cruise speed – Mach 0.75 (570.9 mph, 918.8 km/h) compared to Mach 0.78/0.79 for today’s conventional designs. On the average short haul sector this would add 3-10 minutes to the flight, but it is anticipated that air traffic control improvements and faster turn-around times on the ground will compensate for this increase in flight time.
The EcoJet will have at least 3 full size doors, allowing airlines to board passengers through all three doors, speeding up turn-around times. Even boarding from a single jetbridge connected to the central pair of doors will speed up boarding times, as passengers would be able to head either up or down the aircraft upon entrance instead of forming a single line once inside. The EcoJet will also be a more autonomous aircraft, requiring less ground equipment -- e.g. as the fuselage is closer to the ground, a belt loader will not needed for the bulk loading and unloading of baggage.
The current average trip length in the short-haul market is around 500 nautical miles (575 miles, 926 km) and 98% of all commercial flights in the 120-240 seat segment are below 2,000 nautical miles (2,302 miles, 3,704 km). Therefore the design range of the EcoJet will be 2,000 nm or less. This reduction of the design range will reduce the weight and size of the aircraft, and will therefore further increase its fuel efficiency.
Additional weight reductions will be realized through the use of advanced weight-reducing materials similar to those used in current projects like the Boeing 787 -- which itself is estimated to be 27% more fuel efficient than the aircraft it will replace in many fleets. The wings of the EcoJet are to be manufactured out of carbon fiber composites.
The EcoJet will provide 150-250 seats in single class configuration, and 130-220 seats in a 2-class offering. In easyJet’s current configuration and operation, the projection for the eco-liner would generate less than 47g of CO2 per passenger km (0.167 lb/passenger mile). For comparison, EasyJet’s current operations generate 97.5g of CO2 per passenger km (0.346 lb/passenger mile), the Toyota Prius emits 104g of CO2 per kilometer (0.369 lb/mi); and the European car industry has recently been given a target to achieve 130g of CO2 per kilometer (0.461 lb/mi).
Speaking at a press conference to unveil the EcoJet, Andy Harrison, EasyJet Chief Executive, said:
“The aviation industry has an excellent record in reducing the environmental footprint of aircraft. Today’s aircraft are typically 70% cleaner and 75% quieter than their 1960s counterparts. Now we are planning the next generation that will help towards taking the plane out of the emissions equation.”
“The EcoJet represents the next major step forward in airframe and engine technology. The lightweight structure and open-rotor engines are based on technologies that are being developed right now by the major manufacturers. The ‘EasyJet EcoJet’ is realistic and it is achievable.”
Ocean "dead zones" spread, fish more at risk
The number of polluted "dead zones" in the world's oceans is rising fast and coastal fish stocks are more vulnerable to collapse than previo
usly feared, scientists said on Monday.
The spread of "dead zones" -- areas of oxygen-starved water -- "is emerging as a major threat to coastal ecosystems globally," the scientists wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Such zones are found from the Gulf of Mexico to the Baltic Sea in areas where algae bloom and suck oxygen from the water, feeding on fertilizers washed from fields, sewage, animal wastes and pollutants from the burning of fossil fuels.
"Marine organisms are more vulnerable to low oxygen content than currently recognized, with fish and crustaceans being the most vulnerable," said Raquel Vaquer Suner of the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies in Spain.
"The number of reported hypoxic (low oxygen) zones is growing globally at a rate of 5 percent a year," she told Reuters.
Her study with a colleague showed that the number of "dead zones" had risen to more than 140 in 2004 from almost none until the late 1970s.
Hundreds of millions of people depend on coastal fisheries for food. Crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters and shrimps are less able to escape from low-oxygen waters than fish.
Higher temperatures tied to global warming, blamed by the U.N. Climate Panel on human use of fossil fuels, may aggravate the problem of "dead zones," partly because oxygen dissolves less readily in warmer water, the study said.
The first "dead zones" were found in northern latitudes such as Chesapeake Bay on the U.S. east coast and Scandinavian fjords. Others have been appearing off South America, Ghana, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Britain.
The study said that most scientists had until now reckoned that oxygen levels could fall to 2 milligrams per liter of sea water before the water was considered starved of oxygen.
But many creatures were far more sensitive. Larvae of one type of crab found off eastern Canada and the United States started suffering at oxygen levels of 8.6 mg per liter, just below normal levels.
"Currently used thresholds ... are not conservative enough to avoid widespread mortality losses," the scientists wrote. They urged a revised minimum of 4.6 mg of oxygen per liter as the lowest before water was considered hostile to life.
usly feared, scientists said on Monday.
The spread of "dead zones" -- areas of oxygen-starved water -- "is emerging as a major threat to coastal ecosystems globally," the scientists wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Such zones are found from the Gulf of Mexico to the Baltic Sea in areas where algae bloom and suck oxygen from the water, feeding on fertilizers washed from fields, sewage, animal wastes and pollutants from the burning of fossil fuels.
"Marine organisms are more vulnerable to low oxygen content than currently recognized, with fish and crustaceans being the most vulnerable," said Raquel Vaquer Suner of the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies in Spain.
"The number of reported hypoxic (low oxygen) zones is growing globally at a rate of 5 percent a year," she told Reuters.
Her study with a colleague showed that the number of "dead zones" had risen to more than 140 in 2004 from almost none until the late 1970s.
Hundreds of millions of people depend on coastal fisheries for food. Crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters and shrimps are less able to escape from low-oxygen waters than fish.
Higher temperatures tied to global warming, blamed by the U.N. Climate Panel on human use of fossil fuels, may aggravate the problem of "dead zones," partly because oxygen dissolves less readily in warmer water, the study said.
The first "dead zones" were found in northern latitudes such as Chesapeake Bay on the U.S. east coast and Scandinavian fjords. Others have been appearing off South America, Ghana, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and Britain.
The study said that most scientists had until now reckoned that oxygen levels could fall to 2 milligrams per liter of sea water before the water was considered starved of oxygen.
But many creatures were far more sensitive. Larvae of one type of crab found off eastern Canada and the United States started suffering at oxygen levels of 8.6 mg per liter, just below normal levels.
"Currently used thresholds ... are not conservative enough to avoid widespread mortality losses," the scientists wrote. They urged a revised minimum of 4.6 mg of oxygen per liter as the lowest before water was considered hostile to life.
Radiation from mobile towers wipes out birds
Set a bird song as your mobile ringtone. For that may soon be the only way you get to hear from our winged friends — studies show that the increasing number of cell phone towers in cities is bringing down bird population.
While studies in Spain and Belgium have established the ill-effects of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted by cell phone masts on birds, a study to be published next month by a team in Panjab University has found that EMR can damage bird eggs and embryos.
