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Note: Explore our full index to revealing excerpts of key major media news articles on dozens of
engaging topics. And read excerpts from 20 of the most revealing news articles ever
published.
Note: For two New York Times articles showing the viability of this amazing technology, click here
and here. And for the latest on this exciting technology, click here. For many other exciting major
media news articles on new energy inventions, click here.
typically a light element and a heavier metal, seem to fuse together, releasing pure heat that can
be converted into electricity. The process is an attractive energy solution for two reasons: Unlike in
nuclear fission, the reaction doesn't give off dangerous radiation. Unlike the fusion processes that
take place in the sun, cold fusion doesn't require extremely high temperatures. In April ... Rossi
and fellow physicist Sergio Focardi successfully demonstrated the device for a group of Swedish
physicists. At the demo in October, after an initial energy input of 400 watts into each module, each
one then produced a sustained, continuous output of 10 kilowatts (470 kW altogether) for three to
four hours. Peter Hagelstein, an MIT professor of electrical engineering and computer science and
one of the most mainstream proponents of cold fusion research, thinks the process may involve
vibrational energy in the metal's lattice driving nuclear transitions that lead to fusion.
Note: For lots more on this exciting development, click here. And for a CBS video segment and
another excellent documentary showing top researchers who continue to be very excited about
results of ongoing cold fusion experiments, click here. For media reports on other suppressed new
energy inventions, click here.
http://classic.cnbc.com/id/30287740
Distance, not speed, was the goal this weekend on the track at the 2009 Shell Eco-marathon
Americas(R), a challenge for students to design, build and test fuel-efficient vehicles that travel the
farthest distance using the least amount of fuel. This year, more than 500 students from North
and South America were on hand to stretch the boundaries of fuel efficiency. So who came
out on top? The student team from Laval University, with an astonishing 2,757.1 miles per
gallon, equivalent to 1,172.2 kilometres per liter, won the grand prize in the "Prototype"
category. And in the "UrbanConcept" category - new to the Americas event this year - the team
from Mater Dei High School took the grand prize by achieving 433.3 mpg, equivalent to 184.2 km/l.
With 44 participating teams at track competition was steep. This year's challenge brought together
a number of returning teams determined to beat the 2,843 mpg (1,208 km/l) record set by Mater
Dei High School (Evansville, Ind.) in 2008, combined with a number of new teams adding fresh
innovation and vehicle designs to the competition. "The Shell Eco-marathon is a platform for
students to let their imaginations run wild," said Mark Singer, global project manager for the Shell
Eco-marathon. "By encouraging these students to build vehicles with greater energy efficiency, we
hope this will help inspire others; and together we can find solutions that will help meet the global
energy challenge."
Note: CNBC removed this article for some reason. It was still available on the Shell website at this
link for a while, but then strangely removed. Using the Internet Archive, you can still view the
article at this link. Why so little media attention to this most exciting race for top gas mileage? And
if high school students can build a car that gets over 2,500 mpg, what's up with Detroit? Could big
business be suppressing, or at the very least ignoring these inspiring inventions?
can't simply reconfigure their assembly lines to make their own cars run as efficiently as
Goodwin does. "I don't know why GM hasn't done it," says Goodwin. "But I can tell you that
all the parts that I use for the conversion 95 percent are all GM parts. I'm not
reinventing anything."
Note: For lots more powerful and inspiring information on this breakthrough technology and kits
you can order, click here. For many other revealing major media articles showing new energy
inventions and breakthroughs which should be making headlines, click here.
The Plasma Converter ... can consume nearly any type of wastefrom dirty diapers to chemical
weaponsby annihilating toxic materials in a process ... called plasma gasification. A 650-volt
current passing between two electrodes rips electrons from the air, converting the gas into plasma.
The plasma arc is so powerful, it disintegrates trash into its constituent elements by tearing apart
molecular bonds. The system is capable of breaking down pretty much anything except nuclear
waste. The only by-products are an obsidian-like glass [and] a mixture of primarily hydrogen and
carbon monoxide that can be converted into a variety of marketable fuels, including ethanol,
natural gas and hydrogen. Perhaps the most amazing part of the process is that its selfsustaining. Once the cycle is under way, the 2,200F syngas is fed into a cooling system,
generating steam that drives turbines to produce electricity. About two thirds of the power
is siphoned off to run the converter; the rest can be used on-site for heating or electricity,
or sold back to the utility grid. Even a blackout would not stop the operation of the facility. New
York City is already paying an astronomical $90 a ton to get rid of its trash. According to Startech,
a few 2,000-ton-per-day plasma-gasification plants could do it for $36. Sell the syngas and surplus
electricity, and youd actually net $15 a ton. But the decision-making bureaucracy can be slow, and
it is hamstrung by the politically well-connected waste-disposal industry. Startech isnt the only
company using plasma to turn waste into a source of clean energy. A handful of start-ups
Geoplasma, Recovered Energy, PyroGenesis, EnviroArc and Plasco Energy, among othershave
entered the market in the past decade.
Note: Why isn't this amazing, proven machine and technology making front page headlines? Read
this exciting article to find how it is already being used. For why you don't know about it, click here.
And for another amazing new energy source not yet reported in the major media, click here.
Note: For an eye-opening two-minute video clip on CBS, watch "Enron Schemers on Tape" at this
link. MSNBC also published a revealing article on this. And a New York Times article states
"Company officials had long denied that they illegally shut down plants to create artificial
shortages. Two months after the recording showed how the Nevada plant was shut down, [Enron
CEO Kenneth] Lay called any claims of market manipulation 'conspiracy theories.'" For lots more
reliable information on the energy cover-up, click here.
1893 World's Fair in Chicago. On June 21, 1943, in the case of Marconi Wireless Telegraph
Co. vs. the United States, the Supreme Court ruled that that Tesla's radio patents had
predated those of the Italian genius. To be sure, Edison invented the incandesent light bulb. But
he powered it and all of his other projects with inefficient direct current (DC) electricity. It was Tesla
who discovered how to use the far more powerful phased form of alternating current (AC)
electricity that is virtually the universal type of electricity employed by modern civilization. There
are indications that Tesla also discovered many of the devices ... for the Pentagon's controversial
Star Wars antimissile defense system. "Tesla dreamed of supplying limitless amounts of power
freely and equally available to all persons on Earth," said Grotz. And he was convinced he could
do so by broadcasting electrical power across large distances just as radio transmits far smaller
amounts of energy. [Tesla's] tests ... caused lights to burn as much as 26 miles away,
according to news reports of the time.
Note: Tesla was written out of history texts likely because he advocated providing methods for
extremely cheap electricity available to everyone. He successfully transmitted electricity through
the air to lights 26 miles away. Yet the rich energy power brokers of his time could not stand for
this. Only the little known Supreme Court ruling mentioned above restored his claim as original
inventor of the radio. For lots more on this most fascinating genius, click on the article link above
and click here and here. For revealing major media articles showing the suppression of other
energy inventions which could transform our world, click here.
when our children sit us down ... look us straight in the eye, with an acute sense of betrayal and
disappointment in theirs, and whisper to us, You knew and you didnt do anything about it.
Why?
Note: Read through a rich collection of energy news articles with inspiring and revealing news on
energy developments. Then explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring
news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.
in Ithaca, NY, has held for years that oil is actually a renewable, primordial syrup continually
manufactured by the Earth under ultrahot conditions and tremendous pressures. As this
substance migrates toward the surface, it is attacked by bacteria, making it appear to have
an organic origin dating back to the dinosaurs, he says. That ... raises the tantalizing possibility
that oil may not be the limited resource it is assumed to be. In 2008 ... a group of Russian and
Ukrainian scientists [said] that oil and gas don't come from fossils; they're synthesized deep within
the earth's mantle by heat, pressure, and other purely chemical means, before gradually rising to
the surface. The idea that oil comes from fossils "is a myth" that needs changing according to
petroleum engineer Vladimir Kutcherov, speaking at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.
"All kinds of rocks could have oil and gas deposits." Alexander Kitchka of the Ukrainian National
Academy of Sciences estimates that 60 percent of the content of all oil is abiotic in origin and not
from fossil fuels.
Note: For more on the intriguing abiotic oil theory, click here. For key reports from major media
sources on promising energy sources, click here.
averages $1 per watt." Why isn't it being trumpeted loudly worldwide in the media that solar energy
is reaching parity with traditional energy sources? Could it be that powerful interests don't want
solar energy to be competitive with oil and nuclear?
as somewhere between a nuclear and a chemical reaction, but without any of the messy
fallout. The team at Rowan tested BlackLights 1,000- and 50,000-watt reactors over three months
and were able to replicate BlackLights energy claims, saying that the energy produced cannot be
explained by other known sources like combustion or nuclear energy. The company says a
complete verification of the whole process will likely happen within a year. BlackLight tells us it is
now in the process of licensing its technology to power producers. The company says it has
enough capital to get through commercialization and plans to have its reactors in a power plant in
the next two years.
Note: For several videos demonstrating this amazing new energy source, click here. For reports
from professors and engineers who have validated this exciting technology, click here.
Imagine a solar panel without the panel. Just a coating, thin as a layer of paint, that takes light and
converts it to electricity. From there, you can picture roof shingles with solar cells built inside and
window coatings that seem to suck power from the air. Consider solar-powered buildings
stretching not just across sunny Southern California, but through China and India and Kenya as
well, because even in those countries, going solar will be cheaper than burning coal. Thats the
promise of thin-film solar cells: solar power thats ubiquitous because its cheap. The basic
technology has been around for decades, but this year, Silicon Valleybased Nanosolar
created the manufacturing technology that could make that promise a reality. The company
produces its PowerSheet solar cells with printing-press-style machines that set down a layer of
solar-absorbing nano-ink onto metal sheets as thin as aluminum foil, so the panels can be made
for about a tenth of what current panels cost and at a rate of several hundred feet per minute.
Nanosolars first commercial cells rolled off the presses this year. Cost has always been one of
solars biggest problems. Traditional solar cells require silicon, and silicon is an expensive
commodity. That means even the cheapest solar panels cost about $3 per watt of energy they go
on to produce. To compete with coal, that figure has to shrink to just $1 per watt. Nanosolars cells
use no silicon, and the companys manufacturing process allows it to create cells that are as
efficient as most commercial cells for as little as 30 cents a watt. "It really is quite a big deal in
terms of altering the way we think about solar and in inherently altering the economics of solar,"
says Dan Kammen, founding director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the
University of California at Berkeley.
Note: For exciting reports of other new energy technologies, click here.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/17/eveningnews/main1329941.shtml
The star at last week's Philadelphia Auto Show wasn't a sports car or an economy car. It was a
sports-economy car one that combines performance and practicality under one hood. But as
CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman reports in this week's Assignment America, the car that
buyers have been waiting decades [for] comes from an unexpected source and runs on soybean
bio-diesel fuel to boot. A car that can go from zero to 60 in four seconds and get more than 50
miles to the gallon would be enough to pique any driver's interest. So who do we have to
thank for it. Ford? GM? Toyota? No just Victor, David, Cheeseborough, Bruce, and Kosi,
five kids from the auto shop program at West Philadelphia High School. The five kids ... built
the soybean-fueled car as an after-school project. It took them more than a year rummaging for
parts, configuring wires and learning as they went. As teacher Simon Hauger notes, these kids
weren't exactly the cream of the academic crop. "If you give kids that have been stereotyped as
not being able to do anything an opportunity to do something great, they'll step up," he says.
Stepping up is something the big automakers have yet to do. They're still in the early stages of
marketing hybrid cars while playing catch-up to the Bad News Bears of auto shop. "We made this
work," says Hauger. "We're not geniuses. So why aren't they doing it?" Kosi thinks he knows why.
The answer, he says, is the big oil companies.
Note: So why isn't this remarkable engine design breakthrough making front page headlines in all
major media? Why aren't the many other major energy breakthroughs that have been reported
given the headlines they deserve? Could it be that those who are reaping huge profits from oil
sales have much more political and media influence than you might imagine? For lots more
reliable information on this, click here.
Top-secret wartime experiments were conducted off the coast of Auckland to perfect a tidal
wave bomb, declassified files reveal. United States defence chiefs said that if the project had
been completed before the end of the war it could have played a role as effective as that of the
atom bomb. Details of the tsunami bomb, known as Project Seal, are contained in 53-year-old
documents released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Papers stamped "top secret"
show the US and British military were eager for Seal to be developed in the post-war years too.
The experiments involved laying a pattern of explosives underwater to create a tsunami. It is
unclear what happened to Project Seal once the final report was forwarded to Wellington Defence
Headquarters late in the 1940s. The bomb was never tested on a full scale. "Whether it could ever
be resurrected ... Under some circumstances I think it could be devastating."
The invention described herein was made in the course of, or under, a contract with the U. S.
ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION. It relates ... to a method and apparatus for drilling, tunneling
and shaft-sinking in rock with particular advantage at hitherto inaccessible depths. The present
invention uses the basic apparatus and method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,505 and in Los
Alamos Scientific Laboratory of the University of California Report No. LA-3243 (1965) entitled
"Rock Melting as a Drilling Technique." In the existing rock melting devices of the prior art, a major
difficulty which limited performance was that of delivering a sufficiently large heat flux to the
melting face of the drill or penetrator. The development of the heat pipe alleviates this problem in
that the use of heat pipes enables the transfer of heat energy from a compact heat source to the
extended melting surface of the penetrator at rates high enough to maintain the surface above the
melting temperature of the rock. The extrapolation of a mechanism useful for forming large holes in
the earth in accordance with the present invention uses the combination of a refractory rockmelting tool, an in situ heat source preferably a small nuclear reactor and an exceedingly
efficient heat transfer mechanism such as a system of heat pipes to convey heat from the
source to the walls of the drilling tool.
Note: This patent shows that government scientists at Los Alamos were using a "small nuclear
reactor" to drill underground tunnels. Several of the inventors listed on the patent worked at Los
Alamos National Laboratory, including: McInteer, Berthus B.; Mills, Robert L.; Potter, Robert M.;
Robinson, Eugene S.; Rowley, John C.; and Smith, Morton C.. For photos and more fascinating
information on this most intriguing patent, click here.
NanoFlowcell AG Chairman of the Board Professor Jens-Peter Ellermann. 'The potential of the
NanoFlowcell is much greater, especially in terms of domestic energy supplies as well as in
maritime, rail and aviation technology.'
Note: See the link above for photos and videos of this sleek masterpiece. Why isn't this car and it's
unique technology getting more press? For more on this amazing car, see its website and read a
gizmag article with more on how the car has received approval to run on European roads. Explore
a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to
make a difference.
Tesla Motors Inc.s electric Model S, Motor Trends 2013 Car of the Year, received the highest
rating from Consumer Reports in an evaluation of the luxury sedan that led first-quarter North
American plug-in car sales. The Model S from Palo Alto, California-based Tesla scored 99 out of
100 points, the non-profit magazine said in an e-mailed statement. The $89,650 car bought by
Consumer Reports performed better, or just as well overall as any vehicle its ever tested,
the ... magazine said. It accelerates, handles and brakes like a sports car, it has the ride
and quietness of a luxury car and is far more energy efficient than the best hybrid cars,
said Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports director of automotive testing. No rechargeable car has won
a score as high as the Model S. The magazine last gave a vehicle 99 points in 2007, when Toyota
Motor Corp.s Lexus LS460L ranked that high. Model S shortcomings include limited range, long
charge times and coupe-like styling that impairs rear visibility and impedes access, Consumer
Reports said. Along with reliability that isnt yet determined, Tesla still has a limited service
network, the magazine said. The test vehicle had an 85-kilowatt/hour lithium-ion battery pack and
averaged about 200 miles (322 kilometers) per charge in real-world driving, the magazine said.
The Tesla is easily the most practical electric car that has been tested to date, Consumer Reports
said.
Note: After undeniable suppression of the electric car by car manufacturers, independent upstart
Tesla Motors has done it! Expect to see more breakthroughs from this great new company. For
more on the company's amazing namesake and how his inventions were suppressed, click here.
Note: Once again a major car manufacturer produces a great electric vehicle only to suppress it.
Remember "Who Killed the Electric Car", the movie on GM's EV1 which was killed despite major
consumer interest? Then there was Toyota's 100 mpg Eco Spirit which was also killed. For lots
more reliable information on this suggesting industry suppression of energy breakthroughs, click
here.
The extra dollars you're paying at the pump are going to Wall Street
speculators
2012-02-28, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-201202280930--tms--amvoicesctnav-a20120228f...
The current surge in gas prices has almost nothing to do with energy policy. It doesn't even have
much to do with global supply and demand. It has most to do with America's continuing failure to
adequately regulate Wall Street. Oil supplies aren't being squeezed. Over 80 percent of America's
energy needs are now being satisfied by domestic supplies. In fact, we're starting to become an
energy exporter. Demand for oil isn't rising. Oil demand in the U.S. is down compared to last year
at this time. The American economy is showing only the faintest signs of recovery. Meanwhile,
global demand is still moderate. Europe's debt crisis hasn't gone away. China's growth continues
to slow. But Wall Street is betting on higher oil prices. Hedge-fund managers and traders assume
that mounting tensions in the Middle East will hobble supplies later this year. Wall Street
speculators also assume global demand for oil will rise in the coming year. These are just
expectations, not today's realities. But they're pushing up oil prices just the same, because Wall
Street firms and other big financial players now dominate oil trading. Where there's money to be
made, Wall Street will find a way of making it. And when it comes to oil, so much money is at
stake that gigantic sums can be made if the bets pay off. Speculators figure they can hedge
against bad bets. Financial speculators historically accounted for about 30 percent of oil
contracts, producers and end users for about 70 percent. But today speculators account for
64 percent of all contracts.
Note: This article was written by Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, professor of public
policy at the University of California at Berkeley and the author of Aftershock: The Next Economy
and America's Future. He blogs at www.robertreich.org. For lots more reliable information from the
major media on energy manipulations, click here.
Note: For lots more from reliable sources on developments in alternative energy technologies,
click here.
Safe nuclear does exist, and China is leading the way with thorium
2011-03-20, The Telegraph (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8393984/Saf...
A few weeks before the tsunami struck Fukushimas uranium reactors and shattered public faith in
nuclear power, China revealed that it was launching a rival technology to build a safer, cleaner, and
ultimately cheaper network of reactors based on thorium. Chinas Academy of Sciences said it had
chosen a thorium-based molten salt reactor system. The liquid fuel idea was pioneered by US
physicists at Oak Ridge National Lab in the 1960s. Chinese scientists claim that hazardous waste
will be a thousand times less than with uranium. The system is inherently less prone to disaster.
The reactor has an amazing safety feature, said Kirk Sorensen, a former NASA engineer
at Teledyne Brown and a thorium expert. If it begins to overheat, a little plug melts and the
salts drain into a pan. There is no need for computers, or the sort of electrical pumps that
were crippled by the tsunami. The reactor saves itself, he said. US physicists in the late
1940s explored thorium fuel for power. It has a higher neutron yield than uranium, a better fission
rating, longer fuel cycles, and does not require the extra cost of isotope separation. The plans
were shelved because thorium does not produce plutonium for bombs. As a happy bonus, it can
burn up plutonium and toxic waste from old reactors, reducing radio-toxicity and acting as an ecocleaner.
