H2OPower
-A Journal of Science, Alternative Energy and the Environment-


Contributor:
Mike Johnston






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Hydrogen fuel promoter wants bigger test projects
03.31.05 (6:36 pm)
WASHINGTON, D.C. | Hydrogen researchers need to move past small, isolated test projects and launch larger, more regional efforts if they want to advance the ''future fuel,'' a leading industry executive said at a hydrogen convention Wednesday.

Jeremy Bentham, chief executive officer of Shell Hydrogen, asked the National Hydrogen Association's 16th annual convention to consider what Shell calls ''lighthouse projects.'' Those testing programs would serve up to 100 hydrogen-powered cars with mini-networks of four to six fueling stations. Most tests under way today involve only one station and fewer than 10 cars.

The larger tests would increase public familiarity with the new energy source, while also producing more scientific data.

''Continuing to serve a handful of vehicles from several [fueling] sites doesn't move us forward,'' Bentham said.


Story Source: http://www.mcall.com/business...,0,2123809.story?coll=all-businesslo cal-hed
0 Comments
NHA Rejects Renewables?
03.31.05 (5:27 pm)
By Mike Johnston
C 2005


The National Hydrogen Association had their yearly meeting in Washington DC this week. I noticed in the mailing that they sent out prior to the conference that there was going to be a special seminar held devoted to the topic of why renewables cannot produce enough hydrogen for global needs.

I found that to be an interesting thing to think about. Was it true? Could renewables like solar and wind power really not be able to produce enough hydrogen fuel? The story goes that solar alone could supply all of the energy required by the United States if an area the size of (I believe) Nevada were covered with solar panels.

If that were the case then those panels could use their energy to produce hydrogen from water just as easily as they could light a light bulb. In fact if solar panels alone were utilized in all the areas of the planet where sufficient sunlight exists to make them viable there would be more than enough renewable energy to produce the amount of hydrogen that the world would need from water. No carbon dioxide no messy fossil fuels, just water and sunlight. And it can be done today.

Peru is devoting 19 billion dollars to building a wind power system that will produce H2 fur el from water. But for some reason, in the United States that is deemed impossible. In Iceland they are busy converting to a hydrogen economy. The energy they are using to produce the hydrogen from water there? Renewable geothermal. My friends it is up to the more visionary and conscientious among us to step up to the plate and bring the technologies to market that will benefit consumers and the planet the most. Renewable, clean energy sources are at the forefront of the future.

Here is the exact wording of the notice that I am referring to:

Hydrogen From Renewables: Timing and Economics

"The environment is one of the drivers for implementing a future fueled by hydrogen The best environmental solution for air and water quality is to have hydrogen produced from renewable resources but the general consensus outside the renewables community is renewables face too many technological end economic challenges to be considered viable energy sources for hydrogen production in the near term. The purpose of this forum is to discuss the experiences and views of individuals from the renewables community as they relate to the hydrogen industry."

I remember when the people from the "renewables community" were the ONLY people promoting hydrogen energy! Back then it was just assumed that said hydrogen would be produced from water using renewable energy. But now all that seems to have changed and the big money companies have jumped onto the bandwagon and taken over the hydrogen energy crusade (and seemingly the NHA). They have altered the vision so that the clean hydrogen is produced from dirty fossil fuels or from water by nuclear power plants.

NHA Conference site: http://www.HydrogenConference...


0 Comments
NJIT solar campus center
03.31.05 (5:23 pm)

By Michael Johnston
c 2005



New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has installed a 50-kilowatt solar-powered system on its new campus center. These solar panels generate enough power to save the university $40,000 a year. Additionally, the school received a $215,000 rebate from the N.J. Board of Public Utilities to cover the installation of the system.


"NJIT's solar-unit is the most advanced in the state," said Leon Baptiste, the engineer who installed the system.


In the campus center is a kiosk where a computer screen displays the amount of energy saved by the panels. The monitor shows that since the system was installed in August of 2004 enough energy has been saved to "to power 510 houses in one day," or "enough energy to make 500,000 cups of coffee."

"It's the best solar-electric array I've seen," said Baptiste. "It should be a model for other universities, and businesses, across the state. Solar electricity saves NJIT and taxpayers money while also preserving the environment. It's a win-win for all."



New Jersey Institute of Technology website: http://www.njit.edu/
0 Comments
Nature's Crisis
03.31.05 (5:21 pm)

By Dave Foreman

Dave Foreman a conservationist writes; "I have never beheld such a bleak and depressing situation as I see today."

A conservationist looks at the state of the environment and thries to find hope for the future.


Story Source: http://www.counterpunch.com/f...
0 Comments
GM, DCX develop fuel cell vehicles with Energy Department
03.31.05 (5:17 pm)

WASHINGTON - General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG have signed agreements with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop hydrogen fuel cell vehicles over the next five years, the automakers said Wednesday. GM plans to build a fleet of 40 hydrogen fuel vehicles. Under the program, GM will spend $44 million to distribute the vehicles in Washington, New York, California and Michigan. The Energy Department also will provide $44 million in the deal, which is set to expire in September 2009.

Story Source: http://www.freep.com/news/lat...%5f20050330.htm
&newsfeed_id=LUTRDV6TEK
0 Comments
Ballard announces fuel cell timetable
03.31.05 (5:12 pm)

WASHINGTON -- A leading developer of hydrogen fuel cells for automobiles announced a timetable Tuesday for making the technology more feasible by 2010. Canadian-based Ballard Power Systems Inc. said it would demonstrate a commercially viable fuel cell "stack," which uses hydrogen fuel to generate electricity in vehicles, in five years. By 2010, Ballard said its fuel cell stack would be more durable, cost-effective and better able to start in freezing conditions. The company said its "road map" would follow targets set by the U.S. Energy Department and help automakers chart the development of the technology.

Story Source: ttp://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/aptech%5fsto ry.asp?category=1700%26slug=
Fuel%20Cells&newsfeed_id= LUTRDV6TEK
0 Comments
Wood Chip Power
03.31.05 (5:06 pm)
By Michael Johhnston
c 2005


Some European countries have been doing it for a while now. "In Sweden, they're already bundling up what we're leaving in the forest after a timber harvest and using it as bio-fuel," said Dr. Darwin Foster, Texas Cooperative Extension forestry program leader.

In the United States though this practice has never caught on. Here the tops of the trees and the cut off branches are just left to rot in the forest after the trees are harvested. In some ways this is a good practice because as these leavings decay they return valuable nutrients to the forest.


These types of fuels are called biomass and unlike fossil fuels they are renewable. The waste can be collected and used to generate steam which turns a turbine in an electric plant. Texas A & M University was recently awarded a $ 500,000 grant to develop educational materials on how to exploit this resource which will be used to inform people in he pertinent industries and perhaps even the general public.

