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News:Archive:2010:May

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PESWiki News -- May 2010 Archive

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2010

June

News:Archive:2010:June - going forward in time

May

Monday, May 31, 2010

Lighting > LED >
Affordable, High-Performance LED Bulbs Finally Hitting the Market - Major lighting companies are working tirelessly towards becoming the first to own the LED market. In the next few months, 60-watt equivalent bulbs in the $30 - $40 price range will be hitting the shelves. In comparison, just two years ago, a 60-watt equivalent cost $90 and a 100-watt dimmable bulb went for $360. (EcoGeek; May 18, 2010)

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Biomass > Emergency Preparedness >
Insta-Fire invention is hot idea for home food storage - Insta-Fire is made from a volcanic rock and wood pellet mixture and is safe to store, next to food, in the garage, even after it's been opened. It can burn on wet surfaces, including snow. (Mormon Times; May 20, 2010)

Water / Growing >
Persian Gulf Harnessing Microbes to Transform Desert into Farmland - The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait are in the midst of a massive project to re-landscape their deserts and transform them into fertile farmland, providing food security for their future. The countries are utilizing a mixture of microbes and soil — called mycorrhiza — that allows plants to absorb more nutrients than they can alone. (Inhabitat; May 18, 2010)

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Wave / Water > Desalination >
Gulf of Mexico Gets Wave-Powered Desalination Plant - Independent Natural Resources, which makes the Seadog water pump said that it has received a permit for a wave power generation facility off the coast of Freeport, Texas later this year. The novel offshore platform will use wave power to desalinate water [may need an oil filter too]. (CNET; May 28, 2010)

Biofuels / Waste to Energy > Animal >
Forget Wave Power, Google and Others May Use Poo Power for Data Centers - Hewlett Packard has released a research paper that states that tech companies like themselves, Google and Microsoft could benefit from a partnership with dairy farmers, using the cattle waste for fuel. The research paper says that the dairy farmers could rent out land and power to the tech companies with a return on investment in waste-to-fuel systems in two years, making it a great arrangement for the farmers too. (EcoGeek; May 19, 2010)

Building > Cement >
Student creates cost-effective self-healing concrete? - Researchers at the University of Rhode Island have created a concrete matrix embedded with a micro-encapsulated sodium silicate healing agent via a process that can be done in a cost-effective manner. When cracks form in the concrete, the capsules rupture and release the agent into the adjacent area... (GizMag; May 27, 2010)

Friday, May 28, 2010

Featured: Alt Fuels > Hydroxy / Electrolysis > Brown's Gas >
Scientific model published for Brown's gas - Chris Eckman's paper, Plasma Orbital Expansion of the Electrons in Water, has been accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the NPA and will be presented at the 17th annual Natural Philosophy Alliance conference to be held June 23-26 in Long Beach, California. (PESN; May 28, 2010) (Translated to German December 15, 2010)

Solar > PV / Hydrogen > Solar Hydrogen >
Jack Nicholson's 1978 Hydrogen Car - Step back in time to when solar panels were new and needed to be explained as part of a presentation on how the energy of sunlight could be used to generate electricity to electrolyze water to generate hydrogen which could run a car, using a metal catalyst to stabilize the storage of hydrogen. (GreenEnergyTV; 9/9/9)

Health / Oil > Ecological Impact > Remedies >
A Short Benzene Toxicity Primer –How to Stay Healthy (pdf) A. True Ott, PhD, talks about the dangers of BP or “Benzene Pollutants”, and how people are exposed to it in a disaster such as we have now in the gulf; and a natural remedy for cleansing the body from exposure to it. (May 26, 2010)

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Featured: Conspiracy / Oil > Ecological Impact > Gulf Oil Disaster >
Gulf oil gusher conspiracy cover-up - Was this disaster just an accident, or were other more sinister forces at play in order to further cripple society toward a more manageable population size? Ominous midnight symbolism. BP's "live" feed caught in an obvious short loop shows further evidence of cover-up. (PESN; May 27, 2010) (Comment)

Alt Fuels > Biofuels > Sources / Microorganisms >
A step to artificial life: Manmade DNA powers cell - The Maryland inventors call it the world's first synthetic cell, although this initial step is more a re-creation of existing life — changing one simple type of bacterium into another — than a built-from-scratch kind. Expected applications include new fuels, better ways to clean polluted water. (Associated Press; May 20, 2010)