The study, conducted in Chandigarh, is applicable to all Indian cities where cell phone masts are proliferating. Chennai has 4,000 cell phone towers, compared to about 200 in Chandigarh.
Researchers at the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore, say there are enough reasons to attribute bird mortality to such radiation.
"Cell phones and towers emit a very low frequency of 900 or 1,800 MHz, called microwaves. Studies have found that they can cause thin skulls of chicks and thin egg shells,” says Dhanya R, a researcher at SACON.
The team at the Centre for Environment and Vocational Studies of Panjab University, headed by RK Kohli, exposed 50 eggs to EMR for durations of five minutes to 30 minutes. "All the 50 embryos were damaged. It’s almost like being microwaved," Kohli told TOI.
Chennai-based zoologist Ranjit Daniels says four of the 200-odd Chennai birds — house sparrow (Passer domesticus), redwhiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus), brahmini kite (Haliastur indus) and spotted dove (Streptopelia chinensis) — have virtually disappeared.
"Birds are known to be sensitive to magnetic radiation. Microwaves can interfere with their sensors and misguide them while navigating and preying,” says Daniels.
Early in 2005, a friend threw a challenge at R K Kohli, coordinator of Centre for Environment and Vocational Studies, Panjab University: "Can you show me one sparrow on the campus?" Thinking it would be an easy task, Kohli agreed. "I won the bet, but it took me several days," says Kohli.
So, when the centre decided to study in December 2005, the impact of electromagnetic radiations (EMR), Kohli decided to include sparrows in the list of organisms that the radiations affect. Three years later, the study found microwaves (300 MHz to 300 GHz) emitted by cell phone towers and handsets responsible for damaging eggs and embryos. And that is just one of the urban factors driving out several species of birds out of the cities.
Chennai is no exception. According to zoologist Ranjit Daniels, at least four of the 200-odd species of birds of Chennai are fast disappearing. On their way out are house sparrows, redwhiskered bulbuls, brahminy kites and spotted doves.
"These are birds which have always been around. Now they are nowhere to be seen," says Daniels, attributing it to an increase in population of rodents which steal eggs, disappearing open grasslands, rising temperature and modern bird-unfriendly architecture. "House sparrows used to live in crevices of buildings. The new glass houses don’t leave any space for them," he says.
P A Azeez, senior principal scientist at Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, concurs: "Urban birds have the habit of finding an urban analogue for their wild nests. Pigeons, which are multiplying in large numbers in cities, find ventilators an analogue to their natural rocky confines. Whichever bird finds an analogue survive." That perhaps explains the case of the disappearing brahminy kites which nest only on very tall trees.
Azeez also blames the supermarket culture. "Gone are the days of malligai kadais (old provisions stores) where birds came to feed on food grains. Today everything is packaged. The colourful plants in city gardens do not offer enough nectar or fruits for these birds," he says. His research student Dhanya R adds another cultural dimension to the food scarcity when she notes that bird feeding, once a regular ritual in Tamil Nadu homes, is no longer in vogue.
Daniels adds an unusual angle when he holds trees planted by urban planners as villains. "Originally, Chennai was a coastal area with bushes suited for several birds. Big trees with large canopies are not suited for birds like the bulbul and sparrows. With the expansion of city, many of these birds are migrating to the suburbs or farther," he says.
Since man domesticated chicken some 6,000 years ago, several birds have learnt to share his habitat, but now, modernisation is driving them out. Daniels says the kind of birds will keep changing with the urban habitat.
"Sparrows might have come to Indian cities only in the last century. The Bible has repeated references of sparrows, indicating that they were in abundance in the Middle East 2,000 years ago. Tamil folklore has reference to chittukuruvi, but the word could mean any small bird," says Daniels.
The message: Birds may come and go for a few centuries, which is just a miniscule span in the evolutionary cycle. As cities continue to grow, some birds, mainly scavengers like crows would proliferate at the expense of other birds. Experts may be divided on the reasons for the disappearance of birds, but everyone agrees on one bad news: Once gone, these birds would never be back.
While studies in Spain and Belgium have established the ill-effects of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted by cell phone masts on birds, a study to be published next month by a team in Panjab University has found that EMR can damage bird eggs and embryos.
The study, conducted in Chandigarh, is applicable to all Indian cities where cell phone masts are proliferating. Chennai has 4,000 cell phone towers, compared to about 200 in Chandigarh.
Researchers at the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore, say there are enough reasons to attribute bird mortality to such radiation.
"Cell phones and towers emit a very low frequency of 900 or 1,800 MHz, called microwaves. Studies have found that they can cause thin skulls of chicks and thin egg shells,” says Dhanya R, a researcher at SACON.
The team at the Centre for Environment and Vocational Studies of Panjab University, headed by RK Kohli, exposed 50 eggs to EMR for durations of five minutes to 30 minutes. "All the 50 embryos were damaged. It’s almost like being microwaved," Kohli told TOI.
Chennai-based zoologist Ranjit Daniels says four of the 200-odd Chennai birds — house sparrow (Passer domesticus), redwhiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus), brahmini kite (Haliastur indus) and spotted dove (Streptopelia chinensis) — have virtually disappeared.
"Birds are known to be sensitive to magnetic radiation. Microwaves can interfere with their sensors and misguide them while navigating and preying,” says Daniels.
Early in 2005, a friend threw a challenge at R K Kohli, coordinator of Centre for Environment and Vocational Studies, Panjab University: "Can you show me one sparrow on the campus?" Thinking it would be an easy task, Kohli agreed. "I won the bet, but it took me several days," says Kohli.
So, when the centre decided to study in December 2005, the impact of electromagnetic radiations (EMR), Kohli decided to include sparrows in the list of organisms that the radiations affect. Three years later, the study found microwaves (300 MHz to 300 GHz) emitted by cell phone towers and handsets responsible for damaging eggs and embryos. And that is just one of the urban factors driving out several species of birds out of the cities.
Chennai is no exception. According to zoologist Ranjit Daniels, at least four of the 200-odd species of birds of Chennai are fast disappearing. On their way out are house sparrows, redwhiskered bulbuls, brahminy kites and spotted doves.
"These are birds which have always been around. Now they are nowhere to be seen," says Daniels, attributing it to an increase in population of rodents which steal eggs, disappearing open grasslands, rising temperature and modern bird-unfriendly architecture. "House sparrows used to live in crevices of buildings. The new glass houses don’t leave any space for them," he says.
