A perennial grass that grows as tall as 13 feet, requires little to no fertilizer, and can be stored away in bales almost indefinitely could be the next hope for efficient ethanol production.
At least that’s the thinking of researchers from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who have been …
Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota, Detroit Auto Show, Spy Shots
We have already garnered so many technical details regarding Toyota's next-generation Prius hybrid sedan that we are getting pretty antsy to see the vehicle in the flesh. Though it is still heavily camo'd, the first real spy pics of the green halo-car have been snapped, and we can definitely recognize the iconic windswept shape which has become a Prius hallmark. Not entirely visible are the roof-mounted solar cells which are rumored to make it into production. Although the new car will grow a bit in size and get a mildly enlarged engine, efficiency is expected to increase and nickel metal hydride batteries will continue to be used in lieu of the newer but as-yet unproven lithium-based units. Expect the official V.3 Prius debut in January at the Detroit Auto Show. Also planned are a Lexus version of the Prius along with additional models which could make the Prius a sub-brand in Toyota's line of cars and trucks. [Source: NextAutos]
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Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, ZENN, USA
Fictive Atlantean confused charge
Following months of silence about the progress of its potentially world-changing energy storage device, the secretive Cedar Park, Texas-based firm, EEStor, has issued a press release announcing that it has reached key production milestones. One such marker for example is, " the certification of the completeness of the powder crystallization of the constituents utilized in producing its [composition modified barium titanate] CMBT powders." For those of you lacking a degree in advanced materials science, we believe what they are trying to say is that some of the materials which they will use to create their electrical energy storage unit (EESU) are within the specifications necessary for production. No, they haven't actually produced a working prototype or anything they could point to to prove they have the answer to life, the universe and everything but they have indeed created the most complicated sounding press release of all time.
They also say they have shown Dr. Edward Golla of the Texas Research Institute their test and measurement equipment and that Golla has certified that the equipment is capable of measuring what EEStor says it will. None of this however gives any indication of whether EEStors ultra capacitors will ever actually work as claimed. For that we must still wait. It does seem as though the company has opened the lines of communication to the outside world with the publishing of an email address. However, we are sure you are more likely to gain insight into their progress by keeping tabs on the blog that thoroughly follows everything EEStor. Hit the jump to decipher the press release for yourselves.
[Source: EEStor]
Continue reading EEStor makes production milestone announcement of sorts
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When you think of sharks, do you hear the theme music to the 1970s horror flick “Jaws”?
If so, try diving with hundreds of them off South Africa’s east coast. My wife and I did so earlier this month and it was truly a mind-blowing experience.
Every year during the southern hemisphere winter, ragged-tooth sharks gather on the sub-tropical reefs of South Africa’s Aliwal Shoal to breed.
My wife and I did two dives in these shark-infested waters and encountered “raggies” by the dozen. Most were about 1.5 to two meters (4.5 to 6.5 feet) long I reckon but some were larger (the females tend to be bigger than the males).
The visibility was not great so I have no idea how many were really out there. Scores or possibly hundreds I suppose.
Divers are not supposed to go within five meters of the sharks but the sharks don’t follow the same guidelines and sometimes swim right past you, a permanent ragged-tooth “smile” etched in their faces.
Did they look sinister? Of course! But they did not strike me as aggressive in the least (though I have to confess that I would have been less comfortable around great whites).
And after about 30 minutes of constant shark sightings our group drifted over the “cathedral”, which is sort of an open cavern where dozens of raggies swim slowly in circles.
I saw it as I started my gradual ascent to the surface (I was getting low on air) and it was a thrill to realise that so many sharks were circling below me.
The folks at Aliwal Dive Center, the outfit we took the plunge with, said this year has been the best for raggie diving in at least a decade. And they see such close encounters with sharks as good for conservation as they help to dispell man-eater myths.
“Sharks have had such bad press,” said Aliwal manager Nigel Pickering.
There have been concerns in some conservation circles that divers have contributed to declines in the number of sharks coming to the area in recent years — perhaps the animals are shy of odd creatures spewing bubbles — but the numbers this season suggest the reasons behind this state of affairs are probably more complex.
Shark numbers globally are in decline in part because of the unsustainable harvesting of shark fins for soup, a coveted delicacy in Asia and elsewhere. So any sign of a recovery such as the raggie numbers this year off South Africa is good news.
Against this backdrop, it certainly seems to me that diving with raggies can do no harm. Scuba diving done properly is not an intrusive or disruptive outdoor activity.
And like many other eco-tourist pursuits it can’t hurt to make it commercially valuable to see the animals up close. This gives people a vested interest in protecting rather than eating them.
And it shows that sharks don’t always want to eat us either.
The extradition of former Bosnian Serb
leader Radovan Karadzic on Wednesday to
face genocide charges in The Hague sends
a signal that the international community
means business in bringing fugitives to
justice.
Reinforcing the same message,
Serge Brammertz, chief prosecutor
of the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia, called again
for the arrest of Bosnian Serb wartime
commander Ratko Mladic. Like Karadzic,
Mladic is accused of genocide over the
43-month siege of Sarajevo and the 1995
massacre of some 8,000 Muslims at
Srebrenica.
