Jun
30
A Bump On the CO2 Road to Hell
June 30, 2009 | 4 Comments
On June 25th the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a draft copy of the suppressed EPA report by EPA employee Alan Carlin. Carlin is critical of the EPA’s position on carbon dioxide saying, “The released report is a draft version, prepared under EPA’s unusually short internal review schedule, and thus may contain inaccuracies which were [...]
Jun
29
Catching CO2 on the Cheap
June 29, 2009 | 6 Comments
Klaus Lackner, the Ewing-Worzel Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering at Columbia University “starred” in an article by CNN’s Hilary Whiteman last Monday. Being CNN, starred will have to do, sorry. Nevertheless, One cannot fault Lackner, he’s been at his project since 1998. As ideas go, merits aside, CO2 does [...]
Jun
26
Virent is the Bio Fuel Producer to Beat
June 26, 2009 | 1 Comment
Virent Energy Systems is receiving one of the five 2009 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards for Small Business for its BioForming process, the water-based, catalytic method to make bio gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel from the sugar, starch, or cellulose of plants that requires little external energy beyond that of the biomass feedstock.
Virent’s catalytic bio [...]
Jun
25
Competition Grows For Orbital Solar Power
June 25, 2009 | 4 Comments
PowerSat Corp. has filed a provisional patent for two technologies called BrightStar and Solar Power Orbital Transfer, that are expected make the transmission of space solar power more cost-effective by reducing the price for launch and operation of systems as large as 2,500 megawatts by about $1 billion.
This follows Solaren’s recently signed deal for the [...]
Jun
24
A Better Bio Jet Fuel
June 24, 2009 | 1 Comment
Over the past year a consortium made up of Boeing, engine makers and Air New Zealand, Continental Airlines and Japan Airlines tested several jet fuel blends of up to 50% biofuel. They’re saying that bio fuel is not only good for the airplanes’ carbon footprint – it actually performs as well, if not better, than [...]
Jun
23
It’s Time to Hurry to Get That New Car
June 23, 2009 | 2 Comments
Last Thursday saw the Senate pass the Cash for Gas Guzzlers bill inside the war funding bill. It’s a near certainty that President Obama will sign it into law. So, its time to look and see if the cash will apply to you and whether or not you can get it done in time. There [...]
Jun
22
A New Source of Bio Oil
June 22, 2009 | 2 Comments
Algae has a competitor coming for bio oil – diatoms have the potential to compete and may have a list of problems to price parity with petroleum that is different and may be less challenging.
The leading reasons behind diatom research are:
Geologists claim that much crude oil comes from diatoms.
Diatoms do indeed make oil.
Agriculturists claim that [...]
Jun
19
A Combined Capacitor and Battery Technology From Japan
June 19, 2009 | 1 Comment
The Japanese firm Eamex Corp. of Osaka announced Monday June 15th 2009 that the energy density per unit volume of its capacitor currently under development has been enhanced up to 600Wh/L. That’s enough to snap around one’s attention.
According to the company the value 600Wh/L is equivalent to the energy density of a lithium-ion secondary battery. [...]
Jun
18
Ready to Catch Some High Winds?
June 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Several technologies have been proposed that hope to harnessing wind power from high altitudes. Two basic approaches have been proposed. The mechanical energy can be transmitted from high altitude to the Earth’s surface, where generators would produce the electricity at the ground or electricity could be generated aloft and transmitted to the surface using the [...]
Jun
17
A New -And Its Real- Nuclear Reactor
June 17, 2009 | 1 Comment
Babcock & Wilcox announced last week that it’s new subsidiary B&W Modular Nuclear Energy, LLC will be offering a new design that’s passively safe, scalable and modular using the old light water reactor method. That might not sound like a big deal, but in the face of the regulatory thresholds to cross, it’s a very [...]