Dr. Foster said that utilizing the forest leavings may not adversely affect the nutrient balance available if certain rules are established and precautions taken and in fact he said that there is a possibility that some of the nutrients can be returned to the site as ash. "The whole point of this program is to work to reduce our dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels," Foster said.
0 Comments
Global Warming's Silver Lining
03.28.05 (9:01 pm)
Here we have an interesting story by David Cohn for Wired.com David explores for us the possible benefits of our altered world. Will Sibera become a tourist Mecca? Will shipping be easier after the arctic ice cap melts? Sure and trucking would be easier if all the roads always ran downhill.

How much of these optomistic views are sugar coated? Depends on who you ask and David goes to some environmental groups for an answer to that question.
MJ


Story: http://www.wired.com/news/pla...,2782,66981,00.html?tw=wn_story_page_pre v2
3 Comments
Save The Planet, Work At Home
03.27.05 (9:18 am)
Varifrank has a good essay on why working at home is more environmentally sound than buying a hybrid car or retooling the economy to run on hydrogen. To his points I would add this:For people with families, working at home means that you are available at need, and you get to see your kids more. I work at home and unless I am forced by the direst economic necessity, that's not going to change.

Story Source: http://www.legendgames.net/my...
0 Comments
Study sees sprouting of green power
03.27.05 (8:48 am)
NEW YORK - Renewable energy, like wind and solar power and hydrogen fuel cells, could blossom into a $100-billion-a-year global market in less than a decade as technology costs fall, according to a study.

Story Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/h...
0 Comments
Local inventor hopes hydrogen process brings success
03.26.05 (9:37 pm)
By LARRY RINGLER Tribune Chronicle

GARRETTSVILLE - The myth of the American inventor goes something like this: The guy next door gets a flash of insight, then spends months, even years, in a dingy garage trying to perfect it.
Neighbors see him bringing boxes in and out of the garage at all hours. Lights flash in the window, weird noises can be heard.

The next thing they know, newspapers are hailing the guy as the Wizard of Whatnot, and he's driving a Porsche to the bank.

Of course, no one remembers him if he, like the vast majority of Thomas Edison hopefuls, spends his life tilting at creaky windmills that will never make him rich or society better.

Story Source: http://www.tribune-chronicle....
0 Comments
We better not run out of gas
03.26.05 (9:18 pm)
By Yosef Paritzky



"The budget framework will not be busted," the finance minister declares from every platform. "Any further coalition payoffs will require cuts in the budget to counter them," his officials repeat. Indeed, that is a proper and correct approach. But meanwhile, very quietly, an economic catastrophe is approaching in the form of rising oil prices, whose impact on the Israeli economy is far worse than a few million shekels disbursed here and there.

Story Source: http://newstrove.com/cgi-bin/...://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/555571.html&newsfeed_id=LUTRDV6T EK

0 Comments
Coal in a nice shade of green
03.26.05 (9:15 pm)
By Thomas Homer-Dixon and S. Julio Friedmann The New York Times

After petroleum

When it comes to energy, we are trapped between a rock and several hard places. The world's soaring demand for oil is pushing against the limits of production, lifting the price of crude nearly 90 percent in the last 18 months.
.
Relief isn't likely to come anytime soon from drilling elsewhere: Oil companies spent $8 billion on exploration in 2003, but discovered only $4 billion of commercially useful oil.

Story Source: http://newstrove.com/cgi-bin/...://www.iht.com/articles/2005/03/25/o pinion/edhomer.html&newsfeed_id=LUTRDV6T EK

0 Comments
Wolves alleviate impact of climate change on food supply, finds new UC Berkeley study
03.26.05 (9:01 pm)
Gray wolves play a critical role in easing the effects of climate change on Yellowstone's ecosystem, according to a new UC Berkeley study. Researchers found that in the absence of wolves, shorter, milder winters lead to lower elk mortality, which is bad news for the scavengers that rely upon the elk for food. When wolves are around, however, they provide a steady supply of carrion, regardless of the climate.

Story Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub...
0 Comments
New research indicates a 'troubled' greenhouse is brewing
03.26.05 (8:54 pm)
Climates like those of the movie "Monsoon Wedding" may extend more widely into Africa, North America and South America, according to a University of Oregon geologist's analysis of an ancient greenhouse event.

"We know the gathering greenhouse will be warm, but this new information confirms that the contrast between the rainy season and the dry season will increase dramatically," says Greg Retallack, whose study indicating that a troubled greenhouse is brewing is published in the April issue of the journal Geology.

In this case, the word "troubled" refers to the stormy conditions shown to have been in play during a well-known greenhouse event some 55 million years ago during the late Paleocene epoch. Retallack explored the relationship between seasonality and rainfall in soils, then applied the same techniques to buried soils spanning the ancient greenhouse event.

Story Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub...
0 Comments
Climate change poorly understood by US public, MIT survey finds
03.26.05 (8:50 pm)
Climate change and the threat of global warming are poorly understood by the U.S. public, and taking action to reduce their impact is not a high priority, according to a recent MIT survey.
These results suggest that change in U.S. climate policy will not be led by public opinion. Elected officials will have to provide leadership--a task they will find difficult because achieving significant reduction of the greenhouse gases linked to climate change may involve economic costs well above what the average consumer is willing to pay.


Story Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub...
0 Comments
W2 Energy Inc. Announces Development of Rotary Hydrogen Engine
03.26.05 (8:40 pm)
W2 Energy Inc. (Pink Sheets:WWEN), a developer of Green Energy technologies, is pleased to announce that -- in conjunction with the University of Toronto -- they have begun to develop their Rotary Hydrogen Engine.

The engine is a compact high output engine based on previous patents owned by W2 Energy Inc. The engine will run on various fuels such as hydrocarbons, compressed natural gas and hydrogen.

Story Source: http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/05032...
0 Comments
High cost of gasoline may make hydrogen-powered FreedomCAR more practical
03.26.05 (8:36 pm)
By Robert S. Boyd, Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - The soaring price of gasoline is giving new momentum to President Bush (news - web sites)'s dream of a non-polluting "FreedomCAR" powered by hydrogen, the most common element in the universe.

Twenty years from now, if scientists and engineers can make the dream come true, motorists should be able to drive to a nearby hydrogen service station, fill their tanks and travel as far as 300 miles without a refill.

Story Source: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tm...
0 Comments
Fast release nanoscale solid hydrogen storage material discovered
03.26.05 (8:32 pm)
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the US have found a way to release hydrogen from a solid compound almost 100 times faster than was previously possible.

Story Source: http://www.autoindustry.co.uk...
0 Comments
General Motors gives a progress report on hydrogen fuel technology
03.26.05 (8:26 pm)
LIVERMORE, Calif. Some General Motors officials are in Livermore today, giving a progress report of sorts on their efforts to bring hydrogen fuel cells to the cars of tomorrow.

Story Source: http://www.kesq.com/Global/st...
0 Comments
Wind Power Goes Global
03.26.05 (6:31 pm)
The wind turbines of the world are spinning in sync. The Global Wind Energy Council, launched Wednesday, is the new global forum for the wind energy sector, uniting the wind industry and its representative associations. Members operate in more than 50 countries and represent over 1,500 organizations involved in hardware manufacture, project development, power generation, finance and consultancy, as well as researchers and academics.

Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) members represent all the world’s major wind turbine manufacturers and 99 per cent of the world’s 47,317 megawatts (MW) of installed wind power capacity.

Story Source: http://www.ens-newswire.com/e...
0 Comments
Bio Diesel = World Peace, in a matter of speaking
03.26.05 (6:26 pm)
by Johannes Ariens

March 10, 2005

With fuel prices at a four month high, finite natural resources rapidly facing exhaustion and our national debt spiraling out of control, one might wonder why the United States is not more aggressively pursuing alternative fuel sources.

As technology continues to advance, renewable energy sources such as bio-diesel and hydrogen fuel are appearing to be more and more practical every day. Both of these energy sources are not only completely renewable, but can easily be implemented into any vehicle with a simple conversion.

With the purchase of a hydrogen generator for example, a car can easily be converted to run off the hydrogen produced by the electrically charged generator. The wattage required to run a hydrogen generator is fairly minimal, especially with the aid of solar cells or hydro-electric power.

Story Source: http://www.spectator-online.c...
0 Comments
'Wind energy potential in Iran high'
03.26.05 (6:21 pm)
Following the launching of a wind farm with a capacity of 10 MW, the total energy generation capacity from wind in Iran has been estimated at 6,500 MW, announced Mandana Danesh, a researcher at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

Studies on the potentials for using wind energy and determining suitable locations for establishing wind farms were conducted by a team of researchers, under the auspices of Renewable Energy Development Center an Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. The project began eight years ago in two phases, according to Iran Daily.

Story Source: http://www.iranmania.com/News...%20%26%20Economy
0 Comments
Energy-saving community unveiled in Ontario
03.21.05 (2:55 pm)
STITTSVILLE, ONTARIO -- A new community in Ontario will be setting the standard for energy efficiency. Today, the Honourable R. John Efford, Minister of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), announced that Jackson Trails, a new development in the western section of Ottawa, will be Canada's first community of ENERGY STAR®-qualified homes.
"We need to raise awareness of the importance of using energy-efficient products and practices to help reduce the effect of climate change," said Minister Efford. "This community will showcase the benefits of energy-efficient homes for homebuyers and their communities."

The 300-home community, to be built by Tartan Homes and Tamarack Homes, will not only be energy-efficient, but will also employ best practices in enhancing wildlife habitat and conservation lands. Every home in the new community will be built to ENERGY STAR specifications, making them approximately 40 percent more efficient than homes built to minimum Ontario Building Code standards.

Story Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub...

0 Comments
Environmentalism Hasn’t Died -- An ENN Commentary
03.21.05 (2:51 pm)
When I was 13 years old my father, a clergyman, got involved in the civil rights movement. In 1964 he went south to join in the voter registration drives with a delegation from Ohio. He was called a "dirty northern liberal" among other things. One in his delegation, a Cleveland rabbi, was beaten within an inch of his life by Ku Klux Klan thugs. Later, back in Cleveland, he joined in the campaign to get Carl Stokes elected as the first African-American mayor of a large city. He was arrested in sit-ins and our family routinely received hate mail, hate phone calls and various threats. I was only a teenager but I knew this was big....


Story Source: http://www.enn.com/today.html...
0 Comments
Sustainable development = sustained poverty: Keeping developing countries cute, indigenous, electric
03.21.05 (2:40 pm)
Critics are "lying about environmentalists" and "willfully representing facts" about them and their views, concerns and agendas. So says a recent commentary by the Earth Island Institute and Environmental News Network.

A principle object of their wrath was a recent article by this author, shredding lofty claims about wind turbines, much as these towering "Cuisinarts of the air" eviscerate birds and bats. They particularly objected to this statement:


Story Source: http://www.enterstageright.co...
0 Comments
Westborough firm designs solar-powered trash compactor
03.21.05 (2:35 pm)
The way Jim Poss sees it, most public trash cans' eyes are bigger than their stomachs.

In busy places such as sports stadiums or shopping centers, the cylindrical containers sometimes end up spilling their guts, creating eyesores and pollution.

Poss believes there's a more efficient -- and greener -- way for cleaning companies and city sanitation departments to dispose of the garbage that ends up in all those bins.

"One day I had the idea that you could power a trash compactor with solar energy," he said. "After that hit me, everywhere I looked I saw overflowing trash cans."



Story Source: http://www.metrowestdailynews...
0 Comments
Can San Francisco become a zero carbon city?
03.21.05 (2:15 pm)
The relationship between climate change and local communities is of vital importance to the well being of our world. The aim of the Zero Carbon City discussion is to shift the emphasis away from climate change impacts and inter-governmental negotiations, towards adaptation and practical measures that people can use at a local level.


Story Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub...
0 Comments
Africa looks to Indian farmers for green revolution
03.21.05 (2:05 pm)
BusinessNews, India: New Delhi, March 21 : Impressed by India's transformation from a food-starved country to the world's second largest foodgrain producer, Indian farmers are being wooed to replicate its agricultural revolution by several African nations.

Sudan, Kenya and Uganda among others have not only sought Indian investment and expertise in the farming industry but want Indian agriculturists to farm their lands, invest in poultry, set up dairy farms and establish food processing units.

"Most African countries are looking to India to source technical know-how, agriculture machinery and people for operations," says Raja Mazumdar of the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank).



Story Source: http://www.newkerala.com/news...
0 Comments
Maine Governor Baldacci backs far-reaching energy measures
03.21.05 (1:33 pm)

Growing up in a large family, sensitized to electric bills at his family's restaurant, Gov. John Baldacci learned to turn off the lights when he left a room. So it's not surprising that soon after he was elected governor, Baldacci noticed corridor lights burning on a Sunday night in the State Office Building. He ordered them off.



Story Source: http://business.mainetoday.co...
1 Comments
New mercury rules too little, too late
03.21.05 (1:23 pm)
Fifteen years ago, Congress heeded scientific advice and ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to curb mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants, the main industrial source of the toxic heavy metal.

The Clean Air Act plainly requires the EPA to reduce the amount of mercury entering America's air no later than 2009. But the Bush administration issued a disappointing set of rules last week that won't begin to control mercury in the West until 2018.



Story Source: http://www.denverpost.com/Sto...,1413,36~417~2768738,00.html
0 Comments
Experts fear day when oil runs low
03.21.05 (1:15 pm)
WASHINGTON - Within a couple of hours last week, crude oil prices hit a record $56 a barrel, President Bush fretted publicly over world oil shortages and the Senate voted to open an Alaskan wildlife refuge to drilling. The converging events drew attention to what administration officials call a temporary global energy crunch. But bigger worries also are bubbling to the surface - fears of a day of reckoning over world oil reserves.


