Photo via the New Republic It's a widely held notion that politicians have long been in the pocket of Big Oil. And there's good reason for that perception: oil companies' huge campaign donations, vast lobbying power, and close ties to politicians have ensured that their taxes remain low , that hidden subsidies are around to provide extra funding, and that they receive preferential treatment in US energy policy. But there could be a new, ... View original post here: The Next Big Oil: Big Smart Grid?
So there really isn't anything that deep to this image. It's just a (more or less) life-sized blue whale eye. And on the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society site you can educate yourself/be mesmerized/ waste some time for a while staring at it while the entire life-sized animal scrolls across your browser window. Believe me, it's way cooler than you might think:... Read more from the original source: Ever See a Blue Whale Life-Sized on Your Computer? Now You Can
published August 12, 2010 and has No Comments
Images via Choi + Shine Who says that transmission towers need to be ugly? One of the biggest downsides of having easy access to energy has long been the unsightly way it's carried from place to place, but one US design firm hopes to revolutionize all that -- by giving electricity pylons a human touch. In a project entitled ...
Read more...published August 12, 2010 and has No Comments
Photo by Editor B According to Berg Insight, the worldwide installed base of smart electricity meters will hit over 300 million by 2015. The research firm states that over the next five years, smart meter technology is projected to move from 15-20% market penetration to almost 50% in Europe and North America, while Asia-Pacific will go from less than ...
Read more...published August 10, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: Munts Family I once very publicly confessed my laziness in putting up a clothes line , and the battles over clothes lines and property values are well publicized by now. But whether you are an avid outdoor drier, or you wouldn't be seen dead hanging your undies up in public, all too often the issue of clothes ...
Read more...published August 3, 2010 and has No Comments
Southern pine wood chips, photo: USDA Southern Research Station . Biomass burning for electricity still looks to be a political and environmental black hole, presenting more dreadful questions than a tree hugger can shake a blog at: Why, for example, are 120 new wood burning power plants being planned in multiple US states? Are banks and managing utilities planning ...
Read more...published August 2, 2010 and has No Comments
The Robinsons model the latest in tinfoil pyjamas Forget the tinfoil hat, it is time for tinfoil pyjamas. Scientific American tells us that the bed frames and box springs in most American beds are half the wavelength of TV and FM signals and are acting as antennae, causing skin and breast cancers on victims' left sides, which are usually ...
Read more...published July 28, 2010 and has No Comments
Image via Microsoft Hohm We're seeing a boost in partnerships between software and hardware companies when it comes to monitoring energy consumption at home. The latest partnership joins up Microsoft's Hohm , an online platform for managing energy use, and Blue Line , which offers a power monitor and Wifi unit that can now be combined to upload your ...
Read more...published July 28, 2010 and has No Comments
The graphene organic photovoltaic manufacturing process. Courtesy of USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Guest bloggers Andrea Donsky and Randy Boyer are co-founders of NaturallySavvy.com . Bulky solar-powered gear is nothing new , but imagine charging your iPod or cell phone while you jog along... Read the full story on TreeHugger See the original post here: New, Transparent Solar Technology Could ...
Read more...published July 26, 2010 and has No Comments
The carbon intensity of coal is so high that CCS technology will only slightly reduce emissions, the report authors say. Photo: Joost J Bakker via flickr. Another take on the how to transition from coal-based electricity and its huge carbon emissions to low-carbon power sources, this time from two researchers from Rice University: A new paper coming out of ...
Read more...published July 23, 2010 and has No Comments
Image via GreenMonk With consumers only just starting to hear the term "smart grid," let alone trust utilities as they install millions of smart meters in homes nationwide, we're used to hearing stories about how consumers are pushing back against companies like PG&E during smart meter installation, reporting higher bills thanks to the new meters, or fretting about potential ...
Read more...published July 14, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: Good When the temperature climbs, demand on the power grid goes up with the mercury. The culprits are a million air conditioners cranked to full blast and the result, when things get really hot, is sometimes a power outage. To combat this surge in demand, utilities have tried to generate more power but recently they have also ...
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A Finnish designer has made a working surfboard from broken skateboards. Read the original here: Hollow Surfboard Is Made from Broken Skateboards
How to grow tastier tomatoes and how to make food taste sweeter without sugar: just two amazing discoveries from a study of the chemical interactions underlying tomato flavor preferences Read the rest here: The Secrets of Tasty Tomatoes Discovered - Can ...
