The interesting fact is that the material resembles a fabric, and can be shaped into different objects, so maybe in the future mobile phone users won't have to have a battery in their cellphone, just because its case will do the job.

Salicornia is an alga that grows in salty waters and whose seeds can produce biofuels abundantly. Masdar Institute researchers, along with several companies like Boeing, Etihad Airways, and UOP Honeywell devised a method of growing salicornia for getting biofuels out of it and keeping the CO2 balance in proper equilibrium.

Some time ago a number of environmental groups sued the government in order to get the American pika listed as an endangered species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced their decision to decline the listing of the pika from the Endangered Species Act. Those suing on behalf of the pika fear global warming will cause the disappearance of the species.

The American pika lives in Wyoming, Washington, Utah, Oregon, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico and Montana. Environmentalists fear for the species due to their great susceptibility to the heat. The pika prefers cooler alpine temperatures and does not do well under temperatures above 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Degrees above this can even easily cause the animal’s death.

In addition to issues with warming temperatures, the pika also does not reproduce at a great rate, leaving it more susceptible to population declines. However, the government has decided that the species is not at risk due to not all of their populations being in decline. Activists had hoped the pika would be listed in a similar manner to the polar bear, which was listed due to concerns over global warming and their decline.

A biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity, Shayne Wolf, stated: “This is a political decision that ignores science and the law. Scientific studies clearly show that the pika is disappearing from the American West due to climate change and needs the immediate protections of the Endangered Species Act to help prevent its extinction.”

The American pika does in fact appear to be rapidly disappearing from the United States, as shown by previous studies. In 2003, a study was performed on 25 known pika populations. However, 6 of those populations had disappeared by that time. Further studies are said to also have shown further populations disappearing or in decline.

Environmentalists are concerned that the current trend of not listing endangered species will continue. The Obama administration was considered a hope for further environmental protections across the country, however the past year’s trend of declining listings has concerned many. Wolf stated: “During its first year in office, the Obama administration listed only two species under the Endangered Species Act, compared to an average of eight species per year under Bush and 65 species per year under Clinton.”

Legislation passed in 2008 requires Massachusetts utilities that buy and distribute power to sign contracts with renewable energy suppliers. The goal is to increase clean energy sources and decrease the state's reliance on greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels. The effects of that legislation are now being felt as several utilities openly seek long-term power purchase agreements [...]

Imagine going to the refueling station by entering your garage. Honda Motors is trying to make that notion a reality with the announcement of its new Honda Solar Hydrogen Station, an all-in-one electrolyzer and compressor that provides 0.5 kg of hydrogen over 8 hours. That will enable a fuel cell electric vehicle to handle trips [...]

The importance of a clean energy economy was visited time and again in President Obama's State of the Union address.  With such strong support coming from the White House, we here at SunRun are very excited about what 2010 will bring for solar.  SunRun's president, Lynn Jurich, spoke to Fox Business on Thursday about the future of the solar energy sector, as well as the hundreds of green jobs the solar industry has been able to create.





Not only has home solar become an affordable option for millions of homeowners, but it has also been able to create clean, permanent jobs.  According to research, for every six homes that goes solar, a green job is created — and that's not including the other jobs created down the supply line.  And these are jobs created within the nation – here and at present.

Watch the Fox Business clip to hear more about green jobs, federal subsidies, and the future of solar.

Japanese newspapers are reporting that Toyota is getting ready to recall the Prius Hybrid line because of faulty breaking system. The announcement is expected today and will include a recall of at least 300,000 vehicles.

This is the responsible thing to do and could save lives. The company is headquartered in Toyota Japan and the townspeople are said to be "reeling."

Story at the New York Times.

Many recent reports have come out declaring that despite the economic downturn wind energy advanced in 2009. The Global Wind Energy Council recently announced that wind energy capacity increased 31 percent in the year of 2009. Similar data was reported in individual countries such as China and the United States.

Further evidence of the growth of wind energy comes from Europe, where nine percent of their electricity needs are acquired through wind power. The European Wind Energy Association recently released their report on the field in 2009. It turns out that Europe also experienced a great increase in wind capability, increasing it 23 percent from 2008.

Overall, Europe installed 10,163 megawatts of wind capacity in the year 2009. This increase brings the total capacity in the European Union to 74,767 megawatts. Since 2000, the European Union has increased the amount of electricity gained from wind energy from two percent to nine percent.

Further details from the report indicate that wind power was the most popular form of new energy capacity installed in the European Union overall in 2009. 39 percent of new energy capacity came from wind, while 26 percent came from natural gas and 16 percent from solar energy.

Renewable energy has taken a stronghold in the EU, accounting now for 61 percent of new installations as of 2009. This is up from only 14 percent in the year 1995. In addition, some other sources have declined in the EU, including coal and nuclear power. In 2009, coal decreased by 3,200 megawatts and nuclear decreased by 1,393 megawatts.

The world's first electric Pick-up, EMC (Electric Motor Cars), built on a Dacia Logan platform, brought to the U.S. by Envision Motor Co., has been presented by Des Moines Motors, an ex-Chrysler dealer.

Mars may beckon, but for NASA, the ‘new frontier’ could mean a homecoming. That’s the indication coming out from the new budget announced for the world’s premier space agency. On Monday, the proposed budget for 2011 was released. The Constellation program to build optimized launchers for Moon missions fell by the wayside even as increased allocation for Earth specific missions found favor.

The total outlay of $6 Billion sees a major chunk ($2 Million) going to Earth related climate studies from outer space. Most of it will go into existing studies as well as several new ones. Edward Weiler, head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C said in a press briefing,

“That’s about 27 percent of the overall budget over the next five years of the agency [that] will be dedicated to science. NASA will be able to turn its considerable expertise to advancing climate-change research and observations.”

First on the anvil could be a repeat mission of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO). OCO was the first satellite built for charting carbon dioxide levels on Earth and help scientists understand how humanity’s activity is leading to the link of greenhouse gas with global climate change. The ill-fated first launch ended with its crash into the ocean near Antarctica.

The focus on Earth related missions will also benefit the experiments that are currently on the development stage. For instance, the Global Precipitation Measurement project seeks to measure global rain, ice and snow patterns. The other could be the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, which aims to continue and add to the most comprehensive record of Earth’s surface as seen from space.

As mentioned by Weiler,

“It will accelerate the development of new satellites to enhance observations of the climate and other Earth systems.”

Also the focus on Earth science experiments would be an important stepping stone to the orbiting International Space Station. Space exploration has impacted the way we live in tangible and intangible ways. Let’s hope NASA’s new path sows the seeds of even more scientific breakthroughs for us who are living on Earth today.

Image: Wikimedia Commons