Cleantech and Environmental News – Latest Headlines

Matched hybrid systems may hold key to wider use of renewable energy

The use of renewable energy in the United States could take a significant leap forward with improved storage technologies or more efforts to 'match' different forms of alternative energy systems that provide an overall more steady flow of electricity, researchers say in a new report.

November 26, 2014 Read more

Geoengineering our climate is not a 'quick fix'

The deliberate, large-scale intervention in the Earth's climate system is not a 'quick fix' for global warming, according to the findings of the UK's first publicly funded studies on geoengineering.

November 26, 2014 Read more

Researchers find way to turn sawdust into gasoline

Researchers have successfully converted sawdust into building blocks for gasoline. Using a new chemical process, they were able to convert the cellulose in sawdust into hydrocarbon chains.

November 25, 2014 Read more

Clean energy 'bio batteries' a step closer

A report published today shows how electrons hop across otherwise electrically insulating areas of bacterial proteins, and that the rate of electrical transfer is dependent on the orientation and proximity of electrically conductive 'stepping stones'.

November 19, 2014 Read more

To use sewage sludge to obtain bioenergy

Researchers have found a way to increase biomass production by using sewage sludge as energy crop fertilizers.

November 18, 2014 Read more

Computer model provides a new portrait of carbon dioxide (w/video)

An ultra-high-resolution NASA computer model has given scientists a stunning new look at how carbon dioxide in the atmosphere travels around the globe.

November 18, 2014 Read more

Recycling Styrofoam into rigid plastic

Mexican entrepreneurs designed the first national machine capable of recycling Styrofoam (expanded polystyrene) and transform it into a raw material used in the manufacture of transparent hard plastic.

November 18, 2014 Read more

Future hydrogen fueling station delivers power or hydrogen

The pilot hydrogen storage and production facility that EPFL has built had a public open house yesterday. It was an opportunity to get a glimpse into the fueling stations of the future.

November 13, 2014 Read more

China hunger for clean energy to leave no rooftop behind

China, the world's biggest solar market for two years running, is pushing to install more panels at factories, schools and even greenhouses as it seeks to meet its goals under a historic climate agreement with the U.S.

November 13, 2014 Read more

Smart electricity meters and privacy

Close-to-practice smart metering concept measures electricity flows, but does not allow any conclusions to be drawn with respect to the habits of users.

November 12, 2014 Read more

Copernicus Climate Change and Atmosphere Monitoring Services launched

The European Union's flagship Copernicus program ensures operational monitoring of the atmosphere, oceans, and continental surfaces, and will provide reliable, validated information services for a range of environmental and security applications.

November 11, 2014 Read more

BMW Group presents pioneering street lighting system with integrated EV charging station

BMW Group showcases a high-efficiency street lighting system that doubles as a charging station for electric vehicles. This innovative system is the outcome of a pilot project dubbed Light and Charge.

November 11, 2014 Read more

Limiting short-lived pollutants cannot buy time on CO2 mitigation

Reducing emissions of non-CO2 gases and air pollutants with climate effects would bring health benefits and near-term climate co-benefits - but the impact on long-term climate change might be lower than previously estimated, according to a new study of the potential of air pollution and carbon dioxide mitigation in climate stabilization scenarios.

November 11, 2014 Read more

The missing piece of the climate puzzle

Researchers show that a canonical view of global warming tells only half the story.

November 11, 2014 Read more

Biologists collaborate to refine climate change modeling tools

New model includes critical plant-soil interaction processes in climate assessments.

November 11, 2014 Read more

International scientific organizations support data sharing for sustainability

SciDataCon2014, the International Conference on Data Sharing and Integration for Global Sustainability, was motivated by the conviction that the most significant research challenges - and in particular the pressing issues relating to global sustainability in the face of ongoing natural and human-induced changes to the planetary system - cannot be properly addressed without paying attention to issues relating to equitable access to quality-assured and interoperable datasets and their long-term management and preservation.

November 11, 2014 Read more

Iron fertilization of the Southern Ocean might be less efficient for deep-ocean carbon dioxide storage than previously thought

A new study performed by a team of international scientists reveals that a complex ecosystem response to iron fertilization in the Southern Ocean might reduce the efficiency of biological carbon pump in transporting carbon dioxide into the deep ocean.

November 10, 2014 Read more

Ageing test procedure for thermal solar collectors

The project 'SpeedColl' develops accelerated ageing test procedures for thermal solar collectors and their components.

November 10, 2014 Read more