Note: For a 30-minute documentary on the powerful potential of thorium as an energy source, click
here. For many reports from reliable sources on promising new energy technologies, click here.
Note: For a powerful, reliable documentary showing how promising results from cold fusion were
strongly suppressed, click here. For lots of reports from reliable sources of new energy
developments, click here.
openly talked among themselves of whacking and bullying up the price of oil. But when
called to account by officials of the New York Mercantile Exchange, they described their
actions as just providing liquidity. In July 2008, the commission charged Optiver with
manipulating the price of oil; negotiations over a settlement continue. The Securities and
Exchange Commission has opened up an investigation into high-speed-trading practices, in
particular the ability of some of the most powerful computers to jump to the head of the trading
queue and in a fraction of a millisecond capture the evanescent trading spread before the
rest of the market does.
Note: This and other reports likely show only the tip of the iceberg of how prices of key stocks and
commodities are manipulated. For a great collection of reports from major media sources on the
schemes and tricks used by financial corporations, click here.
MIT professor Daniel G. Nocera has long been jealous of plants. He desperately wanted to do
what they do--split water into hydrogen and oxygen and use the products to do work. That, he
figures, is the only way we humans can solve our energy problems; enough energy pours down
from the sun in one hour to power the planet's energy needs for a year. Nocera's discovery
[is] a cheap and easy way to store energy that he thinks will be used to change solar power
into a mainstream energy source. Plants catch light and turn it into an electric current, then use
that energy to excite catalysts that split water into hydrogen and oxygen during what is called
photosynthesis' light cycle. The energy is then used during the dark cycle to allow the plant to build
sugars used for growth and energy storage. Nocera and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in
Nocera's lab, focused on the water-splitting part of photosynthesis. They found cheap and simple
catalysts that did a remarkably good job. They dissolved cobalt and phosphate in water and then
zapped it with electricity through an electrode. The cobalt and phosphate form a thin-film catalyst
around the electrode that then use electrons from the electrode to split the oxygen from water. The
oxygen bubbles to the surface, leaving a proton behind. A few inches away, another catalyst,
platinum, helps that bare proton become hydrogen. The hydrogen and oxygen, separated and onhand, can be used to power a fuel cell whenever energy is needed.
Note: This amazing breakthrough resulted in a $4 million government grant for further
development. For more, click here and here.
Note: For revealing reports on financial corruption and criminality from major media sources, click
here.
capital cost of solar power falls below $1 (51p) per watt, roughly the cost of carbon power. The
best options today vary from $3 to $4 per watt - down from $100 in the late 1970s. Mr Sethi
believes his product will cut the cost to 80 cents per watt within five years, and 50 cents in a
decade. "We don't need subsidies, we just need governments to get out of the way and do
no harm," he said. Solar use [has] increased dramatically in Japan and above all Germany,
where Berlin's green energy law passed in 2004 forces the grid to buy surplus electricity from
households at a fat premium. The tipping point in Germany and Japan came once households
[understood] that they could undercut their unloved utilities. Credit Lyonnais believes the rest of the
world will soon join the stampede. Needless to say, electricity utilities are watching the solar
revolution with horror.
Note: Why is this inspiring, important news getting so little press coverage? And why not more
solar subsidies? For a possible answer, click here. And for an amazing new energy source not yet
reported in the major media which could make even solar energy obsolete, click here.
What's at stake, they say, is no less than the future of automotive technology, a practical solution
for driving fast and fun with no direct pollution whatsoever. GM agrees that the car in question,
called the EV1, was a rousing feat of engineering that could go from zero to 60 miles per
hour in under eight seconds with no harmful emissions. The market just wasn't big enough,
the company says, for a car that traveled 140 miles or less on a charge before you had to plug it in
like a toaster. Some 800 drivers once leased EV1s, mostly in California. After the last lease ran out
in August, GM reclaimed every one of the cars, donating a few to universities and car museums
but crushing many of the rest. Enthusiasts discovered a stash of about 77 surviving EV1s behind a
GM training center in Burbank and last month decided to take a stand. Mobilized through Internet
sites and word of mouth, nearly 100 people pledged $24,000 each for a chance to buy the cars
from GM. On Feb. 16 the group set up a street-side outpost of folding chairs that they have staffed
ever since in rotating shifts, through long nights and torrential rains, trying to draw attention to their
cause. GM refuses to budge. Toyota is aware of a growing fad among do-it-yourselfers who put a
new battery in their Prius so it can be plugged in at home and then travel about 20 miles on electric
power alone.
Note: Why would GM simply crush cars for which people are willing to pay $24,000? For a
possible answer to this important question, click here. To learn how to convert a Toyota Prius to get
100 mpg, click here.
of CO2 and carbon they can recapture. For the first time we've been able to develop a technology
to get CO2 and hydrogen from seawater simultaneously. That's a big breakthrough," said Dr.
Heather Willauer, a research chemist who has spent nearly a decade on the project, adding that
the fuel "doesn't look or smell very different."
Note: Strangely, the major media networks appear to be largely silent on this important
breakthrough, except for Forbes, which downplays the whole thing, as you can see at this link. For
a treasure trove of great news articles which will inspire you to make a difference, click here.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to pay federal regulators $410 million to settle allegations that
the giant bank manipulated energy markets in California and Michigan. About $285 million of the
settlement will go to the U.S. Treasury for civil penalties, and about $124 million will be refunded to
California ratepayers. The remainder will be refunded to Michigan ratepayers. If this story sounds
familiar, that's because it is. Californians who remember the Enron energy debacle of 2000-01
won't be surprised to learn that JPMorgan's traders have been accused of fraudulent
behavior. Once again, the fraud was performed by manipulating the auction system that was
developed by a quasi-state agency, the California Independent System Operator, to handle
California's electricity needs. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found that JPMorgan
engaged in 12 manipulative bidding strategies, which wound up forcing ratepayers to pay
higher amounts than they should have - all because the bank wanted to find a cheap way to
profit off of aging power plants in Southern California. JPMorgan used a variety of bait-andswitch strategies - duping Cal-ISO into paying exorbitant fees for running the plants at a low level,
for instance, or manipulating the bidding system so that Cal-ISO was forced to pay rates that were
many times higher than market rate. The fact that this kind of manipulation is still happening is
upsetting. And while $410 million is a record settlement for the FERC, it's a drop in the bucket to
JPMorgan, which reported $6.5 billion in quarterly profits this month.
Note: Remember Enron, which scammed millions and then went bankrupt, wiping out pensions of
its many employees? To read CBS reports on how Enron purposely shut down power plants so
they could cause and then cash in on the energy crisis, click here.
Note: Now let's see if it actually makes it to market or is blocked by the companies that profit from
selling many chargers. For a treasure trove of great news articles which will inspire you to make a
difference, click here.
greater than a decade ago. Already, the price gap between the international oil benchmark ... and
the U.S. standard ... has grown in the past year alone to about $20 per barrel. Peak oil ... may be
in the offing internationally but is nowhere to be seen in North America. Beckoning are two
visions of our future. On one side is a surge of dirty oil that is likely to embolden a new crop of
business-as-usual politicians. On the other is the emerging gamut of technologies for energy
efficiency and renewable power that have already made California a clean-tech leader. Can
America go beyond oil, or will it embrace the old status quo?
Note: Though it may be encouraging that peak oil is not an imminent threat, let us hope that clean
energy technologies replace oil-based energy generation before too long.
Top Gear's electric car shows pour petrol over the BBC's standards
2011-08-05, The Guardian (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2011/aug/05/top-gear-bbc
What distinguishes the BBC from the rest of this country's media? Perhaps the most important
factor is its editorial guidelines, which are supposed to ensure that the corporation achieves "the
highest standards of due accuracy and impartiality and strive[s] to avoid knowingly and materially
misleading our audiences." Woe betide the producer or presenter who breaches these guidelines.
Unless, that is, they work for Top Gear. Take, for example, Top Gear's line on electric cars.
Casting aside any pretence of impartiality or rigour, it has set out to show that electric cars
are useless. If the facts don't fit, it bends them until they do. It's currently being sued by
electric car maker Tesla. Now it's been caught red-handed faking another trial, in this case
of the Nissan LEAF. Last Sunday, an episode of Top Gear showed Jeremy Clarkson and James
May setting off for Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire, 60 miles away. The car unexpectedly ran out of
charge when they got to Lincoln, and had to be pushed. They concluded that "electric cars are not
the future". But it wasn't unexpected: Nissan has a monitoring device in the car which transmits
information on the state of the battery. This shows that, while the company delivered the car to Top
Gear fully charged, the programme-makers ran the battery down before Clarkson and May set off,
until only 40% of the charge was left.
Note: For lots more from reliable sources on promising new energy and automotive technologies,
click here. For more on corruption in the mass media, click here.
solar engineer at the Barefoot College in Tilonia, 100km from Jaipur. The college was set up in
1972 by Sanjit "Bunker" Roy to teach rural people skills with which they could transform their
villages, regardless of gender, caste, ethnicity, age or schooling. The college claims to have
trained 15,000 women in skills including solar engineering, healthcare and water testing. Roy, 65,
says his approach low cost, decentralised and community driven works by "capitalising on the
resources already present in the villages". The college, spread over eight acres, runs entirely on
solar energy, maintained by the Barefoot solar engineers. Since the solar course was launched
in 2005, more than 300 Barefoot engineers have brought power to more than 13,000 homes
across India. A further 6,000 households, in more than 120 villages in 24 countries from
Afghanistan to Uganda, have been powered on the same model. Only villages that are
inaccessible, remote and non-electrified are considered for solar power. A drop in the ocean,
perhaps 44% of rural households in India have no electricity but these women are making an
important contribution to the nation's power needs.
Note: For a very inspiring TED talk filled with great stories by the founder of this college, click
here.
acre annually, over four times more than the most efficient algal process for making fuel. And they
say they can do it at $30 a barrel. The company plans to break ground on a 10-acre demonstration
facility this year, and Sims says they could be operating commercially in less than two years.
Note: For many other fascinating new energy inventions reported in the major media which should
be making news headlines, click here. For a powerful two-page summary showing why these
amazing inventions get so little attention and are sometimes even suppressed, click here.
utility bills. Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the state's largest utility, tumbled into bankruptcy as a
result of soaring wholesale power prices. And Gov. Gray Davis lost his job in a recall election
fueled by public anger over his handling of the crisis. Since then, the state government has
reached 39 settlement agreements with energy companies for a total of $3.2 billion.
Note: To see how blatant the corruption is, watch the tapes of Enron traders laughing at causing
traffic accidents at this link. For many more examples of corporate corruption reported by reliable,
verifiable sources, click here.
waxy phase-change materials. As the float encounters warm temperatures near the ocean's
surface, the materials expand; when it dives and the waters grow cooler, the materials contract.
The expansion and contraction pressurizes oil, which drives a hydraulic motor. The motor
generates electricity and recharges the batteries, which power a pump. The pump can change the
float's buoyancy, allowing it to move up and down the water column. "In theory what you have now
is unlimited endurance for something that has this type of engine," said Thomas Swean Jr., team
leader for ocean engineering and marine systems at the Office of Naval Research, which funded
the project. "Other things can break, but as far as the energy source, it will only stop
working if the ocean ran out of energy, which is unlikely to happen."
Note: For lots more from major media sources on promising new energy inventions, click here.
Signs of Hope
2009-11-24, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/opinion/24herbert.html
Is the economic, social and physical deterioration that has caused so much misery in the Motor
City a sign of whats in store for larger and larger segments of the United States? I found real
reason to hope when a gentleman named Stan Ovshinsky took me on a tour of a remarkably quiet
and pristine manufacturing plant ... about 30 miles north of Detroit. What is being produced in the
plant is potentially revolutionary. A machine about the length of a football field runs 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, turning out mile after mile after mile of thin, flexible solar energy material, from
which solar panels can be sliced and shaped. Mr. Ovshinsky ... developed the technology and
designed the production method that made it possible to produce solar material by the mile. He
invented the nickel metal hydride battery that is in virtually all hybrid vehicles on the road today.
When I pulled into the parking lot outside his office ... he promptly installed me in the drivers seat
of a hydrogen hybrid prototype a car in which the gasoline tank had been replaced with a safe
solid-state hydrogen storage system invented by Mr. Ovshinsky. Whats weird is that this man,
with such a stellar track record of innovation on products and processes crucial to the
economic and environmental health of the U.S., gets such little attention and so little
support from American policy makers. In addition to his work with batteries, photovoltaics and
hydrogen fuel cells, his inventions have helped open the door to flat-screen televisions, new forms
of computer memory and on and on.
Note: Ovshinsky has been at the forefront of new energy breakthroughs for years, yet has
received very little press, likely because his inventions threaten the established oil industry. For a
powerful, three-minute video showing how some of his key inventions have been shelved because
they threatened profits, click here.
You may have heard of abiotic oil, the notion that oil is not the result of ancient biomass hence
the term fossil fuels but rather from compressed methane seeping up from the Earths mantle.
Most petroleum engineers spurn abiotic oil as a crackpot idea, but the notion has percolated along
and been popularized by books such as Thomas Golds Deep Hot Biosphere. Setting aside the
climate issue of burning petroleum, the idea of naturally replenished oil supplies is alluring
considering oil is by far the most portable, energy dense fuel around. [A] paper published in
Energy & Fuels, a peer-reviewed publication, supports the theory of abiotic oil. For their study
geochemists at the Carnegie Institution of Washington combined the key ingredients for the
abiotic synthesis of methane in a device and then simulated the high pressures and
temperatures near the interface between the Earths crust and mantle. They found it highly
plausible that methane could form from chemical reaction in this environment, writing that
their experiment strongly suggests that it is likely that, in deep earth geologic systems, some
methane generation is inevitable. The theory of abiotic oil holds that rapidly rising streams of
compressed methane gas reach the crust from the mantle, and when they strike pockets of high
temperature they condense into heavier hydrocarbons like crude oil.
Note: For more on the intriguing abiotic oil theory, click here. For key reports from major media
sources on promising energy sources, click here.
Note: This article underplays a number of things about Tesla. Morgan stopped funding him
primarily because he eventually realized that there would be no way to charge for the electricity
Tesla was generating. If successful, electricity would be available virtually for free to those supplied
by his tower. Tesla was then shunned by the power elite and his rightful claim as inventor of the
radio (not Marconi) was erased in the history books. As stated on the PBS website, "It wasn't until
1943 a few months after Tesla's death that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Tesla's radio
patent number 645,576." For more on this amazing man, click here and here.
who introduced oil market legislation this year. "Because when the price of oil has gone from
$50 to $147 and back, it's clear to me and everyone else that this has nothing to do with
supply and demand. It has to do with speculation." Among possible changes, Congress may
try to assert more authority over unregulated oil swaps that don't take place on any formal market.
Many factors helped shove prices higher, including the growth of China's economy and the decline
of the American dollar. But oil kept rising even as gasoline sales fell in the United States, the
world's largest oil consumer. That wouldn't have happened if supply and demand really were
driving the market, many analysts say. "The entire move from $70 (per barrel) to $147 was people
fleeing the dollar and looking at oil as an asset class," said Amy Myers Jaffe, an energy research
fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute. "It was speculators, so when they exited the market,
we went right back to $70." Speculators are investors who trade in oil or other commodities
strictly as a financial investment. They include hedge funds and investment banks as well as
retirement funds.
Note: For lots more reports on corporate corruption from reliable sources, click here.
Equinox, and re-designing and re-fitting the crossover SUV to get better fuel efficiency than the
engineers and designers at General Motors have been able to achieve. It's called Challenge X. So
what did these college teams come up with? They came up with bio-diesel, ethanol, hydrogen,
hybrid electric, plug-in electric - with most of the teams using two of these energy sources together.
The team from Penn State created an Equinox that runs on three fuels: bio-diesel, hydrogen and
electric hybrid power. "The way it's designed, it's always burning hydrogen and bio-diesel together,
and the hybrid motor turns on and off," explained Nate Simmons. The team from San Diego State
created a bio-diesel electric hybrid, and transformed the transmission from automatic to manual for
even better gas mileage. They were able to boost the EPA rating for the conventional Equinox from
a rating of 23 miles per gallon highway up into the low 30s. "We set out to produce the most
powerful vehicle in the competition," said faculty advisor James Burns. This year's winner was
Mississippi State University, for its bio-diesel hybrid electric design. The MSU vehicle is
powered by a 1.9-liter GM direct injection turbo-diesel engine, fueled by bio-diesel (B20). It
won for achieving a whopping 38 percent increase in fuel economy over the productionmodel Equinox.
Note: College and even high school students have been beating car manufacturers for years, yet
the media seem to largely ignore this. For striking examples, click here and here.
Their first order is under construction in Rockford, Illinois. Its a $5.1-million microwave machine
the size of small bus called the Hawk, bound for an auto-recycler in Long Island, New York. Oil
companies are looking to the machines to gasify petroleum trapped in shale.
Note: For many exciting breakthroughs in new energy technologies, click here.
With the new testing requirements, the EPA is attempting to come up with estimates that more
closely reflect the real-world mileage motorists can expect when they purchase a vehicle. Under
the current system ... actual mileage is often far lower than the posted EPA ratings. Hybrids
will be hit harder because the new test eliminates some of the all-electric driving that helped them
produce impressive results. A recent study ... found that the average mileage for passenger cars
and light trucks was about 14% less than EPA estimates. The mileage for gas-electric hybrids
probably will be 20% to 30% lower than present estimates for city driving and 10% to 20% lower
on the highway. These vehicles quickly lose their all-electric advantage when operated in cold
weather or quickly accelerated. The new EPA mileage estimates won't harm automakers' ability to
meet federal rules requiring an industrywide average fuel economy of 27.5 miles per gallon for
cars and 21 mpg for sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and vans.
Note: The government could easily mandate higher gas mileage, but has not significantly raised
the bar in almost 20 years. Why? The current average mileage for all cars is less than the mileage
of the 1908 Model T. With all of the incredibly technological advances in other fields, how is this
possible? For more on this vital topic, click here and here. Toyota came out with a hybrid that got
100 mpg in 2002. For what happened to it, click here. And to learn how a Toyota Prius can be
converted to get 100 miles per gallon, click here.
emissions
2005-05-18, Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/cars/news/2005/may/0518_tourdesol.html
Carmakers such as Toyota and Honda can't seem to make hybrid vehicles fast enough to keep up
with public interest. Interest in this new technology is growing, and one group is highlighting these
technical marvels in a yearly event called the Tour de Sol. Top prize for the Monte-Carlo Rally went
to a modified Honda Insight driven by Brian Hardegen, of Pepperell, who broke the 100-mile-pergallon barrier over a 150-mile range. The car actually got 107 miles-per gallon. St. Mark's High
School in Southboro, and North Haven Community School, North Haven, ME, demonstrated
true zero-oil consumption and true zero climate-change emissions with their modified
electric Ford pick-up and Volkswagen bus. More than 60 hybrid, electric and biofueled vehicles
from throughout the US and Canada demonstrated that we have the technology today to power
our transportation system with zero-oil consumption and zero climate-change emissions.