EVs > Recharging Stations >
Nissan EV quick charger to hit the market - In preparation for the December release of its sold-out all-electric LEAF automobile, Nissan said it will be selling in-house-designed EV quick chargers for CHAdeMO plugs. Nissan plans to install 2,200 standard non-quick chargers in dealerships throughout Japan, aiming for one charger within 40 kilometers of any point on the road. (GizMag; May 26, 2010)

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Feature: Cold Fusion > Eugene Mallove >
Eugene Mallove murderers were former renters gone irate - More than 6 years later, we now finally learn that two of the revered Cold Fusion scientists accused murderers had lived with the boyfriend's parents at the Mallove rental home. After being evicted, a phone call from the upset mother who had been told their stuff was being thrown in a dumpster, sent the boyfriend to the scene where the murder resulted. (PESN; May 26, 2010) (Comment)

Nuclear > Fusion >
Nuclear Reactor Aims for Self-Sustaining Fusion - A Italian-Russian team proposes a reactor called Ignitor, which would be a miniature ITER-like tokomak reactor that uses powerful magnetic fields to produce fusion by squeezing superheated plasma of hydrogen isotopes. "Ignitor will give us a quick look at how burning plasma behaves, and that could inform how we proceed with ITER and other reactors." (MIT Technology Review; May 25, 2010)

Conspiracy > 911 >
Top Construction Firm: WTC Destroyed by Controlled Demolition - Veteran Middle East correspondent Alan Hart has come forward to reveal that the largest engineering firm in the world studied the collapse of the towers and said there was no doubt they were brought down by controlled demolition explosions. Hart points to involvement by elements within Mossad and the CIA. (Prison Planet; May 26, 2010)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Piezoelectric / Nanotech / Biomimicry / Water Heating >
Vein-Like Piezoelectric Shower Harvests Water Pressure to Heat Water - This concept for a self-heating piezoelectric shower combines inspiration from the human body’s circulatory system with technological innovations in piezoelectricity. The fluid web of piping heats water by utilizing energy from friction produced by flowing water through the piezoelectric nano channels, which produces electricity by which heat is applied to the water. (Inhabitat; Apr. 29, 2010)

Building >
Sustainable Brick Made from Sand, Bacteria and Pee - Architect Ginger Krieg Dosier has designed a way of forming bricks without baking by combining sand, bacteria, calcium chloride and urea, all easy-to-come-by materials. These Better Bricks are created through a chain of chemical reactions known as microbial-induced calcite precipitation. (EcoGeek; May 12, 2010)

Monday, May 24, 2010

Feature: Electromagnetic / Buyer Beware > Magniwork >
Open letter to Clickbank regarding Magniwork scam involvement -- Warning of possible legal action - For the past year, Magniwork and others have been using Clickbank to sell $49 DIY plans for a device alleged to cost less than $100 in parts and which can power a house. Clickbank continues to allow this to go on, despite our warnings that the plans are bogus and that we've received no evidence to support the claim. (PESN; May 24, 2010)

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Featured: Oil > Ecological Impact > Gulf Oil Disaster >
Just how big is that gusher in the Gulf of Mexico? - After having been pasted by hecklers on Slashdot, saying that riser was only 21 inches in diameter, not five feet, so his estimates on the oil flowing from the BP well must have been wrong, Paul Noel rebuts with additional information that confirms that the this gusher has been releasing more oil every day than the Exxon Valdez catastrophe. (PESN; May 23, 2010)

Alt Fuel > Electrolysis >
New Catalyst for Electrolysis Reduces Costs by 97% and Increases Hydrogen Production Fourfold - Georgia-based GridShift Inc. has announced the discovery of a new water electrolysis technology that uses no expensive metals such as platinum. GridShift claims they technology to reduce the costs with the catalysts by 97 percent, with an ounce costing just $58, as opposed to $1700 an ounce for platinum. (Green Optimistic; May 19, 2010)

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Plasma / Ball Lightning > Chukanov Quantum Energy >
Stock exchange rejects ‘quantum free energy’ company - Dr. Kiril Chukanov, a Bulgarian scientist in Canada who claims to be harnessing the power of ball lightning, berates a decision of the Canadian Stock Exchange to reject his company’s application to be listed as a public company because the ideas posted on his website are "dangerous for the political system." (ChangingPower; May 19, 2010)

