Subscribe to Gizmag's RSS feed
Follow Gizmag on Twitter
Climate Change
Carbon Capture: a bridging technology too far?
By Kyle Sherer
06:56 August 7, 2008 PDT
Carbon capture and storage is a climate change mitigation technology characterized by sporadic and unreliable government support and plagued with accusations that it will worsen the environmental disaster it seeks to address. Yet, despite the negative stigma, CCS has been labeled by the IPCC and the Stern Report as an essential measure in reducing the impact of fossil fuels. Gizmag's Kyle Sherer takes a closer look. Read More
Cow Power potential is no bull
By Kyle Sherer
14:21 July 24, 2008 PDT
A study published in the Institute of Physics’ Environmental Research Letters section today claims that by converting livestock manure to biogas, the United States could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and generate up to 108.8 billion kW h – 2.9% of the country’s total electricity requirement. Read More
Pangaea - the world's largest, cleanest expeditionary sailing ship
By Kyle Sherer
15:46 July 6, 2008 PDT
The 35-meter two master PANGAEA is the largest and most flexible polar expedition sailboat ever built. It can navigate through tropics and rivers as easily as it can through polar regions, and will travel to five continents, including the North and South Pole. Read More
How green are you? PEIR system measures personal environmental impact
By Emily Clark
22:17 June 19, 2008 PDT
A key starting point to helping the environment is determining what impact we personally have on the planet. To assist in this challenge researchers at UCLA have developed a way to generate online Personal Environmental Impact Reports (PEIR) using location data from cell phones. Read More
Burj Al-Taqa: self-sufficient skyscraper design
03:22 June 5, 2008 PDT
This concept eco-skyscraper from German-based architects Gerber Architekten combines traditional building ventilation techniques with the ability to generate 100% of its energy needs using wind and solar power. And the likely location for the "Burj Al-Taqa" or "Energy Tower” - you guessed it - Dubai. Read More
OrignOil closer to large scale algae oil production
By Emily Clark
01:13 June 3, 2008 PDT
Los Angeles-based OriginOil has developed breakthrough technology that it believes will enable the transformation of algae oil into a true competitor for petroleum. The company has filed a patent to protect its invention of a scalable system that is critical to achieving high volume algae production required to replace petroleum. Read More
Snow-going robots to assist in climate change research
01:16 May 28, 2008 PDT
May 28, 2008 Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Pennsylvania State University are developing a hardy breed of autonomous robots designed to collect critical on-site data that will aid in the understanding of how climate change is effecting the world's ice sheets and therefore enable the creation of better climate models. Read More
London’s iconic black cabs to go green
By Darren Quick
20:54 May 22, 2008 PDT
May 23, 2008 While improvements in engine technology have led to a marked improvement in fuel efficiency and carbon emissions in vehicles running on internal combustion engines in recent years, even greater cuts in emissions need to be made to tackle the global environmental problems associated with them. We’ve seen commercial airlines turning to biofuels, trucks running on liquefied natural gas and buses using ethanol engines. One of the most promising solutions for the humble car of the future could is hydrogen fuel cell systems, with a number of car manufacturers investing heavily in development. Read More
Scotland announces $20 million Saltire Prize for clean energy innovation
02:17 April 29, 2008 PDT
April 29, 2008 The Scottish Government has offered the world’s biggest ever cash prize for innovation in the field of renewable marine-based energy. It is hoped that the £10 million (US$20 million) award will not only contribute to the global energy problem, but will help bolster Scotland’s own clean energy sector which already accounts for 16% of the nation’s generated electricity. Read More
Capturing carbon to create greener plastics
00:18 April 10, 2008 PDT
April 10, 2008 Chemists are investigating ways to use carbon dioxide removed from smokestack emissions to make a raw material for the production of DVDs, CD-ROMs, beverage bottles and other products made from polycarbonate plastics. Read More
World's fist commercial scale tidal energy generator nears completion
00:23 April 4, 2008 PDT
Bristol based renewable energy company Marine Current Turbines has completed the first installation phase of the 1.2MW SeaGen Tidal System at Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough - a site chosen for its combination of fast tidal current and ability to provide shelter from bad weather which may hinder the construction process. It is expected that the breakthrough power plant will be operational around mid-year with its massive 16m diameter twin rotors harnessing the tides to produce the equivalent amount of energy it takes to power 1000 homes. After its final assembly at the Harland & Wolff dockyard in Belfast, the crane barge “Rambiz” positioned the 1000 tonne structure onto the seabed 400m from the shoreline where it will be secured by four pins drilled to a depth of around nine meters. Read More
Unconventional approach produces ultra-pure water
By Jude Garvey
00:26 April 2, 2008 PDT
April 2, 2008 Traditional water-purification techniques such as filtration or distillation attempt to remove the contaminants from water by fluid flow. Reversing this thinking, a new Scandinavian spin-off company is researching a new method of purification that takes the clean water molecules out of the contaminated matter using carbon dioxide gas. Read More
Collaboration aims to kick-start hydrogen vehicles in the U.K.
