According to an energy economist that advised Britain’s energy secretary in the 1970s, despite increasing development and funding of cleaner energy, the world will remain largely reliant on oil, gas and coal for another 100 years, Reuters reported July 15.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services will receive aid under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to assess and clean up underground storage tank petroleum leaks.
More than eight million smart electric meters have been installed on U.S. homes, according to a new report. Park Associates, an international market research firm, said July 14 that number amounts to more than six percent of all meters for residences, an important step toward the development of an electricity Smart Grid in the United States.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced July 21 that it will provide up to $50 million for projects focused on the production and use of biofuels as part of a mission to reduce energy costs and consumption at biorefineries, advance the use of biofuels and help economic growth in rural areas.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) last week announced it is providing up to $85 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for leading researchers to develop algae-based biofuels and other advanced biofuels.
We usually think of geothermal energy as a clean, renewable energy alternative to burning dirty fossil fuels. But new reports from the Inter Press Service reveal that geothermal plants in Iceland are creating environmental problems of their own, suggesting that the energy source may not be the best pollution solution.
If there is a page in the Guinness Book of World Records for Largest Soup Ever Made, you might be credited with helping to make it. Oceanographer Charles Moore has discovered a vast garbage dump across the northern Pacific Ocean—a kind of “plastic soup”—that stretches nearly from California to Japan.
Hundreds of images of arctic sea ice taken in the last ten years have been released by the government that could prove valuable to research on climate change. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced July 16 that these images, 700 in total that show changes that have occurred in the last decade, are now available to the public.
Algae is growing, in ponds and in popularity. Exxon Mobile, the largest worldwide petroleum trader, announced July 14 that it is turning its focus to a more sustainable fuel industry: algae biofuel. Investigation is still in its early stages, but algae’s incredible production efficiency may prove more effective than other biofuels in reducing greenhouse gas.
Most car commercials on television these days boast their new lines of high-mileage automobiles, relying on consumers to be “wowed” by mile per gallon figures in the 30s and 40s. Some auto companies have come out with prototypes viewable at auto shows, such as Leromo’s LS that gets 157 mpg, or Volkswagen’s 235 mpg model.
