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Sacramento's Metro Center Corporate Park to Cut Energy Use Through Property-Assessed Clean Energy Program

Johnson Controls, the global leader in delivering solutions that increase energy efficiency in buildings, and Ygrene Energy Fund, the leading developer and administrator of clean energy financing programs, will help Seattle-based Metzler Real Estate cut energy use and utility bills at Sacramento's Metro Center Corporate Park in the biggest contract of its kind. The program known as Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) allows Metzler to pay energy costs over time instead of upfront.

From Johnson Controls, Inc. 3 Aug 2013

Sea-Ice Melting Affects Biological Production in the Arctic Ocean

With sea ice at its lowest point in 1,500 years, how might ecological communities in the Arctic be affected by its continued accelerating melting over the next decades? Penn State Professor of Biology Eric Post and an international team of scientists tackle this question by examining relationships among algae, plankton, whales and terrestrial animals such as caribou, arctic foxes and walrus; as well as the effects of human exploration of previously inaccessible parts of the region.

3 Aug 2013

Efficiency Loss Due to Dust on PV Panels Not a Big Factor to Warrant Cleaning

Don’t hire someone to wash your dirty solar panels. That’s the conclusion of a study recently conducted by a team of engineers at the University of California, San Diego. Their findings were published in the July 25 online issue of Solar Energy.

3 Aug 2013

Novel Technique Utilizes Power of Sunlight to Split Water into Components

A University of Colorado Boulder team has developed a radically new technique that uses the power of sunlight to efficiently split water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen, paving the way for the broad use of hydrogen as a clean, green fuel.

3 Aug 2013

Northland to Acquire Majority Stake in 600 MW Gemini Offshore Wind Project

Northland Power Inc. ("Northland") today announced it has entered into agreements for the rights to acquire a majority equity stake in Gemini, a 600MW offshore wind project currently in advanced development. Gemini is located 85 kilometres off the coast of the Netherlands in the North Sea, which combines one of the strongest and most reliable wind resources in the world with favourable sea bed conditions.

3 Aug 2013

Climate Change 10 Times Quicker Than in the Past 65 Million Years

The planet is undergoing one of the largest changes in climate since the dinosaurs went extinct. But what might be even more troubling for humans, plants and animals is the speed of the change. Stanford climate scientists warn that the likely rate of change over the next century will be at least 10 times quicker than any climate shift in the past 65 million years.

2 Aug 2013

Next Generation Supercomputers for Project to Increase Efficiency of Solar Power

Some mathematical simulations used to predict the outcomes of real events are so complex that they'll stump even today's top supercomputers. To incubate the next generation of supercomputers for tackling real-world problems, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has selected Stanford as one of its three new Multidisciplinary Simulation Centers.

2 Aug 2013

Small Dams Contribute to Greenhouse Gases Linked to Global Climate Change

With the “green” reputation of large hydroelectric dams already in question, scientists are reporting that millions of smaller dams on rivers around the world make an important contribution to the greenhouse gases linked to global climate change. Their study, showing that more methane than previously believed bubbles out of the water behind small dams, appears in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology.

2 Aug 2013

Despite Uncertainties about Magnitude and Pace, Future Climate Change Remains a Certainty

Researchers reviewed the likelihood of continued changes to the terrestrial climate, including an analysis of a collection of 27 climate models. If emissions of heat-trapping gases continue along the recent trajectory, 21st century mean annual global warming could exceed 3.6 °F ( 2 °C) over most terrestrial regions during 2046 to 2065 and 7.2 °F (4 °C) during 2081-2100. If warming occurs at this pace, it will probably be the most rapid large climate change in the last 65 million years.

2 Aug 2013

Corn Ethanol May Become Sustainable Raw Material for Petroleum-Based Products

Ethanol from corn and other plants could become the sustainable, raw material for a huge variety of products, from plastic packaging to detergents to synthetic rubber, that are currently petroleum-based. This was the conclusion of an article published in the ACS journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.

2 Aug 2013

Diverse Species of Algae to be Tested Together for Producing Environmentally Sustainable Biofuels

A team of University of Michigan researchers has been awarded a $2 million federal grant to identify and test naturally diverse groups of green algae that can be grown together to create a high-yield, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective system to produce next-generation biofuels.

1 Aug 2013

Catlin Seaview Survey to Focus on Coral Reefs in the Caribbean and Bermuda

Following our 2012 expedition of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea, we are excited to announce the focus of our second major regional expedition, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

1 Aug 2013

NASA to Host Media Day for Upcoming Pollution-Climate Science Airborne Campaign

For a behind-the-scenes look at NASA's upcoming airborne campaign to study how air pollution from wildfires and other sources affects our climate, NASA will host a media day from 8-11 a.m. CDT Wednesday, Aug. 21, in Houston.

1 Aug 2013

Carbon Dioxide Sequestration May be Used to Release Natural Gas Liquids from Ailing Reservoirs

A technique for trapping the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide deep underground could at the same be used to release the last fraction of natural gas liquids from ailing reservoirs, thus offsetting some of the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels. So says a paper to be published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology.

1 Aug 2013

Hotspots of Genetic Diversity Under Threat from Climate Change

Past climates shaped the current hotspots of genetic diversity for the grey long-eared bat, one of the UK’s rarest mammals, but future climate change threatens these biodiversity hotspots, according to researchers from the University of Bristol, working in collaboration with scientists from the University of Sheffield and from across Europe.

1 Aug 2013