In a new twist to waste-to-fuel technology, scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an electrochemical process that uses tiny spikes of carbon and copper to turn carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into ethanol. Their finding, which involves nanofabrication and catalysis science, was serendipitous. "A process like this would allow you to consume extra electricity when it's available to make and store as ethanol," Rondinone said. "This could help to balance a grid supplied by intermittent renewable sources." Given the technique's reliance on low-cost materials and an ability to operate at room temperature in water, the researchers believe the approach could be scaled up for industrially relevant applications. For instance, the process could be used to store excess electricity generated from variable power sources such as wind and solar.
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A new study says that human-induced climate change has doubled the area affected by forest fires in the U.S. West over the last 30 years. According to the study, since 1984 heightened temperatures and resulting aridity have caused fires to spread across an additional 16,000 square miles than they otherwise would have -- an area larger than the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined. The authors warn that further warming will increase fire exponentially in coming decades. The study appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. So far, this year has seen huge, though not record, fires. Over the summer, some 3 million acres burned across the United States, mostly in the West, from Washington state across to the Dakotas and down into Texas.
The 2016 election is the third in which ScienceDebate.org has compiled a questionnaire in an effort to get the U.S. presidential candidates to focus on never ending issues in science and engineering, from climate change to space exploration. Presidential candidates have a lot to say about politics, immigration, and social issues. There are issues to just have the presidential candidates hold a science and environment friendly debate only. Hillary Clinton’s replies are long and detailed, naming specific programs that already exist or that she would create. Donald Trump’s answers are short and ambiguous, mixed with contradictory promises to pare back government while expanding his priority programs. Hillary recognizes the biggest challenge in today's society, climate change. Where as, Trump refuses to talk deeply about it and doesn't believe that its a problem and it need to be investigated more.
Poaching has killed off 60 percent of Africa’s forest elephants since 2002, a new study showed. Research found that it take more than 20 years for female forest elephants to reproduce, but they also give birth only once every five to six years. An elephant is killed about every 15 minutes for its ivory, fueling a dangerous wildlife trafficking industry. “The slow reproductive rate as well as present poaching rates in the central African area does not bode well for forest elephants,” Andrea Turkalo of the Wildlife Conservation Society said. They are poaching these elephants quicker than they could even try to reproduce. Adding another extinct animal to our never ending list is horrible and we should make many efforts to stop contributing by killing for human needs. After these elephants are safely protected we can work on saving more endangered species due to humans. Its time for the animals to start hunting us.
Nautilus numbers are going down drastically in the Philippines and regions because of their treasured shells. "Unregulated fishing is a huge issue for these animals," said Frederick Dooley, a researcher and instructor in the UW Department of Biology. Last year near New Guinea, Ward and his team members found a rare Nautilus species for the first time in 30 years. Ward and His team used bait and traps to attract the creatures, they had not found that rare species since the early 1980s. This affects me because the Nautilus genetic makeup leads to many more special sea creatures. Nautilus are only wanted for their shells, so basically they are dying and none of their meat is values. Killing them i a waste of life. |
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