production
A Better Way To Make Hydrogen
There is a great deal of interest in developing cost-effective, energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly ways of producing hydrogen. If hydrogen-powered vehicles are to catch on, it is essential.
Toyota’s Hydrogen Factory
Toyota is one of several automakers that are promoting hydrogen fuel cell cars – electric cars that get their energy from fuel cells rather than batteries. Fueling one of these cars is much like filling up the tank of a gasoline-powered car, except that the fuel in question is hydrogen.
Turning Biofuel Waste Into Valuable Chemicals
When biofuels are made, tough plant material is left over as waste. The material is lignin, which is a main component of plant cell walls that gives plants their structural integrity. Lignin is made up of many valuable compounds, but taking it apart to extract them is very difficult.
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A Ton Of Plastic Per Person
A study by the American Association for the Advancement of Science has produced an estimate of the total amount of plastic manufactured worldwide since the 1950s. The researchers then measured that data against statistics on recycling, incineration and discard rates. The results are sobering.
Saving Chocolate
On previous occasions, we have talked about the problems faced by the global banana industry, which is based almost entirely on a single cultivar, the Cavendish banana, which makes the industry extremely vulnerable to a single disease or blight that may arise.
France And Climate Change
On the heels of the Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, France has rolled out ambitious plans to reduce its carbon footprint even further.
Clean Air And Energy
Researchers in Belgium have engineered a device that uses sunlight to purify polluted air and, in the process, produces hydrogen gas that can be stored and used for power. Two teams of researchers separately investigating processes for air purification and hydrogen production combined their efforts to create the new device.
Making Biofuel Cost Effective
Biofuels are considered to be a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. However, they are generally more expensive than competing fossil fuels. Government subsidies, such as we have for ethanol in this country, have been necessary to make biofuels competitive in the marketplace.
A New Record For Solar Hydrogen Production
Renewable energy may be under attack by the federal government these days, but one federal agency is making great progress on using the sun’s energy to split hydrogen from water. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, located in Golden, Colorado, recently highlighted two initiatives aimed at the production of renewable hydrogen.
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Cows And The Environment
There are many environmental problems associated with ruminant livestock and these problems continue to grow as the demand for meat-rich diets increases around the world. One of the biggest problems is that cows emit methane through eructation (or belching) as they chew their cud. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, some 25 times more potent at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. More than a quarter of all human-originated methane going into the atmosphere comes from raising livestock.
Storing Energy With Captured CO2
Capturing carbon dioxide instead of releasing it into the atmosphere is a way we can use fossil fuels without it having harmful effects on the climate. Energy storage is a way to address the volatility of clean energy sources like wind and solar power. Excess energy stored during peak production can be used when production ceases, such as when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing.
The Threat Of Man-Made Earthquakes
According to a new report from the U.S. Geological Survey, millions of people living in Oklahoma and parts of Kansas face significant potential for damaging earthquakes this year as a result of human activity. The only other part of the continental United States facing a similar danger is California, which has natural faults lines slicing through the state.
Saving Bees With Software
The worldwide decline in the population of bees and other pollinators has impelled farmers to do what they can to encourage and nurture bees on their land. Protecting bees is important because pollinators are essential for growing many foods including coffee, cacao, almonds and many other fruits and vegetables.
How Green Are Green Cars?
Electric cars are generally seen as the way to eliminate or at least dramatically reduce the disastrous effects of personal transportation on the environment. They still constitute only a tiny fraction of the cars on the road, but their popularity and availability is growing.
Grass-Powered Cars
Several major automakers are betting on hydrogen-powered cars as the future of personal transportation. The first of these cars are already available in California. What isn’t readily available is the hydrogen to power them. There are very few hydrogen stations out there and hydrogen is pretty expensive.
Climate Change And The Global Food System
One of the most troubling aspects of global climate change is its potential impact on the production, distribution and quality of food. A report issued at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference focused on identifying climate change impacts on global food security. Food security is the ability of people to obtain and use sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food. Even without the impact of climate change, food security is a challenge because of increasing population, poverty, and changing eating habits.
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