How to Make a Clock Run for 10,000 Years
• Dylan Tweney via WIRED.comHigh on a rocky ridge in the desert, nestled among the brush, is the topmost part of a clock that has been ticking for thousands of years.
Contents Pages by Subject
Energy
Uh Oh: Goldman Is Now Selling Oil Equities - Advises Clients To Buy Oil Equities
• ZeroHedge.comEditor Note: I wonder if this has anything to do with Lindsey Williams latest warning on war in the Middle East this fall/winter...
EMP Protection
• arcleinA similar storm today might knock us for a loop," says Lika Guhathakurta, a solar physicist at NASA headquarters. "Modern society depends on high-tech systems such as smart power grids, GPS, and satellite communications--all of which are vulnerable
The Strongest Electrical Current in the Universe Spotted, 2 Billion Light Years From Here
• Clay Dillow via PopSci.comLooking for a source of renewable electricity? At 1018 amps, the current is the strongest current ever seen, equalling something like a trillion bolts of lightning.
Two U.S. nuclear plants under threat as flood waters rise
• Stephen C. Webster via RawStoryThe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been enforcing a no-fly zone over the Fort Calhoun plant since early this month, even though the plant has been shut down since early April for refueling.
Pocket Particle Accelerators Like This One Could Bring Safer Nuclear Power to Neighborhoods
• Rebecca Boyle via PopSci.comA wee particle accelerator in the English countryside could be a harbinger of a safer, cleaner future of energy. Specifically, nuclear energy, but not the type that has wrought havoc in Japan and controversy throughout Europe and the U.S.
Arnie Gundersen - Nebraska Nuclear Plant: Emergency Level 4 & About to Get Worse - June 14, 2011
• youtube.com"On June 6, 2011, the Fort Calhoun pressurized water nuclear reactor 20 miles north of Omaha, Nebraska entered emergency status due to imminent flooding from the Missouri River. A day later, there was an electrical fire requiring plant evacuation.
Oil Production Gains for 2012
• arcleinIraq is rebuilding its oil infrastructure after years of conflict and has signed deals with oil majors to reach a proposed production capacity of 12 million bpd by 2017. Most analysts see 6-7 million bpd as more realistic.
Inspiring Confidence in Advanced Battery Technology
• James Greenberger via TheEnergyCollective.comThe ability to store electrical energy in an efficient and light weight form has the promise to solve many critical social problems. The last few months have led me to wonder whether we might not be betting on the wrong technology.
New solar power plant can generate electricity at night
• Terrence AymTorresol Energy, a bold joint venture between the Spanish engineering firm SENER and an Abu Dhabu energy company called Masdar has accomplished a feat few in the energy production business thought possible scant years ago: a solar powered facility th
Tenn. law bans posting images that "cause emotional distress"
• ars TechnicaA new Tennessee law makes it a crime to "transmit or display an image" online that is likely to "frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress" to someone who sees it. Violations can get you almost a year in jail time or up to $2500 in fines.
Japanese Environment Ministry to Slash Energy With Hawaiian Shirt Initiative Dubbed "Super Cool
• Dan Nosowitz via PopSci.comSuper Cool Biz is an effort to tamp down Japan's skyrocketing energy consumption, largely through cutting out excess air conditioning
First Hybrid Power Plant Will Combine Solar, Wind and Natural Gas
• Rebecca Boyle via PopSci.comA new hybrid power plant to be built in Turkey will combine a traditional gas-fired steam turbine with solar thermal power and wind power, according to GE.
Breakthrough in battery technology could revolutionize electric vehicles
• Eric W. Dolan via RawStory.comA new battery design developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology could transform the way electric vehicles and the power grid store and discharge energy.
Edison-Era Inventions Emerge From the Vaults of General Electric
• Dan Nosowitz via PopSci.comGeneral Electric has pretty much had its hand in every major technological advance in the 130 years since its founding (in part by Thomas Edison!). The company recently started a Tumblr of some of its most striking innovations
What Will a Nuclear-Free Germany Cost?
