News from September 2009

Waste-to-fuel venture struggles for finance

AN Australian entrepreneur behind a $1 billion venture turning waste plastics into diesel says the export deal may collapse because the Rudd government won’t provide financial assistance. Ray Peck’s company, Ozmotech, has agreements signed to build more than 90 plants in Europe and the US to produce synthetic diesel. But he said the venture needed [...]

Scientists Find Successful Way To Reduce Bat Deaths At Wind Turbines

ScienceDaily “Biologically, this makes sense as bats are more likely to fly when wind speeds are relatively low. When it’s really windy, which is when the turbines are reaping the most energy, bats don’t like to fly. There is a potential for biology and economics to mesh nicely,” says U of C biology professor Robert [...]

Warren Buffett weighs in on Bernanke, Obama, China and oil

Uber-investor Warren Buffett has always seemed more accessible than your typical CEO. That’s thanks in no small part to his widely read — and plainly written — annual letters to Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) shareholders. But he’s plenty interesting speaking off the cuff as well, as he demonstrates in a series of quick online videos posted [...]

Former Gov. George Allen speaks at town hall meeting

Former Virginia Gov. George Allen told a group of 50 students and community members in Jepson Hall Tuesday night that the United States could be the Saudi Arabia of coal and that Virginia could be a leader in breaking America Allen, who has been out of public office since losing his U.S. Senate seat to [...]

Energy guru says green needn

Amory Lovins runs the numbers for an oil-free, nuclear-free future If someone told you America’s long-term energy needs could be met without oil or nuclear power, would you think he was crazy? The craziest thing about Amory Lovins is that he says the financial numbers prove it. “We feel very comfortable that we’re likely to [...]

China likely to make breakthrough in tapping gas hydrates

China will likely make a breakthrough in developing gas hydrates, which have been recently discovered on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, according to an expert in geological prospecting. The hydrate, which is also known as combustible ice, is a solid matter formed by water and natural gas under high-pressure and low-temperature conditions. It is considered the new [...]

Plan a trip using public transportation

Transit in Google Maps is a public transportation planning tool that combines the latest agency data with the power of Google Maps. It integrates transit stop, route, schedule, and fare information to make trip planning quick and easy for everyone. For agencies around the world, Google Maps is a cost-effective solution targeted at transit novices [...]

Alternative Energy Projects Stumble on a Need for Water

AMARGOSA VALLEY, Nev. Now Solar Millennium finds itself in the midst of a new-age version of a Western water war. The public is divided, pitting some people who hope to make money selling water rights to the company against others concerned about the project

Resolving Iran Oil-Price Risk

It hasn’t been easy keeping up with all the recent developments related to Iran’s nuclear program, which still looms as a large, unresolved risk embedded in the global price of oil–though you would never know it from the behavior of oil markets in the week since Iran’s hidden nuclear enrichment site was revealed. It’s not [...]

Global Food Security Plans Too Narrow – Analyst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Global plans to reduce hunger by boosting food production are too narrowly focussed on farming without considering how to slow population growth or halt climate change, long-time environmental analyst Lester Brown said on Tuesday. The Obama administration and leaders of other wealthy nations have promised to spend more money and coordinate efforts [...]