Scott Banta, a chemical engineering professor at Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, has won a federal grant to come up with a bacteria that can produce the biofuel butanol by growing on carbon dioxide and ammonia. The carbon dioxide will come from ambient air, not … [continued]
[social_buttons] Despite the economic recession, the solar industry grew significantly in 2009. The solar industry added 17,000 jobs to the US economy in 2009. Installed solar capacity grew by approximately 37%. And we saw a serious drop in the cost of solar. (more info and graphs below) 46,000 jobs are … [continued]
Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay is ending its $700,000-per-year diesel habit. It will replace the fossil fuel with a clean, fifty-year supply of free solar fuel this Spring. Two belching diesel generators that have till now provided the electricity to keep the lights on will be put out … [continued]
On Friday, Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced $600 million in awards for 191 transit projects across the nation. The transit projects are aimed at transforming the nation’s infrastructure and creating thousands of jobs. With this announcement, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) met its … [continued]
[social_buttons] Creating a revolution in the way energy is produced and shared, distributed solar energy is one of the top clean energy topics of the day. Chicago utility company ComEd (an arm of the energy giant Exelon Corporation) has a new pilot project in this field that will outfit 100 … [continued]
[social_buttons] Well, it’s the year of the Tiger, and TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) awards have just been unleashed. The TIGER grant program is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Through it, 51 innovative transportation projects from every corner of the country will receive $1.5 billion … [continued]
Energy efficiency may not have the glamor of solar power or wind power, but it’s also a critical and immediate solution to cutting pollution. Today, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced $19.2 million in funding for energy efficiency programs through the San Francisco Energy Watch program and the American Recovery … [continued]
Well, it has been a long time coming, but the US is finally putting some money into high-speed rail (HSR)! Obama put a strong focus on this in his State of the Union speech last night — “From the first railroads to the interstate highway system, our nation has always … [continued]
Transportation is one of the biggest parts of our lives, whether we think about it or not. How will 2010 help shape the future of transportation in the US? How should it do so? And, more specifically, what is going on in government on this matter? With an expired (in … [continued]
Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is getting $34.7 million to find ways to make cars lighter by improving carbon fiber manufacturing and processing. Though used in race cars and high-performance “supercars,” current carbon fiber composites cost too much for mass market vehicles. [social_buttons] Lightweight, strong carbon fiber will raise fuel … [continued]
