Apr 18 2012
Before Mr. Thompson, the CEO of a Biodiesel fuel company, came to speak to us on Friday, what did our class know about Biodiesel fuel or even just diesel fuel? We knew that diesel fuel was more expensive at gas stations than gasoline, that trucks and other large vehicles often run on diesel fuel, and [...]
Apr 11 2012
Have you ever thought about how much electricity is needed to supply the lively city of New York? Just think about all of that electricity, and how it is made. Have you ever seen wind turbines in the Big Apple? Well, in the next few years you might. Check out this New York Times blog [...]
Apr 10 2012
Apple Data Center puts Charlotte in national spotlight as the debates over hydrogen fuel continues! Trying to become the nation’s “greenest” and “most technologically advanced” company, Apple recently has declared that they are fueling their new data center in suburban Charlotte solely from hydrogen power. While no one is faulting Apple for trying to [...]
Apr 10 2012
Pikachu, quick use thunderbolt! Critical Hit! Foe’s Blastoise fainted. For the millions of you that have played Pokemon, it seems obvious that electricity is water’s kryptonite; they don’t mix! But in the world of modern science, nearly twenty percent of all electricity comes from hydroelectric plants (imagine that Ash!). Source: Friedland and Relyea Environmental Science [...]
Apr 10 2012
STOP! Before you read the rest of this blog post, sprint down a flight of stairs and run back up again as fast as you can. GO! Okay, so how do you feel now? A little hot? Congratulations, you just got a little bit of exercise and experienced the same heating concept that is used [...]
Apr 10 2012
This article shows the future of solar energy in Africa by providing cleaner and more accessible energy to the impoverished communities. The article mentions that the only current source of energy and heat is burning wood and coal which can cause tuberculosis and asthma. The transition utilizes solar powered hot water heaters and clean-burning cooking [...]
Apr 08 2012
Here is a recent article from BBC regarding the use of biofuel (in this case, cooking oil) as a portion of the fuel for a commercial airplane in England: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-15191275 This type of biofuel is known as biodiesel. As the article mentions, the use of cooking oil as fuel for the plane does reduce the dependence on [...]