Story Source: http://newstrove.com/cgi-bin/...://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/stor y/12600826p-13455194c.html&newsfeed_id=LUTRDV6T EK
0 Comments
Florida makes hydrogen a legislative priority with the Hydrogen Technologies Act
03.20.05 (5:06 pm)
To help to establish Florida as a leader in the development of hydrogen energy technology and to encourage corporate investment in the state, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is spearheading the Florida Hydrogen Energy Technologies Act. Unveiled last month by Governor Jeb Bush at the groundbreaking of Florida’s first hydrogen energy station, the legislation advances Florida’s hydrogen economy through demonstration projects and financial incentives.
"Florida is making investments today to deliver environmental and economic benefits to our communities," said DEP Secretary Colleen M. Castille. "Public and private partnerships will expand the commercial availability of hydrogen technology making this safe, clean and sustainable energy a reality rather than a concept."



Story Source: http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/...,1602,5698,00.html
0 Comments
Greens call for sustainability criteria to be applied to hydrogen economy
03.20.05 (4:59 pm)
As a source of energy from which the only waste emission is water, hydrogen is unquestionably a more environmentally friendly option that, say, diesel or natural gas.

The problem, however, is that hydrogen is not a primary energy source, and therefore it must be produced using other forms of energy. If, as is most often the case today, those energy sources are fossil fuel based, then significant amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide will still be released into the atmosphere during hydrogen production.

On the first morning of the European hydrogen and fuel cell technology platform's (HFP) annual general assembly, keynote speeches were given and a roundtable debate held in order to analyse the prospects for the hydrogen economy and hear the views of industry, policy makers and non-governmental organisations.


Story Source: http://www.eubusiness.com/top...
0 Comments
Iraq invasion may be remembered as start of the age of oil scarcity
03.20.05 (4:40 pm)
Instead of inaugurating a new age of cheap oil, the Iraq war may become known as the beginning of an era of scarcity.

Two years ago, it seemed likely that Iraq, with the world's third-largest petroleum reserves, would become a hypercharged gusher once U.S. troops toppled Saddam Hussein. But chaos and guerrilla sabotage have slowed the flow of oil to a comparative trickle.

The price of crude on global markets hit an all-time record Friday, and oil experts say U.S. consumers are likely to keep feeling the pinch.


Story Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin...
0 Comments
Green households to get £600 tax breaks
03.20.05 (4:27 pm)
Homeowners will get tax cuts of up to £600 for making their houses "green" and energy efficient, under official plans to combat global warming.

People who sell their homes can offer potential buyers a discount of up to 40 per cent off their stamp duty as a reward for making their properties much more energy efficient - so making them easier to sell. If they have no plans to move, homeowners could get a one-off discount on their council tax.


Story Source: http://news.independent.co.uk...
2 Comments
Aspen officials worry global warming will destroy ski industry
03.20.05 (4:21 pm)
Officials of the Aspen Skiing Co. fear global warming could destroy the industry by the year 2050.

"Things look bleak," said Auden Schendler, the company's director of environmental affairs. He said unless greenhouse emissions are controlled, the ski industry could be "Gone in 2050 . . . Maybe -- good case scenario -- gone by 2100," he told the Rocky Mountain News.

Several climate-change studies have predicted declining mountain snowpacks as the West warms, as well as a change in the timing of the heaviest snowfalls.

"Most analyses project a decline, if not total demise, of downhill skiing by the mid or latter part of the 21st century," proclaims the federally funded Rocky Mountain/Great Basin Regional Climate-Change Assessment, a 240-page study produced by more than 125 researchers.



Story Source: http://www.9news.com/acm_news...
0 Comments
How To Prepare a Planet for Global Warming
03.20.05 (4:02 pm)
"While the concept of climate-change commitment isn't new, these fresh results "tell us what's possible and what's realistic" and that for the immediate future, "prevention is not on the table," says Roger Pielke Jr., director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado at Boulder."


Story Source: http://www.ecommercetimes.com...
2 Comments
Mercury in Fish Linked to Increased Heart Disease
03.20.05 (3:53 pm)
"A new report by the Research Institute of Public Health in Finland shows a significant increase of heart disease in men with elevated mercury levels. Since seafood in the diet is the main source of human mercury exposure, men eating swordfish, shark, and tuna high in mercury may unknowingly be increasing their risk of an early death."

"The research, published in Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, studied 1871 Finnish men between the age of 42 and 60 and shows an increased risk of more than 1.5 times for coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease and acute heart incidents in men with elevated mercury levels."



Story Source: http://www.yubanet.com/artman...
0 Comments
New machines could turn homes into small factories
03.20.05 (3:42 pm)
"A revolutionary machine which can make everything from a cup to a clarinet quickly and cheaply could be in all our homes in the next few years.
Research by engineers at the University of Bath could transform the manufacture of almost all everyday household objects by allowing people to produce them in their own homes at the cost of a few pounds.

The new system is based upon rapid prototype machines, which are now used to produce plastic components for industry such as vehicle parts. The method they use, in which plastic is laid down in designs produced in 3D on computers, could be adapted to make many household items. "

Story Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub...


3 Comments
Congresspersons (if they are listening) learn about Peak Oil
03.20.05 (3:31 pm)
PO may be here, now.I wonder if we should all write our reps immediately and ask what their policy is going to be on how to prevent catastrophe...and when the "Manhattan Project" for alternatives and conservation will begin.There's a lot to learn here...I read it all, slowly, and recommend everyone do the same."OIL PRODUCTION -- (House of Representatives - March 14, 2005)The SPEAKER pro tempore....


Story Source: http://www.livejournal.com/us...
0 Comments
Sandia hunts hydrogen fuel alternative
03.20.05 (3:23 pm)
When Detroit auto giant General Motors Corp. went looking for a partner two years ago to help develop a promising hydrogen fuel alternative to gasoline, the decision quickly became a no-brainer.


"As they say, it's no secret that there's hydrogen in the hydrogen bomb," said Jill Hruby, director of physical and engineering sciences at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore.

The lab officially unveiled its $10 million, four-year joint-research effort with GM this week.


Story Source: http://eastbay.bizjournals.co...
0 Comments
High Levels of Silver Pollution in the Pacific
03.20.05 (5:46 am)
High Levels of Silver Pollution in the Pacific
By Michael Johnston
C 2005

In a press release dated March 14th researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz announced the findings of a survey of the North Pacific that was conducted in 2002. Samples of water were collected in the open ocean and then tested for pollutants. The tests showed levels of silver that were 50 times higher than normal. While even this level is too low to be harmful to marine life the researchers said that such a high level of contamination in otherwise pristine water served to highlight the growing problem of industrial emissions from Asia.

"The most likely source of the silver contamination is atmospheric emissions from coal burning in Asia," said Russell Flegal, professor of environmental toxicology at UCSC. "Silver concentrations in the North Pacific trace the atmospheric depositions of industrial aerosols from Asia, with the highest concentrations in those waters closest to the Asian mainland."

"Unlike mercury, silver is not a human health concern. But silver is second only to mercury in its toxicity to marine invertebrates," Flegal said.

Sam Luoma, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, who has worked with Flegal in the past to study heavy metal contamination in San Francisco Bay said "The open ocean is vastly diluted, so there may be some massive hotspots of silver contamination around the Asian continent. That's where effects on marine organisms would occur".

