Climate Change Could Be Reduced by Solar Roads Currently, humanity is on the brink of environmental disaster due to climate change. Our future could be a bleak one with rising seas and an atmosphere heating up to extreme temperatures. Or it could be a peaceful place with clean energy and a major reduction of the usage of oil, gas and coal a thing of the past. If one couple in Idaho gets their way, this clean green future could include their very own invention, solar roads. As a child, Scott Brusaw spent many a long afternoon setting up roads for his electric toy cars to run on. He would think about a future where all roads were electric allowing kids like him to drive. In the midst of the mid-2000s, with the debate about climate change beginning, Brusaw and his wife Julie wanted to think of a project that could reduce the effects on the environment caused by global warming. The couple reasoned that the material used to make the roads needed to be excessively strong. By Sara Watson Sources: CNNBusiness InsiderSolar Roadways
Casting Oil Upon the Waters: The House Drilling Bills | David Goldston This week, the House could vote on three bills to expand offshore oil and gas drilling. It is remarkable enough that the House would take up such measures before Congress has done a thing to make drilling safer. But what is truly astounding about these bills is that they would actually make the system that governs offshore drilling weaker than it was before the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. This is legislation that should give pause even to the most ardent proponents of offshore drilling. These bills are more than a Big Oil wish list; they are a sort of oil utopia – and they could make sense only in a utopian world in which oil spills could never ever happen, in which there are never conflicts between the oil industry and other economic interests like fishing and tourism, and in which oil companies always take environmental and safety concerns fully into account. So what would the bills actually do? Now think about that. This is replacing oil policy with a kind of oil mania.
This glass sphere might revolutionize solar power on Earth German architect André Broessel, of Rawlemon, has looked into his crystal ball and seen the future of renewable energy. In this case it’s a spherical sun-tracking solar energy-generating globe — essentially a giant glass marble on a robotic steel frame. But this marble is no toy. It concentrates both sunlight and moonlight up to 10,000 times — making its solar harvesting capabilities 35 percent more efficient than conventional dual-axis photovoltaic designs. André Broessel was a finalist in the World Technology Network Award 2013 with the globe’s design and afterward produced this latest version, called Betaray, which can concentrate diffuse light such as that from a cloudy day. André Broessel’s latest invention looks like something out of a superhero movie. In reality, though, it’s a stand-alone solar energy generator. But Broessel’s invention may be more than just aesthetically pleasing. “We can squeeze more juice out of the sun,” Broessel says. Source: NewsDiscovery
Bill Gates invests $2 billion in renewable energy Bill Gates has announced plans to invest another $2 billion in renewable energy technology to help the fight against climate change. At the same time, the philanthropist emphasized he will not join a movement spearheaded by 350.org to divest from fossil fuel companies emitting the bulk of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Rather than divest, Gates says he will double renewable energy investments over the next five years. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation plans to invest the $2 billion in breakthrough renewable energy technologies to help reduce global CO2 emissions. Related: Bill Gates tackles child mortality with $75M network of disease surveillance centers Over the past few years, Gates has been criticized for his investments in fossil fuel companies such as BP, which inspired The Guardian to launch a campaign asking the Gates’ Foundation and Wellcome Trust to divest from these companies. + Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Via The Guardian
Incredible: a lamp that works without electricity, batteries or sunlight | Earth. We are one Terms and Conditions Welcome to www.ewao.com (the "Website"). By using the Website, and the products and services of EWAO Limited ("EWAO") to view, upload, download, transmit or publish content (“Content”) available on or through the Website (referred to collectively as the "Services") you irrevocably agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and the EWAO’s Privacy Policy (collectively the "Terms"). These Terms apply both to third-party contributors and viewers of content (“Content”) displayed on the Website. Website. Acceptance of Terms. Lawful Use of Website. Restrictions on Use of Website: You are not permitted to use the Website or Services and cannot accept the Terms if: (i) you are below the legal age under which you can enter a binding contract with EWAO; or (ii) you are prevented from receiving the Services under the laws of the jurisdiction which you are resident or from where you use the Website or Services. Restricted Activities. Intellectual Property. Links. Outgoing links.
How Technology Is Fueling The Push Toward Solar Solar energy in the United States has seen immense momentum throughout the years. When the Solar Energy Industries Association released its annual report in 2008, it concluded that U.S. solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity reached a total of 1.183 gigawatts — a stellar achievement at the time. Contrast that figure with today, and the number is dwarfed by the United States’ installed capacity of 21.3 gigawatts, enough energy to power 4.3 million homes. As to what is powering this widespread adoption, one only needs to look at the residential market. The commercial sector isn’t as fortunate, outside of a few large-scale projects driven by Fortune 500 and utility companies. Tech is changing that. Outpacing Commercial Solar We often hear of large companies, like Wal-Mart, Amazon and Target, deciding to go solar in a move that makes both economic sense and decreases their carbon footprint. The future of solar has never looked brighter. Bringing Small And Medium-Sized Businesses To The Solar Grid
LEDs are changing the way cities look from space NASAThe International Space Station in orbit. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are snapping photos of Earth to measure light pollution, and they've found something surprising: Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) — which are touted for their energy-saving properties — are actually making light pollution worse. And the change is so intense that ISS crew members can see it from space. To see it, take a look at these photos that astronauts snapped of the bustling city of Milan. Before Milan transitioned to LEDs, in 2012, the lighting levels in the surrounding suburbs were about the same as those of the city center. NASA/ESAImage of Milan at night in 2012, captured by astronauts aboard the ISS. But by 2015, after the city transitioned to LEDs, illumination levels in the city center were much brighter than those of the suburbs, with a higher amount of blue light. Samantha Cristoforetti/NASA/ESAAstronauts aboard the ISS captured this image of Milan in 2015.