P A Azeez, senior principal scientist at Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, concurs: "Urban birds have the habit of finding an urban analogue for their wild nests. Pigeons, which are multiplying in large numbers in cities, find ventilators an analogue to their natural rocky confines. Whichever bird finds an analogue survive." That perhaps explains the case of the disappearing brahminy kites which nest only on very tall trees.
Azeez also blames the supermarket culture. "Gone are the days of malligai kadais (old provisions stores) where birds came to feed on food grains. Today everything is packaged. The colourful plants in city gardens do not offer enough nectar or fruits for these birds," he says. His research student Dhanya R adds another cultural dimension to the food scarcity when she notes that bird feeding, once a regular ritual in Tamil Nadu homes, is no longer in vogue.
Daniels adds an unusual angle when he holds trees planted by urban planners as villains. "Originally, Chennai was a coastal area with bushes suited for several birds. Big trees with large canopies are not suited for birds like the bulbul and sparrows. With the expansion of city, many of these birds are migrating to the suburbs or farther," he says.
Since man domesticated chicken some 6,000 years ago, several birds have learnt to share his habitat, but now, modernisation is driving them out. Daniels says the kind of birds will keep changing with the urban habitat.
"Sparrows might have come to Indian cities only in the last century. The Bible has repeated references of sparrows, indicating that they were in abundance in the Middle East 2,000 years ago. Tamil folklore has reference to chittukuruvi, but the word could mean any small bird," says Daniels.
The message: Birds may come and go for a few centuries, which is just a miniscule span in the evolutionary cycle. As cities continue to grow, some birds, mainly scavengers like crows would proliferate at the expense of other birds. Experts may be divided on the reasons for the disappearance of birds, but everyone agrees on one bad news: Once gone, these birds would never be back.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
USA is Now the World’s Largest Generator of Wind Energy
FROM BLOG: Green Blog - Green Blog have daily updates and posts from authors around the world. We are proud to be one of the very few that covers environmental friendly web hosting.
The statistics are in for the first half of 2008 and they show that USA, for the first time, generated more wind energy than Germany. This “milestone” wasn’t expected to be reached until late 2009.
The statistics are in for the first half of 2008 and they show that USA, for the first time, generated more wind energy than Germany. This “milestone” wasn’t expected to be reached until late 2009.
The statistics are in for the first half of 2008 and they show that USA, for the first time, generated more wind energy than Germany. This “milestone” wasn’t expected to be reached until late 2009.
Germany still has more wind turbines than USA and is able to generate 22,000 - 23,000 megawatts of power compared to USA’s capacity of about 18,000 megawatts.
But Randall Swisher, the executive director of the American Wind Energy Association, said that “the difference is that because the winds are so much stronger here in the U.S. we are actually providing more wind-generated electricity than Germany.” He also said that the US “wind energy capacity is growing faster than anyplace else.”
This is great news but USA is still far behind everyone else in terms of green renewable energy, especially wind energy.
For example in Germany wind power accounts for 7% of their total energy. And the even smaller country Denmark gets 20% of its energy from wind power. USA is awfully behind with only 1.2%.
“We need to back away from fossil fuel and embrace renewable energy. The survival of the world depends on it,” said Randall Swisher.
USA has now become the leading country in wind energy production, another example that Al Gore’s major renewable energy challenge for USA is possible.
Both presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain have been positive about Al Gore’s challenge.
Barack Obama said that he “strongly agree with Vice President Gore that we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but must fast-track investments in renewable sources of energy like solar power, wind power and advanced biofuels.”
John McCain said that “if the Vice President says it’s doable, I believe it’s doable.”
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
How to Green Your SUV
FROM BLOG: Ecosalon - EcoSalon is the new green blog featuring fashion and lifestyle tips and features for stylish women who want to go green. It's authentic, informative and addictive!
Stuck with an impossible-to-sell SUV? Getting killed at the pump? Here's how to green that machine.
There is a lot of information online about which hybrid is the best. But there's not a lot of help for the one in eight Americans who have purchased an SUV and, despite newly green intentions, are stuck with it. What's needed is a practical guide for the rest of us. And by us, I really mean us - I own an SUV myself.
Yes, trading in the SUV for that eco-friendly hybrid would be great. But many of us are not in this position for a variety of reasons: budget, credit, a lease we can't get out of, work, and lifestyle commitments.
Stanch the Bleeding
The obvious first step to "greening" your SUV is to cut down on fuel consumption. Aside from being good for the planet, this can help save you a lot of money. With gas prices closing in on $5 per gallon in some parts of the country, driving an SUV these days is painful. Tips to save on fuel:
1. Drive a little less. Part of a couple? According to Planet Green, if one of you can take public transport (or even carpool with a coworker) while the other still uses the SUV, you will save up to $6,200 a year. If you're thinking, "So why not keep the second car and sell the SUV?" skip down a few paragraphs to learn why that may not be a wise decision. More tips: if you can walk or bike to errands, do so. If you can telecommute one day a week, even better.
2. Road rules. Driving aggressively sucks up a lot of gas. If you can drive at an even speed and brake and accelerate slowly, you'll save between 31-37% of the gas in your tank! Don't drive competitively, constantly switching lanes and trying to get the space ahead.
3. Geriatric style. Driving slower will save you 12-14% on gas. I used to be an impatient speed demon until I narrowly missed a horrific multi-car accident one night in Santa Monica. I decided right then that driving like my grandma wasn't such a bad idea. Sure, sometimes people get annoyed with me, but in addition to saving on gas I just feel a lot calmer and safer on the road. It's their loss.
4. Fueling debate. Hey, low rider: keep your tires properly inflated to save 3% on gas. Well, maybe - studies differ. As for the buzz about filling your tires with nitrogen, it's probably not worth the extra cost, but it doesn't hurt to try. And you'll have to decide if turning off the A/C to save gas is a myth.
5. The devil's time. Idling really is bad for fuel efficiency. 5 minutes a day of idling means a gallon lost a month, so look for ways to reduce idling time.
Make the Most of It
Should you trade it in? Kelley Blue Book doesn't think so and neither do most guides; SUV prices have dropped nearly 10% since the end of 2007. It will only get worse until winter, when prices are expected to creep back up to break-even. If you've still got a substantial amount on the loan to pay back, you could be facing a significant financial loss if you try to sell or trade in. Make the most of your Toyotasaurus Rex instead.
1. Think long-term. First, realize that as much as the sign at the gas station stings, the loss you'll take on getting rid of your SUV is going to sting more than what you're shelling out for gas over the life of your loan. On average, it's actually cheaper to keep your SUV than to get a newer fuel-efficient car.