The threat to the global environment from Asian industrialization is growing at an alarming rate and since the prevailing winds are blowing from west to east the United States is in the path of this pollution. In recent articles we have seen the growing threat to our children from mercury pollution which comes from primarily the same source (coal burning ) as does silver pollution. Effects such as birth defects and autism caused by mercury are nothing to shrug off and that projected 8 billion dollar a year price tag cannot be ignored either. Something must be done, and soon if we are to maintain a liveable planet.

0 Comments
Introduction: Planet Under Pressure
03.19.05 (9:38 pm)
Alex Kirby introduces a six-part series on the some of the most pressing environmental issues facing the human race today.

From the BBC.

Story Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in...
0 Comments
Creating Recyclable Hydrogen Storage for Cars
03.19.05 (9:19 pm)
Researchers and engineers have put a fuel cell in a vehicle and made it run, but the perfect solution to on-board storage of hydrogen is far from certain. Many different options are available today and new approaches are constantly in the works.

RTI International of Research Triangle Park, N.C., was awarded $1.6 million to develop a hydrogen-fuel storage technology that will provide a stable and recyclable hydrogen source for environmentally clean fuel cell powered vehicles.

The project is funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and makes use of a material called aminoborane that decomposes when it's heated and releases nearly 20 percent of its weight as pure hydrogen.




Story Source: http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/...,1602,5677,00.html
0 Comments
Mercury Pollution, Autism Link Found - U.S. Study
03.19.05 (8:25 pm)
Mercury released primarily from coal-fired power plants may be contributing to an increase in the number of cases of autism, a Texas researcher said on Wednesday.

A study to be published on Thursday in the journal "Health and Place" found that autism, a developmental disorder marked by communication and social interaction problems, increased in Texas counties as mercury emissions rose, said Claudia Miller, a family and community medicine professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

"The main finding is that for every thousand pounds of environmentally released mercury, we saw a 17 percent increase in autism rates," she said in an interview.




http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&sto ryID=7926129" title="http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&sto ryID=7926129" target="_blank"http://www.reuters.com/newsAr...
2 Comments
Marlon Brando's eco hotel dream comes true
03.19.05 (5:57 pm)
The late Hollywood actor, Marlon Brando's long cherished dream of building a eco-hotel on Tetiaroa...

Story Source: http://www.webindia123.com/ne...
0 Comments
US report acknowledges peak-oil threat
03.19.05 (4:21 pm)
It has long been denied that the US government bases any policy around the idea that global oil production may be in terminal decline.

But a new US government-sponsored report, obtained by Aljazeera.net, does exactly that.

Story Source: http://english.aljazeera.net/...
0 Comments
Save Climate, Save Money
03.18.05 (7:28 pm)
Financial decisions need to be taken to contain climate change, and that in turn will bring financial advantages, siad Gordon Brown, Britian's Finance Minister. "Climate change is an issue for finance and economic ministries as much as for energy and environmental ones," Brown told the gathering. "Across a range of environmental issues - from soil erosion to depletion of marine stocks, from water scarcity to air pollution - it's clear now that these problems in themselves threaten future economic activity and growth."


Story Source: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/...
0 Comments
Stark Effects From Global Warming
03.18.05 (7:24 pm)
The clearest evidence yet that Earth is warming and that CO2 emissions are largely responsible was presented by researchers in February at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), in Washington, D.C.

The researchers also presented evidence that increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2 may be causing some biosystems, such as coral reefs, to approach the threshold for damage. If global temperatures rise more than 1.5 °C over today’s level, the world’s tropical coral reefs may be irreversibly destroyed, they said.


Story Source: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/...
0 Comments
Melting glaciers may dry up electricity
03.18.05 (7:21 pm)
Thawing glaciers due to global warming are threatening to reduce river flows and undermine China's hydroelectric dams, an expert has warned.

The thawing of glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in southwest China will lead to initial flooding, but eventually will decrease the flow of the rivers they now feed, said Shen Yongping, an environmental expert at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.Shen's report on the impact of retreating glaciers was released Monday, the South China Morning Post reported.


Story Source: http://www.expressnewsline.co...
0 Comments
Senate OKs oil drilling in Alaska wildlife refuge
03.18.05 (7:18 pm)
A closely divided Senate voted Wednesday to approve oil drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge, a major victory for President Bush and a stinging defeat for environmentalists who have fought the idea for decades.


By a 51-49 vote, the Senate put a refuge drilling provision in next year's budget, depriving opponents of the chance to use a filibuster to try to block it. Filibusters, which require 60 votes to overcome, have been used to defeat drilling proposals in the past.



Story Source: http://www.herald-mail.com/?m...
0 Comments
A Coal Powered Future?
03.18.05 (7:10 pm)
Coal built China - and fuels its relentless growth today. Eighty per cent of China's electricity comes from coal, and there are plans for 544 new coal-fired power stations - to meet an insatiable demand for energy. Yet coal is a prime source of carbon dioxide - the global warming gas. If the power plants go ahead, it will be all but impossible to avoid dangerous climate change.

Story Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/pr...
0 Comments
THE END OF SUBURBIA: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream
03.18.05 (7:09 pm)
Since World War II North Americans have invested much of their newfound wealth in suburbia. It has promised a sense of space, affordability, family life and upward mobility. As the population of suburban sprawl has exploded in the past 50 years, so too the suburban way of life has become embedded in the American consciousness.

Suburbia, and all it promises, has become the American Dream.

But as we enter the 21st century, serious questions are beginning to emerge about the sustainability of this way of life. With brutal honesty and a touch of irony, The End of Suburbia explores the American Way of Life and its prospects as the planet approaches a critical era, as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply. World Oil Peak and the inevitable decline of fossil fuels are upon us now, some scientists and policy makers argue in this documentary.

Story Source: http://www.energybulletin.net...
0 Comments
Unprecedented Number, Variety of Hydrogen Vehicles Heading for Industry's Washington Gathering
03.18.05 (7:02 pm)
More fuel cell and other hydrogen powered vehicles than ever before - fifteen at current count - will be on display, and for some, put to work at the National Hydrogen Association's Annual Hydrogen Conference in Washington, DC, March 30-April 1, 2005.


"This impressive turnout by auto manufacturers and other vehicle suppliers is like an exclamation point," said NHA President Jeffrey A. Serfass. "It emphasizes the large investments industry is making in hydrogen technologies and products for clean transportation. Available for driving, riding and exhibiting is a wide variety of vehicles, from small passenger cars, to heavy duty buses."

Story Source: http://article.wn.com/link/WN...
0 Comments
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Industry Sets Out its Blueprint
03.17.05 (3:24 pm)
At its second General Assembly on 17 and 18 March, the European Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Platform will present its proposals for the medium- and long-term development of hydrogen and fuel cells for carrying and converting energy cleanly.

