Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Attention Fracktivists: Corn Ethanol Is The Real Environmental Culprit

Christopher Helman, Forbes Staff

Corn Ethanol Is The Real Environmental Culprit

Ethanol is proving terrible for the environment. Spurred by the absurd biofuel volumes mandated by the Federal Renewable Fuels Standard, farmers in recent years have plowed over 5 millions of acres of conserved land and virgin prairie, releasing massive amounts of carbon dioxide that had been locked in the soil.


Friday, November 01, 2013

Tesla's Balloon

By Hibah Yousuf  @CNNMoneyInvest October 25, 2013: 12:41 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)


Tesla investors may be all smiles for now, but CEO Elon Musk is warning them that the stock is overvalued.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Physicists in Australia have become the first researchers to levitate a macroscopic object using lasers.

By Sebastian Anthony on October 30, 2013 at 11:44 am


Physicists in Australia have become the first researchers to levitate a macroscopic object using lasers. The physicists used three lasers to form a levitational “tripod” that could hold a small mirror in free space. Beyond the inherent awesomeness of optical levitation, the physicists believe that the setup could be used as an incredibly accurate sensor for fickle forces such as gravity, and perhaps ameliorating the greatest contradiction of them all: quantum mechanics vs. general relativity.

Optical levitation with three lasers (spoof)

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Japan’s Floating Wind Turbines Show the Challenges of Renewables

Japan’s Floating Wind Turbines Show the Challenges of Renewables 
By HIROKO TABUCHI
Published: October 24, 2013

There’s a huge amount of wind off the coast of Japan, but harnessing it will be fantastically expensive.

French energy groups create Paris solar power R&D hub

French energy groups create Paris solar power R&D hub 

By Michel Rose
PARIS | Tue Oct 29, 2013 3:17pm EDT

Oct 29 (Reuters) - French energy giants Total and EDF said they were joining forces with French research institutes and schools to create a solar energy research institute south of Paris, with a 150 million euro ($206.5 million) budget.

Claude Bartolone, President of the National AssemblyClaude Bartolone, President of the National Assembly