June 6, 2007 at 9:08 am · Filed under Uncategorized
China announced yesterday it had made a breakthrough in excavating natural gas hydrate, the so-called “flammable ice”, which is believed to be a potential natural energy source. Zhang Hongtao, deputy director-general of China Geological Survey (CGS), said gas hydrate samples were successfully collected from the northern part of the South China Sea last month. China is the fourth country after the United States, Japan and India to make such a technological achievement. Zhang said the development was expected to ease the country’s dependence on oil and coal. Initial estimates indicate the potential volume of gas hydrates around continental slopes in the area exceeds 100 million tons of oil equivalent, Zhang said. The samples were collected from two different stations in the Shenhu (Magic Fox) continental slope on May 1 and May 15, he said. Nicknamed “flammable ice”, gas hydrates are crystalline solids, which occur when water molecules form a cage-like structure around smaller “guest molecules” of methane, ethane, carbon dioxide and other substances. Stable only at low temperatures and/or high pressures, gas hydrates are extremely fragile, and mainly exist either in the seafloor or below tundra at high latitudes. The resource has become a hotspot of international research in recent decades, as scientists believe gas hydrates are a perfect alternative fuel resource to oil and gas, writes China Daily.
June 4, 2007 at 9:13 am · Filed under Green Tech, hybrids
Top Gear goes to Germany to take a look at a prototype hydrogen powered car made by General Motors. The car is the first car that has no mechanical links between the driver and the car. This allows for easy shift of body for different purposes. Read the rest of this entry »
June 2, 2007 at 12:03 pm · Filed under Ecology, The Politics
The European Parliament has adopted a report, which seeks to strengthen proposed new regulation on organic production and the labelling of organic products. The parliament has called for stricter rules for importations and certification bodies, better labelling with the possibility to keep national organic logos, integration of non-food products and extension of the scope of the legislation to catering and restaurants.Following the vote, Vice-President Marie-Helene Aubert from (Greens) said: “The EP has today voted for much stronger rules for organic production and product labelling in the EU. Following the active role of the Parliament on this regulation some of the changes proposed in the EP report have already been accepted by the Council. These include: a better framework for controls, inspections and certification of imports of organic products from third Countries, which did not have similar legislation and controls in place; clearer rules for processing, certifying and labelling of organic products, while preserving the existing specific national and regional labels of the private organic organisations. We also welcome that regular consultation of the stakeholders in organic farming is now agreed,” writes www.neurope.eu.
June 1, 2007 at 7:11 pm · Filed under Green Tech
Even the daily ritual of shaving can make an environmental statement. Or so hopes Braun. The division of consumer products conglomerate Procter & Gamble (PG) said today that its line of men’s electric shaver chargers had become the first to win Energy Star certification from the U.S. government. Braun says its shaver chargers consume 64 percent less electricity than standard shavers. Based on the number of shavers it sells in the U.S. market, that translates into the annual elimination of about 5.6 metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide, according to the company.
June 1, 2007 at 7:06 pm · Filed under Money and Finance
Joel Makower has this funny article about how marketing companies has divided the green consumer segment in to various groups.
“So, how many ways can you slice the green-consumer pie?
For starters, there’s Roper, which divvies up the marketplace thusly:
- True-Blue Greens — the most environmentally active segment of society (11% of the U.S. population).
- Greenback Greens — those most willing to pay the highest premium for green products (8%).
- Sprouts — fence-sitters who have embraced environmentalism more slowly (33%).
- Grousers — uninvolved or disinterested in environmental issues, who feel the issues are too big for them to solve (14%).
- Apathetics — the least engaged group who believe that environmental indifference is mainstream (33%).”
The list goes on and he concludes by suggesting his own segmentation.
- Read the entire article at http://makower.typepad.com/joel_makower/
May 31, 2007 at 10:54 pm · Filed under Green Tech
The Guardian runs a story today about nuclear fusion laser tech, that should be the safe, clean way to produce nuclear energy in the future.
The British-led project, which has been earmarked by the EU as a priority, is designed to leapfrog an American-funded project called the National Ignition Facility (Nif) in Livermore, California. When that is built in 2010, physicists are confident that the Nif laser will be powerful enough to start a fusion reaction. Experiments in the Nevada desert in the 1980s with underground explosions of nuclear weapons have already shown how much energy they will need to deliver with the laser. Mike Dunne, director of the Central Laser Facility at a publicly funded research site in Oxfordshire that houses Vulcan, the most powerful laser in the world, said: “The trick now is, can we get it to work without throwing a nuclear bomb at the thing?”
That is what Nif is designed to do.
Click the page to read the entire story.
May 30, 2007 at 8:19 am · Filed under Ecology
Organic food which has been flown into Britain could be stripped of its status under Soil Association proposals to cut the environmental impact of the food industry. More than half of the organic food eaten in Britain comes from abroad. Soft fruit, including strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, would be especially affected by any change in status. The Soil Association, which licences 85 per cent of Britain’s organic produce, has suggested that food which has been transported by air might be classed on a par with being non-organic. Oxfam has said the loss of organic status would threaten the livelihoods of poor farmers in Africa and Central America, because organic food is more highly prized, writes the Daily Telegraph today.
May 22, 2007 at 7:29 am · Filed under Wind Power, Green Tech, Video
Residents of Dubai may one day experience a unique and constantly changing skyline thanks to Dynamic Architecture’s wind powered rotating skyscraper. The main idea behind their concept involves a central concrete core surrounded by 59 independently rotating levels. The skyscraper would generate its own electricity from the massive horizontal wind turbines that would be stacked in between each floor. This idea may seem outlandish or impossibly expensive, but the oil price boom in Dubai has already funded many other similarly massive and complex architectural projects. If oil prices continue to increase these rotating wonders may be seen on Dubai’s horizon within the next few years. Thanks Alt-e-news!
Each turbine can produce 0.3 megawatt of electricity, compared to 1-1.5 megawatt generated by a normal vertical turbine (windmill). Considering that Dubai gets 4,000 wind hours annually, the turbines incorporated into the building can generate 1,200,000 kilowatt-hour of energy. As average annual power consumption of a family is estimated to be 24,000 kilowatt-hours, each turbine can supply energy for about 50 families. The Dynamic Architecture tower in Dubai will be having 200 apartments and hence four turbines can take care of their energy needs. The surplus clean energy produced by the remaining 44 turbines can light up the neighborhood of the building. However, taking into consideration that the average wind speed in Dubai is of only 16 km/h the architects may need to double the number of turbines to light up the building to eight. Still there will be 40 free turbines, good enough to supply power for five skyscrapers of the same size. Read the rest of this entry »
May 11, 2007 at 6:43 am · Filed under Solar
South Korea plans to break ground for the world’s biggest solar power plant as it tries to diversify its power sources and use cleaner energy, the government and developers said. The $170 million plant, being built in Shinan, near the southwestern tip of South Korea, is part of an effort to seek new and renewable energy sources and is scheduled to be completed by late 2008. The plant will produce more than 27,000 megawatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to supply 6,000 to 7,000 households, said Kim Ji Hun, president of the Korean subsidiary of SunTechnics, the German solar power company that will build the plant.
April 30, 2007 at 12:23 pm · Filed under The Politics, hybrids
Taxes on new cars here in Denmark was readjusted last week. The new idea is that kilometer pr. liter gasolin/diesel directs the tax. Popular gas guzzlers like Porsche Cayenne and Hummer H2 will from now on cost about 25.000 euro more while a new Toyota Prius will cost 5.500 euro less. Thanks!
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