Story source: http://www.azom.com/news.asp?...
1 Comments
International Green Energy Conference at UW
03.17.05 (3:06 pm)
More than 200 scientists and engineers, researchers and practitioners, policymakers and business people, educators and enthusiasts from across Canada and around the world will gather at the University of Waterloo for the first International Green Energy Conference.
The event, from June 12 to 16, will feature more than 160 contributed presentations, seven invited keynote lectures, an expert panel session on fuel cells, workshops and tours.

Story Source: http://newsrelease.uwaterloo....
0 Comments
ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFER CATALYST PROVES MORE ACTIVE IN HYDROGEN PRODUCTION
03.17.05 (2:57 pm)
Ohio State University engineers have developed a chemical catalyst that increases hydrogen production without using a toxic metal common to other catalysts.

The catalyst uses a combination of iron, aluminum and other metals to harvest hydrogen from carbon monoxide and water, explained Umit Ozkan, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Ohio State. In tests, the catalyst performed up to 25 percent better than a commercially available alternative.

Story Source: http://researchnews.osu.edu/a...
0 Comments
Revolutionary hydrogen bike 'too quiet'
03.17.05 (2:52 pm)
The world's first purpose-built hydrogen-powered bike could be fitted with an artificial "vroom" because of worries its silence might be dangerous.
A prototype of the motorbike, which could cost more than $8,300 (£4,500), was unveiled in London on Tuesday.

The problem with the "fuel cell" bike, which produces no polluting emissions, is that it is too quiet.

Story Source: http://www.newshub.com/rd.php...
0 Comments
First Hydrogen Car for Sale in 2012
03.17.05 (2:48 pm)
DaimlerChrysler's first hydrogen-powered car using fuel cell technology will be on sale from 2012, a company executive said on Wednesday.

The firm has sent 60 Mercedes-Benz A-Class cars to Japan, Germany, Singapore and the United States for tests. Many car companies are developing hydrogen-powered cars to help wean the globe off diminishing oil supplies.

Story Source: http://article.wn.com/link/WN...
0 Comments
New Study Determines: Climate Change Inevitable in 21st Century
03.17.05 (2:29 pm)
Rise of sea level to outpace temperature increase

Even if all greenhouse gases had somehow been stabilized back in the year 2000, we would still be committed to a warmer Earth and greater sea level rise in the present century, according to a new study performed by a team of climate modelers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo.

Story Source: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_...
0 Comments
U.S. Exports Nitrogen Pollution Elsewhere
03.17.05 (2:23 pm)
The United States is exporting nitrogen pollution beyond its borders, and some may even be reaching western Europe, according to a recent data analysis by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. and the University of New Hampshire. At the same time, however, most of the nitrogen pollution produced in Western Europe is deposited within its own boundaries.

Nitrogen emission and deposition have accelerated significantly over the past century and a half, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, thanks to a combination of human population growth, fossil-fuel consumption, deforestation and intensified agriculture. The result is higher levels of nitrogen entering the atmosphere in trace gases, notably nitrogen oxides (NOx) and ammonia (NH3). These pollutants are best known for their role in the formation of acid rain, which damages lakes and ecosystems, and in the creation of ozone, which harms living tissue and decreases plant production.

Story Source: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_...
0 Comments
Government Launches Two New Hydrogen Energy Websites
03.17.05 (12:48 pm)
This week the government launched two new websites devoted to hydrogen energy. The Department of Energy launched one, which it says will "link the four DOE Offices (EERE, FE,NE, and SC) that participate in the President's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative (HFI) and serves as a one-stop-shop for the latest information on DOE's HFI efforts." Link: http://www.hydrogen.energy.go...

The President's Hydrogen Research and Development task force lauched the other website, which features information about Bush's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative and describes itself like this: "Hydrogen.gov is the Federal government's central source of information on R&D activities related to hydrogen and fuel cells. This web site was developed to further the goals of the President's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative and encourage greater collaboration and sharing of information on hydrogen technology development activities among government departments and agencies; commercial entities; state, regional, and international organizations; and the general public."
Link: http://www.hydrogen.energy.go...

Hydrogen fuel enthusiasts should bookmark both of these sites for future reference.
0 Comments
Mexico's Gulf Coast in Peril from Global Warming
03.15.05 (3:29 pm)
ALVARADO, Mexico (Reuters) - In this sweaty Gulf of Mexico fishing village, poor families in dirt-floor homes dream, like millions of people around the world, of owning air-conditioned cars and refrigerators.

Scraping out a living by fishing, and preoccupied by the constant threat of water contamination from factory waste and leaky oil pipelines, fishermen here have never heard of global warming.

Yet their proximity to the sea, with waves lapping just footsteps from their doorways, means they are likely to be among the first victims of climate change in Mexico, their homes underwater by the time their grandchildren are old.

Story Source: http://today.reuters.co.uk/ne...
0 Comments
Nobel Prize winner warns severe global climate change
03.15.05 (3:14 pm)
A visiting Nobel Prize winner has warned people of the increasing severity of global climate change and called on governments to reinforce the efforts to cut fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emission.


Story Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/eng...
0 Comments
Turning up the heat
03.15.05 (3:06 pm)
While many Canadians have accepted the reality of global warming, it is commonly believed that we have yet to see any major consequences. Most of us are aware of some of the more dire predictions-that the ice caps will melt, that polar bears will disappear and that some oceanic islands may be submerged-but we tend to think that while the effects may one day be dramatic, most of us will not live to see them.

Story Source: http://www.thevarsity.ca/news...
0 Comments
Evangelical leaders join global warming battle
03.15.05 (2:33 pm)
In a move that must have thoroughly amazed some at the White House a group of very well known, influential Evangelical Christian leaders have put their support behind accepting Global Warming as real and trying to find ways to minimize its effects.
I guess in the end all they had to do was look at one of those WWJD wrist bands that were so popular a couple of years ago and honestly ask themselves the question that was represented by those initials: "What Would Jesus Do?"


Story Source: http://www.insidebayarea.com/...
1 Comments
Seafood mercury blamed for ills
03.15.05 (2:24 pm)
David Wright suffered mood swings, joint pain and seemingly nonstop headaches before he discovered...

Story Source: http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/...,1413,208~12588~2760460,0 0.html
0 Comments
Kilimanjaro's global warning
03.15.05 (2:03 pm)

Mt.Kilimanjaro is a legendary African landmark. It's snowcapped summit rises above the Serengeti plain and is visable for many miles. Now, for the first time in 11,000 years the snow is gone.

Story Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.co...
0 Comments
EU Ministers Want Tough Post-Kyoto Emissions Target (Reuters)
03.15.05 (1:02 pm)
"Reuters - European Union environment ministers on Thursday proposed that developed nations make sweeping cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in the years following 2012, when the first period covered by the Kyoto Protocol ends."

Story Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailyn...*http://news.yahoo.com/news?tm...
0 Comments
EPA Issues Rules Cutting Mercury Pollution
03.15.05 (12:34 pm)
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration on Tuesday ordered a nearly 50 percent cut in mercury pollution from power plants over the next 15 years, adopting a market-based strategy that would raise electricity prices but help protect fetuses and young children from nerve damage.