EVs > Electric Cars > Tesla Motors >
Toyota-Tesla Deal Adds Spark to Electric Car Industry - In a move that may provide a spark for the electric automobile industry, Toyota, the world's largest automaker, is teaming up Tesla Motors Inc, the makers of the only highway-legal all-electric car in the United States. The new partnership, including a $50 million investment from Toyata, will allow Tesla to advance its more affordable vehicles like the Model S sedan. (Associated Press; May 21, 2010)

Friday, May 21, 2010

Solar > Space-Based / Flight > Propulsion >
First solar powered spacecraft successfully launched - Today, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun (IKAROS) craft. IKAROS is a space yacht that gathers energy for propulsion from sunlight pressure (photons) by means of a square membrane measuring 20 meters (65.6 ft) diagonally. (GizMag; May 21, 2010)

Featured: Oil > Ecological Impact > Gulf Oil Disaster > Remedies >
Kevin Costner's Machine Heads to BP's Oil Spill Clean Up - BP has turned to Kevin Costner who has been funding a team of scientists for 15 years in hopes of developing a technology to clean up massive oil spills, and his research has created a powerful centrifuge that he claims can separate oil from water and dump the oil into a holding tank. (ABC News; May 19, 2010)

Humor > Fuel Efficiency > Retrofits >
Emergency Plane Landing - One of the funniest videos I've ever seen explores what happens when a passenger jet has to land on a freeway. Will the SUV hold up as makeshift front gear? Will the granny in the way survive? As for energy, this could go down as an exotic, albeit impractical retrofit for fuel efficiency. Note the mileage boost to the SUV. (YouTube; February 18, 2007)

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Hydro / Cold Fusion / Magazines > Infinite Energy Magazine >
Infinite Energy: Issue 91: The Power of Water - A Heuristic Approach to the Particle Physics Implicit in Theosophical “Occult Chemistry” • ACS Session Summary • A Cold Fusion Fable • Hydroelectric Water Turbine Explosion in Russia • The Pivotal Point of the Science of Physics • Appearance of Potassium in a Li-S Matrix • A Model of Gravity by Stubbs • The Wave Structure of the Electric Field • Hydrogen Bonds at the Bottom of a Waterfall • Ether Space-Time & Cosmology • Eclectic Observer (May/June 2010)

Fuel Efficiency > Flight >
Double bubble aircraft design would use 70 percent less fuel - A team of MIT researchers unveiled their latest feat of engineering. Their innovative D-series airplane, lovingly referred to as the “double bubble” uses 70% less fuel than conventional aircraft and can take off on shorter runways. (GizMag; May 19, 2010)

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Feature: Electromagnetic / Tools > Testing >
NASA scientists Nelson & House willing to verify overunity electromagnetic machines - A couple of NASA scientists have been following the free energy world for years and would like to believe that Tesla type of technology is possible that harnesses limitless energy from the environment via electromagnetic means. One of them has a lab set up to test such claims. (PESWiki; May 19, 2010)

Cold Fusion >
March 2010 ACS Cold Fusion Session Summary (pdf) - Jan Marwan of the American Chemical Society, who organized the highly successful session on Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (aka cold fusion) at the 239th ACS National Meeting and Exposition in San Francisco, has published a summary of the two-day event. (Infinite Energy; May/June, 2010)

Prizes > Auto X Prize >
Automotive X PRIZE - Shakedown stage results - 27 vehicles survived the first of three on-track testing stages in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE, covering efficiency, safety, and performance evaluations including durability, acceleration and braking and avoidance maneuvers. The competitors will now set their sights on the Knockout Qualifying Stage at Michigan International Speedway in June. (GizMag; May 17, 2010)

Oil > Ecological Impact >
Super Suck International's Gulf Oil Spill Containment Plan - South African company claims a technology that could address the Gulf oil gusher at its source, containing the rising oil and extracting it from the water.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Events > Tesla >
Nikola Tesla Energy Independence Celebrations 2010 - On July 9-11 in Philadelphia the Tesla Science Foundation will be bringing together scientists, inventors and enthusiasts for a three-day conference highlighting the need for a new energy paradigm. (Facebook; May 15, 2010)

Top 100: Hydro > Wave >
Huge swell sinks wave energy generator - A 170-tonne wave energy generator which was launched off the New South Wales south coast in March, has sunk in rough seas. Breaking free from its pylons on Friday afternoon it sank on Saturday. Early efforts to tow the barge to safety were abandoned due to rough conditions. Attempts to retrieve the barge will be made this week. (ABC; AU; May 17, 2010) (Thanks Tedd)