Note: If the above link fails, click here. If high school students can do it, why aren't the car
companies seriously developing these technologies? And why are car manufacturers not able to
keep up with demand on hybrid vehicles? For more, click here.
Peter Hagelstein is trying to revive hope for a future of clean, inexhaustible, inexpensive energy.
Fifteen years after the scientific embarrassment of the century ... a panel of scientists gathered.
The panel's charge was simple: to determine whether [cold fusion] had even a prayer of a chance
at working. The Department of Energy went to great lengths to cloak the meeting from public view.
No announcement, no reporters. None of the names of the people attending that day was
disclosed. Since 1989, hundreds of scientists working in dozens of labs around the world have
claimed ... results. Supporters point to the written literature -- more than 3,000 papers -- as proof of
the effect. But the most credible cold fusion advocates concede that the vast majority of those
papers are of poor quality. "Brilliant," "genius" and "reclusive" were words used to describe [SRI
scientist Peter] Hagelstein 20 years ago, when he rose to prominence as one of the young
scientists behind President Ronald Reagan's plans to build a missile shield in outer space.
Hagelstein [now] describes the mainstream scientific community as "mafias" that promote and
publish their friends' work, unwilling to accept new ideas. As Hagelstein explains it, leading
physicists came out swiftly and prematurely against cold fusion. Hagelstein says his acceptance of
cold fusion was by no means immediate. It took several years before he was convinced. [Now]
Hagelstein says, he has seen enough cold fusion data to convince him that the science is
clearly real. The field's acceptance, he maintains, will be simply a matter of the scientific
community's looking at the improved experimental results in the future and coming to understand
them.
Note: If the above link fails, click here. Why all the secrecy around this important topic? To learn
why the power elite don't want cheap energy, click here.
They also did a series of baseline tests of noise, cooling, drivability and fuel economy, said Jim
Reichman, Paccar's technology-development manager. Back at Paccar's Mount Vernon technical
center, Reichman is enthused. "We're pretty pleased with it," he said.
Note: For key reports from reliable sources on new energy developments, click here.
explosives aboard any bomber. No possible defense against it could be devised, he asserts, as the
beam would be all-penetrating. The beam [would involve] a new method for producing "a
tremendous repelling electrical force." This would be the projector, or the gun of the
system. The voltage for propelling the beam to its objective, according to the inventor, will
attain a potential of 80,000,000 volts. With this enormous voltage, he said, microscopic electrical
particles of matter will be catapulted on their mission of defensive destruction.
Note: If you are unable to access this article at the link above, you can also find it at this link. The
technology Tesla was exploring here may well have been used in the currently functioning HAARP
facilities, which some researchers believe are being used to manipulate weather and more. For an
abundance of reliable information on HAARP, click here. For an amazing 35-page autobiography
by Tesla himself, click here.
Tesla at 75
1931-07-20, Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,742063,00.html
Nikola Tesla (pronounced Teshlah) [invented] the Tesla induction motor which made alternating
current practical, and the Tesla transformer which steps up oscillating currents to high potentials.
Last week was Dr. Tesla's 75th birthday. To Nikola Tesla, all the world's a power house. For 40
years he has been reasoning, calculating and arguing that the earth has a definite electrical
resonance. All that men need do to have unlimited power at their command, and that power
without the necessity of transmission wires, would be to generate electricity in tune with
the earth's. Only possible drawbacks would be the vast expense of installation ... and anyone
could tap the current. There could be no financial control of electricity. In Colorado in 1899, Tesla
built a huge induction coil by which he generated and, he says, sent out wireless waves the same
year Marconi established wireless communication. Tesla claims priority, because he conceived his
system six years earlier, in 1893. The theoretical path of Tesla's waves were through the earth, not
through the air as Hertzian waves go. [Tesla has commented] "I think that nothing can be more
important than interplanetary communication. It will certainly come some day, and the certitude
that there are other human beings in the universe, working, suffering, struggling, like ourselves, will
produce a magic effect on mankind and will form the foundation of a universal brotherhood that will
last as long as humanity itself." Dr. Tesla migrated to the U. S. in 1884 to work for Thomas Alva
Edison, whom he soon quit. His naturalization papers he keeps in a safety box, his scientific
medals and degrees in old trunks and cupboards.
Note: The above link requires a small payment. To view the full article free, click here. Though
Marconi gets major mention in the history books while Tesla is given but a footnote, the U.S.
Supreme Court in 1943 "ruled that that Tesla's radio patents had predated those of [Marconi]," as
stated in this Chicago Tribune article. There are many intriguing secrets about this mysterious
genius. To learn how the government seized his work immediately after his death and lots more,
click here. For other verifiable information on incredible new energy inventions based on Tesla
technology and more, click here.
third-party solar panel companies, whose business has grown tenfold over the past halfdecade, presenting a challenge to the long-term business model of traditional utilities like
APS. The high-profile fight between the traditional utility and newer rooftop solar panel companies
is not unique to Arizona. Similar struggles have emerged in other states. On Nov. 19, Democratic
Reps. Ron Barber, Ann Kirkpatrick and Kyrsten Sinema asked [regulators] in a joint letter to ... look
into solar panel leasing practices. Then, on Dec. 12, Republican Reps. Trent Franks, Paul Gosar
and Matt Salmon sent a similar letter to the FTC. After both letters were sent, the Arizona
Corporation Commission voted late in 2014 to open a docket on consumer complaints about solar
companies. Initial hearings are expected to begin this spring.
Note: For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing government
corruption and energy news articles from reliable major media sources.
Your next commuter car could have two seats, three wheels and get 84 miles to the gallon. Elio
Motors wants to revolutionize U.S. roads with its tiny car, which is the same length as a Honda Fit
but half the weight. With a starting price of $6,800, it's also less than half the cost. Phoenix-based
Elio plans to start making the cars next fall at a former General Motors plant in Shreveport,
Louisiana. Already, more than 27,000 people have reserved one. Elio hopes to make 250,000 cars
a year by 2016. Because it has three wheels two in front and one in the rear the Elio is
actually classified as a motorcycle by the U.S. government. But Elio Motors founder Paul Elio says
the vehicle has all the safety features of a car, like anti-lock brakes, front and side air bags and a
steel cage that surrounds the occupants. Drivers won't be required to wear helmets or have
motorcycle licenses. The Elio's two seats sit front and back instead of side by side, so the
driver is positioned in the center with the passenger directly behind. The Elio has a threecylinder, 0.9-liter engine and a top speed of more than 100 miles per hour. It gets an
estimated 84 mpg on the highway and 49 mpg in city driving. Elio keeps the costs down in
several ways. The car only has one door, on the left side, which shaves a few hundred dollars off
the manufacturing costs. Having three wheels also makes it cheaper. It will be offered in just two
configurations with a manual or automatic transmission and it has standard air conditioning,
power windows and door locks and an AM/FM radio. More features, such as navigation or blindspot detection, can be ordered.
Note: For more on this, see concise summaries of deeply revealing alternative automotive
technology news articles from reliable major media sources.
Note: For more on this, see concise summaries of deeply revealing military corruption news
articles from reliable major media sources.
microwaves, bouncing them around inside a specially designed container that theoretically
creates a difference in radiation pressure and so results in directional thrust. In an ordinary
engine the rocket moves forward as fuel is flung backwards - the momentum of the rocket (a
measure of both its mass and velocity combined) is 'conserved' because it is moved from the
rocket to the fuel. However, with the Cannae Drive there is no fuel - the microwaves aren't expelled
from the engine. NASAs scientists tested a version of the drive designed by US scientist Guido
Fetta and found that the propellantless engine was able to produce between 30 and 50
micronewtons of thrust a tiny amount (0.00003 to 0.00005 per cent of the force of an iPhone
pressing down when held in the hand) but still a great deal more than nothing.
Note: For more on this, see concise summaries of deeply revealing new energy technologies
news articles from reliable major media sources.
Solar has won. Even if coal were free to burn, power stations couldn't
compete
2014-07-07, The Guardian (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/07/solar-has-won-even-if-co...
Last week ... the wholesale price of electricity in Queensland fell into negative territory in the
middle of the day. For several days the price, normally around $40-$50 a megawatt hour, hovered
in and around zero. Prices were deflated throughout the week, largely because of the influence of
one of the newest, biggest power stations in the state rooftop solar. Negative pricing moves, as
they are known, are not uncommon. But they are only supposed to happen at night, when most of
the population is mostly asleep, [and] demand is down That's not supposed to happen at
lunchtime. Daytime prices are supposed to reflect higher demand, when people are awake, office
buildings are in use, factories are in production. That's when fossil fuel generators would normally
be making most of their money. The influx of rooftop solar has turned this model on its head.
The impact has been so profound, and wholesale prices pushed down so low, that few coal
generators in Australia made a profit last year. Hardly any are making a profit this year.
State-owned generators like Stanwell are specifically blaming rooftop solar. The problem for
Australian consumers [comes] in the cost of delivery of [electricity] through the transmission and
distribution networks, and from retail costs and taxes. This is the cost which is driving households
to take up rooftop solar, in such proportions that the level of rooftop solar is forecast ... to rise
sixfold over the next decade. Households are tipped to spend up to $30bn on rooftop modules. It
is not clear how centralised, fossil-fuel generation can adapt. In an energy democracy, even
free coal has no value.
Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will
inspire you to make a difference.
sustainable transport," Musk said this week. "If we clear a path to the creation of
compelling electric vehicles, but then lay intellectual property land mines behind us to
inhibit others, we are acting in a manner contrary to that goal."
Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will
inspire you to make a difference.
about $30 million in venture funding to date. Some companies try to perfect the lithium-ion
batteries found in laptops and electric cars. Others, including EnerVault and Primus Power of
Hayward, specialize in flow batteries, which store energy in tanks of electrolytes. The fluid is then
pumped through the battery's cells when power is needed. In contrast, the batteries found at a
grocery store contain the electrolyte, cathode and anode all in one package. "Flow batteries are
batteries turned inside out," said Jim Pape, EnerVault's chief executive officer. His company's
flow batteries use iron and chromium, blended into the water inside its tanks. Both
materials are safe to handle. Iron and chromium also have the benefit of being cheap.
"That's our special sauce," Pape said. "Iron and chromium are very, very abundant, and
abundance equals low cost."
Note: For lots more from reliable sources on exciting new energy developments, click here. For a
treasure trove of great news articles which will inspire you to make a difference, click here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/opinion/sunday/the-koch-attack-on-solar-ene...
At long last, the Koch brothers and their conservative allies in state government have found a new
tax they can support. Naturally its a tax on something the country needs: solar energy panels. For
the last few months, the Kochs and other big polluters have been spending heavily to fight
incentives for renewable energy, which have been adopted by most states. They
particularly dislike state laws that allow homeowners with solar panels to sell power they
dont need back to electric utilities. So theyve been pushing legislatures to impose a surtax on
this increasingly popular practice, hoping to make installing solar panels on houses less attractive.
Oklahoma lawmakers recently approved such a surcharge at the behest of the American
Legislative Exchange Council, the conservative group that often dictates bills to Republican
statehouses and receives financing from the utility industry and fossil-fuel producers, including the
Kochs. [The] group is trying to repeal or freeze Ohios requirement that 12.5 percent of the states
electric power come from renewable sources like solar and wind by 2025. Twenty-nine states have
established similar standards that call for 10 percent or more in renewable power. These states
can now anticipate well-financed campaigns to eliminate these targets or scale them back. The
coal producers motivation is clear: They see solar and wind energy as a long-term threat to their
businesses.
Note: For more on the growth of the solar energy industry, see the deeply revealing reports from
reliable major media sources available here.
for solar arrays. "It is true that they may also be saving the planet. But that's not their main
consideration." The drop in prices isn't their only reason for growth. Companies including SolarCity,
SunEdison and Sunrun began offering solar leases or power purchase agreements to
homeowners and businesses. Rather than buy the panels, customers could just buy the energy.
That financial innovation revolutionized the industry.
Note: For more on exciting new developments in alternative energy technologies, click here. For a
treasure trove of great news articles which will inspire you to make a difference, click here.
Josh del Sol got curious in the summer of 2011 after a friend linked a serious illness to the recent
installation of a "smart meter." Del Sol subsequently learned that electrical utilities across North
America had been quietly installing "smart grids" that ... monitor Internet-connected meters
and appliances in homes and businesses. Now, del Sol is on the verge of premiering a featurelength documentary ... titled Take Back Your Power, disclosing questionable industry practices in
support of implementing networked control systems for power plants. The film links billing
mistakes, invasive monitoring, even human illnesses to the rising use of smart grids in the
U.S. and Europe. "Take Back Your Power delivers an ominous, powerful message about the
energy industry's shift to closely watching how customers use energy in their home in an invasive,
controversial manner," says Lee Waterworth, president of Yekra, a video-on-demand company. Del
Sol says access to industry sources was tough. "We had a difficult time getting anyone in the
industry to talk to us on camera once they found out that we were wanting to get to the bottom of
some of these concerns," he says. The filmmaker was surprised by the contrast between the views
of industry officials and those of ordinary citizens trying to get to the bottom of safety, privacy and
health concerns. Del Sol hopes the documentary helps to prompt the electricity industry "to provide
more transparency, accountability and clarity on the issues we explore in the film."
Note: You can find this documentary on the Internet. For more, read how solar providers are using
"smart" systems to help their customers save money while traditional utilities use these systems
only to cut their own costs. Meanwhile, concerns about the health impacts of wireless tech and the
ongoing erosion of privacy rights continue to grow.
Note: For deeply revealing reports from reliable major media sources on corporate corruption,
click here.
Energy Minister Martin Lidegaard on November 20 reduce the incentives offered to solar system
owners and make PV arrays larger than 6 kilowatts eligible for subsidies. Under a national energy
plan approved by the Danish Parliament in March, renewables will account for 35% of the
electricity fed to the Danish grid by 2020 and 100% by 2050.
Note: Isn't that a strange title for the article? Why not something like "Denmark Achieves Solar
Energy Goal 8 Years Early"? And with the questionable future of fossil fuels, why aren't more
countries embracing policies like that of Denmark?
tank with the algae-based product at a Valero station in Redwood City. The fuel's algae was grown
by South San Francisco-based Solazyme Inc. and already has been used in trials by the military
and industrial companies. It was sold for about $4.25 a gallon at the Redwood City station, about
the same as the average price for diesel fuel in California. Horton said most diesel vehicles could
run on 100 percent algae fuel, but doing so would result in higher costs for consumers. He added
that many automakers oppose allowing a mix higher than 20 percent.
Note: For deeply revealing reports from reliable major media sources on new energy
developments, click here.
Energy firm uses 'land grabs' to secure fracking rights from reluctant
landowners
2012-10-02, NBC News
http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/02/14183177-energy-firm-uses-lan...
Ranjana Bhandari and her husband knew the natural gas beneath their ranch-style home in
Arlington, Texas, could be worth a lot - especially when they got offer after offer from Chesapeake
Energy Corp. Their repeated refusals didn't stop Chesapeake, the second-largest natural gas
producer in the United States. This June, after petitioning a Texas state agency for an exception to
a 93-year-old statute, the company effectively secured the ability to drain the gas from beneath the
Bhandari property anyway -- without having to pay the couple a penny. In fact, since January
2005, the Texas agency has rejected just five of Chesapeake's 1,628 requests for such
exceptions. Chesapeake's use of the Texas law is among the latest examples of how the
company executes what it calls a "land grab" -- an aggressive leasing strategy intended to
lock up prospective drilling sites and lock out competitors. Chesapeake has become the
principal player in the largest land boom in America since the California Gold Rush of the late
1840s and 50s, amassing drilling rights on more land than almost any U.S. energy company. After
years of leasing tracts from New York to Wyoming, the company now controls the right to drill for
oil and gas on about 15 million acres -- roughly the size of West Virginia.
Note: For deeply revealing reports from reliable major media sources on corporate corruption,
click here.
Orleans in January 2013. A gross negligence finding could nearly quadruple the civil damages
owed by BP under the Clean Water Act to $21 billion. The U.S. government and BP are engaged
in talks to settle civil and potential criminal liability, though neither side will comment on the status
of negotiations. Specifically, errors made by BP and Swiss-based Transocean Ltd, owner of the
Deepwater Horizon platform, in deciphering a key pressure test of the Macondo well are a clear
indication of gross negligence, the Justice Department said. "That such a simple, yet
fundamental and safety-critical test could have been so stunningly, blindingly botched in so
many ways, by so many people, demonstrates gross negligence," the government said in its
39-page filing.
Note: For deeply revealing reports from reliable major media sources on corporate corruption,
click here.
For the past 10 years an unlikely coalition of geologists, oil drillers, bankers, military strategists and
environmentalists has been warning that peak oil the decline of global supplies is just around
the corner. We had some strong reasons for doing so: production had slowed, the price had risen
sharply, depletion was widespread and appeared to be escalating. The first of the great resource
crunches seemed about to strike. Some of us made vague predictions, others were more specific.
In all cases we were wrong. Peak oil hasn't happened, and it's unlikely to happen for a very long
time. ["Oil - The Next Revolution"] by the oil executive Leonardo Maugeri, published by Harvard
University, provides compelling evidence that a new oil boom has begun. The constraints on oil
supply over the past 10 years appear to have had more to do with money than geology. The low
prices before 2003 had discouraged investors from developing difficult fields. The high prices of
the past few years have changed that. Maugeri's analysis of projects in 23 countries suggests that
global oil supplies are likely to rise by a net 17m barrels per day (to 110m) by 2020. This, he
says, is "the largest potential addition to the world's oil supply capacity since the 1980s".
The investments required to make this boom happen depend on a long-term price of $70 a
barrel the current cost of Brent crude is $95. Money is now flooding into new oil: a trillion
dollars has been spent in the past two years; a record $600bn is lined up for 2012.
investors include hedge funds and investment banks that buy contracts for the future delivery of oil
but never intend to take possession of the fuel itself. They buy and sell strictly as a financial
investment, and their presence in the market has swelled.
Note: For lots more reliable information from the major media on energy manipulations, click here.
American Petroleum Institute, Delta Airlines, the National Air Transportation Association
and, of course, the Koch Family Foundation. They know what will happen once Americans,
furious about gas prices and the way airlines treat them, experience electrically powered
200-mph trains.
Note: For lots more evidence that progress in the transportation sector is stymied by big money
interests, click here.
"The White House did the right thing, and for the right reasons: They listened to the Americans
who asked for solar on their roof, and they listened to the scientists and engineers who told them
this is the path to the future," McKibben said in a statement. "If it has anything like the effect of the
White House garden, it could be a trigger for a wave of solar installations across the country and
around the world," he said.
and solar. "This is the real solar power," says Moses. What Moses is talking about is controlled
nuclear fusion. Instead of splitting the nucleus of an atom, you're trying to force a deuterium
nucleus to merge, or fuse, with a tritium nucleus. When that happens, you produce helium and
throw off energy. Scientists have been trying to produce energy with fusion for decades. So far,
they keep failing. The joke is that fusion energy is only 40 years away, and will always be only 40
years away. Moses believes, however, that his lab, which is called the National Ignition
Facility, or NIF, has cracked the problem. The big challenge fusion has faced is lack of
power. NIF's laser ... can produce 60 times more energy than any other laser ever built.