2. My treehugger friends are going to cringe, but I say enjoy your SUV while you've got it. I'm not talking about gas guzzling road trips, but just the fact that you own this car. You chose it, right? Americans originally fell for SUVs because they feel powerful and sexy to drive. So enjoy these reptilian instincts until you "evolve". Nothing is more draining than fruitless, wishy-washy mental limbo. You bought it, it's yours. Own it.
3. The lesser of two evils. Lend out your SUV to your kids' school, your church, or to anyone in the community who is moving, working on a big project, or making a big purchase. While your Suburban may get lousy gas mileage on your daily commute, it may not be as bad as the crusty bus or fuming delivery truck.
4. Make your trips efficient. Simply thinking about the various stops you'll have to make, and planning out your route ahead of time, will save you a lot of gas and reduce your SUV's impact substantially. If you can, group your errands into weekly or biweekly batches, too.
5. Take good care of it. Eventually you will be able to sell, either because you luck out with the right buyer or you pay down the loan enough to get right-side-up. Keep your brute in optimal condition inside and out to get the most return on your investment and cut down on fuel loss and repairs.
Damage Control
To help reduce your car's carbon tireprint, look to other areas of your life where you can painlessly green up. (I admit it's a little personal, but it really grills me when I see people get self-righteous with SUV owners. Maybe they have a unique situation; maybe they happen to be so green on balance that they're doing better than a lot of hybrid drivers. You never know.)
1. Your house: use a compost, replace burned out bulbs with CFLs, buy a timed thermostat, switch off the lights, plant trees around your house, adjust your thermostat setting by 2 degrees, and buy vintage or eco-friendly decor and furnishings. And switch off the water when you brush!
2. Your diet: eat a salad as one of your daily meals, shop the farmers' market or sign up for a CSA, and try to use all the food you buy.
3. Your budget: see 25 easy ways to save.
4. Your lifestyle: reduce, reuse, recycle. Everything. Donate all the old clothes, electronics and gadgets you no longer want to charity. Nearly everything you use can go in a recycling bin or the compost.
It also helps to use the real things and avoid disposables like paper plates, paper towels and paper napkins. When it comes to travel, take one less trip a year, and avoid flying. (Purchase carbon offsets for the flights you do make.)
5. Your chores: use a push-powered lawnmower, use eco-friendly or home-made cleaning products, use a wind-powered gadget charger, and carry your sundries and groceries in a stylish reusable sack.
If you're thinking about unloading the SUV anyway, use this worksheet to see if you can make it work.
Stuck with an impossible-to-sell SUV? Getting killed at the pump? Here's how to green that machine.
There is a lot of information online about which hybrid is the best. But there's not a lot of help for the one in eight Americans who have purchased an SUV and, despite newly green intentions, are stuck with it. What's needed is a practical guide for the rest of us. And by us, I really mean us - I own an SUV myself.
Yes, trading in the SUV for that eco-friendly hybrid would be great. But many of us are not in this position for a variety of reasons: budget, credit, a lease we can't get out of, work, and lifestyle commitments.
Stanch the BleedingThe obvious first step to "greening" your SUV is to cut down on fuel consumption. Aside from being good for the planet, this can help save you a lot of money. With gas prices closing in on $5 per gallon in some parts of the country, driving an SUV these days is painful. Tips to save on fuel:
1. Drive a little less. Part of a couple? According to Planet Green, if one of you can take public transport (or even carpool with a coworker) while the other still uses the SUV, you will save up to $6,200 a year. If you're thinking, "So why not keep the second car and sell the SUV?" skip down a few paragraphs to learn why that may not be a wise decision. More tips: if you can walk or bike to errands, do so. If you can telecommute one day a week, even better.
2. Road rules. Driving aggressively sucks up a lot of gas. If you can drive at an even speed and brake and accelerate slowly, you'll save between 31-37% of the gas in your tank! Don't drive competitively, constantly switching lanes and trying to get the space ahead.
3. Geriatric style. Driving slower will save you 12-14% on gas. I used to be an impatient speed demon until I narrowly missed a horrific multi-car accident one night in Santa Monica. I decided right then that driving like my grandma wasn't such a bad idea. Sure, sometimes people get annoyed with me, but in addition to saving on gas I just feel a lot calmer and safer on the road. It's their loss.
4. Fueling debate. Hey, low rider: keep your tires properly inflated to save 3% on gas. Well, maybe - studies differ. As for the buzz about filling your tires with nitrogen, it's probably not worth the extra cost, but it doesn't hurt to try. And you'll have to decide if turning off the A/C to save gas is a myth.
5. The devil's time. Idling really is bad for fuel efficiency. 5 minutes a day of idling means a gallon lost a month, so look for ways to reduce idling time.
Make the Most of ItShould you trade it in? Kelley Blue Book doesn't think so and neither do most guides; SUV prices have dropped nearly 10% since the end of 2007. It will only get worse until winter, when prices are expected to creep back up to break-even. If you've still got a substantial amount on the loan to pay back, you could be facing a significant financial loss if you try to sell or trade in. Make the most of your Toyotasaurus Rex instead.
1. Think long-term. First, realize that as much as the sign at the gas station stings, the loss you'll take on getting rid of your SUV is going to sting more than what you're shelling out for gas over the life of your loan. On average, it's actually cheaper to keep your SUV than to get a newer fuel-efficient car.
2. My treehugger friends are going to cringe, but I say enjoy your SUV while you've got it. I'm not talking about gas guzzling road trips, but just the fact that you own this car. You chose it, right? Americans originally fell for SUVs because they feel powerful and sexy to drive. So enjoy these reptilian instincts until you "evolve". Nothing is more draining than fruitless, wishy-washy mental limbo. You bought it, it's yours. Own it.
3. The lesser of two evils. Lend out your SUV to your kids' school, your church, or to anyone in the community who is moving, working on a big project, or making a big purchase. While your Suburban may get lousy gas mileage on your daily commute, it may not be as bad as the crusty bus or fuming delivery truck.
4. Make your trips efficient. Simply thinking about the various stops you'll have to make, and planning out your route ahead of time, will save you a lot of gas and reduce your SUV's impact substantially. If you can, group your errands into weekly or biweekly batches, too.
5. Take good care of it. Eventually you will be able to sell, either because you luck out with the right buyer or you pay down the loan enough to get right-side-up. Keep your brute in optimal condition inside and out to get the most return on your investment and cut down on fuel loss and repairs.
Damage ControlTo help reduce your car's carbon tireprint, look to other areas of your life where you can painlessly green up. (I admit it's a little personal, but it really grills me when I see people get self-righteous with SUV owners. Maybe they have a unique situation; maybe they happen to be so green on balance that they're doing better than a lot of hybrid drivers. You never know.)