Human-Powered / Health >
Power from Glucose for Medical Devices - Scientists in France have implanted the first functional glucose biofuel cell in a living animal. Unlike batteries that supply power to implants, a power-generating device may not have to be surgically removed and replaced, because glucose is a potentially limitless source of energy. The device uses enzymes to harvest energy from glucose and oxygen found naturally in the body. (MIT Technology Review; May 18, 2010)

Monday, May 17, 2010

Sympathetic Vibratory Physics >
Keely, Tesla, Russell & the creativity of humankind - Dale Pond’s Herculean effort to collect paradigm-shifting scientific and historical data now includes a wiki to correlate and explain the 19th century inventor John W. Keely’s “Sympathetic Vibratory Physics”, as well as the works of the late Walter Russell, Nikola Tesla, Viktor Schauberger and others relevant to the new energy science. (ChangingPower; May 15, 2010)

Hydro > Tidal >
Underwater Ocean kites to harvest tidal energy - A Swedish startup has acquired funding for beginning scale model trials of underwater kites, which would be secured to a turbine to harness tidal energy for power, allegedly at 10 times the speed of the actual tidal current. With a 12-meter wingspan on the kite, the company says one unit could harvest 500 kilowatts while it's operational. (Good; May 13, 2010)

Waste to Energy > Plastic and Energy >
Transforming waste plastic into an alternative fuel - A team of researchers at Northeastern University are developing a double-tank waste combustor for converts plastic waste into energy without creating harmful emissions. Plastic is first processed in an upper tank, which converts the material into gas through pyrolysis. Then, the gas moves to a lower tank, where it’s burned with oxidants, generating heat and steam, which drive combustion and generate electric power. (PhysOrg; May 10, 2010)

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Featured: Alt. Fuels > Biofuel > Algae > OriginOil >
OriginOil announces first customer for oil-from-algae technology - Company's technology uses algae to turn CO2 from power plants into fuel, vegetable oil, plastic and hundreds of other useful products, via sound waves and electric pulses that enable the oil to separate out in solution. Their fist customer will be MBD Energy of Australia. (PESN; May 16, 2010) (Comment)

Lasers / Nuclear > Fusion >
Worlds Largest Laser Takes First Steps Toward Nuclear Fusion - When all of its 192 laser beams are operational later this year, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) will focus about two million joules of ultraviolet laser energy on a tiny target in the center of its target chamber, generating unprecedented temperatures (100 million degrees) and pressures (100 billion times Earth's atmosphere) in the target materials... (GizMag; May 10, 2010)

Weather Control / Lasers >
Swiss breakthrough could mean rain on demand - Researchers from the University of Geneva have reported laser-powered cloud seeding success, both inside and outside the laboratory. The team fired short 220-millijoule pulses of infrared light from a laser into an illuminated chamber of water-saturated air at minus 24°C and noted the formation of clouds in the laser's wake. (GizMag; May 4, 2010)

Oil > Ecological Impact > Gulf Oil Disaster >
Giant Plumes of Oil Found Forming Under Gulf of Mexico - NY Times reports that scientists are finding enormous oil plumes in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, including one as large as 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick in spots. Scientists studying video of the gushing oil well have tentatively calculated that it could be flowing at a rate of 25,000 to 80,000 barrels of oil a day. (Slashdot; May 16, 2010)

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Fuel Efficiency > Transmissions >
Is Steve Durnin's D-Drive the holy grail of infinitely variable transmissions? - Steve Durnin's ingenious new gearbox design is infinitely variable, doesn't need a clutch, doesn't use any friction drive components, and the power is always transmitted through strong, reliable gear teeth. Could ot be the holy grail of gearboxes? (GizMag; May 13, 2010)

Fuel Efficiency > Recuperated_Energy > Power-Generating Shock Absorber >
Electricity-Generating Shock Absorbers - Shock absorbers that generate electricity, which are being developed by Cambridge, MA-based Levant Power, can lower fuel consumption by 1.5 to 6 percent, depending on the vehicle and driving conditions. The system can also improve vehicle handling. (MIT Technology Review; May 10, 2010)

