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MIT Researchers Develop Autonomous Oil-Absorbing Robot to Clean Up Oil Spills
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August 26, 2010 - gizmag
| | Over skimmers were deployed in the Gulf of Mexico during the summer of 2010 to help clean up the Deepwater Horizon leak; however, it is estimated that these skimmers collected only three percent of the surface oil. Researchers at MIT have devised a system, called Seaswarm, consisting of a fleet of vehicles that may make cleaning up future oil spills both less expensive and more efficient than current skimming methods. A robotic prototype created by the researchers could autonomously navigate the ocean surface using cutting edge nanotechnology to collect surface oil and process it on site. The Seaswarm robot uses a conveyor belt covered with a thin nanowire mesh to absorb oil. The fabric, developed by MIT Visiting Associate Professor Francesco Stellacci, can absorb up to twenty times its own weight in oil while repelling water. By heating up the material, the oil can be removed and burnt locally and the nanofabric can be reused.
| | | By Darren Quick © 2003 - 2010 gizmag
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New Microbe Discovered Eating Gulf Oil Spill
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August 24, 2010 - MSNBC
| | A newly discovered type of oil-eating microbe suddenly is flourishing in the Gulf of Mexico and gobbling up the BP spill at a much faster rate than expected. Scientists discovered the new microbe while studying the underwater dispersion of millions of gallons of oil spilled since the explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. Also, the microbe works without significantly depleting oxygen in the water, researchers reported in the online journal Sciencexpress.
| | | © 2010 MSNBC.com
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Senate Dems Delay Vote On Oil Spill, Energy Bill
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August 3, 2010 - CBS News
| | Washington -- Democrats on Tuesday gave up trying to pass even a scaled-back energy bill this summer that would have removed liability ceilings on oil companies, a reaction to the BP oil spill. The bill also would have offered rebates to consumers for home energy efficiency improvements and encouraged federal agencies to buy more electric vehicles and retrofit heavy duty vehicles for natural gas.
| | | © 2010 The Associated Press © 2010 CBS Interactive Inc.
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China Plans Huge Buses That Can Drive Over Cars
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August 3, 2010 - The Huffington Post
| | China has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest producer of greenhouse gases and biggest energy consumer. But the country is also thinking in big and bold ways when it comes to how it will reduce pollution and a new plan to build a "straddling bus" is among the most space-age schemes yet. In an effort to go green and relieve congestion without widening roads, the Shenzhen Huashi Future Parking Equipment company is developing a "3D Express Coach" (also known as a "three-dimensional fast bus").
| | | © 2010 HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
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Congressman: Too Much Dispersant Used In Oil Spill
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August 1, 2010 - CBS News
| | New Orleans -- As BP inched closer to permanently sealing the blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, congressional investigators railed against the company and Coast Guard for part of the cleanup effort, saying too much toxic chemical dispersant was used.
| | | © 2010 The Associated Press © 2010 CBS Interactive Inc.
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Spain to Cut Subsidies for New Solar Power Plants
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August 1, 2010 - Bloomberg Businessweek
| | Spain is proceeding with plans to cut prices for solar power from new generators, the Industry Ministry said, after talks on broader changes to renewable energy subsidies broke down last week. Prices for power from ground-based panels may be cut by 45 percent while photovoltaic generators mounted on large roofs face a 25 percent reduction and plants on small roofs will see a 5 percent cut, the ministry said in a statement.
| | | By Ben Sills © 2010 Bloomberg L.P.
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Engineers Race to Design World's Biggest Offshore Wind Tturbines
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July 26, 2010 - The Guardian
| | British, American and Norwegian engineers are in a race to design and build the holy grail of wind turbines – giant, 10MW offshore machines twice the size and power of anything seen before – that could transform the global energy market because of their economies of scale. Today, a revolutionary British design that mimics a spinning sycamore leaf and which was inspired by floating oil platform technology, entered the race. Leading engineering firm Arup is to work with an academic consortium backed by blue-chip companies including Rolls Royce, Shell and BP to create detailed designs for the "Aerogenerator", a machine that rotates on its axis and would stretch nearly 275m from blade tip to tip. It is thought that the first machines will be built in 2013-14 following two years of testing.
| | | By John Vidal © 2010 Guardian News and Media Limited
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US State Quarantine Cattle Over Gas Drilling Fluid
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July 1, 2010 - Reuters
| | Officials have quarantined 28 cows that may have drunk toxic waste water from natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania, adding to concerns about health risks arising from exploiting the state's vast shale deposits.
| | | © 2010 Thomson Reuters
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