Nov 8, 09
‘Bacteria batteries’ For Energy Storage: Methane Technology Mimics Chemical Process Found in Marshes
by Ed Gould A breakthrough in battery technology, which combines waste carbon dioxide with tiny microbes, could help provide an answer to intermittent wind power. Scientists at Pennsylvania State University are pioneering a method whereby electrical energy is stored as methane, which can then be burned to release power when it’s needed. The system’s active ‘ingredients’ are a combination of tiny microbes and CO2. Placed under an electrical current – for example from an...
Joe Alcamo Appointed UNEP Chief Scientist
Joe Alcamo, who was the first person to introduce me to the concept of virtual water (and who is a very smart thinker about water, climate and sustainability in general), has just been appointed the first Chief Scientist of the United Nations Environment Program. Given the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to integrating innovation in development with a respect for planetary boundaries, having someone like Joe at UNEP can only be a very good thing for all of us. Congratulations, Joe!
Biofuel Startup Announces Huge Yields From Engineered Organism
A Massachusetts company, Joule Biotechnologies, has unveiled what it says is a technological breakthrough that uses genetically engineered organisms, sunlight, water, and concentrated carbon dioxide to produce up to 20,000 gallons of biofuel per acre. The much-watched startup claims that its secret organisms, coupled with photo bioreactors, not only directly produce an ethanol-like fuel but also secrete the fuel continuously. As a result, Joule officials say, its so-called “helioculture...
Australia's Centre for Integrated Sustainability Analysis
Folks at the Centre for Integrated Sustainability Analysis in Sydney, Australia seem to be doing some pretty terrific work these days. I have noticed their involvement in several cool projects lately: Researchers there worked with the Stockholm Environment Institute on the reassessment of the UK's carbon footprint which showed that counting offshored emissions, the UK was producing more, not fewer, greenhouse gasses. Barney Foran put forward a nice summary of what factors might be essential...
Mining the Moon?
Someone please tell me if I'm missing something. The New York Times reported last week that on October 22, India launched its first unmanned spacecraft to orbit the moon. The craft is expected to remain in space for two years. During that time, it will do something undeniably cool: prepare a 3-D atlas of the moon. The other part of its mission, however, is something I find pretty unsettling: and prospect the lunar surface for natural resources, including uranium, a coveted fuel for...
Dennis Meadows and Computer Modeling
Dennis Meadows, in an email discussing computer models, suggested that beyond their obvious functions, computer models often have one or more of the following purposes: #1: Provide useful information about the future behavior or the future coefficient values of some system. #2: Attract money that is mainly going to be used for purposes other than building a model - overhead, salaries, proposal writing. #3: Cause the model builder to become respected as an expert by others, so they will ask...
DNA Forensics May Prevent Elephant Poaching
A shipment of forest timber traveled around the southern tip of Africa and across the Indian Ocean before it arrived at the Hong Kong dockyards two years ago. During a routine X-ray examination, customs officials discovered an even more lucrative cargo hidden behind a false wall: 605 elephant tusks. The $8 million seizure was the largest ivory catch in Hong Kong since a 1989 agreement banned the international ivory trade. Ivory seizures are on the rise, particularly in Southeast Asia; the...
How Do We Intelligently Discuss Politicized Geoengineering?
Ever since I wrote about my support for a ban on geoengineering research, I've found myself more involved in a debate about geoengineering, climate science and politics than I anticipated being. Mostly this has meant a bunch of email -- some supportive, some outraged -- and more than a few calls from reporters working on geoengineering stories. Now I find myself in a strange position, trying to find a useful stance in what has become an incredibly politicized debate. I'd be interested to...
Bonobos, Berkeley and Mars
Several things I've meant to blog on and haven't: The Bonobo Conservation Initiative, which is not only saving our awesome laid-back, sexed-up little cousins, but is being smart about it, by building a network of local bonobo-supported villages, with outreach, jobs, microenterprise programs, a local technical college, cultural preservation help and a free clinic. And it's working: they've been instrumental in the designation of the Reserve Naturelle du Sankuru, a new 11,803 square mile...
The Currency of Status
by Clark Williams-Derry Brain research suggests a link between money and social standing., from Sightline Daily I've been trying to work this tidbit into a post for weeks, but I haven't found an opportune moment. So here's the news straight up: new studies suggest that a single part of the brain evaluates both money and social status. Sadato and colleagues conducted fMRI scans of the brains of 19 subjects while they engaged in two different exercises. The first task...
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