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EPA Air Quality rule on coal plants delayed


A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday issued a last-minute order to delay the January 1 implementation of stricter federal limits on pollution from coal-fired plants, providing a temporary win for utilities worried about the cost of implementation.
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Progression of US Cities Reaching Solar Grid Parity

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  • December 30, 2011

Grid parity in cost between solar power and grid-supplied electricity is likely to begin being reached in the US in as little as 2 years, and within the next 25 years, many of the largest metropolitan areas will reach the point where solar is less exp…

Turn the Eiffel Tower Green?

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  • December 30, 2011

A concept to turn the Eiffel Tower into a giant green wall has been proposed as a symbolic statement of “the reconciliation of nature and mankind.”The plan calls for 600,000 plants to be attached to the structure using hemp sacks filled with soil as t…

Using Light to Make Solar Panels

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  • December 30, 2011

A new optical furnace that uses intense light rather than a conventional furnace to heat the silicon to make solar cells saves about half the energy needed. The process uses a furnace with “highly reflective and heat-resistant ceramics to ensure that…

Math and Piegons


There is a common saying that being a bird brain means you are not very bright. But how bright is that? Pigeons can learn abstract numerical rules, a skill that scientists had believed only primates possessed. Although the birds may not be able to do…

Satellite Studies Reveal Groundwater Depletion around the World


Access to freshwater resources has always been a critical need for human and all forms of life on Earth. With a world population estimated at just shy of 7 billion and growing, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says agricultural production will …

Satellite Studies Reveal Groundwater Depletion around the World


Access to freshwater resources has always been a critical need for human and all forms of life on Earth. With a world population estimated at just shy of 7 billion and growing, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says agricultural production will …

Tsunami Debris


Anything that goes into the ocean will eventually either sink or float. Debris from the tsunami that devastated Japan in March could reach the United States as early as this winter, according to predictions by NOAA scientists. However, they warn there…

Higher Efficiency with Quantum Dot Solar Cells

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  • December 28, 2011

Photovoltaic technology has taken another step forward as researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have demonstrated a photocell with an external quantum efficiency over 100 percent using quantum dots. The new cell uses a proces…

Scientists test sick Alaska seals for radiation


Scientists in Alaska are investigating whether local seals are being sickened by radiation from Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

Scores of ring seals have washed up on Al…