1. Your house: use a compost, replace burned out bulbs with CFLs, buy a timed thermostat, switch off the lights, plant trees around your house, adjust your thermostat setting by 2 degrees, and buy vintage or eco-friendly decor and furnishings. And switch off the water when you brush!
2. Your diet: eat a salad as one of your daily meals, shop the farmers' market or sign up for a CSA, and try to use all the food you buy.
3. Your budget: see 25 easy ways to save.
4. Your lifestyle: reduce, reuse, recycle. Everything. Donate all the old clothes, electronics and gadgets you no longer want to charity. Nearly everything you use can go in a recycling bin or the compost.
It also helps to use the real things and avoid disposables like paper plates, paper towels and paper napkins. When it comes to travel, take one less trip a year, and avoid flying. (Purchase carbon offsets for the flights you do make.)
5. Your chores: use a push-powered lawnmower, use eco-friendly or home-made cleaning products, use a wind-powered gadget charger, and carry your sundries and groceries in a stylish reusable sack.
If you're thinking about unloading the SUV anyway, use this worksheet to see if you can make it work.
Monday, June 16, 2008
PowerPly Self Adhesive Solar Panels - just peel off the backing and stick to your roof
FROM BLOG: The Red Ferret Journal - Gadgets, cool sites, tech news and trivia
Power-Ply 380 Peel and Stick Solar Panels. Lumeta’s new Teflon coated self adhesive solar tiles are super sensible. A goodly part of the cost of installing solar panels lies in the infrastructure needed to keep everything safe, so anything that removes that cost is a Good Thing. With this stuff all you do is remove the sticky back plastic and attach the panels to your roof. Of course anyone who has ever tried to install adhesive bathroom tiles knows that this is a gross simplification, but let’s keep dreaming for a while shall we?
The company claims that using these 8 x 4 foot tiles will reduce installation costs by 70%, although we’re not told how their efficiency compares with conventional panels. Oh and did we mention it’s designed for flat roofs only? [Via Wired]
Its unique design combines high-efficiency cell technology with direct roof application to maximize energy generation for a given roof area. In addition, it eliminates the need for racking systems or other mounting structures that penetrate the roof, resulting in faster installations and less distractions for building owners.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Next Generation Wind Turbine Unveiled Which Supposedly Breaks $1 a Watt Barrier
BroadStar Wind Systems has unveiled its “next generation” wind turbine in Houston.
According to BroadStar, the turbine produces 250kW for $250,000, which would break the $1 a watt barrier.
The company spent four years researching and patenting the product, and is in talks to place the product with two different Fortune 100 companies.
The parallel rotor blades of the AeroCam wind turbine make it look significantly different from conventional turbines, and according to BroadStar, significantly cheaper. The design is also more 30% smaller than conventional turbines, and therefore can be discretely enclosed in a less obtrusive way.
The AeroCam has a horizontal axis with multiple blades, giving it the appearance of a water wheel.
The major innovation in the design, however, is the ability to automatically and interactively adjust the pitch or angle of attack of the aerodynamic blades as the turbine rotates, thereby optimizing its performance for much the same reasons a bird changes the shape of its wing in flight.
Also, because AeroCam is smaller and sits on the ground, it takes up much less space than would a conventional turbine.
The company says that they are probably 6 months away from production.
FROM BLOG: Thoughts on Global Warming - News, opinion and analysis of global warming, alternative energy and the green movement.
According to BroadStar, the turbine produces 250kW for $250,000, which would break the $1 a watt barrier.The company spent four years researching and patenting the product, and is in talks to place the product with two different Fortune 100 companies.
The parallel rotor blades of the AeroCam wind turbine make it look significantly different from conventional turbines, and according to BroadStar, significantly cheaper. The design is also more 30% smaller than conventional turbines, and therefore can be discretely enclosed in a less obtrusive way.
The AeroCam has a horizontal axis with multiple blades, giving it the appearance of a water wheel.
The major innovation in the design, however, is the ability to automatically and interactively adjust the pitch or angle of attack of the aerodynamic blades as the turbine rotates, thereby optimizing its performance for much the same reasons a bird changes the shape of its wing in flight.
Also, because AeroCam is smaller and sits on the ground, it takes up much less space than would a conventional turbine.
The company says that they are probably 6 months away from production.
FROM BLOG: Thoughts on Global Warming - News, opinion and analysis of global warming, alternative energy and the green movement.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Energy saving tips for PC users
Using power management features on your computer can save more than 600 KWh of electricity and more than $60 a year in energy costs. That equates to nearly half a ton of CO2 – more than lowering your home thermostat by two degrees Fahrenheit in the winter or replacing six standard light bulbs with compact fluorescents. Follow the steps below to ensure your computer is operating more efficiently.
When enabled, power management places your monitor, hard drives and computer into a low-power “sleep” mode after a period of inactivity. A simple touch of the mouse or keyboard “wakes” the computer, hard drive and monitor in seconds. Power management features are standard in Windows and Macintosh operating systems.
The use of power management can reduce energy consumption and cooling costs, reduce noise, and prolong the battery life of laptop PCs. And when your PC consumes less power, you reduce your impact on the environment.
To improve the power efficiency of your PC, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative recommends the following power management settings:
* Monitor/display sleep: Turn off after 15 minutes or less
* Turn off hard drives/hard disk sleep: 15 minutes or less
* System standby/sleep: After 30 minutes or less
Instructions for enabling power management vary by operating system. Click the links to the right for detailed instructions by operating system.
You can also download a printable PDF with instructions for enabling power management in all of the above operating systems.
10 ways to reduce energy while computing
1. Use computer and monitor power management. Doing so can save nearly half a ton of CO2 and more than $60 a year in energy costs.
2. Don’t use a screen saver. Screen savers are not necessary on modern monitors and studies show they actually consume more energy than allowing the monitor to dim when it’s not in use.
3. Buying a new computer? Make energy efficiency a priority while shopping for your PC and monitor. Look for the ENERGY STAR label or browse the Climate Savers Computing product catalog.
4. Turn down the brightness setting on your monitor. The brightest setting on a monitor consumes twice the power used by the dimmest setting.
5. Turn off peripherals such as printers, scanners and speakers when not in use.
6. Fight phantom power; plug all your electronics into one power strip and turn the strip off when you are finished using your computer.
7. Use a laptop instead of a desktop. Laptops typically consume less power than desktops.
8. Close unused applications and turn off your monitor when you’re not using it.
9. Use a power meter to find out how much energy your computer actually consumes and to calculate your actual savings.
10. Establish multiple power schemes to address different usage models. For example, you can create a power scheme for playing music CDs that shuts off your hard drive and monitor immediately, but never puts your system into standby mode.
