Green Education

For the past several years, at year end I rank what I felt were the the major energy stories of the year. 2012 lacked a blockbuster energy story like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 or the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster of 2011, so there was no clear #1 in my mind. But, I thought I would change things up a bit and just let readers vote. So below I have summarized 15 of the major energy stories of the year in no particular order. Please vote for up to 5 stories, and I will report the Top 10 vote getters on December 31. The revolution in US oil and gas production continues The fracking revolution in the US continued,... Continue»

  Researchers from the Department of Energy (DOE) have for the first time identified an enzyme that is capable of significantly raising the amount of the sugar galactan that is present in the cell walls of plants. Galactan is a type of galactose, which is a 6-carbon sugar that is easily fermentable into ethanol by utilizing yeast. It has long been a substance of great interest to researchers trying to create advanced biofuels from “cellulosic … Read More Biofuel Production Could Get Huge Boost Thanks To Galactan Breakthrough was originally published on: CleanTechnica

  Those suffering from respiratory problems derived from pollution in the air may soon have the chance to view real-time data regarding the conditions in their own neighborhood, thanks to computer scientists from the University of California San Diego. The researchers have built a small fleet of portable pollution sensors that they sent out into the area during a field test — the sensors allow users to monitor air quality in real-time and view the … Read More Monitoring Air Quality From Your Smart Phone was originally published on: CleanTechnica

It’s the night before Christmas and all through the house…people are sneezing. Isn’t that always what seems to happen? And, really, what are you going to do? The holidays happen to coincide with cold and flu season. Which is why we’re pulling this great post from our CEO Susan Hunt Stevens out of the archives [...]

  California just recently passed the milestone of 1 GW of solar power production (in August). And now it has just surpassed another milestone — it nearly reached that peak August generation level during the week of the Winter Solstice, which is the least-sunny time of the year, setting a new winter solar power generation record. “On Wednesday, December 19, the CaISO’s preliminary figures for renewable energy output, which are displayed in the chart at … Read More California Sets New Record For Winter Solar Power Generation was originally published on: CleanTechnica

  Utility companies can benefit considerably from the utilization of concentrating solar power (CSP) and available energy storage methods, a new study from the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has found. A CSP that possesses a 6-hour storage capacity works well to lower peak net loads for the part of the day when the sun isn’t shining. That’s “enough to add $35.80 per megawatt hour to the capacity and operational value … Read More Concentrating Solar Power With Thermal Energy Storage Is Economically Useful For Utility Company Profits, Study Finds was originally published on: CleanTechnica

Families have all sorts of traditions for the holidays. This year, I’d like to suggest starting a new one that contains the wisdom of the ages, and is one of the greatest gifts you can give to the next generation: planting a tree. Don’t fret–it’s not the War on Christmas (trees), it’s just a great, [...]

  Biking is virtually all good news: Saves money, saves the planet, keeps people healthier, is fashionable among the rich and famous, can reduce prison sentences. And now, studies are pointing to brain benefits from biking. Danish researchers were looking at the benefits of breakfast and lunch on school children and found that how the children got to school was actually of great importance. They found that the kids who walked or rode their bikes … Read More Biking Benefits Body & Brain was originally published on: CleanTechnica

  Is Los Angeles looking to shirk its reputation as a surfer haven and emerge as a cyclists’ sanctuary? Maybe. According to a recent LA Times article, Bike Nation is pledging $16 million to LA’s first (and the country’s second largest, behind NYC’s system) bike sharing program, which will launch in April 2013. Miami Heat stars LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Mario Chalmers don’t have the market cornered on NBA endorsements of cycling initiatives. Los … Read More 2nd Largest US Bike Sharing Program To Launch In LA In April was originally published on: CleanTechnica

  Energy generation from wind is on target to beat natural gas in 2012, thanks to a mad dash by wind producers to finish projects, as the wind tax credit is set to expire on January 1st. As of November 30th,  preliminary numbers have 6,579 megawatts (MW) of new wind capacity created in the US, just nudging ahead of natural gas, which is at 6,335. It’s also about twice the amount of new coal power … Read More Wind Generation Outpacing Natural Gas In US In 2012 was originally published on: CleanTechnica

  Just in time for the holiday drinking season, here comes news of a more sustainable cocktail of the future, and it’s all thanks to a vibrating membrane. Hey, it’s not what you think (just guessing here). The vibrating membrane refers to a proprietary wastewater treatment system developed by the company New Logic Research, specifically to deal with waste from olive processing. If you didn’t know that the olive industry has a wastewater problem, join the club, but … Read More How A Vibrating Membrane Could Lead To A More Sustainable Cocktail was originally published on: CleanTechnica