When Did Japan Stop Being The Future?

U.S. science fiction used to be fascinated with Japan, from Blade Runner to Neuromancer. Everything Japanese was cooler, sleeker and shinier than our grubby American aesthetic, and Japan was destined to dominate. And then, Japan's futuristic status waned. What happened? More…

Rainforest is worth more standing

A new analysis has shown that payments to reduce carbon emissions from the forests could generate more income than palm oil production on deforested land.
Source : digg.com

Obama Administration Orders 14,105 Fuel-Efficient Vehicles

Making good on U.S. President Barack Obama's promise to accelerate the greening of the federal fleet, the U.S. General Services Administration has ordered 14,105 fuel efficient vehicles. The GSA said that it ordered the vehicles from General Motors, Chrysler and Ford last week, bringing the total of greener cars ordered since April to 17,205.
Source : digg.com

Coal Ash Spills Too Dangerous To Reveal To Public, Says DHS

Coal Ash Spills Too Dangerous To Reveal To Public, Says DHS - huh!?
Source : digg.com

Zero to 60 in full sunlight: revving up a solar racer

The University of Michigan's solar car team has unveiled the machine it will be racing in the World Solar Challenge. Ars talks to the team's strategy director to learn about solar car racing and to look at where the technology is headed.
Source : digg.com

1st Satellite Shot of Controversial Chinese '3 Gorges' Dam

NASA pic. Epic-scale dam project, flooded recently to create reservoir for largest hydro-electric plant in world -- w/almost equal epic controversy. Concerns over major environmental impacts, relocation of 1.2 million people, flooding of 13 cities, more than 1300 villages...
Source : digg.com

Cykel: A Plug-in Electric Bike Sharing Concept

Cykel is a plug-in electric bike sharing system designed for a wide range of users and topographies. The concept was inspired by the popular bike share programs found throughout Europe. It functions on either pedal-power or fully as an electric bike, which opens up transportation to wide range of users.
Source : digg.com

Price for being in the wrong place at the wrong time: Death!

Hira Punjabi "photographed this rare behavior of an elephant killing a monitor lizard in Corbett National Park, India."
Source : digg.com

15 Year Old Invents Complete Algae Energy System

15 year old Javier Fernández-Han invented a truly innovative solution to meeting the basic needs of many of the world’s poor, and won Ashoka’s Invent Your World Challenge with his algae energy system, called VERSATILE. His holistic approach uses an efficient, modular system to meet multiple needs.
Source : digg.com

Supervolcano may be brewing beneath Mount St Helens

If the structure beneath the three volcanoes is indeed a vast bubble of partially molten rock, it would be comparable in size to the biggest magma chambers ever discovered, such as the one below Yellowstone National Park.
Source : digg.com

In China, Bicycles Are Back; Now They're Battery Powered

The e-bike boom owes much to Chinese policy. The government made developing e-bikes an official technology goal in 1991. Major Chinese cities have extensive bicycle lanes, which means riders can avoid the worst of rush-hour congestion. In cities such as Shanghai, local governments have drastically raised licensing fees on gas-powered scooters
Source : digg.com

Science Academies: renewable power tech ready for big growth

The US National Academies of Science has looked at the potential for renewable power in its home country, and determined that current solar and wind technologies could probably scale to supply 20 percent of our electricity. Beyond that, however, we're going to need to fix the grid.
Source : digg.com

ConocoPhillips chief warns of impending oil crisis

Government efforts to curb climate change could soon spur an oil crisis more severe than those already experienced, the head of ConocoPhillips said. "We're very concerned that if we don't keep the supply up we're going to see another crisis." We're not against alternatives and renewables. But to say we want to get off fossil fuels is unrealistic.
Source : digg.com