Right now it's still being tested. But next year Moses and his scientists will fire it up with a full load
of deuterium-tritium fuel, and Moses feels confident it will achieve "ignition," meaning a controlled
burn in which you get out more energy than you put in.
Note: For many reports from reliable sources of promising new energy developments, click here
and here.
Chrysler drops three electric vehicles despite having touted them to get
billions in government bailout cash
2009-11-09, USA Today
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2009/11/620001133/1
If you believed all the talk from Chrysler about how our tax dollars would help finance its fast-track
electric-vehicle future, you're in for a big disappointment. Chrysler has disbanded the
engineering team that was trying to bring three electric models to market as a rush job.
Chrysler [had] cited its devotion to electric vehicles as one of the key reasons why the
Obama administration and Congress needed to give it $12.5 billion in bailout money. The
change of heart on electric vehicles has come under Fiat. At a marathon presentation of Chrysler's
five-year strategy, CEO Sergio Marchionne talked about just about everything on Chrysler's plate
... except its earlier electric-car plans. With the group's disbanding, Chrysler's electric plans will be
melded into Fiat's. Marchionne is apparently no fan of electric power. He says electrics will only
make up 1% or 2% of Fiat sales by 2014 and that he doesn't put a lot of faith in the technology
until battery developments are pushed forward. As a result, Chrysler won't have an electric car on
sale as soon as next year, such as the Dodge Circuit sports car concept it had unveiled. The
change has come so fast that Chrysler's website has been still featuring pictures of the electric
vehicles. As late as August, Chrysler took $70 million in grants from the U.S. Department of
Energy to develop a test fleet of 220 hybrid pickup trucks and minivans, vehicles now scrapped in
the sweeping turnaround plan for Chrysler.
Note: For reports from reliable sources on promising new developments in electric automobile
technologies, click here.
today and, as a byproduct, is making itself the world-center for solar research, engineering,
manufacturing and installation. With more than 50,000 new jobs, the renewable energy industry in
Germany is now second only to its auto industry.
Note: For lots more from reliable sources on promising new energy developments, click here.
such experiments did produce fusion reactions, they would generate highly energetic neutrons as
a byproduct. These are what Mosier-Boss says her San Diego-based group has found. If you
have fusion going on, then you have to have neutrons, she said. But we do not know if fusion is
actually occurring. It could be some other nuclear reaction. Todays announcement is based partly
on research published by Mosier-Boss group last year in the journal Naturwissenschaften. The
announcement may turn heads, given its stage at the American Chemical Societys big meeting
and the fact that the organization promoted it to science journalists in advance. Its big, said
Steven Krivit, founder of the New Energy Times publication, which has tracked cold fusion
developments for two decades. What were talking about may be more than anybody
actually expected, he said. Were talking about a new field of science thats a hybrid
between chemistry and physics.
Note: For a powerful documentary showing a major cover-up around cold fusion, click here. Many
highly esteemed scientists have repeatedly demonstrated the reality of cold fusion, only to have
their research sometimes ruthlessly shut down. For many hopeful reports from reliable sources on
the array of new energy developments currently underway, click here.
Exxon Mobil Corp. ... reported a profit of $45.2 billion for 2008, breaking its own record for a U.S.
company. The previous record for annual profit was $40.6 billion, which the world's largest publicly
traded oil company set in 2007. The extraordinary full-year profit wasn't a surprise given
crude's triple-digit price for much of 2008, peaking near an unheard of $150 a barrel in July.
Since then, however, prices have fallen roughly 70 percent amid a deepening global
economic crisis. In the fourth quarter alone crude tumbled 60 percent, prompting spending and
job cuts in an industry that was reporting robust, often record, profits as recently as last summer.
Irving, Texas-based Exxon said net income slid sharply to $7.8 billion, or $1.55 a share, in the
October-December period. That compared with $11.7 billion, or $2.13 a share, in the same period
a year ago, when Exxon set a U.S. record for quarterly profit. It has since topped that mark twice,
first in last year's second quarter and then with earnings of $14.83 billion in the third quarter.
Revenue in the most-recent quarter fell 27 percent to $84.7 billion. The industry went into
retrenchment toward the end of the year with demand falling. The company, which produces about
3 percent of the world's oil, said overall output fell 3 percent in the most-recent period. For the full
year, Exxon Mobil's massive profit amounted to $8.69 a share, versus $7.28 a share a year ago.
Note: How can it be said that this record-breaking profit "wasn't a surprise," when ethically we
would all expect the oil companies not to gouge consumers world-wide at the time when oil prices
were artificially driven to record highs? Why should the oil companies be allowed to rake in huge
profits causing the vast majority of us to suffer even greater losses at the gas pump? This is
generally called gross profiteering. Shouldn't these "windfall profits" be taxed away?
The company claims that this Oil 2.0 will not only be renewable but also carbon negative
meaning that the carbon it emits will be less than that sucked from the atmosphere by the raw
materials from which it is made.
Note: For a treasure trove of exciting reports on new energy inventions, click here.
area to expose cells to the sunlight. It keeps the algae hanging in the sunlight just long
enough to pick up the solar energy they need to produce, to go through photosynthesis,"
he said. Kertz said he can produce about 100,000 gallons of algae oil a year per acre, compared
to about 30 gallons per acre from corn; 50 gallons from soybeans. Valcent research scientist Aga
Pinowska said there are about 65,000 known algae species, with perhaps hundreds of thousands
more still to be identified. A big part of the research at the west Texas facility involves determining
what type of algae produces what type of fuel.
Note: For many exciting reports of new energy inventions, click here.
the gas-powered cars, trucks or motorcycles that have raced in the drag sprints on this weekend at
Portland International Raceway. It's particularly impressive given Pollacheck is riding a vehicle that
uses no gasoline and is powered entirely by lithium-ion batteries. Pollacheck and his bike
dubbed the KillaCycle are part of a growing movement that's exploiting breakthroughs in battery
technology and could soon challenge the world's fastest-accelerating vehicles in the $1 billion
drag-racing industry. "In professional drag racing I expect to see the electrics eventually pass
up the fuel dragsters," said Dick Brown, president of AeroBatteries, which sponsors White
Zombie, the world's quickest-accelerating street-legal electric car a 1972 white Datsun 1200.
"Electric gives you instant torque whereas gasoline you have to build up," Brown said. The
KillaCycle runs on 990 lithium-ion battery cells that feed two direct current motors, generating 350
horsepower. The bike accelerates from zero to 60 mph in just under a second faster than many
professional gas-powered drag motorcycles and within striking distance of the quickest bikes that
run on nitromethane. With that hyper-potent racing fuel, riders can get to 60 mph in 0.7 seconds.
Note: For more on this amazing motorcyle and an unassuming electric car that does the quarter
mile in under 12 seconds, click here.
energy efficient products would have been on the market sooner. Andy Karsner, the department's
assistant secretary in charge of energy efficiency programs, acknowledged the department has
had "a simply abysmal" record on meeting efficiency standard deadlines set by Congress.
Note: Could it be that the powerful energy lobby didn't want these policies instituted? For more,
click here.
electricity grids, oceangoing robots, and floating environmental sensors. This technology may
seem far out - but it will probably be here a lot sooner than you think. 1. Try a solar-powered
hydrogen fueling station in your garage. It's about the size of a filing cabinet and runs on electricity
generated by standard-issue rooftop solar panels. The first version of the home fueling station is
expected to produce enough hydrogen to give your runabout a range of some 100 miles without
emitting a molecule of planet-warming greenhouse gas. 2. Environmental sensor networks
[provide] real-time data on a variety of phenomena that affect the economy and society - climate
change, hurricanes, air and water pollution. 3. Toxin-eating trees ... a technology that uses
vegetation to absorb hazardous waste from industrial plants and other polluters. 4. Nuclear waste
neutralizer ... a chemical technology called Urex+ that extracts reusable uranium and separates
out cesium, allowing four times as much waste to be packed into nuclear burial grounds. 5.
Autonomous ocean robots. 6. Sonic water purifier ... a sci-fi solution for an age-old problem that
leaves 1.1 billion people without access to clean water: 7. Endangered-species tracker. 8. The
interactive, renewable smart power grid ... the electricity grid of the future ... will look more like the
Internet - distributed, interactive, open-source - than the dumb, one-way network of today.
Note: For many other exciting discoveries of new energy sources, click here.
Craigie to test the feasibility of Tesla's concept. Details of the experiments were never published,
and the project was apparently discontinued. But something peculiar happened. The copies of
Tesla's papers disappeared and nobody knows what happened to them.
Note: For more on this amazing man, click here and here.
getting 30 percent of their power from renewable energy sources. Germanys relentless push
into renewable energy has implications far beyond its shores. By creating huge demand for
wind turbines and especially for solar panels, it has helped lure big Chinese manufacturers
into the market, and that combination is driving down costs faster than almost anyone
thought possible just a few years ago. The changes have devastated its utility companies,
whose profits from power generation have collapsed. The word the Germans use for their plan is
starting to make its way into conversations elsewhere: energiewende, the energy transition.
Worldwide, Germany is being held up as a model, cited by environmental activists as proof that a
transformation of the global energy system is possible.
Note: For more on this, see concise summaries of deeply revealing new energy development
news articles from reliable major media sources. Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of
incredibly inspiring news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.
Note: Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles which will
inspire you to make a difference.
researchers yet to dabble in pee as power. Skepticism aside, can we all just agree that the
foursome should be lauded for their efforts to find alternative power sources on a continent that
could really use them?
Note: For a treasure trove of great news articles which will inspire you to make a difference, click
here.
too expensive," "Coal power is cheaper than getting power from the sun," "A solar lease traps you
in your home," or "$0 down solar is too good to be true," while confirming the veracity of other wellpublicized solar tenets. "What we've learned in speaking with people across the U.S. over the
years is that we aren't just in the business of solar, we're in the business of educating," explained
Real Goods Solar Residential Marketing Director Cheryl Moody. "There are some whacky - and
some serious - rumors that persist amongst consumers. Our goal is to equip homeowners
with an unbiased source of information so that they can confidently make valid decisions
as to how the benefits of solar energy could improve their circumstances," Moody said.
Note: For more on promising developments on energy technologies, click here.
kilometer) radius of the plant were evacuated from their homes. Nuclear plants supplied about 30
percent of Japan's electricity, and the government had planned to raise that to 50 percent by 2030.
Kan told a news conference that nuclear and fossil fuel used to be the pillars of Japanese
energy policy but now the government will add two more pillars: renewable energy such as
solar, wind and biomass, and an increased focus on conservation. "I believe the government
bears a major responsibility for having promoted nuclear energy as national policy. I apologize to
the people for failing to prevent the nuclear accident," Kan said.
Note: For lots more from reliable sources on promising renewable energy sources, click here.
160 kilometres before needing to be recharged, depending on the type of battery. The car's body
will be made of an impact-resistant composite material produced from mats of hemp, a
plant from the cannabis family. The material is being supplied by Alberta Innovates-Technology
Futures, a provincial Crown corporation that provides technical services and funding to help
commercialize new technologies. The Kestrel is one of five electric vehicles being developed by
Project Eve, an automotive industry collaboration founded by Motive and Toronto Electric, an
Ontario material handling and electric motor company, to boost the production of electric vehicles
and electric vehicle components in Canada. The Kestrel cars will be built with the help of
polytechnic schools in Alberta, Quebec and Toronto, and the first 20 cars are scheduled to be
delivered next year to EnMax, a Calgary-based energy distribution, supply and service company
that is taking part in Project Eve. Automotive pioneer Henry Ford first built a car made of
hemp fibre and resin more than half a century ago.
Note: The U.S. continues to have laws against growing hemp. Is it time for change? For more on
exciting new automotive technologies, see the deeply revealing reports from reliable major media
sources available here.
Fossils From Animals And Plants Are Not Necessary For Crude Oil And
Natural Gas, Swedish Researchers Find
2009-09-12, Science Daily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090910084259.htm
Researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm have managed to prove that
fossils from animals and plants are not necessary for crude oil and natural gas to be generated.
The findings are revolutionary since this means, on the one hand, that it will be much easier to find
these sources of energy and, on the other hand, that they can be found all over the globe. Using
our research we can even say where oil could be found in Sweden, says Vladimir Kutcherov, a
professor at the Division of Energy Technology at KTH. Together with two research colleagues,
Vladimir Kutcherov has simulated the process involving pressure and heat that occurs naturally in
the inner layers of the earth, the process that generates hydrocarbon, the primary component in oil
and natural gas. According to Vladimir Kutcherov, the findings are a clear indication that the
oil supply is not about to end, which researchers and experts in the field have long feared.
He adds that there is no way that fossil oil, with the help of gravity or other forces, could
have seeped down to a depth of 10.5 kilometers in the state of Texas, for example, which is rich
in oil deposits. As Vladimir Kutcherov sees it, this is further proof, alongside his own research
findings, of the genesis of these energy sources that they can be created in other ways than via
fossils. This has long been a matter of lively discussion among scientists. There is no doubt that
our research proves that crude oil and natural gas are generated without the involvement of
fossils. All types of bedrock can serve as reservoirs of oil, says Vladimir Kutcherov.
Note: The research work of Kutcherov and others on this topic was recently published in the
scientific journal Nature Geoscience. For more reports from reliable sources on key new energy
discoveries, click here.
and manufacturing techniques to decrease heat and energy loss and increase the efficiency
of the internal combustion engine. He said he has more than quadrupled the industry
average engine efficiency of about 8 percent.
Note: For a treasure trove of reliable reports on breakthrough developments in auto and new
energy technologies, click here.
argue that producers already hold 68 million acres of federal lands on which they are not
producing oil or gas. Irving-based Exxon Mobil, the world's largest oil company, was the fourth
major oil giant to release quarterly results. Hours earlier, Royal Dutch Shell, based in the
Netherlands, announced a 33 percent increase in profit. Houston-based ConocoPhillips last week
announced a 13 percent increase in net income during a quarter in which oil prices rose from
about $100 to $140 a barrel. London-based BP announced a 28 percent profit increase on
Tuesday. Analysts ... focused less on Exxon Mobil's profits than on its 8 percent drop in
production. The world's largest oil companies ... are benefiting from record-high oil prices. Exxon
Mobil increased spending on capital and exploration projects by 38 percent in the quarter to $7
billion. It also spent $8 billion buying back its own shares and reported $39 billion in cash on hand.
A Democratic analysis of the top five oil company's expenditures from 2004 through 2007 found
that the majors plowed about $181 billion into stock buybacks, nearly three times as much as they
spent on U.S. production activity.
Chances are you've heard of hybrids and biofuels, but what about oil-producing yeast and
turbinelike buoys that transform ocean waves into electricity? Those are just a couple of the
alternative-energy sources that may power the future according to Fred Krupp, president of the
Environmental Defense Fund and coauthor, with Miriam Horn, of the new book Earth: The Sequel
(Norton). "Everyone knows the current story of melting glaciers, rising sea levels, worsening
hurricanes, dying coral reefs," said Krupp. "'The Sequel' is the story of what happens next."
Newsweek's Katie Paul talked with Krupp about ... the next industrial revolution. Newsweek: You
seem to be a big fan of solar energy. Why do you think there's so much promise to it? Fred Krupp:
We have two chapters on solar energy at the beginning of the book because we think there's
tremendous potential there. Every hour, the sun provides the earth with as much energy as all
of human civilization uses in an entire year. So, if you could capture just 10 percent of it on
a ... 100-mile square piece of land, you could power the entire United States. With solar
thermal energy, capturing heat instead of immediately going to electricity, one advantage is that
you can store hot water much more cheaply than you can store electricity. There is tremendous
potential there, even before advanced batteries are developed, and reason to think solar energy
can compete. [Newsweek:] And besides solar? How are they addressing some of the negatives
associated with biofuels? [Krupp:] I think we've come to understand that the current generation of
biofuels has problems and that we need a whole new generation.
Note: For more exciting reports from major media sources on new energy technologies, click here.
expanded to incorporate several different classes of vehicle: the Challenge and Adventure Classes
for exclusively solar cars, and the Greenfleet Technology Class for other types of environmentally
friendly, low-emission vehicles.
Note: Cars running on nothing but solar power averaging more than 60 mph over 1,800 miles?
Why isn't this front page news? For lots more from reliable, verifiable sources on promising new
energy and auto designs, click here.
provide $4 billion in funding for alternative-energy research, programs, and startups. Perhaps no
startup has benefited more from the solar gold rush than Nanosolar. The Palo Alto company ... has
racked up more than $100 million in funding so far. Nanosolar is pursuing a technology that
produces solar cells on a film that's a 100th the thickness of conventional silicon wafers. Its
ultimate goal: integrating thin-film cells directly into building materials. A skyscraper's glass
windows, for instance, could be embedded with thin-film cells, giving them energy-producing
capabilities. Nanosolar plans to build a manufacturing facility next year ... that will eventually
produce 430 megawatts' worth of solar cells per year. That would nearly triple the nation's
manufacturing capacity and make Nanosolar one of the world's largest solar producers. Thanks to
aggressive government subsidies, Germany and Japan are currently the global leaders in solar
production.
Note: With all of its talk about energy independence, why isn't the U.S. aggressively supporting
research into solar power like Japan and Germany? For reliable, verifiable information which
answers this question, click here.
warming and stifle any serious effort to solve it. It has run ads in leading newspapers ...
questioning the role of manmade emissions in global warming, and financed the work of a small
band of scientific skeptics who have tried to challenge the consensus that heat-trapping pollution is
drastically altering our atmosphere. NSTA says it has received $6 million from the company
since 1996. Exxon Mobil has a representative on the group's corporate advisory board.
Fuelling debate
2006-07-10, Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Articl...
A poignant new documentary asks who killed GM's promising electric car project? A new
documentary released June 28 in New York and Los Angeles, appropriately titled Who Killed The
Electric Car? tries in Clue-like fashion to figure out why GM pulled the plug on its EV1 electric
vehicle program, which by most accounts was approaching success when the first prototype was
introduced in the mid-1990s. "It was a revolutionary, modern car, requiring no gas, no oil changes,
no mufflers, and rare brake maintenance," according to a synopsis of the film. In the 1990s a strict
clean-air mandate introduced in California that called for zero-emission vehicles was what led GM
to introduce the EV1. Eventually that California mandate got watered down from "zero" to "low"
emissions, and the automakers decided to literally blow up their EV programs. GM, which leased
out the EV1 cars it produced, called them all back after California changed its policy. The cars
were crushed and shredded. Who were the people leasing these vehicles? Tom Hanks, Mel
Gibson and Ted Danson, among others, many of whom appear in the movie and talk favourably
about their electric cars. If the implications of an advance means loss of future business to a
paradigm, the key players of that paradigm will lobby to kill it. The paradigm? Big oil.