When enabled, power management places your monitor, hard drives and computer into a low-power “sleep” mode after a period of inactivity. A simple touch of the mouse or keyboard “wakes” the computer, hard drive and monitor in seconds. Power management features are standard in Windows and Macintosh operating systems.
The use of power management can reduce energy consumption and cooling costs, reduce noise, and prolong the battery life of laptop PCs. And when your PC consumes less power, you reduce your impact on the environment.
To improve the power efficiency of your PC, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative recommends the following power management settings:
* Monitor/display sleep: Turn off after 15 minutes or less
* Turn off hard drives/hard disk sleep: 15 minutes or less
* System standby/sleep: After 30 minutes or less
Instructions for enabling power management vary by operating system. Click the links to the right for detailed instructions by operating system.
You can also download a printable PDF with instructions for enabling power management in all of the above operating systems.
10 ways to reduce energy while computing
1. Use computer and monitor power management. Doing so can save nearly half a ton of CO2 and more than $60 a year in energy costs.
2. Don’t use a screen saver. Screen savers are not necessary on modern monitors and studies show they actually consume more energy than allowing the monitor to dim when it’s not in use.
3. Buying a new computer? Make energy efficiency a priority while shopping for your PC and monitor. Look for the ENERGY STAR label or browse the Climate Savers Computing product catalog.
4. Turn down the brightness setting on your monitor. The brightest setting on a monitor consumes twice the power used by the dimmest setting.
5. Turn off peripherals such as printers, scanners and speakers when not in use.
6. Fight phantom power; plug all your electronics into one power strip and turn the strip off when you are finished using your computer.
7. Use a laptop instead of a desktop. Laptops typically consume less power than desktops.
8. Close unused applications and turn off your monitor when you’re not using it.
9. Use a power meter to find out how much energy your computer actually consumes and to calculate your actual savings.
10. Establish multiple power schemes to address different usage models. For example, you can create a power scheme for playing music CDs that shuts off your hard drive and monitor immediately, but never puts your system into standby mode.
Carbon footprint of chain mails.
Ever wondered, how over internet behavior affects the environment ?
Most of us love getting jokes and funny pictures over the mail, and then forward it to our friends. As a results there are millions of redundant emails which are circulating over the internet. More over there are billions of spam messages that are being created and sent to as many number of users around the world every single day. We have stopped bothering about these, and started dismissing them as mere nuisances that waste our time (Thanks to unlimited mail storage provided by email providers).But there is more to it. Have you ever thought about the Environmental impact of these forwards, chain mails and spams ? Well, you are in for a surprise!
All the email service providers use huge data centers to store and retrieve our emails. And these data centers consume a lot of energy and are thus a significant contributers to global CO2 emissions.
Data centres that require energy to run servers and provide cooling account for almost a quarter of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from information and communications technology (ICT), according to Gartner.
All the datacentres in the world in their totality, consume approximately 20GW (gigawatts) of power in our estimate (5000 datacentres world-wide requiring 2MW for powering the hardware and 2MW for cooling). This is 175 million metric tons of CO2 emission per annum and accounts for 2% of global CO2 emissions, placing it on a par with the aviation industry.
So, next time, you are tempted to forward a chain mail to your friend, think twice. Chain mails not only waste time, but precious energy as well at the cost of our environment.
Most of us love getting jokes and funny pictures over the mail, and then forward it to our friends. As a results there are millions of redundant emails which are circulating over the internet. More over there are billions of spam messages that are being created and sent to as many number of users around the world every single day. We have stopped bothering about these, and started dismissing them as mere nuisances that waste our time (Thanks to unlimited mail storage provided by email providers).But there is more to it. Have you ever thought about the Environmental impact of these forwards, chain mails and spams ? Well, you are in for a surprise!
All the email service providers use huge data centers to store and retrieve our emails. And these data centers consume a lot of energy and are thus a significant contributers to global CO2 emissions.
Data centres that require energy to run servers and provide cooling account for almost a quarter of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from information and communications technology (ICT), according to Gartner.
All the datacentres in the world in their totality, consume approximately 20GW (gigawatts) of power in our estimate (5000 datacentres world-wide requiring 2MW for powering the hardware and 2MW for cooling). This is 175 million metric tons of CO2 emission per annum and accounts for 2% of global CO2 emissions, placing it on a par with the aviation industry.
Moreover, with the number of internet users regstering double digit growth each years. These figure are set to rise faster.
Though the modern data centers are designed to consume lesser energy (lesser by 25-50%) than their older counterparts,but most of the companies are not in a position to effect a rapid switch over to new, greener machines. So, emissions from datacentres are set to grow for atleast the next 5- 10 years , with the increase in the number of internet users, and the increasing complexity of web 2.0 sites. Also The ever increasing numbers of sites, blogs on the internet and the exponential growth in information that the existing online databases are seeing will only make the matter worse.So, next time, you are tempted to forward a chain mail to your friend, think twice. Chain mails not only waste time, but precious energy as well at the cost of our environment.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Solar AID: join hands to fight Poverty and Climate Change
Power to the people
Two of the biggest threats facing humanity today are climate change and global poverty. SolarAid helps to combat both, simply by bringing clean, renewable power to the poorest people in the world.
Cate Blanchett talks SolarAid:
Fighting poverty
Right now, two billion people have no access to electricity. They rely on burning fuels such as kerosene and wood for light and heat, which is highly toxic and expensive. Having solar power improves people's health, income and education. That's because solar power can enable poor people to cook food, pump clean water, run fridges, light homes, schools and hospitals, farm more effectively, and much more.
Fighting climate change
Climate change is mainly due to the massive and continuing use of burning fossil fuels for energy. This has pumped vast amounts of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere. At the same time, we have destroyed vast tracts of forest, which has released billions of tonnes of carbon.
By replacing carbon-emitting products with solar power, and reducing our dependency on fossil fuels, particularly wood, we can alleviate global warming.
Fact:
The average kerosene lamp, used widely across the developing world, creates around a tonne of carbon over seven years. Replacing these lamps with solar lanterns will lead to significant reductions in carbon emissions.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
World's Largest Solar Farm in California to Power 190,000 Homes
FROM BLOG: Thoughts on Global Warming - News, opinion and analysis of global warming, alternative energy and the green movement.
California (TGW) – OptiSolar has announced plans to build the world’s largest solar photovoltaic farm 100 miles north of Los Angeles.
OptiSolar's thin-film silicon photovoltaics can be placed close to the ground without needing a dramatic tilt, according to the company. OptiSolar says it uses about 1 percent of the silicon of competing crystalline systems, with nontoxic and recyclable equipment made largely of glass, metal, and concrete.