Friday, May 14, 2010

Featured: Contests / Alternative Fuels > Water as Fuel > Stanley Meyer >
Water-for-Fuel tech among Pepsi Refresh contestants - Kevin West claims to have been able to replicate Stanley Meyers water car technology on the bench, and is nearly done applying it to a vehicle and making a kit for others to do the same. He has entered the monthly Pepsi Refresh contest to draw attention to this work and possibly win $250,000 for his project. (PESN; May 19, 2010) (Comment)

Suppression / Conspiracy / Organizations > Orion Project >
Orion free energy inventors threatened; pull out - In an update statement, the Orion Project alleges a series of external events that led to their contracted inventor to pull out under pressure from a former CIA director. A couple of other inventors who were likewise threatened and pulled away. Orion announced a database of inventor and suppressor information that will be released in the event that something should happen to one of their directors. (The Orion Project; May 13, 2010)

Oil > Ecological Impact > Remedies >
Florida company offers oil spill remediation powder (video) - Aabaco Environmental has developed a completely eco-friendly product which can help abate oil-covered waters. A byproduct of sucar cane, the fibers don't dissolve in water but mop up the oil on the surface; and microbes empregnated in the fibers then begins digesting or composing the oil into dirt in a natural process. Best suited for wetlands. (CNN; May 12, 2010)

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Featured: Oil > Ecological Impact > Gulf Oil Disaster >
A volcano of oil erupting - New video showing largest hole from pipe 21 inches in diameter spewing oil and natural gas, along with analysis of the amount of oil on the surface, supports the estimates closer to 1 million barrels per day erupting from this hole BP popped in the ocean floor that contains trillions of barrels of oil and natural gas. (PESN; May 13, 2010) (Comment)

Global Cooling >
Snowed Under in Russian Winter 2010 - An amazing collection of photos from the most recent winter in Russia, where they might be having a hard time believing that the globe is getting warmer. (IziSmile; Feb. 2010)

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Featured: Electromagnetic > Toroid > Steorn >
Orbo and magnetic flux-gating - While the author (Kavee) doesn't know of any bona fide "free energy" proof springing from the Orbo technology, he does think there are several fascinating effects that are worth exploring, which could lead to greater efficiency. Preface rebuttal by Steorn CEO. (PESN; May 12, 2010)

Solar > R&D >
"Light Pipes" Boost Organic Solar Efficiency - Researchers at Wake Forest University in North Carolina have developed a way to more than double the performance of organic solar cells by adding a layer of upright optical fibers that act as sunlight traps. "It's the same thing as taking a flat device and pointing it directly at the sun all day long." (MIT Technology Review; May 12, 2010)

Top 100: Solar / Wind > SkyBuilt >
Skybuilt gets $3.5 million contract with Lockheed Martin to integrate renewable energy into deployable airfield power systems for US Air Force - The Basic Expeditionary Airfield Resources (BEAR) program equips U.S. forces with lightweight, air-transportable assets used to establish mobile air bases. The Integrated Smart-BEAR Power System (ISBPS) developed by Skybuilt is an intelligent system that will integrate a variety of energy sources, including renewables. (PR Newswire; May 6, 2010)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Featured: Thermal_Electric > Eneco_power_chip >
Eneco thermal-electric converter technology re-emerging - MicroPower Global of Texas has purchased the IP from the bankrupt Eneco, and has secured relationships with Texas State University to test and perfect the technology so it can be brought to market in order to harvest waste heat energy via a solid state chip. (PESN; May 11, 2010) (Comment)

Electromagnetic > Electric Motors >
Washer Dryer electric motors may help in alternative energy - Devices released this year, by Toshiba, for example, use “variable magnet motors”, making it possible to regulate the magnetic force of magnetic fields in the motor. By changing the magnetic force of permanent magnets, they can change the motor’s characteristics between low-speed and high-speed operation. (GreenOptimistic; May 10, 2010)
Possibly something inventors could incorporate into a Bedini design? -- Craig Stangland

Monday, May 10, 2010

Featured: U.S. Govt. and Energy / Awards >
Proposed: Electromagnetic Energy Grand Challenge - The New Energy Movement has posted an open letter to the White House from Dr. Fred Wood, who proposes a new Grand Challenge focused on extracting energy from the active physical vacuum for use in disruptive, transformational, electromagnetic energy technologies. Wood has both academic and government credentials. (New Energy Movement; Apr. 14, 2010)

CO2 Sequestration >
Super Diamonds – "Permanent" CO2 Sequestration - Robert Pritchet reviews the industry that could start with CO2 as a building block and end up with Super Diamonds which have great electronic properties. (Mac Companion; May 2010)