Similarly, the auto industry has an interest in perpetuating the manufacture of vehicles that require
routine, costly maintenance.
Note: For more information and showing times on the highly revealing Who Killed The Electric Car,
visit
www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com.
For
even
deeper
information
www.WantToKnow.info/newenergysources
small model generates 10 watts of power in a 6-inch wave chop. A full-scale version could
generate 160 kilowatts. That one buoy is enough to power 160 houses, following the rule of
thumb that the average U.S. home uses about 1,000 kilowatts of electricity each month.
Note: The Houston Chronicle actually cut off part of the original article, including the last three
sentences above. To read the entire article, click here. For lots more on new energy inventions,
see click here.
people's field of vision, inducing a temporary blindness to ensure they stop at a checkpoint, for
example. Some of these already are used in Iraq. A separate branch of directed-energy
research involves bigger, badder beams: lasers that could obliterate targets tens of miles
away from ships or planes. Such a strike would be so surgical that, as some designers put
it at a recent conference here, the military could plausibly deny responsibility. The directedenergy component in the project is the Active Denial System, developed by Air Force researchers
and built by Raytheon Co. It produces a millimeter-wavelength burst of energy that penetrates 1/64
of an inch into a person's skin, agitating water molecules to produce heat. The sensation is certain
to get people to halt whatever they are doing.
1908 Ford Model T: 25 MPG, 2004 EPA Average All Cars: 21 MPG
2005-07-11, Detroit News/Newsweek/More
http://www.WantToKnow.info/050711carmileageaveragempg
"Consumers and regulators are putting more pressure on the auto industry to enhance fuel
economy, which was stagnant at an average 20.8 miles per gallon among all 2004 models
and below the 1988 high of 22.1 mpg." -- Detroit News, 4/11/05
"The Prius is the first significant departure from the combustion engine to make any major
inroads in the auto industry since Henry Ford invented the Model T in 1908." -- Newsweek,
9/20/04
"Ford's Model T, which went 25 miles on a gallon of gasoline, was more fuel efficient than
the current Ford Explorer sport-utility vehicle -- which manages just 16 miles per gallon."
-- Detroit News, 6/4/03
Genius inventors for the past 100 years have made remarkable discoveries of new, more efficient
energy sources, only to find their inventions either suppressed or not given the attention and
funding needed to break us free of our dependence on archaic oil-based technologies. Read this
article for more reliable information on this vital topic.
manipulation during the California energy crisis that produced blackouts and billions of dollars
of surcharges to homes and businesses on the West Coast in 2000 and 2001. In one January
2001 telephone tape of an Enron trader the public utility identified as Bill Williams and a Las Vegas
energy official identified only as Rich, an agreement was made to shut down a power plant
providing energy to California. The shutdown was set for an afternoon of peak energy demand.
The next day, Jan. 17, 2001, as the plant was taken out of service, the State of California called a
power emergency, and rolling blackouts hit up to a half-million consumers, according to daily logs
of the western power grid. Officials with the Snohomish County Public Utility District in Washington
State, which released the tapes, said they believed Enron officials had taken similar measures with
other power plants. This tape, they said, was proof of what was going on.
Note: For many key reports from reliable sources on corporate corruption, click here.
Note: For more along these lines, read about how solar power is booming, and find out about the
new energy developments underway all over the world.
White House Reinstalls Solar Panels For First Time in Nearly 30 Years
2014-05-09, Time Magazine
http://time.com/94067/white-house-solar-panels/
The Obama Administration has installed solar panels on the White House for the first time in nearly
30 years. Of course, they could eventually be taken down again, as President Jimmy Carters were
in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan. [In] the meantime, however, they serve as a a symbol of the
clean energy revolution. Solar panels in the White House ... are a really important message
that solar is here, we are doing it, we can do a lot more, U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr.
Ernest Moniz said in a White House video about the panels released [May 9]. I am very bullish
on the future of solar energy as a key part of our energy future. Everything from the solar
components, to the inverter technology, to the labor that put the panels on the roof, was all
American, added Cyrus Waida, an assistant director of clean energy at the White House. Every
four minutes, some small business or homeowner is going solar. Were going through a transition
here and the industry is going through a transition that were just seeing the beginning of.
Note: For more on promising alternative energy developments, see the deeply revealing reports
from reliable major media sources available here.
a petrol car would be 8,000 Nok (784). On top of that I save 35Nok (3.20) a day on tolls but
some people are saving far more," says Snorre Sletvold, president of the Norwegian electric
vehicle association.
Note: For a treasure trove of great news articles which will inspire you to make a difference, click
here.
recession began. The high price illustrates a brutal truth of today's interconnected world - oil is a
global commodity, bought and sold in a global marketplace. Even while demand falls in the United
States, it's growing in countries such as China and India. Critics say the price paradox undercuts
the oil industry's efforts to drill in more of America's public lands and coastal waters. "It really
debunks the myth of 'Drill, baby, drill,' that if we just produce more oil, prices will stay low or go
lower," said Michael Marx, director of the Sierra Club's Beyond Oil campaign. Will all that extra
petroleum finally mean lower prices? "It's a difficult question to answer, because there's not a
one-for-one (relationship) between an increase in production and a decrease in prices,"
said Doug MacIntyre, director of the Energy Information Administration's office of
petroleum statistics. "There are so many other factors."
Note: Though the author refers to "so many other factors," he doesn't even mention greed and
corruption which almost everyone knows are rampant. When will the media focus their attention on
these fundamental challenges of our world?
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/State-seeks-answers-in-gas-price-spike...
October's record-setting jump in gasoline prices cost Californians $320 million, and yet state
officials lack some of the basic information needed to ensure that refineries aren't playing games
with the fuel market. That was the testimony [on November 15] at a hearing that explored the
causes of the price spike, which saw the state's average price for a gallon of regular reach $4.67.
The hearing could lead to legislation. With its own specialized gasoline blends made by just a
handful of refineries, California has long been prone to price spikes. But four of the most severe on
record happened in 2012. The October price spike began after an electrical outage suddenly shut
down an ExxonMobil refinery in Los Angeles County. Fuel supplies in California had already been
strained by the Aug. 6 fire at Chevron Corp.'s Richmond refinery, as well as the closure of a crudeoil pipeline in the Central Valley. Severin Borenstein, director of the University of California Energy
Institute in Berkeley, noted that the state's reliance on just a few refining companies gives those
businesses significant power over the market, even if they don't conspire to raise prices. No
pipelines connect California to refineries in the Midwest or on the Gulf Coast, leading many
analysts to label the state an "energy island." "Unfortunately, we've created a situation in the
California market where because we're an island and because it's pretty concentrated, we
actually do have companies that are in a pretty strong position to raise prices by putting
less (gas) on the market. There is no law against them doing that," [Borenstein said].
Note: For deeply revealing reports from reliable major media sources on corporate corruption,
click here.
Pioneering scientists turn fresh air into petrol in massive boost in fight
against energy crisis
2012-10-19, The Independent (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/exclusive-pioneering-scientist...
A small British company has produced the first "petrol from air" using a revolutionary technology
that promises to solve the energy crisis as well as to help curb global warming by removing carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere. Air Fuel Synthesis in Stockton-on-Tees has produced five litres of
petrol since August when it switched on a small refinery that manufactures gasoline from carbon
dioxide and water vapour. The company hopes that within two years it will build a larger,
commercial-scale plant capable of producing a ton of petrol a day. It also plans to produce green
aviation fuel to make airline travel more carbon-neutral. "We've taken carbon dioxide from air
and hydrogen from water and turned these elements into petrol," said Peter Harrison, the
company's chief executive. "There's nobody else doing it in this country or indeed overseas as far
as we know. It looks and smells like petrol but it's a much cleaner and clearer product than
petrol derived from fossil oil," Mr Harrison told The Independent. Being able to capture carbon
dioxide from the air, and effectively remove the principal industrial greenhouse gas resulting from
the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal, has been the holy grail of the emerging green
economy. Using the extracted carbon dioxide to make petrol that can be stored, transported and
used as fuel for existing engines takes the idea one step further.
Note: For deeply revealing reports from reliable major media sources on new energy technologies,
click here.
Note: The comment about scientists scrambling to reproduce the cold fusion research of Pons and
Fleischmann is not quite the reality. The two scientists were slammed and ridiculed in a
coordinated effort to suppress their amazing discoveries, which threatened the huge profits of the
oil industry. For lots more reliable information on this, click here and here.
Note: For lots more from reliable sources on promising renewable energy sources, click here.
Note: The 1859 solar storm knocked out sturdy telegraph machines. An equivalent storm today
could do unbelievable damage and conceivalby knock out the Internet for a time. For more on the
1859 storm and its implications, click here. and here.
Gulf oil spill worsens -- but what about the safety of gas fracking?
2010-06-18, Los Angeles Times
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/06/gulf-oil-spill-bp-hydrauli...
Imagine a siege of hydrocarbons spewing from deep below ground, polluting water and air,
sickening animals and threatening the health of unsuspecting Americans. And no one knows how
long it will last. No, were not talking about BPs gulf oil spill. Were talking about hydraulic
fracturing of natural gas deposits. Fracking, as the practice is also known, may be coming to a
drinking well or a water system near you. It involves blasting water, sand and chemicals, many of
them toxic, into underground rock to extract oil or gas. "Gasland," a compelling documentary on
HBO ..., traces hydraulic fracturing across 34 states from California to Louisiana to Pennsylvania.
The expos by filmmaker Josh Fox, alternately chilling and darkly humorous, won the 2010
Sundance Film Festivals special jury prize for documentary. It details how former Vice
President Dick Cheney, in partnership with the energy industry and drilling companies such
as his former employer, Halliburton Corp., successfully pressured Congress in 2005 to
exempt fracking from the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act and other
environmental laws. Each well requires the high-pressure injection of a cocktail of nearly 600
chemicals, including known carcinogens and neurotoxins, diluted in 1 million to 7 million gallons of
water. Some 450,000 wells have been drilled nationwide.
Note: For many reliable reports on government and corporate corruption, click here and here.
energy source from concentrated solar power. As Green Futures goes to press, researchers from
Bristol and Bath Universities in the UK have also announced plans for solar-powered CO2-to-fuel
conversion.
Note: If plants are able to convert CO2 to energy and have been doing this for billions of years,
why can't scientists figure out a way to do this for human use?
when it comes to making gas-powered vehicles, but by skipping the current technology, China
hopes to get a jump on the next. The United States has been a laggard in alternative vehicles.
G.M.s plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt is scheduled to go on sale next year, and will be assembled in
Michigan using rechargeable batteries imported from LG in South Korea. Chinas intention, in
addition to creating a world-leading industry that will produce jobs and exports, is to
reduce urban pollution and decrease its dependence on oil, which comes from the Mideast
and travels over sea routes controlled by the United States Navy. Beyond manufacturing,
subsidies of up to $8,800 are being offered to taxi fleets and local government agencies in 13
Chinese cities for each hybrid or all-electric vehicle they purchase. China wants to raise its annual
production capacity to 500,000 hybrid or all-electric cars and buses by the end of 2011, from 2,100
last year.
Note: For lots more on new developments in auto and energy technologies from reliable sources,
click here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/world/europe/27house.html?partner=rss&emc=r...
From the outside, there is nothing unusual about the stylish new gray and orange row houses in
the Kranichstein District. But these houses are part of a revolution in building design: There are no
drafts, no cold tile floors, no snuggling under blankets until the furnace kicks in. There is, in fact, no
furnace. In Berthold Kaufmanns home, there is, to be fair, one radiator for emergency backup in
the living room but it is not in use. Even on the coldest nights in central Germany, Mr.
Kaufmanns new passive house and others of this design get all the heat and hot water they
need from the amount of energy that would be needed to run a hair dryer. You dont think about
temperature the house just adjusts, said Mr. Kaufmann. His new home uses about onetwentieth the heating energy of his parents home of roughly the same size, he said. The concept
of the passive house, pioneered in this city of 140,000 outside Frankfurt, approaches the [energy
efficiency] challenge from a different angle. Using ultrathick insulation and complex doors and
windows, the architect engineers a home encased in an airtight shell, so that barely any
heat escapes and barely any cold seeps in. That means a passive house can be warmed not
only by the sun, but also by the heat from appliances and even from occupants bodies. And
in Germany, passive houses cost only about 5 to 7 percent more to build than conventional
houses. New passive houses use an ingenious central ventilation system. The warm air going out
passes side by side with clean, cold air coming in, exchanging heat with 90 percent efficiency.
Note: For lots more on new energy technologies from reliable sources, click here.
Note: For a treasure trove of exciting reports of new developments in energy production, click
here.
buzzing even when the wind stops blowing. Microgeneration, meet the YouTube generation.
Were talking about a new meaning of power to the people, raves Jeremy Rifkin, alternative
energy activist and adviser to the European Union and many European governments. Forget about
wind farms and solar plants run by conventional utility companies, he says. In the new energy
regime, the people are the utilities and their houses are the power plants. The cornerstone of this
new grid is buildings that produce, rather than just consume, energy. These homes and office
buildings convert wind, solar and biomass into electricity, which they use, store for later as
hydrogen and upload onto the grid.
Note: This inspiring article comes from what may be the most inspiring news source in our world
today, Ode Magazine. For more on this excellent magazine "for intelligent optimists," see
http://www.odemagazine.com.
One year ago, a 32-year-old trader at a giant hedge fund named Amaranth held huge sway over
the price the country paid for natural gas. Trading on unregulated commodity exchanges, he made
risky bets that led to the fund's collapse -- and, according to a congressional investigation, higher
gas bills for homeowners. But as another winter approaches, lawmakers and federal regulators
have yet to set up a system to prevent another big fund from cornering a vital commodity market.
Called by some insiders the Wild West of Wall Street, commodity trading is a world where
many goods that are key to national security or public consumption, such as oil, pork
bellies or uranium, are traded with almost no oversight. Part of the problem is that the
regulator, the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has had a hard time keeping up
with the sector it oversees. Commodity trading has exploded in complexity and popularity, growing
six-fold in trading volume since 2000 -- the year that a handful of giant energy companies,
including Enron, successfully lobbied to get Congress to exempt energy markets from government
regulation. Meanwhile CFTC's staffing has dropped to its lowest level in the agency's 33-year
history. Its computer systems that monitor trades are outdated. Its leadership has seen frequent
turnover. "We are facing flat budgets and exponential growth in the industry," said CFTC Acting
Chairman Walter Lukken. "Over the long term this type of budgetary situation is not sustainable."
Commodities markets also have become complex with many trading futures contracts as well as
financial tools called derivatives and swaps, whose value is based on the risk of futures contracts.
Gathering data on these products has been a challenge for the CFTC. The evolution of the
markets has led to some tension between the CFTC and the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
Note: For more revealing major media reports of unregulated financial corruption and its impact,
click here.
reached a heat of more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit - would be enough to power a car or other
heavy machinery. "We will get our ideas together and check this out and see where it leads," Roy
said. "The potential is huge."
Note: For an exciting survey of major media reports of new energy inventions, click here.
inputs to flourishmainly just sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. Because algae has a high
surface-area-to-volume ratio, it can absorb nutrients very quickly, [Jim] Sears says. Its small size
is what makes it mighty. The proof is in the numbers. About 140 billion gallons of biodiesel would
be needed every year to replace all petroleum-based transportation fuel in the U.S. It would take
nearly three billion acres of fertile land to produce that amount with soybeans, and more than one
billion acres to produce it with canola. Unfortunately, there are only 434 million acres of cropland in
the entire country, and we probably want to reserve some of that to grow food. But because of its
ability to propagate almost virally in a small space, algae could do the job in just 95 million acres of
land. Whats more, it doesnt need fertile soil to thrive. It grows in ponds, bags or tanks that can be
just as easily set up in the desertor next to a carbon-dioxide-spewing power plantas in the
countrys breadbasket. Sears claims that these efficiencies will allow Solix Biofuels, the company
he founded, to create algae-based biodiesel that costs about the same as gasoline.
Note: For many other innovative ideas to develop cheap, renewable energy sources, click here.
Off the western coast of Scotland, on the Isle of Islay, science teacher Ray Husthwaite turns on the
light in his classroom. The electricity comes from a power cable that runs to the mainland. But it
also comes from the ocean. A few miles from the school, wave action compresses and
decompresses air in a chamber. The moving air powers a turbine, which generates electricity. "It is
pleasant ... to sit beside the gray, concrete structure and listen to the rising and falling of the
waves, driving air through the turbines like the breath of a great sea monster," Husthwaite said. "It
seems insane to me to be investing in nuclear power stations and gas turbines when there
are endless, free energy resources in the rivers, oceans and the wind." Ocean power
gradually is joining the ranks of wind and solar power as a source of renewable energy. Islay's
wave-power converter, the Limpet 500, has been operating since 2000. In Hawaii, the Navy has
been churning up electrons with the help of a floating buoy. And in Portugal, engineers are
installing snakelike tubes designed to convert the sea's motion into electricity. Some designs, like
the Limpet, use waves to push air through a column. Others convert the sea's up-and-down motion
into mechanical energy. One wave-power company executive told a congressional committee last
year that several hundred square miles off the California coast could supply the electrical needs of
all of the homes in the state.
Note: To learn about an abundance of other new energy technologies which could replace oil, click
here.
Note: So while California taxpayers cough up hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of Enron's
scheming and thousands of employees across the U.S. lost their entire pensions, the result of the
first prosecution of anyone related to the Enron scam is probation? For lots more on this, click
here.
their Midnight Sun. Fourteen cars went all the way to the finish line, with the last to cross being
Kansas State University's Paragon on its maiden race, at 87.5 hours, a little over 12 hours after
the winner.
Note: A solar powered car averaged 46.2 mph in over a 2,500 mile course! Why isn't this making
mainstream news headlines? I invite you to do a Google news search on "Solar Challenge" (the
annual solar car race). You will find that almost no major media cover this event at all. The few
who do somehow fail to mention anything about the speeds attained by these cars. Why is the
media not covering these incredible breakthroughs?
Remember that the internal combustion engine is itself hardly rocket science. The internal
combustion engine (ICE) has been with us for about 200 years. The basic conceptthe boom that
turns a crankhas not really changed at all. The efficiency of that bang had stalled out at around
28 percent. The vast majority of the fuel was dissipated as engine heat or exhaust. Singh knew
that ... the combustion chamber [was where] fuel was turned to bang. He modified a motorcycle,
then a two-stroke, then a four-stroke, then a car, then 50 cars. Singh applied for a patent in
January 1999, and the U.S. Patent Office issued him No. 6237579 in May 2001. Finally he was
allowed to bring his engines and hook them to a Benz EC-70 dynamometer with a five-gas
analyzer and a Benz gravimetric fuel-measuring device. At between 2,000 and 2,800 rpm, Singhs
modified engine used between 10 and 42 percent less fuel than its unmodified twin, with no
appreciable losses in torque or power.
Note: After posting a message on a group of high-school students who achieved dramatic
improvements in car engine efficiency two weeks ago, we received emails from more than ten
people claiming to have made or know of similar inventions. The above article was sent as
evidence in one case. Dozens of other cases that could be real. For Mr. Singh's website, see
http://www.somender-singh.com. For lots more, click here.