This ought to ring alarm bells for Sudan's president, Omar
Hassan al-Bashir, who is also accused of war crimes. But world
leaders are also sending other signals which may ease any
concerns he has that he may soon be arrested.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the International Criminal Court's (ICC)
prosecutor, has charged Bashir with masterminding a campaign of
genocide in Darfur, killing 35,000 people and persecuting 2.5
million. But the U.N. Security Council is divided over his calls
for an arrest warrant against Bashir. Some countries hope the
ICC will halt any genocide indictment in the interests of peace,
fearing any attempt to arrest him could cause more bloodshed.
Dumisani Kumalo, South Africa's ambassador to the United
Nations, made this clear on Tuesday as the U.N Security Council
prepared to consider a South African and Libyan proposal that it
call on the ICC's judges to refrain from taking any action.
"We are not saying 'stop doing it' to the prosecutor of the
ICC," the ambassador said.
"We are saying, give peace a chance, can you just give it a
year, let's see UNAMID deployed," Kumalo said, referring to the
U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur.
UNAMID's mandate expires on Thursday and Britain has drafted
a resolution on extending the mandate until July 31, 2009. But
South Africa and Libya want to insert a paragraph calling for a
suspension of any ICC moves. Such moves suggest Bashir, who
denies the charges against him, is unlikely to be arrested any
time soon.
If arrested, Bashir would follow prominent figures such as Karadzic,
late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, former Liberian President
Charles Taylor and Congolese former rebel warlord and vice-president
Jean-Pierre Bemba into the dock.
Taylor is accused by the U.N. -backed Special Court for Sierra
Leone of orchestrating rebel atrocities during Sierra Leone's
1991-2002 conflict. Milosevic died in detention in 2006 before a
verdict was reached in his trial on genocide charges. Bemba is
accused by the ICC of leading Congolese rebels in a campaign
of rape and torture in the Central African Republic in 2002 and
2003.
The chances of Karadzic or Milosevic being arrested and
brought to trial initially seemed slim, but political changes in
Serbia -- namely the appointment of a Western-leaning government
keen to join the European Union -- helped secure his arrest.
Bashir's arrest is more complicated as he is a sitting head
of state. It also appears to depend heavily on political will
and political change -- but are there any signs of this? Should
Karadzic's arrest and detention give Bashir any real cause for
concern?
In environmental terms, fast food is pretty much invariably not green. From the somewhat savvy coffee and bagel shops to the golden arches -- the excess trash, factory farm practices, and the fact that it's served in a drive-thru pretty much stack the deck against these places. Still, places like Dunkin' Donuts seem to think that they can woo a hip new demographic by greening up their image. Not only is Dunkin' Donuts building a LEED Gold-certified restaurant in Florida, now they're offering a menu loaded with low calorie sandwiches and even vegetarian options. Both are commendable choices, but isn't this a bit disingenuous. If the idea that a place that serves sugar-coated fried dough going healthy seems weird -- I'm right there with you.
My guess is that DD conducted market research that found that their customers would eat more donuts if they feel like they've made a healthy decision on their sandwich. Like ordering a Big Mac, large fries, and a Diet Coke.
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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, MPG, Chevrolet, GM
Back in June when GM CEO Rick Wagoner outlined product realignment decisions at the company's annual meeting, the Flint engine plant was identified as the home of a new family of small engines. GM has now filed paperwork with the city of Flint indicating that the new Family 0 engines would be built at the facility. The Family 0 engines will include three and four cylinder powerplants ranging from 1.0-1.4L in displacement. Among the first engines will be a turbocharged 1.4L that will go into the new Chevrolet Cruze. Last week GM's Larry Nitz identified the normally aspirated 1.4L will be used to drive the range extender in the Chevy Volt ER-EV. A new factory will be built adjacent to an existing engine plant and truck plant. The $326 million facility will cover 530,000 sq ft when it launches production in 2010.
[Source: Flint Journal]
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These recovered balls of recyclables at the Davis Street Transfer Center in San Leandro, Calif., will likely end up in China.
(Credit: Hanna Sistek/CNET News)
Ever since I came to the United States from my native Europe, I have been curious about the country’s recycling practices. What happens …
Zimbabwe may lose its status as the country with the world’s highest proportion of billionaires after the central bank’s decision to lop 10 zeroes from its dollar.
What it means for the currency is that 10,000,000,000 dollars will become just one - although it will still take 25 of the new dollars to buy a loaf of bread.
What it means for Zimbabweans could be much less.
Having so many zeroes on the notes certainly doesn’t make shopping any easier, but there is little in the shops anyway and what is there costs too much for many to afford.
The decline of the currency’s value has become a stark symbol of the economic collapse of a country that was once prosperous by regional standards, but now suffers shortages of food and fuel and has lost millions of its people as refugees to neighbouring states.
Experts doubt whether the impact of the re-denomination will be any more than cosmetic. Zimbabwe removed three zeroes from the dollar in 2006, but prices actually spiked after that.
Is there any hope of economic recovery without a deal to end the political crisis? And can there be a hope of that given the differences between Zimbabwe’s rivals? Is the optimism of South African President Thabo Mbeki realistic with the clock ticking down to the initial deadline for an agreement?
What do you think?