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Featured: Best Exotic / Media > Exotic Free Energy Technologies for TV >
Free Energy documentary producer pitches TV series - Chris Toussaint is planning a new TV series that challenges the fossil-fuel paradigm. First, however, people have to spread the word that the show needs a $5,000 kick-start of funding and Kickstarter.com is the place where everyone can join together and make it happen. (PESWiki; May 9, 2010) (Comment)

ZPE >
Dirac's Equation and the Sea of Negative Energy - Part III - "If Dirac's equation means what it says--that it describes everything that waves or every possible particle--it arguably provides the first basis, simplicity: the universe must be built of the four kinds of electron which are the roots of the equation." (Hasslberger Blog; May 4, 2010)

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Air Conditioning >
A giant ice ball to cool your home? (video) - In a reverse of a ground source heat pump researchers at the University of Utah led by Professor Kent Udell have patented a method of storing winter cold into a huge block of ice deep underground to then harvest for cooling in the summer. (KSL UT; May 3, 2010)

Friday, May 7, 2010

Featured / Best Exotic: Gravity Motors > Angular Force Generator >
Independence Day poised for first exotic free energy device market debut (Interview) - OBM-Global has announced a limited media event of a private showing to its licensed manufacturers of its Multiple Angular Force Generator (MAFG) which is said to extract energy from several forces of nature including gravity and anti-gravity. The following day they will be taking their first orders with a 90 day delivery schedule. (PESN; May 7, 2010) (Comment)

Tesla Turbines / Wind >
Ultra-Efficient Bladeless Wind Turbine Inspired by Nikolai Tesla - SolarAero recently unveiled a new bladeless wind turbine that offers several advantages over current wind turbines — it emits hardly any noise in operation, has few moving parts, and since it doesn’t use spinning blades it’s much less of a hazard to bats and birds. (Inhabitat; May 6, 2010)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Solar > Dye >
MIT researchers print solar cell on paper - Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a technique in which paper is coated with organic semiconductor material using a process similar to an inkjet printer, which could lower the cost and weight of solar panels. Still in the research phase, they are years from being commercialized. (CNET; May 5, 2010)

Featured: Oil > Ecological Impact > Gulf Oil Disaster >
Mother gusher danger not passed - With BP applying several fixes to the leaking well and the spreading oil, people might tend to classify this spill as "just another spill" among so many, which will go away after a while. A blowout is still a very real possibility, and the repercussions of the oil spilt are far-reaching. (PESN; May 6, 2010)

Oil > Ecological Impact >
5 Innovative Solutions That Clean Up Oil Spills - 1) Contain it with a giant underwater dome [2 weeks]; 2) Sop it up with mushrooms and hair; 3) Utilize bacteria to digest the oil; 4) Soak it up with hyper absorbent peat moss; 5) Make oil-absorbing mats from pet hair and pantyhose. (Inhabitat; May 5, 2010)

Secondary Oscillations / Water > Pumps >
Matos de Matos Pendulum Hydro Pump - Angolan inventor proposes to use the swinging motion of a heavy pendulum to cause cylinders and pistons in the supporting legs to provide pumping action with relatively low energy input to keep the pendulum swinging. (Blogspot; May 6, 2010) SDA Comment: The Milkovic design is probably better suited, creating less of a dampening action of the pendulum swing.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Featured: Oil > Ecological Impact / Conspiracy > Gulf Oil Disaster >
No joke: Goldman Sachs shorted Gulf of Mexico - It turns out that Goldman Sachs really did place shorts on TransOcean stock days before the explosions rocked the rig in the Gulf of Mexico sending stocks plunging while GS profits soared -- benefitting once again from a huge disaster, having done the same with airline stocks prior to 911 then again with the housing bubble. (PESN; May 5, 2010) (Comment)

Storage > Batteries > Lithium Ion >
Planar Energy Displays Breakthrough Battery Technology, Fully Tested By UCF Researchers - A breakthrough by Planar Energy in Florida involves using a new generation solid state electrolyte within a lithium ion battery rather than the typical liquid electrolytes found in use today. This technology could lead to reduced costs and better performance for large format lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries. (AllCarsElectric; March 3, 2010)

Oil > Ecological Impact >
Naturally Occuring Bacteria Could Help Clean Oil Spill - Natural microbes present in every ocean are superb cleaners, and with the addition of a bit of fertilizer they could prove successful in removing oil from the Gulf. A quick dusting near shore would help the microbes multiply and then they would dine on oil en masse until it’s gone. The side effect ... (Inhabitat; May 3, 2010)

