TECHNOLOGY
Green energy cars, houses, and innovative new processes for removing CO2 (and other greenhouse gasses) from our atmosphere or plastics from our oceans — American ingenuity is inspiring! If you can, invest in it to help our species survive our *cultural* dependence on fossil fuels. Those “dirty” fuels are no longer financially feasible without huge government subsidies, and they put people’s health at risk daily! We must press government officials to put our tax dollars into a real plan [financing] for quickly transitioning to a clean, renewable energy culture.
~ LOVE BEER & OUR ENVIRONMENT?
A new genetically engineered strain of brewer’s yeast tastes more like hops than actual hops, thus saving fresh water usage because growing one-pound of hops requires 300 to 450 gallons of water! AND… in the testing phase is a process to dehydrate and then rehydrat beer at its destination, thus reducing its transportation footprint. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/how-to-brew-a-greener-beer
~ GOOD NEWS FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES (& US!)
Lithium-ion batteries with recycled cathodes can be as good or better than ones that use freshly mined material. https://spectrum.ieee.org/recycled-batteries-good-as-newly-mined
~ COULD PRODUCTS MADE OF CO2 HELP COOL THE PLANET?
The growing carbontech industry is capturing CO2 from the air and turning it into everything from bras to vodka, to fresh baked bread. https://reasonstobecheerful.world/this-food-was-made-from-carbon-dioxide/
~ 2021 KEELING CURVE PRIZE WINNERS ANNOUNCED
This annual prize finds and directly funds projects and programs reducing human-made greenhouse gas emissions – like renewable energy, electric vehicles, zero-carbon innovation, and energy efficiency. https://www.globalwarmingmitigationproject.org/kcp-stories/2021-keeling-curve-prize-winners-announced
~ “COMMUNITY CHOICE” GETS RENEWABLE ENERGY TO MILLIONS
A novel system gives consumers a green alternative to what their utility companies offer.
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/green-energy-community-chioce-aggregators/
~ BILL GATES’ NEXT-GEN NUCLEAR PLANT
New design “packs in grid-scale energy storage” with less land and water footprints, and risks.
https://newatlas.com/energy/natrium-molten-salt-nuclear-reactor-storage/
~ CCS (CARBON CAPTURE & STORAGE IS DOUBTFUL TO WORK
Trapping carbon dioxide gasses before they enter our atmosphere via CCS technology, sounds neat, many governments are “banking-on-it,” but many experts doubt it can ever work; or with the timeliness needed! and, meanwhile, it’s a dangerous distraction from investing in scaling-up the cost-efficient renewable energies we already have. Eco-Business online article] https://www.eco-business.com/news/carbon-capture-and-storage-wont-work-critics-say/
~ STUDENT CITIZEN SCIENCE AIR QUALITY PROJECT
Blue Sky Zero’s goal is to have climate sensors be accessible to ten thousand science classrooms around the country, tracking and discussing levels of CO2, ozone, and particulates in the air where they live. https://www.thepocketlab.com/educators/article/blue-sky-zero
~ “THE MISSING BLOCK TO BUILD AN ALL-RENEWABLE ELECTRIC GRID”
University research provides “a sought-after solution to transition from fossil fuels to renewable technology while maintaining existing infrastructure and their associated workforces. https://www.newcastle.edu.au/newsroom/featured/the-missing-block-to-build-an-all-renewable-electric-grid
~ THE RACE FOR GREEN HYDROGEN FUEL
The International Energy Agency tracks about 320 green hydrogen production demonstration projects that have been announced worldwide with new projects added almost weekly. https://www.enr.com/articles/51290-has-hydrogens-time-finally-come
~ PLASTIC BAGS BECOME HIGH-PERFORMANCE MATERIALS
Two young women invent process that “eats” the plastic bags filling our oceans (and fish, bird, marine mammals’ stomachs), to become your car interior or shoe sole. https://www.novoloop.com/technology
~ NEW GEOTHERMAL BATTERY DIRECTLY CONVERTS HEAT INTO ELECTRICITY
JULY 2019 Now researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology and Sanoh Industrial have developed it. https://newatlas.com/geothermal-energy-sensitized-thermal-cells/60687/
~ LARGEST HYDROGEN STEEL PLANT TO BE EMISSIONS-FREE
Steel production is responsible for about 8% of global annual greenhouse gas emissions, but hydrogen-based production is completely emissions-free. https://newatlas.com/energy/h2gs-green-hydrogen-steel/
~ more to come soon! ~