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Simulated sunlight powers a solar cell that converts atmospheric carbon dioxide directly into syngas. Credit: University of Illinois at Chicago/Jenny Fontaine ********************************************************************************************************************** Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have engineered a potentially game-changing solar cell that cheaply and efficiently converts atmospheric carbon dioxide directly into usable hydrocarbon fuel, using only sunlight for energy. The finding is reported in the July 29 issue of Science and was funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. A provisional patent application has been filed. Unlike conventional solar cells, which convert sunlight into electricity that must be stored...

The United States has begun manufacturing nuclear spacecraft fuel for the first time in a generation, but full production of the stuff is still seven years or so away. In December, officials at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee announced that researchers at the site had generated a 1.8-ounce (50 grams) sample of plutonium-238, the fuel that powers deep-space missions such as NASA's New Horizons Pluto probe and Cassini Saturn orbiter.

Donald Trump loves to tout his poll numbers. But if he's doing so well, why does he pander to Iowa's ethanol interests? The gambit might garner a few caucus votes among corn growers and ethanol producers. It certainly brings plaudits from renewable energy lobbyists and their political enablers. But it could also cost him votes in many other quarters - beyond the Corn Ethanol Belt and even in Iowa. The fact is, the 14.5-million-gallon-per-year ethanol mandate prolongs policies that are bad for consumers and the environment. And yet many presidential candidates and other politicians support it. The ethanol mandate forces...

10th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Altoona, IA on Jan 19, 2016 The Meadows Conference Center at Prairie Meadow 7:30 AM. Event registration begins 8:15 AM. Event Begins Mr. Trump is scheduled to speak after lunch This event is open to the public http://www.donaldjtrump.com/schedule http://iowarfa.org/10th-annual-iowa-renewable-fuels-summit-program/

Can you imagine a future where your car is fueled by iron powder instead of gasoline? Metal powders, produced using clean primary energy sources, could provide a more viable long-term replacement for fossil fuels than other widely discussed alternatives, such as hydrogen, biofuels or batteries, according to a study in the Dec. 15 issue of the journal Applied Energy. "Technologies to generate clean electricity -- primarily solar and wind power -- are being developed rapidly; but we can't use that electricity for many of the things that oil and gas are used for today, such as transportation and global energy...

India would reject a deal to combat climate change that includes a pledge for the world to wean itself off fossil fuels this century, a senior official said, underlying the difficulties countries face in agreeing how to slow global warming. Almost 200 nations will meet in the French capital on Nov. 30 to try and seal a deal to prevent the planet from warming more than the 2 degrees Celsius that scientists say is vital if the world is to avoid the most devastating effects of climate change. To keep warming in check, some countries want the Paris agreement to...

WATKINS GLEN — The Finger Lakes March for Climate Justice will be at 1 p.m. Sunday in downtown Watkins Glen. The march will begin with a rally at the marina and then marchers will go through downtown south to the foot of Watkins Glen State Park and back. Speakers will include Cornell University climate scientist Robert Howarth, Tompkins County Legislator Martha Robertson, Renovus Solar CEO Joe Sliker, solar energy expert Suzanne Hunt of Yates County and biologist and climate activist Sandra Steingraber of Trumansburg. Steingraber and Howarth will travel to France for the Paris Climate Summit soon after Sunday’s march.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Saturday called for Republicans to abandon the corrupting influence of the Koch brothers and other wealthy energy magnates. "This is a party that rejects science and refuses to understand that climate change is real," he said of GOP during the annual Blue Jamboree in North Charleston, S.C. "I understand if you stand up to the Koch brothers and the fossil fuel industry, that you'll lose your campaign contributions," the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate added. "[Climate change] is already causing devastating problems all over this world. To hell with the fossil fuel industry. Worry more about...

New Zealand's Duke Engines has been busy developing and demonstrating excellent results with a bizarre axial engine prototype that completely does away with valves, while delivering excellent power and torque from an engine much smaller, lighter and simpler than the existing technology. We spoke with Duke co-founder John Garvey to find out how the Duke Axial Engine project is going. The Duke Axial Engine is lighter, more compact and already slightly more powerful than a typical equivalent engine, even though this is just a prototype Duke Engines' 3-liter, five cylinder test mule is already making a healthy 215 horsepower and...

Emergency crews are continuing to battle a huge fire south-west of the Ukrainian capital Kiev, following a blast at a fuel depot. Four people were killed, including three emergency ministry employees. The fire at the depot, next to an army base near the town of Vasylkiv, sent huge plumes of smoke over the surrounding area. Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko warned that harmful substances in the air over the city exceeded maximum allowed levels. He urged residents with respiratory problems to limit their "exposure to the open air". The cause of the blaze about 30km (19 miles) from Kiev is being...

