To hear proponents talk about Thorium reactors, you would think that Thorium is the energy panacea for which we have been searching. This readily found element can be used to create nuclear reactors that are walk-away safe, with waste that has a much shorter half life and should be easier to dispose of. Current, nuclear reactors need multiple redundant systems and can blow up as we’ve seen with Fukishima. Thorium reactors won’t blow up and don’t need the multiple redundant systems. If they are so great why are we still using Uranium reactors?
Technology for a greener future
Archive for the ‘science and technology’ Category
The Raspberry Pi mini computer starts at $25
Imagine a computer slightly bigger than an Altoids box that only costs $25. These tiny computer has been developed for kids to make it easy for them to learn how to program using Linux. The computer hooks up to a TV and a keyboard, plays Blu-Ray discs, and runs Fedora, Debian and ArchLinux. Hopefully kids will play around with programing like they used to in the 80’s and 90’s.
Rather than a tax credit, Obama proposes a $10,000 rebate on the sale of EVs
President Obama’s latest budget holds a welcome nugget for people thinking about purchasing a green tech vehicle like an electric vehicle (EV). Rather than the current $7,500 tax credit currently in place for purchasers of environmentally friendly cars, you would get $10,000 knocked off the price of an electric vehicle when you actually purchase it, not when you file your taxes. This is good news for EV manufacturers as well as consumers.
UK’s easyJet will be the first airline to test electric taxiing system
Safran and Honeywell have designed an electric green taxiing system or EGTS that allows jets to taxi on the ground without having to use their engines. Instead the planes would use electric motors attached to each wheel and run by the plane’s auxiliary power unit. The electrical system should provide better maneuvering control to pilots when docking at a gate and should save four percent of energy costs.
NASA is looking for greener fuel
NASA has put out a proposal for a greener fuel source for launching satellites, rockets and eventually space taxis. Space launches add “several kilotons” of carbon dioxide into the air each year. So far it isn’t a large percentage of the CO2 that gets spewed from cars, trains, planes and ships, but over the next several decades that could change. Because more governments and private enterprises are looking at space for new ventures, less harmful fuel is needed.
Will algae or seaweed solve our fuel problems
Earlier this week Joule Unlimited secured $70 million in funding. The company happens to have algae facilities that turn carbon dioxide and sunlight into biodiesel and ethanol. Meanwhile Bio Architecture Lab was able to get seaweed to create chemicals and biofuels. Both processes use patented organisms to create the biofuel.
California’s new efficiency standards would do away with battery charger vampire draw
The California Energy Commission has created new standards for battery chargers that would go into effect in February of 2013. The new chargers would contain technology that would shut the charger off once a gadget was fully charged, reducing wasted energy. That wasted energy is sometimes referred to as vampire draw.
Parisian architects propose an algae-green loop for Marina City in Chicago
Parisian firm Influx Studio is proposing a radical retrofit of the Marina City towers in Chicago. The renovation of the buildings would result in a variety of green innovations and architectural features that would result in renewable energy, vertical agriculture and cleaner air.
Bamboo charcoal provides income opportunities while saving African Forests
Using bamboo charcoal rather than forest wood in Africa has the potential to provide an excellent source of heat, economic opportunities, all while saving African forests. Charcoal is used for both heat and cooking in large areas of Africa and is seen as a major factor in the decimation of forests and the desertification of parts of the continent.
Researchers develop solar beads to heat your home
Researchers in India have developed a new type of bead from paraffin and stearic acid. It absorbs heat from the sun during the day and then releases the heat at night. The new beads should work well in climates like the United States Southwestern states.