Story Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailyn...*http://news.yahoo.com/news?tm...
0 Comments
New H2 Vehicle Site
03.15.05 (12:02 pm)
I found this rather interesting site while editing my category at the DMOZ search engine. It features news on vehicles powered by alternative energy such as H2, electric, etc. It is a well put together site and has an RSS feed available.

In thier own words: "Weekly TV format of 30 minutes exclusively dedicated to the sustainable mobility, clean vehicles in general. Cars, bus, commercial trucks, scooter, bicycles, boats and airplanes powered by clean system traction. Electric traction systems, hydrogen, fuel cells, natural gas and LPG and other type of fuel produced from sustainable and clean sources.Urban systems, infrastructures concerning the development of the ecological mobility, ecological vehicles competition, political news and programmes to develop the ecological transportation."

Site: http://electricmotornews.info...
0 Comments
Hydrogen Hurdles?
03.15.05 (11:51 am)
Recently a group of people met in New York State to discuss hydrogen energy. It seems as though they all agreed that H2 is a nice clean renewable energy source but alas, how to produce it cheaply enough to make it competitive with current energy sources?

Story Source: http://article.wn.com/link/WN...
0 Comments
Towards A Hydrogen Economy
03.15.05 (11:28 am)
The 1st Edition of Towards A Hydrogen Economy is a concise 110-page study of the movement towards using hydrogen as a key energy carrier in the future. The report takes a high-level look at the current state of hydrogen and addresses the infrastructure requirements needed to make the hydrogen economy a reality.

The report offers a detailed look at the move to a hydrogen economy by:

- Identifying the current status of hydrogen production and use
- Discussing the key business drivers of the move towards hydrogen
- Discussing the barriers to implementation that stand in the way of a transition
- Providing a critical look at whether the hydrogen economy can succeed
- Describing the options that exist for a hydrogen infrastructure
- Identifying the key government initiatives making the hydrogen economy a reality
- Providing profiles of key hydrogen infrastructure manufacturers

Companies Mentioned:

- Alchemix
- Giner Electrochemical Systems
- H2Gen Innovations
- Hydrogen Solar
- Membrane Reactor Technologies
- MesoFuel
- Millennium Cell
- Norsk Hydro Electrolysers
- Powerball Technologies
- PowerNova Technologies
- Proton Energy Systems
- QuestAir Technologies
- Solar Hydrogen Energy
- StarTech Environmental
- Stuart Energy Systems
- Teledyne Energy Systems
- Hydrogen Storage and Delivery
- Dynetek Industries
- Fueling Technologies
- FuelMaker
- General Hydrogen
- HERA Hydrogen Storage Systems
- Hydrogen Components
- Japan Steel Works
- Quantum Technologies
- Safe Hydrogen
- Texaco Ovonic Hydrogen Solutions
- Fuel Processing
- Gas Technology Institute
- Harvest Energy Technology
- HydrogenSource
- HyRadix
- InnovaTek
- Osaka Gas
- Shell Hydrogen
- SOFCo-EFS Holdings
- ZTEK

Cost of the report is: $266

Source: http://www.researchandmarkets...
0 Comments
Florida Leads in H2 Energy Development
03.15.05 (11:22 am)
Recently Allan Bedwell,the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Secretary, spoke to the California Hydrogen Business Council and described to them how Florida was accomplishing this leadership in developing this new energy source.

Some of the companies recieving this "seed money" to help with their efforts were: Air Products, Air Liquide America, Apollo Energy Systems, Ballard Power Systems, BP America, Chevron Texaco, Cummins Westport, Disney, DynEco, Ener1, Florida Power & Light, Fuel Cell Energy, Gulf Power, Hydrogenics, Plug Power, Praxair, Progress Energy Florida, Shell Hydrogen, Siemens Westinghouse Power, Stuart Energy Systems, Tampa Electric Co. and Teledyne Energy Systems.

Story Source: http://www.eponline.com/steve...
0 Comments
Biodiesel Boosters Plan Co-Ops
03.14.05 (7:07 pm)
Producers of a diesel alternative made from old vegetable oil want to build a network of stations to sell the fuel to motorists. But many find it tough to convince local regulators to approve their efforts. By Mark Baard.

Story Source: http://www.wired.com/news/aut...,2554,66868,00.html?tw=wn_story_mailer
2 Comments
GM touts fuel cell storage advance
03.14.05 (6:56 pm)

"The automaker and HRL Laboratories said Tuesday a class of chemicals called metal hydrides is... DetNews.com"

Story Source: http://www.detnews.com/2005/a...
0 Comments
Producing Hydrogen From Fuel Cell Power Plants
03.14.05 (6:54 pm)

A system that produces H2 fuel from the exhaust of a fuel cell stack. Interesting.

Story Source: http://www.greencarcongress.c...
0 Comments
Group Warns of Shrinking Glaciers' Effect (AP)
03.14.05 (6:50 pm)

AP - The shrinking of Himalayan glaciers could fuel an upswing in flooding in China, India and Nepal, before creating water shortages for hundreds of millions of people across the region, a leading environmental group warned Monday.

Story Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailyn...*http://news.yahoo.com/news?tm...
0 Comments
High levels of mercury found in mountain songbirds
03.12.05 (6:21 pm)
"The findings were unexpected, but matched evidence VINS and Canadian researchers gathered from... "

Story Source: http://www.timesargus.com/app...
0 Comments
Acid Rain Stunts U.S. Forests
03.12.05 (6:18 pm)
"A recent international scientific study on Russian soils raises concerns that acid rain may have..."

Story Source: http://www.yubanet.com/artman...
0 Comments
Forest decline due to acid rain in eastern Canada
03.12.05 (6:15 pm)
"Acid rain is causing forest decline in much of Eastern Canada, with losses to the forest industry"

Story Source: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/Art...
0 Comments
Evidence compounds to affirm threat of global 'heating'
03.12.05 (5:57 pm)
"Unrestrained global heating would doom freshwater marshes of the Everglades. "

Story Source: http://www.news-journalonline...
3 Comments
Where has all the snowfall gone..?
03.12.05 (5:34 pm)
The state of Washington is a little short on snow this year. How short? Seventy to Eighty percent below normal. Is that an effect of Climate Change or just a fluke in the weather patterns in the area? That question might not have a definitive answer today. So let's just file it away under things to remember and keep an eye on.

Story Source: http://www.komotv.com/stories...
0 Comments
Argentina Spends $19 Billion to Produce Clean H2
03.12.05 (3:48 pm)
The Argentinan company Capex is performing the preliminary feasability studies in preparation for a $19 billion dollar project to produce hydrogen fuel. The energy to produce the hydrogen, from water, would come from wind turbines and the system is anticipated to produce 13.3 million cubic meters of hydrogen per year.

