Earth Blog

Students at colleges and universities are generally considered to be short on funds. They famously dine on Ramen noodles and drag their laundry to mom and dad’s because they never have quarters for the laundry mat. Crippled with student loans and debt they enter the workforce and slowly pay down the sometimes astronomical balance. Most of them don’t feel comfortable taking out additional loans to buy a home or start a business. Fingers point in numerous directions when it comes to the death of entrepreneurship and small business- regulations, corporations, the education system itself-but no matter where you think the blame should be placed without money no one can start a business.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂), though naturally occurring, is considered detrimental at the levels humans are releasing into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. Greenhouse gases, like CO_2, trap heat in the atmosphere and keep the planet from getting too cold but the amount we are producing could be making it too hot and global warming is not just another way of forecasting “awesome beach weather.”  The carbon cycle can remove some CO₂  but not as quickly as we need it to because of our high emission rate. Current methods of removal are energy intensive and inefficient and scientists are reporting that they have discovered an improved way to remove CO₂  from smokestacks and the open air.  

The major automotive manufacturers aren’t the only ones working on creating a new electric vehicle (EV) or improving their current models. There is an online community where automotive buffs, tinkerers, and the curious have come together to help each other with their EV do-it yourself projects. It’s called diyelectriccar.com and it has a membership 24,155 strong and bound to grow as more people jump aboard as we move toward more efficient vehicles.

As amazing as it may sound, the very same piezoelectric effect that causes a gas grill to ignite with only the push of a button might one day power sensors in the human body using the respiration in the nose. Materials Science and Engineering Professor Xudong Wang, postdoctoral Researcher Chengliang Sun and graduate student Jian Shi have reported the creation of a plastic microbelt that vibrates when passed by slow moving airflow such as that produced by human respiration.

As we construct our offices with green materials, work towards driving more eco-friendly vehicles and incorporate recycling into homes and businesses, one thing that consistently remains is the vast number of energy-consuming PCs we need to do business. But the trend toward more mobile, and by nature more power efficient, devices may drastically reduce our dependence on power generation and make a better environment in the long run.

Most businesses are not moving toward mobile devices to help the environment, it is simply the best way to do business on a global level when travel is usually necessary. Computer manufacturers are realizing that to be competitive, they must offer consumers more portable devices that hold battery life longer and give consumers more flexibility for their smartphones, notebooks and notepads so they can spend less time working on PCs, which happen to be huge power consumers.

The average PC consumes about 45 watts each hour. An LCD monitor adds another 28 watts of power per hour, not including modems, printers and other external devices. Even with heavy usage, the average smartphone operates on about 1 watt per hour. Multiply this for every user that is able to conduct a large portion of their business over the smartphone rather than a PC, and it is easy to see how going mobile is going green.

Wind turbines have been gaining in popularity as a source of renewable energy over these past few years. However, developing a bigger turbine blade without incurring any added weight that would hinder the capture of energy is a challenge faced by many engineers of this industry. A prototype forged to specifically address this issue has been built by a researcher at Case Western Reserve University (also known as CASE) in Cleveland, OH. This model is not only considerably lighter, but demonstrates eight times the resiliency of the blade components currently being used.

Nanoparticles are often used in medications to mimic natural proteins or lipids to deliver medication to targeted parts of the body. Often used in the treatment of cancer, nanomedicine has been very effective for certain treatments, but complications also arise. Researchers at the Centre of Cancer Biomedicine at the Norwegian Radium Hospital have discovered one of the reasons why.

A group of researchers with the Department of Energy's BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) have made a discovery that could revolutionize our production of ethanol.  They have identified the gene in microorganisms that controls the production of ethanol, paving the way for genetically altered plants that produce more ethanol.  This would be a huge step in producing enough biofuels to replace much of the fossil fuels burned for transportation. It could also lower the cost of producing biofuels.