If the project is approved, construction will start in 2010.
Via :: Press Release (PDF)
California (TGW) – OptiSolar has announced plans to build the world’s largest solar photovoltaic farm 100 miles north of Los Angeles.
OptiSolar's thin-film silicon photovoltaics can be placed close to the ground without needing a dramatic tilt, according to the company. OptiSolar says it uses about 1 percent of the silicon of competing crystalline systems, with nontoxic and recyclable equipment made largely of glass, metal, and concrete.
If the project is approved, construction will start in 2010.
Via :: Press Release (PDF)
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Rooftop Crops Could Make Tastier, Lower Carbon Produce
FROM BLOG: MATTERNETWORK- News/ideas for a Sustainable World - Matter Network covers the technologies, products and strategies powering the shift to a sustainable economy.
Urban farming. To put it bluntly, it sounds like an oxymoron rolled inside a bad idea. Community gardens have long served as tiny oases for stressed city-dwellers, but that's more hobby than food supply. Now, two university of Wisconsin-Madison students have won the G. Steven Burrill Business Plan Competition with their cross between a farmer's market and a green roof.
The idea is to put rooftop gardens on top of grocery stores ("Oh, the produce aisle? Yeah, go out those doors, climb onto the fire escape, don't trip..."). Their proposed company, Sky Vegetables, sounds a little seedy at first, but these greenhouses wouldn't be garden variety. They would be teched-out soilless hydroponic grow rooms churning out fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers with no weeds, and no pots.
The Burrill Competition, held by the UW-Madison School of Business, encourages its students to develop and present a business plan and offers a $10,000 1st place prize. Winners Keith Agoada and Troy Vosseller plan for the super foods to be sold downstairs in designated sections with a live feed from the aisle to the roof, so customers can actually watch their leafy greens grow.
They say that using hydroponics means that the system can produce 5-15 times the yield with 10% of the water usage. The fake n' bake greenhouses also mean that the grower can ignore outside weather conditions.
Agoada and Vosseller say that the average travel distance for produce is 2000 miles. Besides transportation costs, this causes fruits and vegetables to be picked prematurely, resulting in a less nutritious and tasty product. The greenhouses make use of rooftop space ordinarily reserved for tar storage and keep the garden freshies close to market, avoiding the carbon emissions of normal food transportation.
The pair is pushing their hydroponic hopes on the Sky Vegetables website, where they blog about rooftop gardening projects the world over. With stories of chronic food shortages and high grain prices hitting the newspapers, maybe it's not such a foggy idea after all.
Wow, Get Ready To Print Your Own Solar Cells, Literally
FROM BLOG: Got2BeGreen - Got2BeGreen offers a series of articles dedicated to eco-friendly technology, inventions, products and ways to a modern green lifestyle. Discover the Future of Green...
Konarka Tech has made great advancements in solar technology, by creating a way to print solar cells. The company was able to successfully demonstrate the ability to print usable solar cells from an inkjet printer, how crazy is that? Imagine popping in your own solar “paper” and printing out a renewable source of energy.
Konarka has secured $105 million in private financing from a number of interested investors to make solar available to just about anyone and anywhere without having to spending thousands on panels.
Inkjet printing could become a new way to manufacture solar cells of various patterns and colors for products with lower power requirements, such as indoor or sensor applications. The technique is considered a promising technology since the polymer devices can be fabricated so easily with various substrates. Organic solar cells could be processed with printing technologies with little or no loss compared to “clean room” semiconductor technologies like spin coating.
It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out.
Konarka
Source
Solar power for less than your cable bill
FROM BLOG: Environment - Reuters Environment.
Solar power companies have been working around the clock to drive down the price of clean electricity from the sun so it can one day be as cheap as the energy we get from dirtier sources, like coal plants.
Until we get there, however, some solar panel installers have come up with a solution that they say will give more people access to solar energy. How are they doing it? By allowing customers to lease, rather than buy, the photovoltaic solar panels for their roofs.
It’s the same idea, really, that has enabled some people to get behind the wheel of a luxury car they could otherwise not afford — low or no upfront costs followed by a monthly bill.
SolarCity, based in Foster City, California, is one company that recently started offering leases to its customers. Chief Executive Lyndon Rive told Reuters he wanted to do away with the hefty cost of buying solar panels — on average about $20,000.
“Even those who really want to make an environmental change can’t part with $20,000… the solution is just too costly for them.”
Under SolarCity’s lease program, customers with a small home could pay as little as $70 a month for a 2.4 kilowatt system, Rive added. The company is also allowing customers who sign up before July 31st to put no money down on their system. After that, upfront costs should be between about $1,000 and $3,000, Rive said.
“We can essentially make it so that everybody can now afford clean power,” Rive said.
The leased projects will be financed through Morgan Stanley, and SolarCity said it will serve as a one-stop shop for both installation and financing.
Right now the program is only available in California, but SolarCity is expanding to Oregon, Arizona and has plans to go to the East Coast.
Wind Lit Solar LED lights
FROM BLOG: Got2BeGreen - Got2BeGreen offers a series of articles dedicated to eco-friendly technology, inventions, products and ways to a modern green lifestyle. Discover the Future of Green...
These very convenient wind lit solar LED lights pull double-duty by taking power from two sources, solar and wind. To get them working, all you need to do is leave them hanging all day long to absorb the necessary power to be used later that night and for the wind to charge them, they only need to be spun to get charged.
The innovative design is from Yoshihiro Shimomura, a circuit designer design lecturer at Chiba University in Japan. He first created battery powered prototypes but upgraded to a more eco-friendly creation. The light is composed of a glass, bell-shaped, vessel, which holds the LED light, circuitry, and solar panel. Wax holds the electronics inside the glass vessel and disperses the emitting light. Paper is suspended from the center of the circuitry and as the strip of the paper is blow, the light turns on. The light will stay on longer with more sun and also stronger winds to keep it on.
Water Turbines To Be Installed On St. Lawrence River
FROM BLOG: EcoFuss - Ecofuss is an environmental-friendly blog with daily posts written by our dedicated writers. We speak about environmental issues and ways to get the Earth greener.
The latest project that involves harvesting wave power is being developed on the St. Lawrence River. The energy will be stored with the help of water turbines that will generate renewable energy using the strong current of the river.
The project is funded by the Ontario Government and will provide 15 megawatts of electricity which is enough for 11,000 houses. The turbines were developed by Verdant Power Canada, a Burlington based company, and they are using Free FlowTM Turbine technology and they will be installed near Cornwall.