British researchers believe that they have made a groundbreaking scientific discovery after
apparently managing to "create" energy from hydrogen atoms. In results independently verified at
Bristol University, a team from Gardner Watts - an environmental technology company - show a
"thermal energy cell" which appears to produce hundreds of times more energy than that
put into it. If the findings are correct and can be reproduced on a commercial scale, the
thermal energy cell could become a feature of every home, heating water for a fraction of
the cost and cutting fuel bills by at least 90 per cent. The makers of the cell, which passes an
electric current through a liquid between two electrodes, admit that they cannot explain precisely
how the invention works. "What we are saying is that the device seems to tap into another,
previously unrecognised source of energy." The cell is the product of research into the
fundamental properties of hydrogen, the most common element in the universe. Hydrogen can
exist in a so-called metastable state that harbours a potential source of extra energy. [Quantum]
theory suggests that if electricity were passed into a mixture of water and a chemical catalyst, the
extra energy would be released in the form of heat. After some experimentation, the team found
that a small amount of electricity passed through a mixture of water and potassium carbonate potash - released an astonishing amount of energy. "It generates a lot of heat in a very small
volume," said Christopher Eccles, the chief scientist at Gardner Watts. The findings of the Gardner
Watts team were tested by Dr Jason Riley of Bristol University, who found energy gains of between
three and 26 times what had been put in.
Note: For an abundance of reliable reports on amazing new energy developments, click here.
Note: For more along these lines, see concise summaries of key energy news articles from
reliable major media sources. To learn about new energy technologies, see the excellent, reliable
resources provided in our New Energy Information Center.
insulated house at Old Snowmass, built 30 years ago for $500,000 (300,000) and an inspiration
for a generation of energy thinkers, designers and sustainable builders. Visited by 100,000 people,
it was the archetype for the European Passivhaus movement. "Heating systems are so 20th
century," he says. "We have found you actually save money by not putting in a heating
system. It's cheaper. The monitoring system uses more energy than the lights." Lovins has
always maintained that energy conservation not only pays for itself, but that energy-saving
technology can lead to higher quality of life at lower cost. He has advised many of the world's
largest companies and dozens of countries how to reduce bills with renewables but has also
challenged the giant car, aviation and construction industries to rethink the way they operate.
Renewables have scaled up incredibly fast, he says. "Worldwide it is faster than mobile phones.
More Kenyans now get first electricity now from solar than the grid. China got more generation
from wind in 2012 than from nuclear and it added more generation from non-hydro renewable
energy than fossil and nuclear combined. It is now the world leader in seven of the 10 renewable
energies and wants to be top in all 10.
Note: For a treasure trove of great news articles which will inspire you to make a difference, click
here.
Note: For more on this, click here and here. The first article talks about the vulnerability of the
world's nuclear reactors to such a storm. If telegraph systems failed in the solar storm of 1859,
how much damage do you think such a storm would do to our modern electronics? And why aren't
more people talking about this?
Note: Debunkers of the new energy movement have long claimed that zero point energy is a
theoretical construct which cannot have practical applications. This article shows that attitudes are
now shifting. For lots more reliable information on what's still hidden from the public on the new
energy front, click here.
based on a 1960s design first developed by Philo T. Farnsworth, an inventor of television, the
reactors are typically small steel spheres with wires and tubes sticking out and a glass window for
looking inside. But they won't be powering homes anytime soon -- for now, fusors use far more
energy than they produce. But the allure is strong. A fusion power plant would likely be fueled by
deuterium and tritium, both isotopes of hydrogen that are in plentiful supply. Fusion advocates say
reactors would be relatively clean, generating virtually no air pollution and little long-lived
radioactive waste. Today's nuclear power plants, in contrast, are fission-based, meaning they split
atoms and create a highly radioactive waste that can take millennia to decompose.
Note: How strange that this article seems to accept table-top nuclear fusion as a fact, when
mainstream science supposedly debunked this possibility two decades ago. For lots more on
infinite energy posibilities, click here.
The Tesla Roadster, which recently entered production, is probably the best known electric car in
America. The company's president has called it "the only production electric car for sale in the
United States." There are several other electric car companies that would differ with him on that
point, but those other vehicles are either limited to speeds below 25 miles per hour or have fewer
than four wheels, making their status as "cars" somewhat debatable. With a full set of wheels
and a claimed top speed of 125 mph, there's no question this two-seat convertible is a real
car. Tesla also boasts an amazing 220-mile range on a full charge as measured in EPA fuel
economy tests. Meanwhile, the charging time claimed by Tesla is less than half that of other
electric vehicles, thanks to advanced lithium-ion batteries -- which do account for much of the car's
high cost. But even gasoline-powered two-seat soft-tops are luxury toys, not daily drivers. Tesla
promises it is working hard on a more moderately priced four-door model for driving's other half.
The GEM car, from Chrysler's Global Electric Motorcars division, is more typical of what's available
to today's average consumer. It's a small, lightweight vehicle that can go up to 25 mph. It can go
just a little faster on a downhill grade, but the electric motor automatically steps in to slow it down.
The 25 mph top speed is a matter of law, not engineering. "Low Speed Vehicles" (LSVs) like the
GEM don't have to meet the same safety requirements as faster cars. But 25 mph is still adequate
for many daily commutes and around-the-town errands.
Note: For many exciting reports on new automotive and energy developments, click here.
"They're a very good idea for California, and they're also a really good idea for the world," said
Cavanagh, director of the environmental group's energy program. "This is one of the scalable
solutions that can make a big difference."
Note: For more inspiring reports of new renewable energy developments, click here.
vehicles in tanks about the same size as today's gasoline tanks. An internal reaction in those tanks
would create hydrogen from water and 350 pounds worth of special pellets. The hydrogen would
then power an internal combustion engine or a fuel cell stack. "It's a simple matter to convert
ordinary internal combustion engines to run on hydrogen," Woodall said. "All you have to do is
replace the gasoline fuel injector with a hydrogen injector." "The egos of program managers at
DOE are holding up the revolution," he told MSNBC.com. "Remember that Einstein was a patent
examiner and had no funding for his 1905 miracle year," Woodall added. "He did it on his own
time. If he had been a professor at a university in the U.S. today and put in a proposal to develop
the theory of special relativity it would have been summarily rejected."
Note: For a treasure trove of reliable information on clean, new energy sources, click here.
The tangle of cables and plugs needed to recharge today's electronic gadgets could soon be a
thing of the past. US researchers have outlined a relatively simple system that could deliver power
to devices such as laptop computers or MP3 players without wires. The concept exploits centuryold physics and could work over distances of many metres. Although the team has not built and
tested a system, computer models and mathematics suggest it will work. "Resonance" [is] a
phenomenon that causes an object to vibrate when energy of a certain frequency is applied.
"When you have two resonant objects of the same frequency they tend to couple very strongly,"
Professor Soljacic [explained]. Resonance can be seen in musical instruments. "When you play a
tune on one, then another instrument with the same acoustic resonance will pick up that tune, it
will visibly vibrate," he said. Instead of using acoustic vibrations, the team's system exploits the
resonance of electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic radiation includes radio waves, infrared and
X-rays. The team from MIT is not the first group to suggest wireless energy transfer. Nineteenthcentury physicist and engineer Nikola Tesla experimented with long-range wireless energy
transfer, but his most ambitious attempt - the 29m [it was actually 187 feet] high aerial
known as Wardenclyffe Tower, in New York - failed when he ran out of money. A UK company
called Splashpower has also designed wireless recharging pads onto which gadget lovers can
directly place their phones and MP3 players to recharge them.
Note: What the article fails to mention is that Tesla's experiments previous to the 1903
Wardenclyffe tower were quite successful, so much so that J.P. Morgan was willing to pour huge
amounts into the tower. When he learned, however, that Tesla's intention was to make energy
available free to the public, he pulled the plug on the project and many of Tesla's amazing
inventions were buried and erased from the history books. For verification, click here and here. For
lots more on suppressed energy inventions, click here.
2014-10-22, CNBC/Reuters
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102109510
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed a bill on Tuesday that will keep electric carmaker Tesla
Motors from selling its cars directly to consumers in the state, home to the biggest U.S.
automakers. Snyder said in a letter to members of the state House of Representatives on Tuesday
that the measure merely "clarifies" existing law not to allow direct manufacturer-to-consumer retail
sales. Those sales, he said, must be made through franchised dealers. Michigan becomes the
fifth U.S. state to keep Tesla from easily selling cars directly to consumers. In all of those
states except Michigan, Tesla operates "galleries" where consumers can view Tesla cars but
cannot discuss prices, take test drives or order cars. Michigan has gone a step further, said
Diarmuid O'Connell, Tesla vice president of business development, and will not allow even the
informational galleries. Tesla, which has challenged some of the long-held conventions of auto
industry, wants to set up its own sleek stores rather than to sell through a franchised dealer
network. The Michigan measure, passed 38-0 in the state's Senate and 106-1 in the House, does
not mention Tesla by name. But, O'Connell said, the legislation clearly is addressed to the
company. O'Connell said the bill was pushed through the legislature without chance for
public debate because well-connected auto dealers did not want a public airing of the
state's policy. Detroit-based General Motors on Tuesday said it supported the new measure.
Note: For more along these lines, see these concise summaries of deeply revealing government
corruption news articles from reliable sources. You can also read more about inspiring innovations
and how these are suppressed.
technology could be used in a variety of applications, Lunt said, and its affordability means it has
the potential for eventual commercial or industrial use. Ultimately we want to make solar
harvesting surfaces that you do not even know are there, he said. The researchers' findings were
published in the journal Advanced Optical Materials in July.
Note: Why isn't the major media reporting this exciting development? For more on this, see
concise summaries of deeply revealing new energy inventions news articles from reliable major
media sources. Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring news articles
which will inspire you to make a difference.
owner the British government, conspired to destroy democracy and install a western-controlled
regime in Iran. The resulting anger and the repression that followed was one of the principal
causes of the Iranian revolution in 1978/79 - out of which came the Islamist regime of Ayatollah
Khomeini. And what's more, BP and the British government were so arrogant and bumblingly
inept at handling the crisis that they had to persuade the Americans help them. They did
this by pretending there was a Communist threat to Iran. The American government, led by
President Eisenhower, believed them and the CIA were instructed to engineer a coup which
removed the Iranian prime minister Mohamed Mossadegh. The CIA, led by Allen Dulles, ... sent
the CIA's top Middle East agen, Kermit Roosevelt, to run Operation Ajax. The plan, drawn up by
the British and the Americans, was to bribe the street gangs of Tehran to create chaos, and then
install an army general, General Zahedi, as prime minister.
his firm "11" for Fambro. The three-wheeled, 1,500-pound prototype has 2 1/2 seats, and when the
vehicle goes into production in October, Fambro expects that it will have an acceleration rate of
zero to 60 mph in 11 seconds (a second slower than the Prius) and retail for less than $30,000.
The Aptera will come in two versions: an all-electric that is expected to go 120 miles on a
charge and a hybrid that will have a 600-mile range on a full charge and full tank. Unlike
other three-wheeled cars that are technically motorcycles (thus skirting a lot of safety criteria), the
Aptera's airplane-wide wheel base makes it stable. The fiberglass shell is reinforced with steel and
aluminum, and there will be air bags in the seat belts. What's not to like, unless, of course, you're
the passenger in the half seat.
Note: For a fascinating video clip of this car on a local ABC news affiliate, click here. Why aren't
other major media picking up this exciting story?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/08/eveningnews/main2549273.shtml
It's a two-hour ferry ride to the Danish island of Samso. To visit Samso is to see the future. Samso
is an area about 40 square miles long with a permanent population of about 4,000 all of them
living a green dream. Take farmer Erik Andersen. His tractor runs on oil from rape seed, which he
grows. His hot water and power come from his solar panels or wind turbines. There's not a fossil
fuel in sight. "It's a very good feeling because the island is a renewable energy island," Anderson
says. Ten years ago, Andersen and the people of Samso accepted a challenge from
Denmark's government: Could they run their farms; could they power their businesses;
could they lead their lives in an entirely energy self-sufficient and carbon-neutral way? Now
they have the answer. They can. "Because it's a good idea for the environment," Andersen
explains. To harness the wind, of which they have plenty, they built wind turbines. To provide heat,
they burn locally grown straw in central plants that produce super hot water and pump it through
underground pipes into peoples' homes. It's not only more efficient than running individual
furnaces, it's carbon neutral. The net greenhouse gas emissions from these plants? Zero. It's a
system that just recycles itself, says Jens Peter Nielson with the Samso Energy Authority. Even
after a freezing cold night, the days short and cloudy, the solar-heated hot water is still hot. The
Samso scheme has become so successful that the island has installed a string of turbines offshore
to make surplus power to sell to the mainland.
Note: For further inspiring examples of developments in new energy technologies, click here.
Wynne. "If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing
to use it in a wartime situation," said Wynne. Nonlethal weapons generally can weaken people if
they are hit with the beam. Some of the weapons can emit short, intense energy pulses that also
can be effective in disabling some electronic devices.
Note: The government has been developing potentially lethal "non-lethal weapons" for decades,
as evidenced by released FOIA government documents. Don't miss our excellent summary on this
critical topic available at http://www.WantToKnow.info/mindcontrol10pg#nonlethal and the in-depth
Washington
Post
article
on
psychological
manipulations
available
at
http://www.WantToKnow.info/060123psyops.
But Goldes isn't so easy to shrug off. That's because he's also come up with technology called the
UltraConductor. The research was funded in part by the Department of Defense, which invested
$600,000 in the project. A handful of other companies worldwide are believed also to be
pursuing zero-point energy via magnetic systems. One of them, InterStellar Technologies,
is run by a former scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. According to
Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine, the Pentagon and at least two large
aerospace companies are actively researching zero-point energy as a means of propulsion.
would be lighter, more resilient and flexible than silicon photovoltaics. Solar energy could furnish
much of the nation's electricity if available residential and commercial rooftops were fully
utilized. According to the Energy Foundation, using available rooftop space could provide 710,000
megawatts across the United States, whose current electrical capacity is 950,000 megawatts.
Atluru of Draper Fisher Jurvetson [explains] "Our view is that government can cause big problems,
and it is the entrepreneurs who will make the big changes." Current cost of solar energy, per watt:
$4-$5. Average cost of energy from traditional fossil fuel sources, per watt: $1. Estimated cost of
energy from nanotech solar panels, per watt: $2. Total energy-generating capacity of the United
States: 950,000 megawatts. Potential total rooftop solar energy capacity in the United States: 710,
000 megawatts.
Hangar 19 at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport is host to one unique airplane: the
Solar Impulse. The sun-powered plane made history by becoming the first aircraft to fly across
America day and night without fuel. The Solar Impulse finished its two-month journey from NASA's
Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif. to JFK airport on July 6, where it is currently parked. The
aircraft is powered by 11,628 solar cells, has an average flying speed of about 43 miles (70
kilometers) per hour and its maximum altitude is about 27,900 feet. Although its wingspan rivals a
747, the actual body of the plane is a lot smaller, with a cockpit that can only fit one person. The
groundbreaking trip may seem too slow to be practical, but chairman and pilot Bertrand Piccard
thinks there is a bigger picture behind the project. "We believe if we can demonstrate this in the
air, where it is the most difficult to do, people will understand that they can also use the
same technologies for their daily lives," Piccard [said]. Piccard shared piloting the plane with
the company's co-founder and CEO Andre Borschberg. The two flew in 24-hour shifts across
America, and made stopovers in Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Dulles.
Some of the key advances used on the Solar Impulse include carbon fiber sheets that weigh 0.8
ounces per 11 square feet, solar cells that are about the thickness of a human hair and batteries
with a high energy density. While the technologies are impressive, the creators emphasize
that they didn't re-invent the wheel. They believe that pieces of the puzzle already exist, but
needs to be put together in a different way.
Note: For a treasure trove of great news articles which will inspire you to make a difference, click
here.
Note: Tesla, whose incredible achievements have largely been removed from history books, is
having a great resurgence in interest. For more on this most intriguing inventor, click here. For
deeply revealing reports from reliable major media sources on new energy inventions, click here.
New Reactor Uses Sunlight to Turn Water and Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel
2009-11-23, Popular Science
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-11/co2-recycler-uses-sunlight-turn...
Scientists at Sandia National Labs, seeking a means to create cheap and abundant hydrogen to
power a hydrogen economy, realized they could use the same technology to "reverse-combust"
CO2 back into fuel. Researchers still have to improve the efficiency of the system, but they
recently demonstrated a working prototype of their "Sunshine to Petrol" machine that
converts waste CO2 to carbon monoxide, and then syngas, consuming nothing but solar
energy. The device, boasting the simple title Counter-Rotating-Ring Receiver Reactor
Recuperator (we'll go with "CR5") sets off a thermo-chemical reaction by exposing an iron-rich
composite to concentrated solar heat. The composite sheds an oxygen molecule when heated and
gets one back as it cools, and therein lies the eureka. The cylindrical metal CR5 is divided into hot
and cold chambers. Solar energy heats the hot chamber to a scorching 2,700 degrees, hot enough
to force the iron oxide composite to lose oxygen atoms. The composite is then thrust into the cool
chamber, which is filled with carbon dioxide. As it cools, the iron oxide snatches back its lost
oxygen atoms, leaving behind carbon monoxide.
Note: For many inspiring reports on promising new energy developments, click here.
conventional technologies "have made the kind of progress that we were hoping futuristic
technologies could make." For example, researchers have sought to bring the cost of solar power
to under $1 per watt, and as of the first quarter of this year one company, First Solar, has done
this. These cost reductions have made solar power cheaper than the natural-gas-powered plants
used to produce extra electricity to meet demand on hot summer days.
Note: Interesting that MIT has reported this story, but none of the major media picked it up. Solar
energy will very likely be cheaper than oil-generated energy in under 10 years. For more on the
current state of solar, click here.
researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) reported the same thing last
year under the moniker WiTricity. Two years ago, MIT researcher Marin Soljacic figured out a way
to transmit electricity via the magnetic field surrounding a charged loop of wire. A similar loop wired
up to a light bulb or another electrical device would draw power from that magnetic fieldno wires
attached. Soljacic and his colleagues reported a year later in Science they could transfer energy to
a 60-watt bulb with 50 percent efficiency from six feet away and 90 percent efficiency from three
feet. Intel announced they had achieved 75 percent efficiency from two to three feet away. An Intel
researcher contacted the MIT group with some technical questions after the study came out, says
Andre Kurs, an MIT PhD candidate and first author on the Science paper.
Note: Yet no mention is made of the fact that genius inventor Nikola Tesla may have developed
wireless electricity over a century ago. Click here for information on this. Some claim Tesla was
largely written out of history books because he threatened the establishment with the possibility of
nearly free electricity for all people. For more on this, click here.
