• U.S. energy situation significantly improved

    The rhetoric used to discuss the U.S. energy situation does not reflect the new, and much more favorable, energy reality in which the U.S. now finds itself; the last four years have seen a turnaround in U.S. oil production, which has risen 25 percent since 2008 and could increase by 600,000 barrels per day this year; the U.S. net petroleum imports have fallen from 60 percent of total consumption in 2005 to 42 percent today; in 2011 the United States has seen the largest increase in oil production of any country outside of OPEC; significant increases in oil production in Canada and Brazil have significantly bolstered the position of the Western Hemisphere in the global oil production market shift

  • Expanding the concept of “urban watershed” to reflect emerging realities

    Within two decades, 60 percent of the world’s population will live in cities, and coping with the resulting urban drinking water and sanitation issues will be one of the greatest challenges of this century

  • Explaining extreme months

    Two months in Midwest history — March 2012 and December 1889 — stand out as the warmest winter months in more than a century of weather records; scientists investigated why these months, separated by 123 years, were so exceptional

  • Replacing uranium with thorium to lead to safer, sustainable nuclear power

    With the 50 percent increase in global population which is expected over the next fifty years, in order just to maintain per capita electricity consumption, a major power station would need to go online every day somewhere in the world; if this increase in power production is going to be low-carbon, then nuclear power has to play a role in that; scientists say; if uranium was replaced by thorium as a fuel source, current reactor technology could be used and nuclear waste could be safely recycled indefinitely

  • Quick-curing concrete for infrastructure, mining disaster recovery

    A quick-curing concrete can be sprayed to reinforce structures — buildings, runways, tunnels, bridges, dams – damaged by an act of terror or natural disaster; the spraying can be done almost immediately, before the structure fails catastrophically, providing safety for rescue workers who risk their lives minutes after disasters hit, and for still stranded in or near the damaged structure

  • New research to improve protection and recovery from major floods

    As parts of the United Kingdom suffer further flooding with more heavy rain forecast, three research projects funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) could radically change the way U.K. government and local authorities prepare for and respond to floods, mitigating future risks

  • Electrified snail produce electricity from natural sugar in its body

    The world’s first “electrified snail” has joined the menagerie of cockroaches, rats, rabbits, and other animals previously implanted with biofuel cells that generate electricity — perhaps for future spy cameras, eavesdropping microphones, and other electronics — from natural sugar in their bodies

  • Growing uncertainties about the global water situation

    There is no life without water; catastrophes like droughts or strong rains reflect our dependence on the water cycle and climate system; it is thus important to understand details of the water cycle among the atmosphere, oceans, and land

  • Fire risks to increase in some regions of the world

    Climate change is expected to disrupt future fire patterns around the world, with some regions, such as the western United States, seeing more frequent fires within the next thirty years; at the same time, fire activity could actually decrease around equatorial regions, particularly among the tropical rainforests, because of increased rainfall

  • Downstream consequences of depleting groundwater

    Many jurisdictions across the united States manage and regulate surface water and groundwater without any recognition of the connections between the two; for instance, California has no legal framework for comprehensively managing the impacts of groundwater pumping; across most of California, well owners can pump as much as they like with little accountability for the impacts on rivers, other water users and ecosystems

  • CAST Lighting’s LED Perimeter Light wins industry innovation award

    The task of illuminating long perimeter fences has always been problematic; installing tall pole-mounted luminaires to flood fence regions with light is expensive in material and labor and wastes energy, since most of the illumination falls outside the perimeter region; typical metal halide pole-mounted lamps would require nearly 4,000 watts to light 500 feet of fence; CAST Lighting’s LED Perimeter Light uses just seven watts per luminaire, thus illuminating 500 feet of fence with less than 150 watts of power, saving 96 percent on energy costs; the new LED Perimeter Light captured the industry coveted innovation award at LightFair International 2012

  • Big step taken to develop nuclear fusion power

    Unlike today’s nuclear fission reactors, fusion reactors use a similar process as that which powers the sun; researchers have successfully developed a key technology in developing an experimental reactor that can demonstrate the feasibility of fusion energy for the power grid; nuclear fusion promises to supply more energy than the nuclear fission used today but with far fewer risks

  • Experts: stronger regulation of military, civilian nuclear programs required

    All nuclear energy and weapons programs should be independently regulated and subject to rigorous peer review, according to three experts on nuclear policy who held high office in different U.S. administrations; they note that despite international diplomatic efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and ensure that nuclear material is protected against theft, there is growing apprehension about terrorists acquiring weapons or nuclear material

  • Hurricane Ike damage analysis point to vulnerable Texas bridges

    Preliminary results from a new research show more than a dozen Gulf Coast bridges on or near Galveston Island would likely suffer severe damage if subjected to a hurricane with a similar landfall as Hurricane Ike but with 30 percent stronger winds

  • Ancient design concept leads to new ideas for building durable bridges

    Engineers combine an ancient concrete arch form, dating back to the Roman empire, with a composite shell to create bridge beams which are designed to last 100 years