• U.S. shale gas drives up coal exports – and CO2 emissions

    U.S. CO2 emissions from domestic energy have declined by 8.6 percent since a peak in 2005, the equivalent of 1.4 percent per year; researchers warn, however, that more than half of the recent emissions reductions in the power sector may be displaced overseas by the trade in coal

  • Carbon-negative fuel at projected cost of less than $1.50 per gallon

    Cool Planet Energy Systems the other day announced a major breakthrough in the commercialization and affordability of biofuels from non-food biomass that can run in any vehicle on the road today; a successful field testing was conducted at Google Campus

  • Large-scale production of algae-based biofuels poses sustainability concerns

    Scaling up the production of biofuels made from algae to meet at least 5 percent — approximately thirty-nine billion liters — of U.S. transportation fuel needs would place unsustainable demands on energy, water, and nutrients, says a new report from the National Research Council; these concerns, however, are not a definitive barrier for future production, and innovations that would require research and development could help realize algal biofuels’ full potential

  • New biorenewables technology about to reach the marketplace

    Innovative technology provides a new way to transform cellulosic biomass into renewable fuels and high-value chemicals; ,the technology uses ionic liquids to break down cellulosic or non-food plant biomass without using enzymes or costly pretreatment steps

     

  • Ideas from nature on how to convert solar into liquid fuel

    It has long been a dream of scientists to use solar energy to produce chemicals which could be stored and later used to create electricity or fuels; a recent scientific breakthrough is providing hope that this may soon be possible; the development would offer many benefits, including the ability to store chemicals until needed — current solar power technology has difficulties in this area

  • U.S. energy policy should emphasize supply security, not energy independence

    America’s policymakers need to consider whether energy independence is really necessary to achieve adequate, reliable and affordable energy supplies, according to a new report from Deloitte; the United States already enjoys significant energy independence for most sectors and much of our economy

  • U.S. keeps collecting money for a nuclear waste repository – but has no plans to build one

    Illinois utility customers have paid the U.S government $1.9 billion to store spent nuclear fuel from nuclear plants in the state in a permanent national nuclear waste repository; in the last thirty years, the U.S. government has collected $30 billion from utilities toward this permanent storage, and it keeps collecting $750 million a year; trouble is, in February 2009 the Obama administration decided to “defund” the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository project, and the U.S. government no longer has active plans for a centralized nuclear waste storage facility

  • Innovative, “complete” solution for oil-spill cleanup

    Corncobs, straw, and other absorbents used to clean up oil spills can hold only about five times their own weight and pick up water, as well as oil; scientists describe what may be a “complete solution” to cleaning up oil spills — a superabsorbent material that sops up forty times its own weight in oil and then can be shipped to an oil refinery and processed to recover the oil

  • Keystone XL pipeline: reliability of remote oil-spill sensors questioned

    The oil industry plans to build thousands of miles of pipelines in the next five years, making leak detection a growing issue; many of the new pipelines will cross aquifers and rivers which are used for drinking water and irrigation; the Keystone XL pipeline has already experienced its share of controversies, and now there is a debate over the quality and reliability of the pipeline’s sensor system for remote detection of oil spills

  • Thermoelectric material converts heat waste to electricity

    Scientists have developed a thermoelectric material which they claim is the best in the world at converting waste heat to electricity; this is very good news, since nearly two-thirds of energy input is lost as waste heat

  • U.S. models underestimates costs of carbon pollution

    Model used by government all but ignores economic damages that climate change will inflict on future generations; two economists argue that when these costs are factored in, the real benefits of carbon reduction range from 2.6 to more than 12 times higher than the government’s estimate

  • At least 200,000 tons of oil, gas from Deepwater Horizon spill consumed by bacteria

    Researchers have found that, over a period of five months following the disastrous 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill, naturally occurring bacteria which exist in the Gulf of Mexico consumed and removed at least 200,000 tons of oil and natural gas that spewed into the deep Gulf from the ruptured well head

  • The spring 2010 BP oil disaster could have been prevented: expert

    The BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico during the spring of 2010 could have been prevented if the experiences of earlier disasters had been put to use, an expert claims; the U.S. government is now accusing BP of gross negligence and deliberate misconduct, and taking the company to court

  • There is enough wind power to meet global energy demand

    There is enough energy available in winds to meet all of the world’s demand; atmospheric turbines that convert steadier and faster high-altitude winds into energy could generate even more power than ground- and ocean-based units

  • Predicting waves’ height, force could double marine-based energy

    In the search for alternative energy, scientists have focused on the sun and the wind; there is also tremendous potential in harnessing the power of the ocean’s waves, but marine energy presents specific challenges that have made it a less promising resource; one of these challenges is the fact that waves differ in terms of their size and force; forecasting wave height one second in advance optimizes energy collection