Shai Agassi, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, pledges that he can beat the spiraling cost of gasoline
with the world's first mass-produced electric car. In January, Israel's government endorsed the
Palo Alto businessman's ambitious joint venture between his startup company - Project Better
Place - and Renault-Nissan. Agassi says he raised $200 million to get the $500 million dollar
project, which will include a network of charging and battery-exchange stations by 2010, off the
ground. Project Better Place also has signed an agreement with Denmark to begin a similar
operation by 2011. In Denmark, a pioneer in developing wind power, batteries are expected to be
recharged using wind-powered turbines. Agassi is banking on his electric-powered sedan
revolutionizing life on the roads, cleaning up the environment and reducing dependence on
oil. The cars are expected to have a range of up to 140 miles per charge and a top speed of
68 mph - the speed limit in Israel. Last month, he invited reporters to test-drive a prototype that
looks a lot like the Renault Megane, a four-door sedan. The car is noticeably quiet and has no
exhaust pipe, an electric socket in place of a gas cap and a dashboard gauge that measures the
charge of the vehicle's 450-pound lithium-ion battery. In the United States, Hawaii Gov. Linda
Lingle has said she is interested in her state becoming the first to embrace the electric-car
network. Mayor Gavin Newsom also has reportedly expressed interest in making San Francisco
the first U.S. metropolis to place electric cars on city roads.
Note: For reports of many exciting breakthroughs in energy development and automotive design,
click here.
a steady, consistent flow. "That went really well," said Dallimore. "We definitely demonstrated
that these hydrates are responsive enough that you can sustain flow. We were able to take
conventional technologies, modify them, and produce. That's a big step forward."
Note: For lots more information on new energy developments, click here.
Grass Valley, Calif., is exploring the same sound-driven fusion as Dr. Putterman, pushing forward
with venture capital financing. Its president, Ross Tessien, concedes that Impulse is a high-risk
investment, but the potential payoffs would be many. You solve the worlds pollution
problems, Mr. Tessien said. You eliminate the need for wars. You eliminate scarcity of
fuel. And it happens to be a very valuable market. So from a commercial point of view,
theres every incentive. From a moral point of view, theres every incentive. And its fun and
its exciting work.
Note: To read about a wide array of revolutionary energy technologies, click here.
billion but its only what companies can get with todays technology. The estimate of how many
more barrels of oil are buried deeper underground is staggering. "We know theres much, much
more there. The total estimates could be two trillion or even higher," says Clive Mather, Shell's
Canada chief. "This is a very, very big resource." Very big? Thats eight times the amount of
reserves in Saudi Arabia.
Note: For those who fear oil shortages and an energy crisis, here's yet another example of huge,
untapped
energy
reserves.
For
many
other,
cleaner
options,
see
http://www.WantToKnow.info/newenergyinformation
Note: Former U.S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen in a 1997 news briefing stated: "Others
are engaging even in an eco-type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off
earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves." To verify this quote
on the U.S. Department of Defense website, click here. If terrorist organizations have the capability
to set off earthquakes and other major natural disasters, do you think huge military research
laboratories might have some of the same capabilities? For more, click here and here.
daily floor for gas prices. The price law was intended to prevent large oil companies from driving
smaller competitors out of business, but some critics argue it fails to protect consumers. According
to the Commerce Department, the Midwest-owned stations in Anoka, Oakdale and Albert Lea sold
gas below the minimum price on 293 days in 2005. Kevin Murphy, deputy commissioner of the
department, called the violations "willful, continuing, and egregious and warrant a substantial
penalty."
giving up the fight. "The dealer can no longer be competitive,'' says Dennis DeCota,
executive director of the California Service Station and Automotive Repair Association.
"The companies are squeezing these guys out. It's just wrong.'' Oyster says his rent has gone up
exponentially. Fifteen years ago it was $1,000 a month. Then it went to $6,000, then $8,000. This
year Shell came back with a demand of $13,000. DeCota and Oyster see [a] sinister motive: If the
dealers like them leave, a company like Shell can run its stations with its own employees and set
its own pump prices. "That way they really are controlling it from the well head to the gas pump,''
says DeCota. While the price per gallon gets all the attention, Oyster says the little secret of
independent dealers is that, like movie theater operators, they make their profit on the extras -snacks, drinks and other items.
Note: When the big oil boys supposedly believe in the "trickle down" theory, why are they not
sharing any of their huge profits with their dealers? And why is there so little reporting on the
arbitrary raising of gas prices?
Exxon Mobil's U.S. production volumes by 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down nearly 5
percent year-over-year, costing the company $45 million before taxes. The company said total
daily production slipped to 2.45 million barrels of oil equivalent from 2.51 million barrels.
Note: Isn't it amazing that though oil production fell, and though we all are paying much higher gas
prices, Exxon Mobil earned the largest profits ever in the same quarter as Hurricane Katrina?
Wouldn't it be nice if during a national catastrophe the oil companies were willing to drop their
prices and suffer a little with the rest of us?
Scientists Create Very First Solar Battery that Stores its Own Power
2014-10-03, Science World Report
http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/17672/20141003/scientists-create-v...
Scientists may have created the very first solar battery. Researchers have succeeded in combining
a battery and a solar cell into one hybrid device, which could be huge in terms of renewable
energy capture and storage. "The state of the art is to use a solar panel to capture the light, and
then use a cheap battery to store the energy," said Yiying Wu, one of the researchers, in a news
release. "We've integrated both functions into one device. Any time you can do that, you reduce
cost." The key to the new device is a mesh solar panel, which allows air to enter the battery.
There's also a special process for transferring electrons between the solar panel and the battery
electrode; inside the device, light and oxygen enable different parts of the chemical reactions that
charge the battery. "Basically, it's a breathing battery," said Wu. "It breathes in air when it
discharges, and breathes out when it charges." The mesh solar panel forms the first electrode.
Beneath the mesh is a thin sheet of porous carbon, which acts as the second electrode, and a
lithium plate, which acts as the third electrode. Between the electrodes are layers of electrolyte to
carry electrons back and forth. During charging, light hits the mesh solar panel and creates
electrons. Then inside the battery, electrons are involved in the chemical decomposition of lithium
peroxide into lithium ions and oxygen. The oxygen is released into the air, and the lithium ions are
stored in the battery as lithium metal after capturing the electrons. The findings could be huge in
terms of creating sustainable energy for powering a variety of devices. Currently, the
researchers are continuing to move forward in improving the efficiency of the battery and
the amount of power the panel can absorb and convert. The findings are published in the
journal Nature.
Note: For astounding major media articles on new energy inventions which have gotten very little
press, explore this webpage. Explore a treasure trove of concise summaries of incredibly inspiring
news articles which will inspire you to make a difference.
For years, pundits have warned that the world's soaring population ... will usher in an age of
scarcity. We already have a hard time supplying 7 billion people with food, with energy, with water.
What happens when we hit 9 billion, the Earth's projected population in 2050? Stefan Heck and
Matt Rogers say the resources are there - and the way we use them is about to undergo radical
change. In their new book, Resource Revolution, they argue that information technology and
advanced materials science, combined with new business models, will enable companies
and societies to do far more with far less. It will be, they claim, a jump in productivity and
efficiency greater than anything seen before. Heck, who teaches resource economics at
Stanford University, and Rogers, a director of the McKinsey & Co. consulting firm, spoke with The
Chronicle. Q: So current forecasts call for the world to add 2 billion people by 2050. Do we have
the resources to give them a decent standard of living? Rogers: Take an example California faces
right now - water. If you look at the next 20 years, we need to double the economic output for every
unit of water we use. The good news is, in agriculture, we have a set of technologies where we
can get much higher yields with the water that's available. Q: How about energy? Rogers: This
resource revolution affects both how we produce and consume energy. With the dramatic
increases in fuel economy we're seeing, from electrification and hybrids but also improvements in
the internal combustion energy, you see an ability to improve the use of energy.
Note: For more on this, see concise summaries of deeply revealing energy news articles from
reliable major media sources.
Note: For more along these lines, see a related summary about NASA's attempts to make a ship
that travels through space without propellant, and read more about new energy technology.
United States, a slight increase from 29,742 the previous year. In 2012, California had 43,700 solar
jobs, 37 percent of the nationwide total. The Golden State is the nation's largest solar market, and
many of the country's biggest solar companies - including SolarCity, SunPower and Sunrun - call it
home. The survey found that the average installer earned about $20 per hour in 2013.
Note: For more on exciting energy developments, see the deeply revealing reports from reliable
major media sources available here. For a treasure trove of great news articles which will inspire
you to make a difference, click here.
$913 million trade surplus with China in 2011. American wind companies boasted a $146 million
surplus. And U.S. "energy smart technologies" - a catch-all category Pew used to survey makers
of advanced batteries, light-emitting diodes and electric cars - scored a $571 million trade surplus
with China. China exports to the United States items that lend themselves to mass production,
such as solar cells and modules. U.S. companies sell to China items that require advanced
engineering, such as electronic control systems and manufacturing equipment. The United States
also sells more specialized materials used in clean-tech products, such as polysilicon for solar
cells and fiberglass for wind turbine blades. Competition among clean-tech companies in
China and the United States has strained relations between the two countries. American
authorities have slapped import tariffs on Chinese solar panels, and the Chinese
government has threatened to retaliate. And yet the Chinese and American clean-tech
industries are deeply intertwined, according to the Pew report. In 2011, the latest year data
were available, trade in alternative energy technologies between the two countries reached $8.5
billion.
Note: For deeply revealing reports from reliable major media sources on energy development,
click here.
Nevada [has become] the first [state] to approve a license for "autonomous vehicles" -- in other
words, cars that cruise, twist and turn without the need for a driver -- on its roads. The license goes
to Google. Engineer and Google X founder Sebastian Thrun said that the self-driving vehicle
project aims "to help prevent traffic accidents, free up people's time and reduce carbon emissions
by fundamentally changing car use." He noted that the "automated cars use video cameras,
radio sensors and a laser range finder to 'see' other traffic, as well as detailed maps ... to
navigate the road ahead." There is no driver needed, though one is typically in the front
seat ready to take control if need be. Earlier this spring, Google said it had "safely
completed over 200,000 miles of computer-led driving." Nevada issued a special license after
demonstrations on state freeways, state highways, in Carson City neighborhoods and on Las
Vegas' landmark Las Vegas Strip, the state's Department of Motor Vehicles said in a news release.
All such cars on the road are "test" vehicles for now, though the state signaled it intends to be "at
the forefront of autonomous vehicle development."
Note: For reports from major media sources on new automotive and energy inventions, click here.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/28/EDRD1K37RR.DTL
Look at the Department of Energy's 2012 budget request for the Livermore Lab and it becomes
apparent that PR has an inverse relationship to budget. Some 89 percent of the funds are for
nuclear weapons activities. Yet, more than 89 percent of the press releases showcase
programs like renewable energy and science that receive less than 3 percent of the
spending. This has caused many to believe that Livermore Lab is converting from nuclear
weapons to civilian science. A major consequence of the chasm between public perception and
where the money actually goes is that science at Livermore continues to exist on the margins underfunded, understaffed and at the mercy of the 800-pound gorilla of the nuclear weapons
budget. Consider the many benefits of transitioning Livermore from nuclear-weapons design to a
"green lab," focused on nonpolluting energy development, climate research, basic sciences,
nonproliferation and environmental cleanup. Livermore Lab is uniquely qualified to contribute in
these areas. The lab already employs the right mix of physicists, other scientists, engineers,
materials specialists, and support personnel for these undertakings.
Note: To learn more about how the public is being massively deceived around war and weapons
spending, read what a top U.S. general had to say about this at this link.
One quarter of US grain crops fed to cars - not people, new figures
show
2010-01-22, The Guardian (One of the UK's leading newspapers)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/22/quarter-us-grain-biofuels-food
One-quarter of all the maize and other grain crops grown in the US now ends up as biofuel in cars
rather than being used to feed people, according to new analysis which suggests that the biofuel
revolution launched by former President George Bush in 2007 is impacting on world food supplies.
The 2009 figures from the US Department of Agriculture shows ethanol production rising to record
levels driven by farm subsidies and laws which require vehicles to use increasing amounts of
biofuels. "The grain grown to produce fuel in the US [in 2009] was enough to feed 330
million people for one year at average world consumption levels," said Lester Brown, the
director of the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington thinktank ithat conducted the analysis.
According to Brown, the growing demand for US ethanol derived from grains helped to push world
grain prices to record highs between late 2006 and 2008. In 2008, the Guardian revealed a secret
World Bank report that concluded that the drive for biofuels by American and European
governments had pushed up food prices by 75%, in stark contrast to US claims that prices had
risen only 2-3% as a result. Since then, the number of hungry people in the world has increased to
over 1 billion people, according to the UN's World Food programme.
Jay Leno gets rare Chrysler, author gets plug for book
2009-08-03, Detroit News
http://detnews.com/article/20090803/OPINION03/908030315/Jay-Leno-gets-rare-Ch...
If not for the Finnish American Reporter, Steve Lehto would never have eaten barbecued chicken
in Jay Leno's garage after taking a ride in a car that sounds like a vacuum cleaner. Also, Lehto
wouldn't have finally found an agent for his book [Chrysler's Turbine Car: The Rise and Fall of
Detroit's Coolest Creation] about the Chrysler Turbine. The Chrysler Turbine was essentially a
stylish, bronze-colored, four-seat sedan with a jet engine. It could run on gasoline,
kerosene, or just about anything else, including Chanel No. 5 and tequila. Of the 55 that
Chrysler produced, none were sold to the public, and all but nine were destroyed when the
experiment ended. A collector in Indiana owns one. Museums have five. Chrysler had three -and now one of them is [Jay] Leno's. "He offered to let me drive it if I was ever in town," Lehto
says, "which I just happened to be, as soon as I could get tickets." Yelps and cheers from
bystanders as they cruised the streets of Burbank. Cuisine from a grill in one of Leno's garages.
Another ride in a steam-powered 1907 White. More yelps and cheers. Also, an offer from Leno. If
it'll help sell the book, he'll write a [foreword]. It does help; a New York agent has agreed to shop it
around. Lehto is still in car-buff heaven. "I was 3 feet across from Jay Leno," he marvels, "having
lunch."
Note: This amazing engine could run on vegetable oil and more. Why didn't it get more publicity?
For lots more fascinating information on the engine, click here. For why it never got developed,
click here.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_31/b4141032537895.htm
The big drive to create a viable alternative-energy future by Detroit, multinationals such
as IBM and BP, and Silicon Valley startups is well-known. But there's another serious
player in this sphere: the U.S. military, and especially DARPA [the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency]. Created at the height of the Cold War to bolster U.S. military
technology following the Soviet Union's Sputnik satellite launch, the agency has a long history of
innovation. Most famously, DARPA's researchers first linked together computers at four locations
in the early 1960s to form the ARPANET, a computer network for researchers that was the core of
what eventually grew into the Internet. Other breakthroughs have helped lead to the commercial
development of semiconductors, GPS, and UNIX, the widely used computer operating system.
Can DARPA now score another double success by changing how both the military and civilian
worlds consume and produce energy? DARPA's first goal is always to magnify the might of the
U.S. armed forces. That's why Arlington (Va.)-based DARPA is devoting an estimated $100 million
of its $3 billion annual budget to alternative energy. DARPA describes itself as an incubator of
long-shot technologies too risky for almost anyone else to take on. The agency operates by issuing
challenges to companies that are so tough they are called "DARPA-hard." Typically, DARPA
requires contractors to come up with solutions that are orders of magnitude superior to current
technology. In addition to spurring the development of palm-size fuel cells, DARPA has contracted
with companies to miniaturize solar cells that would supplant the need for generators.
Note: How strange that a new type of cloud is now appearing. What changes could be causing this
new formation? For more photos of these most unusual new clouds, click here. Or visit the Cloud
Appreciation Society, founded by Mr. Pretor-Pinney.
growing concern over gasoline prices and greenhouse gases -- few vehicles have come to market.
Last month, San Carlos, Calif.-based Tesla Motors began production of its Roadster, an electric
vehicle that costs $100,000. The Think City "is a mass-market vehicle," said Kleiner managing
partner Ray Lane, dismissing comparisons to the Roadster. Tesla's car is being produced in
relatively small numbers, with roughly 300 expected by the end of this year. "Our desire is to be
selling 30-40-50,000 of these cars in a couple of years." Think Chief Executive Jan-Olaf Willums
said the company would bring test vehicles to the U.S. in the coming months. The Think City runs
on sodium batteries, but future versions could use lithium ion batteries, Willums said. The Think
City, a two-seater that can be fitted with two additional seats for children, has a mostly
plastic exterior and is 95% recyclable. Willums said a convertible was in development.
"Women want to buy it immediately," he said.
Note: For many exciting reports on new auto and energy developments from major media
sources, click here.
2008 Tata Nano Is the $2500 Car That Might Change the World
2008-01-10, Popular Mechanics
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4244226.html
Fireworks blossomed on giant video screens, the 2001: A Space Odyssey theme reached its
brassy peak, and the worlds most affordable carthe $2500 Tata Nanorolled out onto the
stage. Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, parked and got out as hundreds of camera flashes
speckled the darkened convention hall. Here at the 2008 AutoExpo in India, the Nanos debut was
about much more than a car. The Nano, many tradeshow attendees seemed to believe, would
transform the country and then, maybe, the world. The Nano looked underwhelming, [like] a golf
cart crossed with a jelly bean. Its journey onto the stage and into history was powered by a 2cylinder, 33-hp engine, and the spec sheet is best given as what the car has not: no air
conditioning, no radio, no power steering, no sun visors. But it carries four people, gets 50 mpg,
and costs less than a trendy motor scooter. The Nano is no solution to the traffic problem in big
[Indian] cities; a prominent Indian environmentalist called the prospect of these ultra-affordable
vehicles flooding the roads a nightmare. But the Nano represents both national pride about
Indias ingenuity and the promise that the benefits of middle-class life will reach more people.
What can you get for $2500 in the U.S.? a young man ... asked. You cant carry your family for
$2500 in a [new] car. But in India we have done this. His friend, Rajesh Relia, agreed. He makes
6000 rupees a month, about $150. He doesnt own a car, and carries his family of four,
dangerously and cumbersomely, on a motor scooter. The Nano is a car he can actually afford,
and he said he will buy one as soon as it becomes available in late 2008. This is my
dream, he said, beaming toward the stage. I am very happy today.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/technology/technology.html?in_...
It sounds too good to be true - not to mention the fact that it violates almost every known law of
physics. But British scientists claim they have invented a revolutionary device that seems to
'create' energy from virtually nothing. Their so-called thermal energy cell could soon be fitted into
ordinary homes, halving domestic heating bills and making a major contribution towards cutting
carbon emissions. Even the makers of the device are at a loss to explain exactly how it works - but
sceptical independent scientists carried out their own tests and discovered that the 12in x
2in tube really does produce far more heat energy than the electrical energy put in. The
device seems to break the fundamental physical law that energy cannot be created from
nothing - but researchers believe it taps into a previously unrecognised source of energy, stored
at a sub-atomic level within the hydrogen atoms in water. The system - developed by scientists at
a firm called Ecowatts [a holding of Gardner Watts] - involves passing an electrical current through
a mixture of water, potassium carbonate [potash] and a secret liquid catalyst, based on chrome.