The Ontario Government will invest about $2.2 million into the The Cornwall Ontario River Energy (CORE) Project under the Innovation Demonstration Fund that is destined to provide renewable energies which will replace the coal and oil dependence.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
13W LED Bulb Can Replace 100W Incandescent
FROM BLOG: MetaEfficient - We review products based on their efficiency and eco-effectiveness.
This 13 watt bulb, the Evolux by EarthLED, is said to be first LED light to be able to replace a 100 watt incandescent. The lifetime of this bulb is rated at over 50,000 hours — which is five times longer than a compact fluorescent bulb. Other advantages of LED bulbs is their ability to brighten instantly, and be switched off and on rapidly without problems. They also contain no mercury. LED-based bulbs do, however, require more energy to manufacture that CFL or incandescents.
The Evolux uses a CREE light engine, and it contains a small fan to cool the circuit board. EarthLED has a video of the bulb in action, and also some photos showing the type of the light it renders. The Evolux bulb sells about $90 right now. If you are serious about energy efficiency, or if you’re using solar power, this might be the bulb for you.
Via: EcoGeek
Friday, April 18, 2008
Helix Wind Power
FROM BLOG: LEED Pro - The LEED Pro is a daily dose of green building products organized by the leed credit they help you achieve. The blog is about green building, sustainable design and eco-friendly products.
Inexpensive, reliable, simple, the hallmarks of the Helix system make it the best choice for low wind speed residential and commercial applications. The Savonius turbine based design catches wind from all directions creating smooth powerful torque to spin the electric generator. Mounted up to 35 feet high, in winds as low as 10 mph the Helix system creates electricity to power your home or business.
How it works: As the wind blows the long helical blade scoops catch wind from all directions forcing it through the turbine. The turbine generator is connected directly to your home and as electricity is generated your home is powered. If the wind isn’t blowing your home is powered by the energy grid as usual. If the wind is blowing strongly then your energy produced can exceed your energy consumed and, depending on your local utility, your meter can spin backwards rolling back your energy bill.
Inexpensive, reliable, simple, the hallmarks of the Helix system make it the best choice for low wind speed residential and commercial applications. The Savonius turbine based design catches wind from all directions creating smooth powerful torque to spin the electric generator. Mounted up to 35 feet high, in winds as low as 10 mph the Helix system creates electricity to power your home or business.How it works: As the wind blows the long helical blade scoops catch wind from all directions forcing it through the turbine. The turbine generator is connected directly to your home and as electricity is generated your home is powered. If the wind isn’t blowing your home is powered by the energy grid as usual. If the wind is blowing strongly then your energy produced can exceed your energy consumed and, depending on your local utility, your meter can spin backwards rolling back your energy bill.
Merri-Go-Round Water Pump
In Africa, water scarcity is a huge problem for many of its people. On average, most spend an average of six hours a day searching for a clean water source. A South African NGO has donated and installed 1000 unique water pumps that works on a playground as a merri-go-round water pump. It works by spinning the roundabout to lift water to fill a 2,500 liter tank using only human energy and no electricity. As children spinaround, it transfers their energy into vertical motion that pumps water from the underground borehole to the water tank.
The pump is effective of up to a depth of 100 meters. Amazingly, with children spinning it 16 times every minute, the pump can lift 1,400 liters of water per hour from a depth of 40 meters.
FROM BLOG: Got2BeGreen - Got2BeGreen offers a series of articles dedicated to eco-friendly technology, inventions, products and ways to a modern green lifestyle. Discover the Future of Green...
Friday, April 11, 2008
Sweet ride: Cars to run on sugar soon
If scientists are to be believed, a new fuel may turn driving into a really sweet experience.
Researchers have developed a "revolutionary" process for converting plant sugars into hydrogen, which they claim could be used to cheaply and efficiently run vehicles.
According to the researchers, the conversion process involves combining plant sugars, water and a cocktail of powerful enzymes to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide under mild reaction conditions.
The new system helps solve the three major technical barriers to the so-called "hydrogen economy" - the roadblocks involve how to produce low-cost sustainable hydrogen, how to store hydrogen and how to distribute it efficiently, the researchers in US said.
"This is revolutionary work. This has opened up a whole new direction in hydrogen research. With technology improvement, sugar-powered vehicles could come true eventually," lead researcher Percival Zhang of Virginia Tech University said.
Zhang and his colleagues believe they have found the most promising hydrogen-producing system to date from plant biomass. They think they can produce hydrogen from cellulose, which has a similar chemical formula to starch but is far more difficult to break down.
In laboratory studies, the scientists collected 13 different, well-known enzymes and combined them with water and starches. Inside a specially designed reactor and under mild conditions (approximately 86°F), the resulting broth reacted to produce only carbon dioxide and hydrogen with no leftover pollutants. The method, called "in vitro synthetic biology", produced three times more hydrogen than the theoretical yield of anaerobic fermentation methods.
"However, the amount of hydrogen produced was still too low for commercial use and the speed of the reactions isn't optimal," the ScienceDaily quoted Zhang as saying.
A sugar-fuelled car would be inherently safe because its hydrogen is used immediately, said Zhang. He added that it would also be cheaper and cleaner to run than even the most efficient petrol-driven car.
Researchers have developed a "revolutionary" process for converting plant sugars into hydrogen, which they claim could be used to cheaply and efficiently run vehicles.
According to the researchers, the conversion process involves combining plant sugars, water and a cocktail of powerful enzymes to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide under mild reaction conditions.
The new system helps solve the three major technical barriers to the so-called "hydrogen economy" - the roadblocks involve how to produce low-cost sustainable hydrogen, how to store hydrogen and how to distribute it efficiently, the researchers in US said.
"This is revolutionary work. This has opened up a whole new direction in hydrogen research. With technology improvement, sugar-powered vehicles could come true eventually," lead researcher Percival Zhang of Virginia Tech University said.
Zhang and his colleagues believe they have found the most promising hydrogen-producing system to date from plant biomass. They think they can produce hydrogen from cellulose, which has a similar chemical formula to starch but is far more difficult to break down.
In laboratory studies, the scientists collected 13 different, well-known enzymes and combined them with water and starches. Inside a specially designed reactor and under mild conditions (approximately 86°F), the resulting broth reacted to produce only carbon dioxide and hydrogen with no leftover pollutants. The method, called "in vitro synthetic biology", produced three times more hydrogen than the theoretical yield of anaerobic fermentation methods.
"However, the amount of hydrogen produced was still too low for commercial use and the speed of the reactions isn't optimal," the ScienceDaily quoted Zhang as saying.
A sugar-fuelled car would be inherently safe because its hydrogen is used immediately, said Zhang. He added that it would also be cheaper and cleaner to run than even the most efficient petrol-driven car.
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