We are at a point in history when innovations are needed rivaling those of the information technology industry in speed of change – for the development of farm machinery for growing and harvesting new crops that produce energy.
Yes, we all know that thing about getting high from banana peels was a 1960’s hoax, but this is the real deal. A team of researchers has found that minced banana peels can clean pollution from river water, such as lead and copper. Not only that, but they can do it more quickly and efficiently than conventional chemical water treatments. Okay, so you’d probably need a ton of bananas to clean up a big site, but the discovery does have some implications for small scale uses, especially where budgets are tight.
It’s common knowledge that one of the single largest sources of greenhouse gas pollution related to human activity is methane emissions from livestock (yes, cow farts). However, when it gets down to specifics, the figures are somewhat elusive, partly because most estimates have been made based on measurements from individual … [continued]
According to a new census from the USDA, farmers are reducing their costs by embracing renewable energy to power their operations in very unexpectedly big way. The use of renewable sources focused just on the use of solar panels, wind turbines, and methane digesters. The tremendous rise in the degree … [continued]
The allure of biofuels rests in their potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. That’s all well and good, but a team of researchers has discovered an entirely different way in which certain biofuel crops could help fight climate change. And while their research is preliminary, it does indicate … [continued]
If you were an astronaut orbiting the Earth, you could spot the Muskegon County, Michigan wastewater treatment plant. That’s how huge the facility is, which is one reason why its management is eagerly seeking proposals for a new utility-scale wind farm on the site. The unpopulated parcel of land comprises … [continued]
Nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas that comes in part from the application of nitrogen fertilizer to croplands, and researchers at the University of Missouri are documenting a simple way to make a big cut in those emissions. The low tech solution – simply tilling the soil in strips … [continued]
Researchers at the University of Leeds are developing a roasting process that would transform raw biomass from a bulky, water-saturated material into an energy-rich powder that is perfect for burning in coal-fired power plants. Called torrefaction, it is a relatively low-temperature process similar to that used in roasting coffee beans. … [continued]
A new foam developed by researchers at Sunarc of Canada, Inc. promises to give greenhouse-grown plants a boost during the summer months, without expending excess energy on conventional shading devices. In terms of the refreshing and cooling effect, the new technology is like a foam party for flora – the … [continued]
The findings are preliminary, but suggestive: researchers from Ames National Laboratory and the University of Colorado have compiled evidence that wind turbines sited on farmlands may actually help certain crops thrive even when weather conditions are less than ideal. If further study does reveal a definite connection, it marks a … [continued]