Almost 70 Oxford alumni have symbolically handed back their degrees to criticise the university’s weak policy on fossil fuels investment – which excludes only direct investment in oil sands and coal but fails to address other money invested in unsustainable sources of energy. Oxford University announced last week it would maintain its position of not having direct investment in high-risk oil sands and coal; it also pledged to follow environmental and social criteria for its investment. However, many have noted this policy does not go far enough, since it doesn’t rule out investment in all dirty energy sources. As a...

The green energy movement in America is dead. May it rest in peace. No, a majority of American energy over the next 20 years is not going to come from windmills and solar panels. One important lesson to be learned from the green energy fad’s rapid and expensive demise is that central planning doesn’t work. What crushed green energy was the boom in shale oil and gas along with the steep decline in the price of fossil fuel that few saw coming just a few years ago. A new International Energy Agency report concedes that green energy is in fast...

Washington State University researchers have found a way to make jet fuel from a common black fungus found in decaying leaves, soil and rotting fruit. The researchers hope the process leads to economically viable production of aviation biofuels in the next five years. The researchers used Aspergillus carbonarius ITEM 5010 to create hydrocarbons, the chief component of petroleum, similar to those in aviation fuels. Led by Birgitte Ahring, director and Battelle distinguished professor of the Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory at WSU Tri-cities, the researchers published their work in the April edition of Fungal Biology. The fungus produced the most...

Ishara Sweeney couldn’t put her finger on it, but something was odd about the gas pump at the Santa Rosa Chevron station. The hose seemed out of place and the numbers began moving before she squeezed the handle. They stopped suddenly at $36.36 but she didn’t hear a click sound. Sweeney was further baffled when she got back into her Toyota Corolla after believing she had fueled up and saw the needle hadn’t moved on her gas gauge. It wasn’t until a knowing attendant arrived that she learned she was the victim of a scam. “I felt pretty dumb,” said...

President Obama is celebrating Earth Day by flying in his jumbo jet down to Florida so he can tour the Everglades. The 1,836-mile roundtrip will consume 9,180 gallons of fuel on Air Force One, according to CBS White House reporter Mark Knoller. And that’s just the president’s plane. There will a half-dozen support planes along for the trip, Marine One helicopters, and a 25- to 30-vehicle motorcade belching exhaust into the air.

Sales of the Nissan Leaf and other electric cars have dipped thus far in 2015, and automakers have resorted to price cuts to boost interest in plug-ins.

The thing that caught our eye in the plot to blow up John F. Kennedy International Airport and its oil lines concerns a detail in respect of the arrest of one of the key Guyanese suspects. It was the fact that the former member of the Guyanese legislature who was fingered in the plot, Abdul Kadir, was arrested in Trinidad on his way to Caracas, Venezuela. According to Mr. Kadir's wife, who was quoted in the Guyanese press, he was there to pick up an Iranian visa that would enable him to attend an Islamic conference in Tehran. No doubt...

Daimler Trucks North America’s (DTNA) SuperTruck program has achieved 115 percent freight efficiency improvement – surpassing the Department of Energy (DOE) program’s goal of 50 percent improvement and exhibiting the best results of all reporting OEMs. Testing was also conducted at the DTNA Detroit engineering facility to demonstrate engine efficiency by achieving 50.2 percent engine brake thermal efficiency. The final SuperTruck demonstrator ran a five-day, 312-mile round trip route on Texas Interstate 35 between San Antonio and Dallas, at a weight of 65,000 lbs GVWR at a speed of 65 mph, where it achieved an average result of 12.2 mpg.Solutions...

Oregon’s new governor Kate Brown two weeks ago signed into a law a bill requiring distributors to reduce the carbon “intensity” of vehicle fuel by 10 percent over the next decade. Now the American Trucking Associations has joined with the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers and the Consumer Energy Alliance in suing Oregon to block the fuel standards. “The Oregon program is set up to give a big boost to Oregon’s small biofuel industry, without reducing net greenhouse gas emissions, and at the expense of higher fuel costs for everyone,” said ATA Vice President for Energy and Environmental Affairs Glen...

"Persons or entities that purchased gasoline or diesel fuel (“Plaintiffs”) on or after January 1, 2001, in the following States and jurisdictions –– Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands (the “States at Issue”) – brought lawsuits claiming that selling motor fuel without disclosing or adjusting for the effects of temperature violates consumer protection and other laws. All of the cases relating to the States at Issue and all...