Energy and Climate Change


The Energy Debate: Coal vs. Nuclear

Researchers examine Americans' risk beliefs and preferences for coal and nuclear energy, and finds factors other than global warming and the potential for nuclear power plant accidents figure into their choices.

WHOI Leads Expedition to Measure Radioactivity from Fukushima Disaster in Pacific

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will lead the first international, multidisciplinary assessment of the levels and dispersion of radioactive substances in the Pacific Ocean off the Fukushima nuclear power plant—a research effort funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

IEA Report Explores Potential for ‘Golden Age’ for Natural Gas

. The new report, part of the World Energy Outlook 2011 series, examines the key factors that could result in a more prominent role for natural gas in the global energy mix, and the implications for other fuels, energy security, and climate change.

University Licenses Innovative Process to Convert Natural Gas to Clean Synthetic Fuel

The University of Texas at Arlington and 1st Resource Group Inc. will commercialize a new, efficient process for converting natural gas to clean, synthetic fuel at a cost lower than current market rates.

Methane Gas From Cows: The Proof is in the Poo

Scientists could have a revolutionary new way of measuring how much of the potent greenhouse gas methane is produced by cows and other ruminants, thanks to a surprising discovery in their poo.

Smart Meters Make U.K. Community More Energy-Efficient

The utility could provide individuals their energy-usage information in real time, which enabled them to make informed choices to reduce their electricity demand.

Father and Son to Cross Country on a Light Bulb's Worth of Energy

How far will a parent go to convince their child to stop leaving lights on around the house? For inventor and journalist Pierce Hoover, the answer is 4,000 miles.

Researchers Look at Energy-Efficient Programming to Curb Computers' Power Use

Researchers have created a system, called EnergJ, that reduces energy consumption in simulations by up to 50 percent, and has the potential to cut energy by as much as 90 percent.



Taking the Waste out of Nuclear Waste

While spent nuclear fuel continues to pile up by the ton across the United States, UC Irvine’s Mikael Nilsson says the solution is clear: recycle it at the commercial nuclear power plants that create it.

Vermont Enacts Registration Program for Small Solar Installations

H.56, signed into law by Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin May 25, establishes a registration process for solar systems 5kW and smaller.

Army Showcases Quantum Hybrid at Indy 500

The U.S. Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) demonstrated the Clandestine Extended Range Vehicle (CERV) as part of special events ramping up to the Indianapolis 500. The U.S. Army labeled the CERV as one of the "greenest technologies" and demonstrated how its advanced hybrid electric powertrain developed by Quantum Fuel Systems Worldwide Inc. and TARDEC saves taxpayer dollars and soldiers' lives.

Report: Cost Obstructs Path to Alagae-Based Biofuel Market Worth Billions

According to a recent report from Pike Research, despite limited production to date, the scale-up potential of algae is substantial compared to other non-food based feedstocks.

IEA: 2010 Saw CO2 Emissions at Highest Levels Ever

The prospect of limiting temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius is looking bleaker, officials at the International Energy Agency said.

First Fuel Cell to Power Residential Building in New York Installed in Roosevelt Island

The Octagon, a LEED Silver 500-unit apartment community on Roosevelt Island, made green history by becoming the first residential building in the State of New York to be powered and heated by a 400 kW fuel cell from UTC Power.

EPA's GreenChill Program Works to Revolutionize Supermarket Refrigeration

Supermarkets are among the most energy-intensive buildings around, and refrigeration uses more than half of that energy. That doesn't even include the harm that leaking refrigerants cause to the ozone layer. EPA's GreenChill program works with companies and their refrigeration engineers across the country to help program participants lower their refrigeration emissions of all kinds.

Grant to Provide Electricity for 1,500 Homes in Latin America, Caribbean

A solar project in Brazil’s sundrenched northeast, supported by the Inter-American Development Bank, is providing a roadmap on how to spark private sector investment in solar energy.

Study Rebuts Conclusion That Bacteria Consumed Deepwater Horizon Methane

A technical comment published in the current edition of the journal Science casts doubt on a widely publicized study that concluded that a bacterial bloom in the Gulf of Mexico consumed the methane discharged from the Deepwater Horizon well.

The Potential of Landfill Gas

Research suggests that landfill gas-recovery projects should be implemented quickly if the maximum amount of methane gas is to be retrieved from organic waste in as short as time as possible.

U.S., Russia Reaffirm Cooperation on Energy-Efficiency and Smart Grid

The United States Agency for International Development, working with the U.S. Department of Energy to cooperate with Russia on energy-efficiency efforts and smart grids, is supporting efforts to share experience and best practices among U.S. and Russian municipalities and utilities.

EPA, DOT Unveil Revamped Fuel-Efficiency Labels for New Cars

Spurred by a desire to increase sales of fuel-efficient cars, The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation announced an overhaul of the fuel-efficiency labels affixed to windows of new cars starting in 2013.