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Hydrogen > Production / Microorganisms >
Hydrogen Gas Production Doubled with New Super Bacterium - Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have studied a newly discovered bacterium, Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus, that produces twice as much hydrogen gas as the bacteria currently used. Its three advantages may be enough to make biological hydrogen gas production viable. (Alt Energy; May 4, 2010)

Solar > PV / Emergency Preparedness > EMP >
Can solar panels withstand an EMP attack? - Forum responses: Most panels have bypass diodes fitted to the discrete series arrays within the panel. Panels are not normally just a mass of cells. With EMP exposure the inverter is the biggest concern since the PN junction of a microchip/fet/transistor is much much smaller than a PN wafer of a PV panel... (EnergyMatters; May 03, 2010)

Monday, May 3, 2010

Featured: Gravity Motors > Angular Force Generator >
Cagiannos preparing Angular Force Generator production prototype (Interview) - Father and son team from S. Carolina have a demonstrator gravity motor that they claim puts out 15 times as much energy as it consumes, and are now preparing a production prototype for a commercial unit that would cost 2/3 as much as solar, while providing continuous output. (PESWiki; May 3, 2010)

Oil > Non-Fossil > Algae >
Making Oil in Minutes, Not Millennia - Chemical engineers at the University of Michigan are applying heat and pressure on microalgae, exploring a method to create affordable biofuel that could replace fossil fuels. They also hope to use the byproducts of bio-oil production as feedstock for more biofuel, combining hydrothermal, catalytic and biological approaches. (Wired; Apr. 30, 2010)

Oil > Ecological Impact > Gulf Oil Disaster >
Productively directing our Deepwater Horizon anger - In response to the Gulf of Mexico predicament, Author Jeane Manning urges against depression, which is anger turned inward. She suggests that people direct their anger into propagating awareness of solutions to our addiction to oil. The book she coauthored, Breakthrough Power, is a good tool for that. (JeaneManning; May 1, 2010)

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Featured: Oil > Ecological Impact > Gulf Oil Disaster >
Mother of all gushers could kill Earth's oceans - Imagine a pipe 21 inches wide spewing crude oil like a fire hose from what could be the planets' largest, high-pressure oil and gas reserve. With the best technology available to man, the Deepwater Horizon rig popped a hole into that reserve and was overwhelmed. If this isn't contained, it could poison all the oceans of the world. (PESN; May 2, 2010) (Comments)

Featured: Communities >
Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage - Many of them eat vegan to reduce their diet footprint, grow their own food, use mulching toilets, run their gray water into their agriculture, do cob for building, run their cars on veggie oil, and have solar showers – all the things we want to do in our community; but they've been at it for 15 years. (PESWiki; May 2, 2010)

Building >
Mormon Church unveils renewable meetinghouse - The LEED silver-certified meetinghouse's 158 solar panels are expected to provide a net zero grid consumption. Other environment-friendly elements in the prototype include: dual flush toilets, Xeriscaped landscaping, underground soil-moisture sensors, tankless water heaters, recycle bins, motion-sensitive light switches, etc. (Deseret News; April 27, 2010)

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Featured: Oil > Ecological Impact >
Deepwater Horizon debacle pushes alt energy - In addition to devastating ecological despoiling, the oil slick could shut down Mississippi River transport, effecting nearly half of U.S. import/export commerce. The damage to the tourism industry in Alabama and Florida could top $25 Billion a year for several years. Faced with this disaster the Obama Administration has just stopped all off shore drilling. (PESN; May 1, 2010)

Hydrogen > Production >
Scientists discover inexpensive metal catalyst for generating hydrogen from water - A team of researchers with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley has discovered an inexpensive metal catalyst based on a molybdenum-oxo metal complex with the chemical name of (PY5Me2)Mo-oxo that can effectively and more inexpensively generate hydrogen gas from water. (NanoWerk; April 30, 2010)

EVs / Solar > Paint >
Renault Solar Paint Car - An environmentally friendly design car of the Renault combines electric power and renewable energy from solar energy through nano solar paint on car. Renault 2010 Sand Jumper uses next-gen renewable energy technology and recycled, recyclable ecological materials. (Alt Energy News; Apr. 27, 2010)

April

See News:Archive:2010:April - going backward in time