• Peter Fairley via TechnologyReview.comMerkel's plan to exchange nuclear reactors for offshore wind farms and a stronger grid could cost more than expected.
Natural Gas Could 'Muscle Out' Renewables
• Kevin Bullis via TechnologyReview.comNatural gas burns cleanly, emits half as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as burning coal, and is extremely plentiful—especially due to new extraction technologies such as fracking. It seems like a perfect fuel for battling climate change.
Startup Thinks It Can Make Flow Batteries Cheaper
• Kevin Bullis via PopSci.comThe key is a modular design, which could make the technology practical as a way to keep the grid stable and reduce electricity costs.
Car Doors And Hoods Could Store Power, Cutting Battery Weight and Increasing Hybrids' Range
• Rebecca Boyle via PopSci.comFuture hybrid cars won’t just have powerful batteries — they will be storing energy in their doors, hoods and roofs. Car parts could serve as capacitors, which would allow for smaller and more lightweight batteries, thus increasing a hybrid’s range.
Berkeley Fuel Cell Work
• arcleinThat's where Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's (Berkeley Lab's) Fuel Cell program comes in. Located in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Berkley Lab's fuel-cell researchers work with the U.S. Department of Energy and industry
Breaking news: Germany scrapping nuclear power! How about the U.S.?
• The Economic SpyIn a high-risk move that comes as a response to the nuclear power plant catastrophe at the Fukushima facility in Japan, the Merkel government in Germany has announced plans to wean the country off of nuclear power and into renewable fuel by 2022.
Gasoline Prices Painful For 4 in 10
• AZcentral.comOverall in the poll, 71 percent said rising prices will cause some hardship for them and their family, including 41 percent who called it a "serious" hardship. Just 29 percent said rising prices are not causing a negative impact on their finances.
A $10 increase in the price for a barrel of oil means what?
• The Economic SpyOPEC will meet in Vienna next month with Iran’s Ahmadinejad acting Chair We will be okay as long as we have a friend in charge of setting OPEC oil prices, right?Since that won’t be the case, however, what can we expect in terms of production and
Solar Power With Hot Running Water
• arcleinWhile solar thermal electricity systems aren't a new idea, they typically involve vast arrays of movable mirrors that track the sun and focus its rays on a small area. The new approach uses flat, stationary panels similar to traditional solar panels
Will a Saudi Collapse Translate Into Soaring Gold and a Falling Dollar?
• dailybell.com"If something happens in Saudi Arabia it (oil) will go to $200 to $300 (a barrel). I don't expect this for the time being, but who would have expected Tunisia?" – Former Saudi oil minister Sheikh Zaki Yamani 4/5/11
Rapid Testing Yields High-Energy Battery Materials
• Kevin Bullis via TechnologyReview.comWildcat Discovery Technologies, a startup in San Diego, California, has developed new materials that could boost the storage capacity of lithium-ion batteries for cars and portable electronics by more than 25 percent.
Hotter Solar Energy. -Siemens looks to cut the cost and boost the efficiency of solar thermal power
• Peter Fairley via TechnologyReview.comSolar thermal power plants that produce hotter steam can capture more solar energy. That's why Siemens is exploring an upgrade for solar thermal technology to push its temperature limit 160 °C higher than current designs.
Saudi Arabia Bans Demonstrations As It Hurtles Towards 3-11-11 Day Of Rage
• ZeroHedge.comHow much this latest bout of totalitarian market control (so welcome by market overlords such as Larry Fink) and centrallized planning calms people ahead of next week's days of rage is unknown. After all Saudi Arabia is quite a few months behind...
US Invasion Of Libya Aims to Replace Chinese Oil Companies With Western Ones?
• LewRockwell.comThe US/European/Israeli nexus seeks to dislodge state-ownership – to whatever extent it actually exists – and dislodge any Chinese workers or companies involved in the oil exploitation, and replace these with western companies and western...
Jim Quinn: There Are No Good Outcomes
• ZeroHedge.comAmericans always need a bogeyman to blame for their mindless decisions and willingness to be led to slaughter by corrupt politicians. Big oil companies do benefit from higher oil prices. Big oil companies spend millions buying off Congressmen.