Story Source: http://www.bnamericas.com/sto...
3 Comments
Mean Green Hydrogen Machine
03.12.05 (3:28 pm)
The United States Army is testing it's first hydrogen fueled vehicle. It is called the Quantum AMV and nicknamed The Agressor. At first glance it looks something like a golf cart on steroids and is manufactured by Quantum Technologies(http://www.qtww.com/ ) .
The vehicle is powered by a 10kw fuel cell stack and it's hydrogen fuel is stored in proprietary carbon fiber storage tanks. The vehicles performance is claimed to be superior to a similar vehicle powered by a gasoline or diesel engine.

Story Link: http://www.defensetech.org/ar...
0 Comments
The water remembers....
03.12.05 (2:51 pm)
Since i advocate producing our hydrogen fuel from water it seems logical to include articles here which point out some of the many amazing and unique properties of water. This story, published this week inthe journal Nature is one such story. It deals with the way water "remembers".

Story Source: http://c.moreover.com/click/h...
0 Comments
How efficient your home?
03.12.05 (2:41 pm)
This story takes a look at the potential savings that can be realized over the long term by building a more energy efficient home. Even though the costs of such a home are greater to begin with the savings over time are very real.


Srtory Source: http://www.myrtlebeachonline....
0 Comments
India plans biomass resource atlas
03.12.05 (1:13 pm)
"As India looks to generate power from renewable sources, a resource atlas is being complied mapping the availability of biomass materials in various parts of the country."

Story Source: http://www.moneyplans.net/fro...
0 Comments
Depleted Uranium
03.10.05 (6:13 pm)
This little flash animation is probably not really within the confines of topic that I have set for myself here. However it is something that I think people in America need to be aware of. It is the consequences of the use of Depleted Uranium rounds by our military in various conflicts. I warn you the images in this animation may be very disturbing to some people.

Animation: http://www.ericblumrich.com/p...
2 Comments
There's one rule for the rich...
03.09.05 (4:06 pm)
"THE rich are getting richer while the poor remain poor. If you doubt it, ponder these numbers from the US, a country widely considered meritocratic, where talent and hard work are thought to be enough to propel anyone through the ranks of the rich. In 1979, the top 1 per cent of the US population earned, on average, 33.1 times as much as the lowest 20 per cent. In 2000, this multiplier had grown to 88.5. If inequality is growing in the US, what does this mean for other countries?"


Story Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub...
0 Comments
The Vikings and Climate Change
03.09.05 (3:42 pm)
A Canadian researcher believes that, within the plots of ancient Viking legends, lie clues to a changing climate in that era.


Story Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub...
0 Comments
Oceans more vulnerable to agricultural runoff than previously thought, study finds
03.09.05 (3:38 pm)
"Researchers have long suspected that fertilizer runoff from big farms can trigger sudden explosions of marine algae capable of disrupting ocean ecosystems and even producing ''dead zones'' in the sea. Now a new study by Stanford University scientists presents the first direct evidence linking large-scale coastal farming to massive algal blooms in the sea.Writing in the journal Nature, the authors conclude that some highly productive regions of the ocean are much more vulnerable to agricultural runoff than was previously assumed. "


Story Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub...
0 Comments
Grizzlies set to invade high Arctic?
03.09.05 (3:32 pm)
The telltale paw prints with huge 10 centimetre-long nails spoke volumes. But now definitive corroborating DNA evidence seals the case of the most northerly sighting of a grizzly bear. The discovery fuels mounting evidence that Canada's High Arctic is no longer the sole preserve of the polar bear - Nanuk is having to make room for its southern cousin."

Story Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub...
0 Comments
Bush Administration Admits Climate Change is Real
03.09.05 (3:15 pm)
Bush's science advisor,John Marburger, at a recent appearance admitted that Global Warming is real and is caused by human beings. He said that the Kyoto Treaty is not enough ad that we need to do much more.

Story Source: http://www.dailycamera.com/bd...,1713,BDC_2432_3548705,00 .html
2 Comments
Canada's shrinking ice caps
03.09.05 (2:41 pm)
"Recent research conducted by NASA scientists has revealed that Canada's ice caps and glaciers have important connections to Earth's changing climate, and they have a strong potential for contributing to sea level rise."

Story Source: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/g...
0 Comments
Diesel Motorcycle Sets New World Record
03.09.05 (2:34 pm)
A diesel-powered motorcycle recently overcame inclement weather to claim a new speed record. And it's about to take on a new kind of challenge--battlefield reconnaissance.

Story Source: http://thomasnet.m.xtenit.com...

0 Comments
April 22 Science Cafe on Alternative Energy
03.09.05 (2:17 pm)

"The Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences will celebrate Earth Day with a night of informal discussion on alternative energy. Participants will learn about some of the most promising options on the horizon and have the chance to discuss these developments with an energy expert and others interested in the topic."

Story Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub...
0 Comments
Cold Nights in Manilla
03.07.05 (7:50 pm)
The temperature in Manilla this past weekend was in the low 20's C. A bit chilly for the start of the summer season. The manilla weather service attributed the unusually cold temperatures to effects of global warming.

Story Source: http://www.manilatimes.net/na...
2 Comments
Ocean Level to Raise by Sixteen Feet?
03.07.05 (7:16 pm)
There has been much debate and many different predictions over the last several years about just how much the world's ocean's would rise if all of the ice in the Arctic or Antarctica would melt as a result of climate change. In a partial answer to this question researchers from the British Antarctic Survey have discovered that a major ice sheet at the southern most continent may be beginning to collapse. If indeed this ice sheet does collapse the researchers believe that the result would be the raising of the world's sea level by about sixteen feet.

What does this mean to me, you ask? I guess that depends on where you live, doesn't it? For example, roughly 2/3 of people on this planet (3.6 billion people) live on a coastline or within 150 killometers of one. To see if your area is going to be threatened by a rise in sea level check out this site for starters: http://www.ilstu.edu/~jrwager/GEO201/maps.htm the maps are kind of crude but will give you a launch point for further searching. Then, if you want to determine the potential threat to the world's large coastal cities you could go to this site: http://www.worldatlas.com/aat...

For more information on the coastal population bomb, go here: http://www.aaas.org/internati...


Story Source: http://www.coastalpost.com/05...
2 Comments
Most Important Fuel Cell Breakthrough In Decades?
03.06.05 (5:34 pm)
Researchers in the UK have announced the creation of a new type of catalyst to be used to speed up the chemical reactions in fuel cells or electrolysis cells. The new catalyst is an Iron/Sulfur compound. The researchers say that this new type of catalyst could replace Platinum as the catalyst of choice for fuel cells. This would obviously reduce the price of fuel, cells to pretty much the level of common lead-acid batteries or even zinc carbon flashlight batteries and enable the Hydrogen Economy to gain a much more rapid foothold. Keep an eye on this story for further developments/

Story Source: http://www.newstarget.com/004...
4 Comments
Hydrogen Storage Breakthrough
03.06.05 (5:17 pm)
An Austrailian company has announced that they have created a new way to store hydrogen. The usual method is to compress gaseous H2 to high pressures. In this new method the researches cast metal alloys that will absorb the hydrogen and in this way hold more hydrogen safely and more economically.

Story Source: http://www.physorg.com/news31...
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