Category: Renewables – Science

Here’s my first and long overdue post on the energy think tank Post Carbon Institute, whose work I think readers will admire.  In brief, it’s a group intent on providing an objective analysis on energy resources on this planet, and pointing …

Untangling the Contradictions that Surround Our Energy Future Read More »

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Here’s a fantastic piece in the New Yorker. There are probably 20 posts here related to the bizarre repulsion for science maintained by the common American, but none handles it with panache like this.  

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There are two important takeaways from the graphic here: • We Americans use huge amounts of energy, and feel completely entitled to do so. Insofar as there are no pressures that would militate away from this level of overconsumption, it’s …

Per Capita Energy Consumption Read More »

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In many cases, the challenges of sustainability are made more difficult by various vicious cycles, where certain bad phenomena feed on themselves and thus enter a pattern of ever-increasing acceleration.  A good example of this effect is ocean acidification, which …

The Vicious Cycle of Ocean Acidification Read More »

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When you hear about the Internet Of Things, or IoT as it’s commonly abbreviated, it’s usually with regard to convenience and knowledge. We’re using advanced exercise trackers to gain better understandings of our own fitness, integrating with cloud technologies to …

From Guest Blogger Charles Bell: Three Ways The IoT Can Help The Environment Read More »

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Here’s a post intended for physicists like Glenn Doty to comment upon.  A reader asks:  Say we make a circumnavigating coil of conductor material, wouldn’t you generate a current? I am not into big money investments in risky ventures, but …

Using the Earth’s Magnetic Field To Generate Electricity? Read More »

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In response to my piece on the ongoing deterioration of the world’s coral reefs, frequent commenter MarcoPolo suggests that the principal authors of the study are motivated by a political agenda. I respond:

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It’s the birthday of physicist Richard Feynman, a gentleman who left us many important breakthroughs in quantum mechanics and electrodynamics,  but is best remembered for his personable character and warmth, and his belief that science is a thing of beauty. …

Science Under Attack Read More »

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Environmental engineering primarily touches two sub-fields, civil engineering and biology. But each of these, in turn, is very broad. The field applies to everything from our global environment on down to the local level and interacts with other disciplines as …

From Guest Blogger Lizzie Weakly: Understanding What Environmental Engineering Can Do for Your Community Read More »

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I often start my day with the television broadcast “Newsroom Tokyo,” which airs on our local PBS affiliate at 6 AM.  Not only is this a wonderful reminder that the United States is not the center of the universe, it’s …

Coral Depletion and Regeneration: Villains and Heroes of the Fragile Ocean Ecosystems Read More »

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