By Kyle Sherer
23:10 April 1, 2008 PDT
April 2, 2008 Fifty million metric tons of hydrogen were produced in 2004, and the hydrogen production industry grows at an estimated 10% per year. But for hydrogen-powered cars to emerge as a serious competitor to fossil-fuel-powered transport there still needs to be substantial development of infrastructure. The latest push towards this goal in the U.K has seen ITM Power Plc and Roush Technologies Ltd sign a co-operative agreement that not only aims to put hydrogen-fueled commercial vehicles on the market within months, but also encompasses the development of hydrogen refueling station infrastructure that will enable vehicle operators to generate their own hydrogen supplies. Read More
Continental Airlines to conduct biofuel test flight
By Emily Clark
17:32 March 17, 2008 PDT
Continental Airlines, in conjunction with Boeing and GE Aviation, has announced plans to conduct a biofuel demonstration flight in the first half of 2009. Continental will be the first major U.S. carrier to undertake such a flight in an effort to identify sustainable fuel solutions for the aviation industry. Read More
Microturbines to reduce emissions in NYC
By Emily Clark
23:02 March 4, 2008 PST
March 5, 2008 Installation of microturbines has been completed in New York with the aim of providing clean energy and reducing the City’s residential and commercial carbon emissions. MicroTurbine systems, developed by Capstone, have been installed in four locations around the City and are fueled by clean burning natural gas, and emit very low emissions. Read More
Georgia Tech proposes carbon capture concept for automobiles
By Kyle Sherer
14:53 February 17, 2008 PST
February 18, 2008 Carbon capture and storage has been touted as a method for slashing carbon emissions in power plants – now researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology say it can be used to combat one of the most widespread greenhouse gas offenders: the automobile. Georgia Tech has outlined a concept system where carbon is isolated from fossil fuels, disposed of at a refueling station, and eventually recycled into new fuel. Not only is the closed-loop cycle carbon emission free, it is also renewable and efficient. Read More
Airbus completes world first GTL powered flight
By Kyle Sherer
16:44 February 4, 2008 PST
February 5, 2008 The Airbus A380 has become the first commercial aircraft to complete a flight using liquid fuel processed from gas. GTL involves converting natural gas, which emits the least carbon of all the fossil fuels, to a liquid fuel oil, which can be used as a fuel substitute, or mixed with regular fuel. The three-hour flight from the UK to France was the first stage of a test flight program to evaluate the environmental impact of alternative fuels in the airline market. Read More
CC Medico’s Air Launcher nozzle eases aerosol can recycling
By Jude Garvey
17:03 January 31, 2008 PST
February 1, 2008 In an era where the need to reduce, reuse and recycle is a the top of the agenda, any innovation that helps in this regard is a welcome one. In providing a solution to the specific problem of recycling aerosol cans, Tokyo-based company CC Medico has developed the Air Launcher JET Alpha nozzle, a new type of aerosol nozzle which is easily removed and separated from the can by hand, which makes recycling the cans much easier. Read More
Intel goes green with power purchase
By Emily Clark
19:21 January 29, 2008 PST
January 30, 2008 Technology giant Intel has announced it will purchase more than 1.3 billion kilowatt hours a year of renewable energy certificates, making it the single-largest corporate purchaser of green power in the US. The decision is part of a Intel's multi-faceted approach to reduce impact on the environment, and places the company at the top of the EPA's Green Power Partners latest Green Power Partners Top 25 list. Read More
Energy Island: unlocking the potential of the ocean as a renewable power source
By Kyle Sherer
15:23 January 28, 2008 PST
January 29, 2008 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion uses the temperature difference between surface and deep-sea water to generate electricity – and though it has an efficiency of just 1-3% - researchers believe an OTEC power plant could deliver up to 250MW of clean power, equivalent to one eighth of a large nuclear power plant, or one quarter of an average fossil fuel power plant. Architect and engineer Dominic Michaelis and his son Alex, along with Trevor Cooper-Chadwick of Southampton University are developing the concept with plans of putting the theory to the test on an unprecedented scale by building a floating, hexagonal Energy Island that will harness energy from OTEC, as well as from winds, sea currents, waves, and the sun. Read More
Hunton Energy announces plans for clean energy plant
By Darren Quick
18:18 December 19, 2007 PST
December 20, 2007 Finding new ways to capture environmentally harmful emissions and use them to generate power is a positive step in the effort to slow global warming. The latest news from this arena comes from Hunton Energy, which has announced plans to build and operate a Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) plant at Dow’s Oyster Creek Facility on the Texas Gulf Coast which will capture 100 percent of its own CO2 emissions, using turbines to produce additional power from its byproduct steam. Read More
Argo: global floating computer network provides critical ocean data
By Emily Clark
22:33 December 10, 2007 PST
December 11, 2007 With rising concerns over climate change and its regional impacts, understanding (and eventually predicting) changes in both the atmosphere and ocean are needed to guide international actions, to optimize governments’ policies and to shape industrial strategies. Argo is a program that brings together more than 25 countries and thousands of floating sensors to provide key data from the ocean and assist in achieving these goals. Read More
Solar Powered RFID tracking system roll-out
18:02 November 19, 2007 PST
November 20, 2007 Lockheed Martin subsidiary Savi Technology has begun deploying solar-powered Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) readers and signposts, saving energy and negating the need for installing electrical infrastructure in remote areas. Read More
Solar schools for Santa Cruz
By Emily Clark
18:25 November 15, 2007 PST
November 16, 2007 The sunny state of California continues to lead the way in solar energy production. In January, the state launched a 10-year Solar Initiative program offering $2.1 billion in rebates for residential and commercial solar systems. The uptake of clean energy is also forging ahead in the public sector, with the latest announcement coming from Santa Cruz County where UPC Solar has won a contract for a 950kW project in the city school system. Read More
Motor Oil goes “Green”
21:57 November 5, 2007 PST
November 6, 2007 Green Earth Technologies has announced a completely biodegradable motor oil which the company claims is the “first bio-based, high-endurance motor oil to provide superior performance during the maximum oil change interval recommended by vehicle manufacturers”. Read More
Freedom Glen
- November 25, 2009 @ 02:47 UTC
