Alternative energies

A researcher says it's possible to triple fuel economy in gasoline-powered cars by 2035, but it'll mean getting our automotive kicks from smart electronic technology and other forms of virtual performance rather than horsepower.

While most police departments use body armor, many still do not. A new study finds that providing body armor to all law enforcement officers in the United States would provide enough benefit to justify the cost. The study found that officers who wear body armor are three times as likely to survive being shot in the torso and estimates that providing such equipment to all officers nationally would save at least eight lives annually.

Americans are using less energy overall and making more use of renewable energy resources. The United States used significantly less coal and petroleum in 2009 than in 2008, and significantly more wind power. There also was a decline in natural gas use and increases in solar, hydro and geothermal power, according to the most recent energy flow charts.

Researchers in the UK have achieved a significant breakthrough in climate change policy by showing how to make drastic cuts in carbon dioxide emissions from transport. The study goes beyond the science and paints a picture of what a low carbon transport future would look like. What emerges is vision of a less stressful, quieter, healthier, more resilient and confident society.

Within 10 to 15 years, it will be technically possible to produce sustainable and economically viable biodiesel from micro-algae on a large scale. Technological innovations during this period should extend the scale of production by a factor of three, while at the same time reducing production costs by 90%. Two researchers from the Netherlands believe this to be possible.

Scientists outline a 20-year master plan for the global renaissance of nuclear energy that could see nuclear reactors with replaceable parts, portable mini-reactors, and ship-borne reactors supplying countries with clean energy, in new research.

Just a few days ago, at the Love Parade dance and music festival in Duisburg, Germany, 21 people were trampled to death in a human stampede. Apparently, the responsible decision-makers did not see the problem looming before the event. But couldnt we foresee at least some of the disasters before they strike?

Soot from the burning of fossil fuels and solid biofuels contributes far more to global warming than has been thought, according to a new study. But, unlike carbon dioxide, soot lingers only a few weeks in the atmosphere, so cutting emissions could have a significant and rapid impact on the climate. Controlling it may be the only option for saving the Arctic sea ice before it all melts.

Researchers are calling on policymakers to encourage the transition from coal-based electricity production to a system based on natural gas through a carbon tax.

Crops can be produced for bioenergy on a significant scale in west, eastern and southern Africa without doing damage to food production or natural habitats, according to a report produced by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, Imperial College London and CAMCO International.

US military operations to protect oil imports coming from the Middle East are creating larger amounts of greenhouse gas emissions than once thought, new research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln shows.

Alarm at the massive oil plume in the Gulf of Mexico emphasizes the problem of marine pollution and how difficult it is to evaluate. Thanks to a EUREKA project, another heavily polluted maritime ecosystem, the European North Sea, has been for more than 20 years a test-bed for a highly advanced early-warning system for all types of pollution. This development is now aiding marine authorities around the world to keep seas clean.

Using ever-growing genome data, scientists are tracing the evolution of the bacterial regulatory system that controls cellular motility, potentially giving researchers a method for predicting important cellular functions that will impact both medical and biotechnology research.

Investment in green energy in China, most notable in wind energy, leapt 53 per cent in 2009, bucking a trend during the recession that saw global investments dip 7 per cent overall from 2008 levels. However, if spending on solar water heaters (now used in 70 million world households) and total installation costs for rooftop solar were included, renewables investment worldwide increased last year.

Researchers are optimistic that the anticipated recommencement of the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited-run National Research Universal reactor in Chalk River, Canada, will provide short-term relief to the isotope shortage that has been plaguing patients and the nuclear medicine community for more than one year. However, SNM cautions that the restart of this reactor will not solve the ongoing production and supply issues causing the crisis.

The "Renewable Energy Snapshots" report, published by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, shows that renewable energy sources accounted for 62 percent of the new electricity generation capacity installed in the EU27 in 2009. The share rose from 57 percent in 2008. In absolute terms, renewables produced 19.9 percent of Europe's electricity consumption last year.

Switching off lights, turning the television off at the mains and using cooler washing cycles could have a much bigger impact on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power stations than previously thought, according to a new study. Researchers in the UK show that the figure used by government advisers to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide saved by reducing people's electricity consumption is up to 60 percent too low.

Increasing the availability of public transit systems is one among a number of modifications to the built environment that offers opportunities for increasing physical activity and reducing the prevalence of obesity and its associated problems. In a new study, researchers found that construction of a light-rail system (LRT) resulted in increased physical activity (walking) and subsequent weight loss by people served by the LRT. These findings suggest that improving neighborhood environments and increasing the public's use of LRT systems could improve health outcomes and potentially impact millions of individuals.

Researchers have been studying the sustainability of second generation biofuels and have calculated how much fuel might be saved in Switzerland through the use of these new products. The investigation concludes that between 10 and 40 per cent of current fuel requirements could be sustainably supplied by second generation biofuels, taking vehicle efficiency and electromobility factors into account.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued two publications calling for the amendment of labeling laws to allow the voluntary use of only metric units on some consumer products.

The American Physical Society presses congressional leaders to increase research investments for future energy technologies that will strengthen energy security and reduce the likelihood of disastrous effects associated with fossil fuel exploration as evidenced by the BP oil spill.

Data gathered and compiled by NRL and USGS scientists during geophysical survey flights over Afghanistan reveal potentially rich natural resource sediment basins and mineral deposits and provide hydrologic and geospatial referenced imagery to support infrastructure and economic development.

The widespread belief that chemical dispersants will enhance the breakdown of oil from the Gulf of Mexico disaster is based on weak scientific data, according to a new article.

Some bacteria destroy oil. Might those bacteria lead oil companies to change their methods of harvesting the energy of the oil while at the same time reducing the carbon dioxide that burning oil and gasoline discharges into the atmosphere?

As of June 9, 2010, if all the oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico had been used for fuel, it could have powered 38,000 cars, and 3,400 trucks, and 1,800 ships for a full year, according to a researcher who has launched a website that reports the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in terms of lost uses of the lost fuel on a daily basis.