Although solar power is a clean form of energy, the panels are expensive and are not as efficient as many consumers demand.  Nico Hotz, an engineer at Duke University in North Carolina, has developed a hybrid solar power technology that could be the answer to cheaper, more efficient solar power.  In Hotz’s system, solar panels are filled with water and methanol enclosed in glass tubes.  The sunlight heats the water and methanol, which then mix with a catalyst to form hydrogen.  The hydrogen is then stored to be used as fuel.  Using this method, 95 percent of the sunlight can be used to create energy.

Anything that helps reduce the world population’s dependence on non-renewable energy sources is most definitely a friend of the environment…and the Sea Bird.  A new approach to solar energy known as polarizing organic photovoltaic technology sheds bright light on clean, renewable energy efforts. This technology may soon make it possible to charge our cell phones and other handheld electronics by recycling the device’s own energy and making use of both artificial and natural ambient light.

Wind energy is touted as one of the cleanest sources of energy available.  The Midwest is dotted with wind turbines.  Mason City, Iowa is the first city that allows wind turbines in any zone, including industrial, agricultural, commercial and residential.

Ivan Biaggio, professor of physics, and Pavel Irkhin, a Ph.D. candidate are studying a new imaging technique called rubrene.  Rubrene is one of a new generation of single-crystal organic semiconductors.  Their research was published in Physical Review Letters. Rubrene has the potential for revolutionizing the way we harvest solar power.  The most commonly used solar panels use silicon and induce a current.  To date, plastic solar panels have been expensive and inefficient.

After the invention of the turbine, perfection of the energy-generating device has remained a top goal in industry.  Traditional turbines work by internal combustion, which heats the water in the turbine until steam is created, and the steam then rises through high-pressure pipes until it hits the blades of a rotor.  Once the rotor starts turning, the movement powers an attached generator.

Electrical engineer Dr. Heribert Schmidt, of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg, Germany, had a flash of inspiration one day in spring 2002 that resulted in his halving losses from a series-production solar inverter.  The result was a prototype inverter with an amazing 98 percent efficiency soon to predominate in the market.

Saving the earth, and conserving earth’s limited resources, became a hot issue in the latter part of the last century, leading to the search for clean and renewable sources of energy.  Subsequently, inventions such as wind turbines, hydropower grids, and solar panels made their mark as possible alternatives, although their limited implementation has not yet eliminated the need for traditional fossil fuels.  Today, dueto rising energy needs and dwindling supply driving up prices for these fossil fuels, making use of alternate energy sources has become a top economic priority again. But the increasing prevalence of frightening oil spills such as in the Gulf drive home the urgency of finding alternatives that will not harm the environment.

CNN reported May 25^th that starting with the new 2013 car models, clearer labels are going to be used providing consumers with fuel economy estimates and comparisons. This marks a trend that manufacturers and product providers are listening to the demands of consumers, particularly regarding higher environmental standards.  

With WiFi technology eliminating the need for plug-in and dial-up internet, it's no surprise that wireless electricity is on the horizon. Devices that traditionally use a power cord may not be necessary anymore. WiTricity is a company who is leading the developments that converts power into a magnetic field and sends it through the air at a particular frequency. The compromise has been between distance and the amount of energy transmitted.  

The key to improving efficiency for any type of energy production is decreasing the amount of waste produced. A good way to do this is to reuse that waste and have it serve a purpose in the production cycle. As with most reactions, heat is a byproduct or waste that results from the change in physical properties. Billions of dollars are lost every year from industrial processes that do not utilize the excess thermal waste.  

When exploring alternative fuel sources, specifically for transportation, hydrogen fuel cells are leading the frontier with the most bang, but for a price. Researchers are tediously working to develop a more economical solution for this highly efficient alternative energy. Currently, there is a race to efficiency between University professors and independent researchers across the United States to develop the most economical and sustainable way to power a hydrogen fuel cell.

What are the specific advantages and disadvantages associated with using different sources for energy?