This creates a reaction that releases an incredible amount of energy compared to that put in. If the
reaction takes place in a unit surrounded by water, the liquid heats up, which could form the basis
for a household heating system. If the technology can be developed on a domestic scale, it means
consumers will need much less energy for heating and hot water - creating smaller bills and fewer
greenhouse gases. The device has taken ten years of painstaking work by a small team at
Ecowatts' ... laboratory, and bosses predict a household version of their device will be ready to go
on sale within the next 18 months.
Note: For an abundance of reliable reports on amazing new energy developments, click here.
according to Willums, a rolling computer that can communicate wirelessly with its driver,
other Think owners, and the power grid. "The timing is right. We are on a path now toward
electric cars, and there is no going back." says Ed Kjaer, an electric vehicle veteran who runs the
EV program for Southern California Edison.
Note: To read about the mysterious disappearing Toyota Eco Spirit, a proven car design capable
of achieving 100 mpg, click here.
transmission for years notably, eccentric genius Nikola Tesla, who devoted much energy toward
it roughly a century ago. Soljacic and his colleagues devised WiTricity based off the notion of
resonance. One well-known example of resonance can be seen when an opera singer hits the
right note to cause a champagne glass to resonate and shatter. Two objects resonating at the
same frequency tend to exchange energy efficiently, while interacting weakly with objects
not resonating at the same frequency. Instead of sound, the MIT physicists focused on
magnetic fields. Most common materials interact only very weakly with magnetic fields, so little
power would get wasted on unintended targets. In their latest work, the scientists designed two
copper coils roughly 20 inches (50 centimeters) in diameter that were specially designed to
resonate together. One was attached to the power source, the other to a light bulb. The practical
demonstration of their earlier theoretical work managed to power the light bulb even when
obstacles blocked direct line of sight between the source and device.
Note: For more on Nikola Tesla's amazing inventions from a century ago, and how they were
suppressed, click here. For lots of additional information on new energy sources and inventions,
click here.
Iceland wants to make a full conversion and plans to modify its cars, buses and trucks to run on
renewable energy -- with no dependence on oil. Iceland has already started by turning water into
fuel -- hydrogen fuel. Here's how it works: Electrodes split the water into hydrogen and oxygen
molecules. Hydrogen electrons pass through a conductor that creates the current to power an
electric engine. Hydrogen fuel now costs two to three times as much as gasoline, but gets
up to three times the mileage of gas, making the overall cost about the same. As an added
benefit, there are no carbon emissions -- only water vapor. By the middle of this century, all
Icelanders will be required to run their cars only on hydrogen fuel, meaning no more gasoline.
Icelanders say they're committed to showing the world that by making fuel from water, it is possible
to kick the oil habit.
Note: This is mind-blowing information! Why isn't this amazing news of economical, nonpolluting energy sources making top headlines? A video clip of the above ABC News story is
available on the ABC website at the link above. A friend of mine invented a similar device only to
have it ruthlessly suppressed. For lots more on all this, click here.
Chuck Larue may be the man who drastically cuts your electricity bill. For fourteen years,
Chuck and his partner have quietly been inventing a little micro controller called the "Plug Power
Saver." He claims it works on all electric motors from your air conditioner to refrigerators, washing
machines to whole house fans. He rigged a one-third horsepower motor to show us the savings.
Without the controller, It's drawing 171 to 180 watts." Plug in the Power Saver and, It's trying to
find the most optimum levels of power consumption. It actually has a microprocessor in here."
After a few seconds, the motor is running strong but using half the electricity. And if you know
anything about electricity, you know this motor running normally should be warm to the touch, it
isnt. That seems to show no extra electricity is being lost as heat. John Lander: This looks already
to sell. Chuck Larue: Yeah it is, it's ready to go. John Lander: How much? Chuck Larue: $49.95.
So you'd pay for the Power Saver in under a year. Chuck says he has 10,000 of these devices
headed here from a manufacturing plant in Korea. Now all he has to do is find a retailer willing to
sell it. Chuck says he has tried to interest the Governor and the utilities commission to sponsor his
invention, but no one has called him back.
their fields and one other magnet fixed to a point opposite. A motor rotates the wheel bearing
the magnets and a computer takes 28,000 measurements a second. And when it is all over,
the computer tells us that almost three times the amount of energy has come out of the
system as went in. In fact, this piece of equipment is 285% efficient. "We couldn't believe it at
first, either," says McCarthy, chief executive of the company. "We wanted to improve the
performance of the wind generators...so we experimented with certain generator configurations
and then one day one of our guys...came in and said: 'We have a problem. We appear to be
getting out more than we're putting in.'" That was three years ago. Since then, McCarthy says, the
company has spent 2.7m developing the technology. Until their claims have been assessed by
the jury, McCarthy says they won't be accepting any investor offers. So if this is a hoax, it would
appear not to be a money-making scheme. The Economist ad alone cost 75,000. "We expected
stick, and we're getting it already. We've had a lot of abusive emails and telephone calls -people
telling us to watch our backs"
Note: To understand how this is possible, see http://www.WantToKnow.info/newenergysources
in the Economist. McCarthy: "The first roadblock is science. With the academic community, it might
take five to seven years before being able to get to a consensus position. As a business, that
makes absolutely no sense." The video explains that a "quiet" campaign was plan A. The direct
marketing approach currently being taken is Plan B. McCarthy: "The claim does rail against so
much thinking from ordinary people. We have to fight public opinion, we have to fight the scientific
community and we have to fight the energy industry. We couldn't pick a worse battleground."
Note: For lots more on the many who have developed similar discoveries and how they have been
either bought out or shut down, click here.
A few years ago a little-known US Energy Department program helped produce a design
technology for lightweight cars and trucks that in 2004 alone saved the nation 122 million barrels of
oil, or about $9 billion. So, with energy prices spiking and President Bush pushing for more energy
research, the ITP would seem a natural candidate for more funding. In fact, its budget is set to get
chopped by a third from its 2005 level. It's one of more than a dozen energy-efficiency efforts that
the Energy Department plans to trim or eliminate in a $115 million cost-saving move. If Congress
accepts the Energy Department's proposed 2007 budget, it will cut $152 million - some 16
percent - from this year's budget for energy-efficiency programs. Adjusting for inflation, it
would mean the US government would spend 30 percent less on energy efficiency next year than
it did in 2002. One energy-efficiency program on the chopping block...helps improve the fuel
efficiency of heavy-duty trucks, one of the nation's biggest oil consumers. That program is "zeroed
out" in the 2007 budget request. The same fate awaits the $4.5 million Building Codes
Implementation Grants program. It helps states adopt more energy-efficient requirements for new
buildings, the nation's largest consumer of electricity and natural gas. The $8 million Clean Cities
program has helped clean-fuel technologies, like buses that run on compressed natural gas, get to
market. But it's slated for a $2.8 million cut.
Note: To better understand why this is happening: http://www.WantToKnow.info/newenergysources
Solar and Wind Energy Start to Win on Price vs. Conventional Fuels
2014-11-23, New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/business/energy-environment/solar-and-wind-...
For the solar and wind industries in the United States, it has been a long-held dream: to produce
energy at a cost equal to conventional sources like coal and natural gas. That day appears to be
dawning. In some markets renewable generation is now cheaper than coal or natural gas.
Utility executives say the trend has accelerated this year, with several companies signing
contracts, known as power purchase agreements, for solar or wind at prices below that of natural
gas, especially in the Great Plains and Southwest, where wind and sunlight are abundant. Those
prices were made possible by generous subsidies that could soon diminish or expire, but recent
analyses show that even without those subsidies, alternative energies can often compete with
traditional sources. According to a study by the investment banking firm Lazard, the cost of
utility-scale solar energy is as low as 5.6 cents a kilowatt-hour, and wind is as low as 1.4
cents. In comparison, natural gas comes at 6.1 cents a kilowatt-hour on the low end and
coal at 6.6 cents. Without subsidies, the firms analysis shows, solar costs about 7.2 cents a
kilowatt-hour at the low end, with wind at 3.7 cents. It is really quite notable, when compared to
where we were just five years ago, to see the decline in the cost of these technologies, said
Jonathan Mir, a managing director at Lazard, which has been comparing the economics of power
generation technologies since 2008.
Note: For more along these lines, see concise summaries of energy news articles from reliable
major media sources. To learn about new energy technologies, see the excellent, reliable
resources provided in our New Energy Information Center.
Scientists explore how the humble leaf could power the planet
2009-08-11, The Guardian (One of the U.K.'s leading newspapers)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/aug/11/artificial-leaf-energy
It is one of evolution's crowning achievements - a mini green power station and organic factory
combined and the source of almost all of the energy that fuels every living thing on the planet. Now
scientists developing the next generation of clean power sources are working out how to copy, and
ultimately improve upon, the humble leaf. The intricate chemistry involved in photosynthesis, the
process where plants use sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugar, is the most
effective solar energy conversion process on Earth. And researchers believe that mimicking parts
of it could be the ticket to a limitless supply of clean power. The untapped potential for using the
sun's rays is huge. All human activity for a whole year could be powered by the energy
contained in the sunlight hitting the Earth in just one hour. Harnessing even a small amount
of this to make electricity or useful fuels could satisfy the world's increasing need for
energy, predicted to double by 2050, without further endangering the climate. Most solar
power systems use silicon wafers to generate electricity directly. But although costs are coming
down, these are still too expensive in many cases when compared with fossil fuels such as coal,
oil and gas. Scientists are keen to develop more efficient and cheaper alternatives sources of
energy. At Imperial College London, researchers have embarked on a 1m project to study, and
eventually mimic, photosynthesis. Part of a project called the "artificial leaf", involves working out
exactly how leaves use sunlight to make useful molecules. The team then plans to build artificial
systems that can do the same to generate clean fuels such as hydrogen and methanol. These
would then be used in fuel cells to make electricity or directly to power super-clean vehicles..
Note: For more reports from reliable sources on exciting new energy developments, click here.
Nocera, the senior author. "What you really need to do is when the sun is shining, figure out
how to store some of that energy so you can unleash it when the sun isn't shining." Nocera
and the other researchers based their work on a compound made from cobalt and phosphate, both
readily available. When the sun is out, electricity from solar panels can be fed to the compound in
water, causing the water to split into hydrogen and oxygen. The elements create a chemical fuel
that can be recombined to create energy later, when the sun is not shining. The discovery breaks
"the connection between energy and fossil fuels because my energy is coming from water," said
Nocera, "unleashing the solar energy, not in real time, but when you want to." The researchers
said the findings open the door for large-scale use of solar energy around the clock - not right
away but within 10 years.
Note: For a treasure trove of reports on new energy inventions with great potential, click here.
say, is relatively simple and safe. When you compress the air...inside of the tank, this is like
compressing a spring, and then the tank gives you back the energy of the air when it expands,
says Cyril. Compressed air in a carbon-fiber tank, something like scuba divers use, drives the
pistons and turns the crankshaft. There is no combustion and no gasoline. That's why there's no
pollution. You fill it up at an air compressor. It may sound far-fetched, but at his labs on the campus
of UCLA, professor Su-Chin Chow is also exploring the power of air. The Negres say after years of
delays...they have solved their technical problems. Another year, they say, and they'll be ready for
large scale production, with a top speed of 55 miles-an-hour.
per gallon, and today a Ford Explorer gets 18 miles per gallon," says Peter Diamandis, XPrize Foundation chairman. "We believe the time is ripe for a fundamental change in what
we drive -- and we believe an X-Prize in this area can drive a substantial change." U.S. agencies
procure new technology mostly through contracts with universities and companies. Taxpayers
typically pay, whether or not companies or researchers actually succeed. But government interest
in prizes began to grow after 1996, when the $10 million Ansari X-Prize was announced for a
privately financed craft to fly into space. That means inspiring the likes of Felix Kramer, a California
Internet entrepreneur who hopes to partner with a big auto company to create a high-mileage car.
That's what his CalCars team did in September 2004, when it developed the prototype of a Toyota
Prius with an electric cord. The extra reliance on electric power gives the "Prius-plus" better than
80 miles per gallon.
Note: In 2002, the London Times reported on a new Toyota that got over 100 mpg which was due
to hit the market. Yet the car mysteriously disappeared: http://www.WantToKnow.info/carmileage.
For an abundance of information on suppression of new energy technologies:
http://www.WantToKnow.info/newenergyinformation
"Double Crystal Fusion" Could Pave the Way for Portable Device
2006-02-13, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=1358&setappvar=page(1)
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a tabletop accelerator that
produces nuclear fusion at room temperature, providing confirmation of an earlier
experiment conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The device, which
uses two opposing crystals to generate a powerful electric field, could potentially lead to a
portable, battery-operated neutron generator for a variety of applications, from non-destructive
testing to detecting explosives and scanning luggage at airports. The device is essentially a
tabletop particle accelerator. At its heart are two opposing pyroelectric crystals that create a
strong electric field when heated or cooled. The device is filled with deuterium gas a more
massive cousin of hydrogen with an extra neutron in its nucleus. The electric field rips electrons
from the gas, creating deuterium ions and accelerating them into a deuterium target on one of the
crystals. When the particles smash into the target, neutrons are emitted, which is the telltale sign
that nuclear fusion has occurred. The new study also verified the fundamental physics behind the
original experiment. This suggests that pyroelectric crystals are in fact a viable means of producing
nuclear fusion, and that commercial applications may be closer than originally thought.
Note: Why was this fascinating news not reported in the major media? For more, see our New
Energy Information Center at http://www.WantToKnow.info/newenergyinformation
Hydrogen, tested in buses from Amsterdam to Vancouver ... is a clean power that promises to
break dependence on oil and gas -- at least in Iceland. With almost unlimited geothermal
energy sizzling beneath its surface, Iceland has an official goal of making the country oilfree by shifting cars, buses, trucks and ships over to hydrogen by about 2050. About 70
percent of Iceland's energy needs ... are already met by geothermal or hydro-electric power. Only
the transport sector is still hooked on polluting oil and gas. The world's first hydrogen filling station,
run by Shell, opened in Reykjavik in April 2003. Hydrogen bus projects have also been launched in
cities including Barcelona, Chicago, Hamburg, London, Madrid, Stockholm, Beijing and Perth,
Australia. The efficiency of the hydrogen fuel cells will decide if the ventures take off into the wider
car market. "The idea is that the buses should be twice as efficient as an internal combustion
engine," said Jon Bjorn Skulason, general manager of Icelandic New Energy Ltd. Greater engine
efficiency would compensate for the inefficiency of producing hydrogen. Iceland's buses, made by
DaimlerChrysler, cost about 1.25 million euros ($1.67 million) each, or three to four times more
than a diesel-powered bus, Skulason said. It takes about 6-10 minutes to refill a hydrogen bus,
giving a range of 240 miles. [A] Reykjavik bus driver said diesel and hydrogen buses were similar
to drive. "But the hydrogen bus is less noisy."
Blame the feds for fuel economy figures that don't match real world
2004-05-19, WantToKnow.info/Detroit News
http://www.WantToKnow.info/040519fueleconomymonitors
Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Co. are probably wishing theyd never put those fun fuel
economy monitors in their gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles. The displays are causing angst
among some owners who arent getting the miles-per-gallon performance posted on their window
sticker. Frustrated consumers are asking dealerships to fix their vehicles. Pete Blackshaw of
Cincinnati is chronicling his dismay publicly in his own Internet blog. He says Honda is ignoring his
claim that hes never gotten more than 33 mpg in his Civic Hybrid. The combined city/highway
rating from the cars window sticker is 47.
some cases exceeded 300 kph (186 mph). By average speed, China has the fastest train in the
world, averaging 284 kph. Turkey last year became the ninth country to operate a train at an
average speed of 200 kph. South Korea and Taiwan also operate high-speed systems in Asia. The
fastest train in the U.S., Amtrak's Acela Express, averages 169 kph (105 mph) on a short
stretch between Baltimore and Wilmington, Delaware. Shanghai launched a German-built
maglev train in 2004 on a 30-kilometer route between the city and the airport. It can hit 430
kph (267 mph). A Japanese maglev train in development has topped 500 kph (310 mph) in tests.
Note: Gas and oil interests have lobbied hard to keep Americans wedded to their cars and stop
the development of high-speed trains. For more on this, see this excellent article and concise
summaries of deeply revealing news articles on suppressed energy inventions from reliable major
media sources.
possibilities, ranging from "Star Trek"-style travel to transportation via so-called wormholes in the
fabric of space to psychic travel through solid walls. Davis expressed great enthusiasm for
research allegedly conducted by Chinese scientists who, he says, have conducted
"psychic" experiments in which humans used mental powers to teleport matter through
solid walls. He claims their research shows "gifted children were able to cause the apparent
teleportation of small objects" (radio micro-transmitters, photosensitive paper, mechanical
watches, horseflies, other insects, etc.). If the Chinese experiments are valid and could be
repeated by American scientists, Davis told The Chronicle in a phone interview Thursday, then, in
principle, the military might some day develop a way to teleport soldiers and weapons.
important resources for our energy future that could replace the need for a lot of coal-fired power
plants." Indeed, the costs of lost opportunities from dropping such research could be enormous in
the long run. Geothermal holds vast potential -- at least 30,000 megawatts of identified resources
developable by 2050. Meanwhile, the more than 5,400 potential "small hydro" power projects could
produce about 20,000 megawatts of power, a DOE study in January found. And most would
require no new dams at all, shunting a portion of a small river's flow to one side to make electricity.
Others would add turbines to dams that don't have them yet. Together, high-tech hydropower and
geothermal resources could contribute at least enough power to replace more than 100 mediumsize coal-fired power plants with emissions-free electricity.
cookers allow them to spend that money on food instead of firewood, said Metcalf, who teaches at
California State University, Sacramento. Metcalf says he hopes the award will get him 30 minutes
with Bill Gates or some other investor to spread the gospel of the CooKit, which could be used by
"2.5 billion people today" who rely on wood, charcoal or animal dung to cook meals. Metcalf also
invented the Water Pasteurization Indicator -- a reusable sealed test tube with wax that melts
when food or water has been pasteurized at 149 degrees Fahrenheit. "It takes about 90 minutes in
the sun," he said. For more information, go to www.solarcookers.org.
Note: For how to easily help several families a year pull out of poverty in third world countries, see
http://www.WantToKnow.info/051023microcredit
officials saying that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will be unable to
meet projected western demand in 10 to 15 years. Senior Saudi energy officials have privately
warned US and European counterparts that Opec would have an extremely difficult time meeting
that demand. Saudi Arabia calculates there is a 4.5m b/d gap between what the world needs and
what the kingdom can provide.
unit" could pack nearly 10 times the energy punch of a lead-acid battery of similar weight
and, under mass production, would cost half as much. It also says its technology more
than doubles the energy density of lithium-ion batteries in most portable computer and
mobile gadgets today, but could be produced at one-eighth the cost. The company...is weeks
away from seeking independent verification of the product's performance. Adding more intrigue to
the story is the fact that Colin Powell, the former U.S. secretary of state, joined Kleiner Perkins last
summer as a strategic partner.
U.S.
is
moving
slowly,
see
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